Read on to find out how to deal with the biggest pet peeves we have with portable PCs, both through quick fixes and affordable upgrades. And to make sure you never make the same mistake again, we’ll provide the shopping advice you need to get a machine that works the way you want it to right out of the box.

1. December 5, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
Hate Issues for Laptops , How to Fix Them
Hate Issues for Laptops , How to Fix Them Quick Tips
CloudTags: Laptop , Fix , Issues , Hp pavilion dv4 The number one way to quickly conserve power is to
laptop batteries , compaq pavilion dv6 battery life dim your laptop’s screen. We’ve seen time and again
, Hp pavilion dv5 battery care on our tests that a notebook’s LCD can consume as
much as a third of overall system power. In most
It’s one thing to complain about a notebook’s short cases, adjusting the brightness is as easy as using a
endurance, wimpy speakers, or finicky touchpad Function command. Plus, Windows Vista and Win-
during the course of a review. But it’s a whole dif- dows 7 let you set the exact percentage of brightness
ferent ball game when you need to live with that you’d like to use when you’re unplugged, and to
issue after you’ve purchased a laptop. We’re here save that as a profile.
to help. Read on to find out how to deal with the
biggest pet peeves we have with portable PCs, both Under Power Options in Windows 7, click Change
through quick fixes and affordable upgrades. And Plan Settings (in our case the plan is Maximum Bat-
to make sure you never make the same mistake tery Life). You’ll see a sliding scale for Adjust Plan
again, we’ll provide the shopping advice you need Brightness that you can tweak. To dig even deeper,
to get a machine that works the way you want it to click Change Advanced Power Settings. Then, under
right out of the box. Display > Display Brightness you can select the exact
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/hate-issues-for-laptops-how-to-fix-them/
percentage of brightness you’d prefer to have on
Battery Life Is Too Short when you’re running on dell latitude d630 battery
power.
According to Mike Trainor, Intel’s chief mobile tech-
nology evangelist, extending your runtime often
comes down to being more judicious about only
using what you need to get the job done. “You can
configure your machine and turn off some of the
things you’re not using right now,” he said.
These things might include disabling Bluetooth, the
Ethernet adapter, and visual effects such as Clear-
Type. There’s also a Visual Effects menu in Vista and
Having to find that outlet after a couple hours of use XP that can be adjusted for optimal performance,
is annoying. Here’s how to keep on working longer with the click of a button. Other tricks for squee-
while unplugged. zing more juice out of your system include closing
any programs you’re not using, and making sure
you unplug any USB devices that don’t need to be
connected.
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2. December 5, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
Hate Issues for Laptops , How to Fix Them
Easy Upgrades cessor from Intel (with display sizes ranging from
11 to 16 inches) offers a better balance between
If you purchased a netbook or notebook with a low- screen real estate and long battery life. Plus, these
capacity three-cell battery , step up to a higher-ca- ultrathin systems have better performance than
pacity replacement. Lenovo, for instance, sells a Intel Atom-powered netbooks.
nine-cell battery for the ThinkPad X200 . A six-cell
battery for the Acer Aspire One D250 netbook costs For us, the sweet spot for a ULV notebook is the 11
about $60 F9. Keep in mind that it’s always cheaper to 13 inch screen size range. “These systems have
to configure your notebook with a beefier battery phenomenal average power and idle power figures,”
before you buy. said Intel’s Trainor. “And the system makers have
done a great job of implementing our system level
If you’ve owned your notebook for two years or power management recommendations.” For ins-
more, chances are its battery can’t hold a charge as tance, the ASUS UL30A , a 13-inch ultrathin note-
long as it used to. Instead of splurging on a new sys- book with a ULV processor, lasted nearly 10 hours
tem, a replacement battery is the frugal and smart on our tests.
choice. HP sells a six-cell primary battery that’s
compatible with such systems as the HP Pavilion Takes Too Long to Boot
dv4000 and Compaq Presario M2000 for $129 .
Want an accessory that will work with any laptop?
