Keeping your Battery in good shape

Quoted from the support page of Packard Bell ( a company that builds laptops and PCs ):

"To reduce the battery wear, there are a few simple precautions to take

• Always charge your battery to 100%.
• Fully charge a new battery before its first use. Next, completely discharge it and recharge it completely.
• Avoid excessive heat.
• Work with the AC Adapter plugged in as much as you can.

The above precautions will not only improve the battery life span, but your battery will also get a longer battery life per charge.

How to completely discharge your battery

Normally, your system will enter stand-by or hibernation if the battery drops below a certain level. This is to avoid losing data you are working on. However, to completely discharge your battery you need to avoid such action. To do that, reboot your system and enter the BIOS setup (usually you need to press when booting the notebook). Leave the system running with the BIOS setup showing until it shuts down. At that moment, the battery will be completely empty. Alternatively, some systems have an option "Calibrate battery" or "Refresh battery" in the BIOS. You can use this option to perform a complete discharge of your battery. If your system uses a NiMH battery, make sure to repeat charging, discharging and recharging on a regular interval. For a Li-Ion battery, it is not needed to repeat this cycle often, but if you notice that your battery life is degraded it is recommended."