Conserving Battery Power; Power Management Modes; Charge Gauge; Check The Battery Charge - Dell Latitude D420 User Manual

Charge Gauge

By either pressing once or pressing and holding the status button on the charge gauge on the battery, you can check:
Battery charge (check by pressing and releasing the status button)
l
Battery health (check by pressing and holding the status button)
l
The battery operating time is largely determined by the number of times it is charged. After hundreds of charge and discharge cycles, batteries lose some
battery health (charge capacity). That is, a battery can show a status of "charged" but maintain a reduced battery health (charge capacity).

Check the Battery Charge

To check the battery charge, press and release the status button on the battery charge gauge to illuminate the charge-level lights. Each light represents
approximately 20 percent of the total battery charge. For example, if the battery has 80 percent of its charge remaining, four of the lights are on. If no lights
appear, the battery has no charge.
Check the Battery Health
NOTE: You can check battery health in one of two ways: by using the charge gauge on the battery as described below and by using the Battery Meter
in Dell QuickSet. For information about QuickSet, right-click the
To check the battery health using the charge gauge, press and hold the status button on the battery charge gauge for at least 3 seconds. If no lights appear,
the battery is in good condition, and more than 80 percent of its original charge capacity remains. Each light represents incremental degradation. If five lights
appear, less than 60 percent of the charge capacity remains, and you should consider replacing the battery. See Specifications
battery.
Low-Battery Warning
NOTICE: To avoid losing or corrupting data, save your work immediately after a low-battery warning. Then connect the computer to an electrical outlet.
If the battery runs completely out of power, hibernate mode begins automatically.
By default, a pop-up window warns you when the battery charge is approximately 90 percent depleted. You can change the settings for the battery alarms in
QuickSet or the Power Options Properties window. See
Options Properties window.
Conserving Battery Power
Perform the following actions to conserve battery power:
Connect the computer to an electrical outlet when possible because battery life is largely determined by the number of times the battery is used and
l
recharged.
Place the computer in standby mode or hibernate mode when you leave the computer unattended for long periods of time (see
l
Modes).
Use the Power Management Wizard to select options to optimize your computer's power usage. These options can also be set to change when you
l
press the power button, close the display, or press <Fn><Esc>.
NOTE: See

Power Management Modes

Power Management Modes

Standby Mode

Standby mode conserves power by turning off the display and the hard drive after a predetermined period of inactivity (a time-out). When the computer exits
standby mode, it returns to the same operating state it was in before entering standby mode.
NOTICE: If your computer loses AC and battery power while in standby mode, it may lose data.
To enter standby mode:
Click Start® Shut Down® Stand by.
l
or
icon in the taskbar, and click Help.
Configuring Power Management Settings
for more information on conserving battery power.
for more information about the
for information about accessing QuickSet or the Power
Power Management