Check out Duracell’s PowerSource Mobile 100. This
Editors’ Choice-winning power supply carries its
own charge, thanks to an integrated lithium-ion
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/hate-issues-for-laptops-how-to-fix-them/
power pack. It can charge your notebook via its
three-prong AC outlet while charging two other
devices via USB.
Shopping Advice
Assuming you want to be highly mobile, always opt
for the largest capacity battery available at the time
of purchase. “It all comes down to system design
and Hp 510 batteries design,” said Chris Casper, Yes, Windows 7’s boot times are slightly improved
group manager of product marketing for Toshiba. compared to Windows Vista, but there are ways
“If you put in a six-cell with the maximum amount you can start playing, surfing, and working faster.
of Li-ion material, you can get up toward the eight-
hour range.” In fact, on our tests we’ve seen some Quick Tips
six-cell netbooks and notebooks exceed nine hours
of endurance. Shave seconds off your boot time by telling your
BIOS who’s boss. In other words, tell your laptop
Although netbooks offer plenty of battery life, not what should take priority when powering up. To
everyone is keen on their small, 10-inch displays. enter your notebook’s BIOS you have to hold down
A laptop equipped with an Ultra-Low Voltage pro- a key (sometimes F1, F10, or Delete, depending on
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3. December 5, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
Hate Issues for Laptops , How to Fix Them
your system). Once in the BIOS, enable the Quick open applications. Our favorite SSDs are the 128GB
Boot option if your laptop has it; this turns off the va- Patriot Torqx and the 120GB OCZ Vertex.
rious hardware device and system memory checks
that slow your PC down. Then, go to the Boot Menu Shopping Advice
to make sure the hard drive is the first item listed in
the priority order . You do this by moving it up the A lot of notebooks you buy at retail have similar
list, and should exclude every other item. boot times, depending on how much trial software
is loaded. In general, the less of this software (or
Another tried-and-true way of shortening your boot crapware) the better. There are also a number of lap-
time is to disable programs from loading at star- tops that offer so-called instant-on capabilities. You
tup. In XP machines, click Start > Run > and type can opt to boot into a Linux environment (usually
msconfig. On Vista and Windows 7 machines, you powered by Splashtop) in less than 10 seconds, and
can type msconfig in the search box after you click start surfing the Web, checking e-mail, making Skype
Start. After that you’ll see a box with several tabs. calls and more without waiting for Windows to load.
Click the Startup tab to see a list of Startup items, and Different notebook manufacturers brand this tech-
then uncheck any programs you don’t necessarily nology with proprietary names. For example, Leno-
need to load when you turn on your machine. Some vo’s IdeaPad S12 instant-on environment is called
examples of what you might not need include Adobe QuickStart, and on the ASUS K50 it’s ExpressGate.
Acrobat, Google Talk, and QuickTime. Other Splashtop partners include Acer, HP, and Sony.
Easy Upgrades
If you’d like a little help in telling Windows what
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/hate-issues-for-laptops-how-to-fix-them/
not to load when booting, check out TuneUp Utilities
2009, our Editors’ Choice–winning utilities suite. In
addition to one-click PC maintenance, this smart
software includes a StartUp Manager that uses a
friendly interface to help identify and remove hid-
den programs in your Startup folder.
Another relatively affordable upgrade is a faster
hard drive. With most 5,400-rpm hard drives, you
can expect a boot time of 60 seconds or more. For
about $80 you can pick up a 7,200-rpm, 320GB drive
from the likes of Hitachi, Seagate, or Western Digital
that can give you back as much as eight seconds.
Those willing to spend more money to speed up
their boot time—and supercharge the rest of their
PC—should consider investing in a solid state drive.
A good SSD will start Windows in 50 seconds or less,
and will dramatically decrease the time it takes to
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4. December 5, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
Hate Issues for Laptops , How to Fix Them
Rechargeble Laptop Battery of Asus Easy Upgrades
a32-f3 | 7800mAh on Store only £ 50.58
A good external mouse should be highly accurate
133 Watt-Hour Universal Laptop Battery and comfortable enough for extended use. The
| Brand New 133.00 Watt/Hours only £ Targus Wireless Comfort Laser Mouse delivers on
both counts. It boasts a 1,200 DPI laser sensor, and
95.79
soft, flexible side grips. Its tiny USB receiver is small
enough to keep in your USB port, or you can store
My Touchpad Sucks
it in the mouse itself.
