Saving Some Battery Juice on Your Windows Computer

You’ve probably experienced running out of battery power while working on something important. Losing power is one of the major causes of data loss especially in the earlier days of computer and mobile devices.

Components inside your computer actually require power in order for them to work. Essential parts like your screen, keyboard, hard disk and the motherboard all drain power, especially if you’re running on batteries.

If you’re traveling and you need to be on your machine for a long period of time, you should be able to know how to do some computer adjustment tweaks and settings to help you save battery juice and make your computer last longer than usual.

Here are some helpful tips to help you save battery on your Windows 7 machine:

Change Power Plan

  • Windows 7 has two default power plans (Balanced and Power saver). To adjust it, just click the battery icon on the lower right side of your task bar/notifications area.
  • After doing so, this menu should appear
  • Choose “Power saver” to reduce battery consumption wherever possible.

Dim your screen

  • If you are working in a relatively bright place (in a train or on travel while it’s daytime) then you can choose to adjust your screen’s brightness. You can do this by clicking the battery icon on the notifications area and choosing the “Adjust screen brightness” option.
  • You will then be directed to the Control Panel window that will let you adjust your screen’s brightness. Drag the tab to your desired brightness.
  • Standby means that all the files you are working on are saved on your computer’s RAM which is technically a temporary storage while hard drive and your screen is turned off. Anything that has been left open before you put your computer to sleep/standby will easily open when you turn your computer on again. However, if you lose power along the way or swap batteries, all the files will be gone.
  • On the other hand, Hibernate saves all opened files on the hard drive. This means that everything you have been working on before you placed your machine to hibernate will still be available even if you swap batteries or lose power. Putting your machine to hibernate option saves more power than placing it on standby. The downside with hibernate is that it takes a longer time for your computer to initialize once it is turned on.
  • Choose between these power-down options by clicking the “Start” button.
  • Go to the shutdown tab and put your mouse pointer on top of the arrow right button to open more options. You will then see both the Sleep and the Hibernate option.

Cut down on programs running in the background.

  • Your computer system also operates and runs some programs in the background and most of these are not really used in your day to day tasks. You can turn off certain programs manually. Here’s how you can do it:
  • Click the Start button, then type “msconfig” on the search box.
  • Click “msconfig” under the “Programs” category in the search results.
  • You will then be directed to the system configuration window. Under the “Services” tab, you can choose programs and services that you can disable by “unchecking” the box beside each item descriptions or enable some by “checking” the box then click OK to save all changes.

Other Power Saving Tips

  • Clean battery terminals and contacts regularly. Cleaning the battery terminals on both the computer and the battery with 70% alcohol helps wash away dusts that may gather moist and cause short circuit or damage to the battery.
  • Charge it correctly. If you’re going to leave on a travel then make sure that you have your mobile computer charged fully. It also helps if you carry a spare that is fully charged as well. Avoid charging your battery if it’s not needed yet or it still has 20-40% power in it. It is always best to charge it when your computer tells you to do so.
  • Keep it Cool. When you’re using your computer, make sure that you place it on something that’s solid or have a cooling fan under it to lessen heat. Avoid placing your machine on a cloth, pillow or anything that can hinder air from entering the cooling vents. This is a cause of heating up on your computer and battery which drains power faster.

Conclusion

Your portable machine is useless if it doesn’t work effectively on batteries. Take good care of your power source to help prolong its life and maximize usage. Follow the tips above and you’re sure to enjoy longer battery life wherever and whenever you need it.