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General discussion

using the battery wisely..

by dautovich13 Mar 1, 2006 4:34PM PST

hey, im new to mac and just bought an iBook G4 1.42Ghz 14'' a couple of days ago. with my old laptop i had the problem that the battery went dead pretty quickly cuz it was plugged in to a power outlet basically all the time and the laptop would not work with a removed battery just using the outlet. now whats the best way to use the battery with an iBook so that it stays good for a long time? can i leave the plug in or should i use all the battery up and fully recharge it everytime? thanks a lot for any help in advance (unfortunately the user's guide coming with the iBook doesnt really say anything about that)
thanks
dan

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Odd. How old was the old laptop?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Mar 1, 2006 8:00PM PST

There were issues with leaving the power plugged in on very old laptop designs. Today, you leave it plugged in and the newer battery management does quite well.

But there are some that want to charge the battery, remove it and just run on AC. Sounds like a control freak issue to me, but if they must, they must.

Bob

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pretty old like 4-5 years..
by dautovich13 Mar 1, 2006 8:24PM PST

but had a Li-Ion battery just like the iBook. i thought this pretty much always has been an issue that keeping a battery charged to 100% will screw up its capacity (also in digital cameras and stuff). i just want to make sure im not making the same mistake again..so i guess i'll end up being a control freak tooWink

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Try batteryuniversity.,com and similar.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Mar 2, 2006 3:11AM PST

Such things are from the bad old days. I for one am glad to see them gone.

Bob

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The Apple Advice,
by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Mar 1, 2006 8:41PM PST

I believe, is to run the laptop from the battery until the battery no longer runs the laptop.
The laptop will shut down long before there is any danger to your data or the machine.
Once it is fully discharged, plug it back into the AC power and allow it to charge while you are using the machine.
Once every couple of months should keep the battery well.
This from the Apple site:
Lithium-ion
Recharge Lithium-ion batteries when they become depleted. Although they are not subject to the memory effect, it is suggested that you let the battery drain fully before recharging.

Apple article 10970 is the reference for this.

P

P

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