Shopping Advice
In an effort to stand out, some notebook vendors
emphasize aesthetics over usability. “There are ma-
nufacturers that opt for a mirrored design that some
users find issues with,” said Mark Vena, vice presi-
dent of Synaptics’ PC business. “It may attract too
much dirt, or create sort of a grimy experience.” In
general, we recommend avoiding these touchpads.
Also pay attention to touchpad location. Get a no-
tebook whose touchpad is directly underneath the
G, B, and H keys, even on systems with separate
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/hate-issues-for-laptops-how-to-fix-them/
numeric keypads. Touchpad buttons are equally
important, and we prefer two discrete buttons to a
single bar, especially one that’s flush with the surface
and directly beneath the touchpad.
All of the above recommendations explain why it’s
There’s nothing more frustrating than not being so important to try a notebook out before you buy,
able to control the cursor the way you want to. It even if you wind up making the purchase online.
may move too fast, but more often the cursor may And that goes double for netbooks, because they’re
feel like it can’t keep up with your finger. smaller by definition. “With a netbook, kicking the
tires is especially important,” said Toshiba’s Casper.
Quick Fixes “Get a feel for the touchpad, and get a feel for the
keyboard in a retail store, if you can.”
In Windows, Open Mouse Properties under the
Control Panel, and click Pointer options. Here, you’ll Lastly, anyone purchasing a Windows 7 notebook
find a slider control for adjusting the pointer speed should consider making a multitouch-enabled tou-
(from Slow to Fast). Try sliding closer to Fast, and chpad a check-off item. Synaptics is working to map
click Apply. all the touchscreen features of the new OS to the
touchpad. “You’re going to see a lot more application
support that takes advantage of pinch, rotate, and
other features,” predicted Vena.
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5. December 5, 2011
batteryfast.co.uk
Hate Issues for Laptops , How to Fix Them
Notebook Runs Too Hot Easy Upgrades
If you’re willing to spend a little money to make
your notebook run cooler, you could spring for an
accessory such as the Logitech Portable Lapdesk
N315 , which is designed to protect your lap from
notebook heat, and comes with a retractable mouse
pad. It uses USB power to activate its adjustable
fans, and raises the notebook slightly for improved
ergonomic comfort.
Shopping Advice
You obviously can’t tell by looking at a laptop
whether it will run hot, so if you’re in the store
we suggest surfing over to Hulu or YouTube and
Even though the latest processors are designed to streaming a video for a few minutes. Put your hands
run cooler than their predecessors, there are plenty on the deck, the touchpad, and the keyboard itself.
of notebooks that can get hot to the touch. Most of- Then feel the bottom of the notebook, especially near
ten you’ll feel the excessive heat on the underside the battery. We use a temperature gun on our tests,
of a system. but you should be able to tell easily if that machine
will be cool enough for you.
Quick Fixes
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/hate-issues-for-laptops-how-to-fix-them/
When it comes to technology, notebooks that are
The environment in which you use your laptop powered by Intel’s ultra-low voltage processors tend
can play a major role in the external temperature. to use less power on average, but equally impor-
“The most important thing is air flow,” said Ray tant is how these systems are designed to dissipate
Sawall, Acer America’s senior product manager. “So heat. For example, Acer’s Timeline Series uses In-
if the user has the notebook on a blanket or pillow, tel’s Laminar Wall Jet technology—inspired by jet
lift it up.” Simply adding feet on the bottom of the engines—to move heat away from the laptop’s skin.
notebook can make a difference; sometimes even
furniture bumpers will work. Related Articles:
Another free option you can try is Notebook Hard-
ware Control 2.0, an easy-to-use utility that lets you
monitor your system’s processor temperature in
real time. If your laptop is running hot, you can
reduce the system temperature and reduce power Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment
consumption by selecting theMax Battery Power below and continue the conversation, or subscribe
profile. to my feed and get articles like this delivered auto-
matically to your feed reader.
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