How to Increase your laptop's battery life for as long as possible?

Laptops tend to quickly lose their usefulness when you are constantly looking for an outlet to recharge its battery. So, how can increase the battery life for as long as possible? Here are 10 easy ways to do it:

1. Run programs from your hard drive

A curious fact is that the mere fact of having a CD into the drive consumes power, because the CDs spin in the CD reader even when not in use. Whenever possible, try to run their programs through virtual disks (using programs like Alcohol 120%) instead of optical discs.

2. Clean the battery contacts

Clean the metal contacts on the battery every two months with a cloth soaked in alcohol. In this way the transfer of energy from the battery will be more efficient.

3. Charge the battery in the right way

Actively use the battery charged and do not leave for long periods of time. Once loaded, you use the battery at least once every two or three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-ion battery is fully discharged.

4. Do not use the sleep function

Although putting a laptop in suspension saves energy and allows you to work where you left off, this is not now as much power as the hibernate feature.

5. Keep the temperature low

Your laptop operates more efficiently when it is fresh in terms of temperature. We recommend cleaning the vents with a clean cloth to help the circulation of air inside the laptop. This helps maintain the temperature at acceptable levels.

6. Defragment your hard disk regularly

A faster hard drive allows you to work better because there is less stress on the hard drive and battery. With a regular defragmenting the hard drive will be more efficient, but make sure the laptop is connected to the outlet and not just the battery. It is important to note that the Mac OS X automatically defrags run and that's why this advice is not very effective for Apple systems.

7. Decrease the brightness of the screen

Most laptops provide the ability to change the brightness of the screen. Some even offer the option to modify the performance of the processor and cooling system. We advise you to lower the screen brightness to conserve battery power.

8. Close programs running in the background

Programs like iTunes, Desktop Search, etc.. can overload the processor and reduce the battery life. Turn off everything that is not crucial when you use the laptop with the battery (and not the outlet).

9. Remove any external devices

USB devices (including mouse) and Wi-Fi laptop battery discharged quickly, then I suggest to turn them off when not in use.Charge other devices like the iPod through your laptop while the battery is in use, will reduce the battery life, so it is best to connect the laptop to the outlet while charging other devices.

10. Add more RAM

This allows you to work through the physical memory of your laptop instead of virtual memory. Virtual memory uses the hard drive and is less effective. Note that adding more RAM to consume more energy, so this advice is for people who need to run memory-intensive programs.