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    Acer Aspire 5810T and battery life

    Discussion in 'Acer' started by Bullet in the Head, Aug 31, 2010.

  1. Bullet in the Head

    Bullet in the Head Newbie

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    I just got an Acer Aspire 5810T. It first came with Windows Vista and the battery life was great, around +/- 8 hours. But I recently took a clean install and now I have Windows 7 Premium 64 bit. Now the battery only lasts +/- 3 hours. I have installed PowerManager from Acer. So how can I solve this problem? Are there other Acer drivers/applications I need to solve this problem?

    Thanks in advance.
     
    Bullet in the Head, Aug 31, 2010
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  2. Arminator

    Arminator Notebook Evangelist

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    Windows 7 has its built in power management so try to check settings in your (windows) power profiles.
     
    Arminator, Aug 31, 2010
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  3. Bullet in the Head

    Bullet in the Head Newbie

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    I've tried with no success :(
     
    Bullet in the Head, Aug 31, 2010
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  4. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

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    Tinderbox (UK), Aug 31, 2010
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  5. michael_recycled

    michael_recycled Notebook Deity

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    Hi,

    what power profile are you using in battery mode?

    Additionally, make sure, you have the latest drivers (preferably from the component manufacturers) installed.

    Michael
     
    michael_recycled, Aug 31, 2010
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  6. Bullet in the Head

    Bullet in the Head Newbie

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    I use balanced power profile. And it's maybe worth to mention that I haven't downloaded any drivers at all. Only the PowerManagent, but that's an application.
     
    Bullet in the Head, Aug 31, 2010
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  7. michael_recycled

    michael_recycled Notebook Deity

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    Okay.
    This might be the culprit. Drivers have very strong influence on power consumption. That said, go ahead and get the drivers for your computer. I guess, you should get the core stuff (chipset, storage, VGA, perhaps WLAN) from Intel.com
    For all other components, check if there are drivers on Acer support website (of course, you can go out to find drivers from the component makers, also). Don't forget Launch Manager from Acer.

    Michael
     
    michael_recycled, Aug 31, 2010
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  8. Bullet in the Head

    Bullet in the Head Newbie

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    I just installed Launch Manager, drivers for chipset, storage and VGA, and it seems to work! But it's still not 8 hours battery life, more around 6 hours. But do I have to install VGA-driver both for Intel and ATI? I've just installed the ATI-driver. And which wireless LAN driver do I have to install? There's plenty of them.

    And thanks, by the way.
     
    Bullet in the Head, Sep 1, 2010
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  9. michael_recycled

    michael_recycled Notebook Deity

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    Looks good. Perhaps you are still running on the ATI VGA which is consuming more power.
    If you have switchable VGA, you'd have to install both drivers, unless both were already bundled in the ATI driver package from Acer website.
    This depends on what Acer decided to install in your laptop. ;) Nobody knows here.
    If you hadn't noted the information at the time the system ran with the factory preinstall, then you have a few options to chose from:
    1. Find out the device ID (device manager should tell) and search the web for that ID
    2. Open the Laptop and have a look at the card
    3. Run a Live Linux CD (or USB thingy) and check what "lspci" is listing
    4. Try all drivers offered.

    Michael
     
    michael_recycled, Sep 1, 2010
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