■ chapter 3 battery power & power management C H A P T E R ▼ T H R E E BATTERY POWER & POWER MANAGEMENT In this chapter, you will learn the fundamentals of power management and how to use it to achieve longer battery life.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management In this chapter, you will learn how to operate your notebook on battery power, how to handle and maintain the battery pack, and learn about the system’s power saving features. TFT display, central processor, hard disk drive are the major hardware subsystems that consume the most power. Power management deals how these key components should behave to conserve power.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Battery Low-Power Warning 1. Low Battery Warning Low battery condition occurs when battery power is reduced to 6%. The red battery status LED indicator blinks and the system beeps once every 16 seconds or so. 2. Very Low Battery Warning Very Low battery condition occurs at 3 % power remaining. The red battery status LED indicator blinks and the system beeps at 4-second interval.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Installing and Removing the Battery Pack To Remove the Battery Pack: 1. Place the notebook bottom-side up on a flat and secured surface. 2. Push the latch and pull the battery’s hard case away from the notebook.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management To Install the Battery Pack: 1. Place the notebook bottom-side up on a flat and secured surface. 2. Carefully insert the battery pack into the battery compartment of the notebook. Charging the Battery and Charging Time To charge the battery, while the battery pack is in the notebook, plug the AC adapter into the notebook and an electrical outlet.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Checking the Battery Level You can check the remaining battery power in the Windows battery status indicator, which is located at the lower right-hand corner of the task bar. (If you do not see a battery or AC-in icon on the task tray, go to Power Options Properties box and click on the Advanced tab. Check off ``Always show icon on the task bar``.) Alternatively, you can access the power meter by clicking the Power Options icon in the Windows Control Panel.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Using Windows Power Options Windows Power Management provides basic power saving features. In the Windows Power Options Properties [Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options] dialogue box, you may enter time-out values for display and hard disk drive. Windows power manager saves power by turning off hard drive after 1 minute of inactivity, for example.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management In this dialog box, you can manually set the LCD and hard drive’s time-out values in the Plugged in column and in the Running on batteries column. Lower time-out values will save more battery power. Note: Also consult Windows user guide for more information on how to use Windows power management functions. Note: Actual dialogue box shown above may appear slightly different.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Suspend Mode Standby Suspend The system automatically enters this mode after a period of inactivity, which is set in the Power Schemes dialog box. In Standby mode, hardware devices, such as display panel and hard disk, are turned off to conserve energy. Hibernate Suspend In this mode, all system data are saved in the hard disk before powering down.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Note: Do not install or remove the memory module when the system is in the suspend mode. Note: Actual dialogue box shown above may appear slightly different.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Power Button Action The notebook PC’s power button can be set to turn off the system or activate the suspend mode. Go to [Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options] and click on the Advanced tab. In the pull-down menu, select how you wish the power button to work as. Note: Actual dialogue box shown above may appear slightly different.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Low Battery Warning You can define when and how the system warns you of its battery-low condition. Go to the Alarms tab in the Power Options Properties box. If you wish to hear audible beeps, click on the Alarm Action button and put a check on Sound Alarm. Note: Consult Windows user guide for more information on how to use Windows power management functions. Note: Actual dialogue box shown above may appear slightly different.
■ chapter 3 battery power & power management Power Menu Quick Access Instead of making specific selections in the Power Options Properties box, you can quickly and easily specify which pre-set power saving function you desire by clicking on the Battery icon at the lower right-hand corner of the task bar. (If you do not see a battery or AC-in icon, go to Power Options Properties box and click on the Advanced tab. Check off ``Always show icon on the task bar``.
