My little brothers got a new laptop and he keeps enforcing these rules about the power usage, some of them are really annoying and I don't know if he's BSing or he thinks he's correct but he's not, or maybe he is. I don't know so I'm asking you. He says keeping the laptop connected to a charger at all times will lower the amount of time a laptop can stay without the charger. He says that when the laptop is fully charged it must be disconnected from the charger ASAP. He also says that we can't use the laptop while charging it. Does this really help or is any of it unnecessary? It's an Asus K60 btw. Thanks
First off, you CAN use it when its fully charged and plugged in. Second, you CAN use the laptop while charging it. In fact, there's nothing wrong with using it while its charged and plugged in, and the batteries will not overcharge as there is a mechanism preventing that. Technically, he is right that keeping it plugged in all the time will lower the battery's total charge, but not to much of an amount that it is noticeable within a few years. Not using it while its charging, and removing the plug when its completely charged asap is completely unnecessary. In fact, I use my macbook pro while its plugged in almost all the time, and it does not really make a difference (the battery didn't last more than a few hours anyway.
In theory he is correct. In practice, not so much. Repeated over-charging a battery can weaken the battery and lower its fully-charged capacity. Back in the ni-cad days some battery manufacturers even suggested fully discharging the battery periodically so as to prevent the heartbreak of ni-cad memory. With the advent of newer battery technology most of these problems are non-issues, even though I know some purists who still baby their batteries. See above. It sounds like he is being a typical PITA little brother. More PITALB. He probably read somewhere that you should not operate an automobile radio when the car battery was connected to an external charger. Perhaps true a long time ago, but not today and not for portable computers. Just ask him to show you in the manufacturers documentation where it warns not to do these things. Tell him you simply want to learn so you can be as smart as he is someday. On the other hand, his computer, his rules. Dick
Thanks guys, although what I did forget to mention was that my dad was enforcing all these rules (my little brothers are 9 and 7, I'm 15), and I always trusted my dad for all the elctronic care in the house, that, and afterdawn, and google searches are my main tech help. Also, I haven't tested it out yet. Does any laptop work faster while it's plugged into the electricity?
OOPS! :| Even if he's wrong, you gotta do what your dad says. That's in the fine print somewhere. Quite often, yes. Or to put it another way, a lot of laptops purposely slow down when under battery power to try to conserve the battery. Dick
