Laptop Battery Reconditioning

Reconditioning a Laptop Battery the Right Way

As with all different rechargeable batteries, the batteries in laptops will eventually begin to lose their ability to retain full capacity. While it's not possible to make the battery perform as if it were brand new, you can improve its performance by effectively re-calibrating it and reconditioning the battery. The batteries inside laptops are not eternal. They are not meant to last forever, and they will typically have a total lifespan of 2 years.

When Should You Recondition Your Laptop Battery?

Once you begin to notice that your laptop is unable to hold a charge for as long as it used to, you are needed to diagnose the battery before you take added measures. There are different things that you can use to aid you along this process for you to tell what the exact condition of the battery is. There are all kinds of computers that you can use to monitor battery health. These are typically available with various operating systems to ensure that you can diagnose the battery. There are also computers that will require you to download and utilize different software to get full insight into the health and performance of your battery.

No matter what you choose to do, you will be able to get a lot of information about the health of your battery by using these tools. That way, you can tell how long it should last and whether it should be replaced. When you begin to experience a lot of differences in the time frames that are offered by the tools you are using, you should begin to look for replacement options.

Know the Type of Laptop Battery

As soon as you go ahead and figure out the overall status of your laptop's battery, you need to know the type of battery your laptop is using. It is very crucial as different laptops use different types of batteries. This way, you will be able to see what your replacement options are. Such information can be found in the system preferences of the computer you are using. Another option is to physically pull out the battery to see what it is. This step is very imprtant because it will allow you to research whether you can get your battery fixed.

Follow the steps below to recondition your laptop battery effectively:

1. Place the battery directly into the laptop. From there, plug in the laptop and charge the battery completely. You can then restart the computer.

2. Disable hibernation mode completely. You can click on Start > Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernate and uncheck "Enable Hibernation." From there, you can simply click "OK" to save all of the changes you made.

3. Discharge the battery completely. You can do this by going to Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Power Options > Power Schemes. From there, you should be looking to take note of the settings that are listed under "Plugged In" and "Running on Batteries." This will allow you to completely reset them back to normal later on.

4. Choose all the options available and set them to "Never" from the various drop-down lists. From there, you should click on "OK" to save all of the settings. This will disable power management processes.

5. Completely unplug your laptop. However, instead of turning it off, leave it on. This will allow you to run down your laptop's battery to fully discharge it. Once your laptop shuts down, plug it back in. This will allow you to fully charge it once again. After that, restart your computer and you can go back in to enable hibernation and enter whatever your desired performance settings were in the section called "Power Schemes."

Warnings and Tips

• • • Avoid calibrating any batteries that are lithium-ion. You should also avoid calibrating various other types too often such as NiMH and NiCad. As a rule of thumb, recalibrate these batteries only once per month.

    • Laptops charge faster when not in use or are in standby mode. For best results in reconditioning your laptop batery, you need to completely shut it off.

    • Also, for best results, you need to clean the metal contact points on the battery with a microfiber cloth to help maximize its power transfer properties.