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    MacBook : Long time powered on

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by SuxiKatana, Apr 10, 2007.

  1. SuxiKatana

    SuxiKatana Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi, if I know im going to leave it on for a while (downloading during the night, long instalations, video conversions, etc ), should I take the battery of and leave directly with the power line (dont know if it's possible anyway didn't try it) or just leave the battery in? Thanks
     
    SuxiKatana, Apr 10, 2007
    #1
  2. bob1182006

    bob1182006 Notebook Evangelist

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    It's better to take out the battery if it's fully charged
    Here's the battery guide, gives better reasoning than I can
     
    bob1182006, Apr 10, 2007
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  3. RadcomTxx

    RadcomTxx Notebook Deity

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    i find it more useful to leave it in. in the event that your power goes out, your computer stays running, and you don't loose whatever it was doing.

    thats happened to me several times, power goes out briefly, but the battery takes over and i continue with what i was doing.
     
    RadcomTxx, Apr 10, 2007
    #3
  4. Gautam

    Gautam election 2008 NBR Reviewer

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    If you leave you notebook always on most of the time, and you never really travel much, then go ahead and remove the battery.

    Otherwise, don't worry about it.
     
    Gautam, Apr 10, 2007
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  5. Bona Fide

    Bona Fide Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    I agree with Radcom...personally, I don't see much substance in the arguments that "overcharging" your battery is possible and also harmful. Plus, should something happen, you have at least an hour of backup power via the battery.
     
    Bona Fide, Apr 10, 2007
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  6. dagamer34

    dagamer34 Notebook Evangelist NBR Reviewer

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    Remove it if your laptop gets hot from doing CPU intensive tasks. Heat and batteries don't mix.
     
    dagamer34, Apr 10, 2007
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  7. TedJ

    TedJ Asus fan in a can!

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    The lifespan for Lithium Ion batteries is dependent on temperature and charge... keeping it constantly at 100% at high temperature can kill a battery dead in a matter of months.

    This article has more details.
     
    TedJ, Apr 11, 2007
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  8. RadcomTxx

    RadcomTxx Notebook Deity

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    personally, i don't care for those battery articles too much, i always have my ibook battery in, i never take it out, and it still has ~90% of its charge after 1 1/2 years and nearly 200 cycles

    granted, if i take it out, my notebook is unblanced as one of the feet is on the battery.
     
    RadcomTxx, Apr 11, 2007
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  9. TedJ

    TedJ Asus fan in a can!

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    You obviously didn't read the article then. While the reported capacity may still be 80-90%, you may not be able to use it due to an increase in the battery's internal resistance. That's not even taking into account any mis-calibration in the battery level.

    For a real test, you have to check your iBook's runtime under battery power and compare it to how it was 18 months ago. I guarantee it won't be 90% of what it was then.
     
    TedJ, Apr 11, 2007
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  10. RadcomTxx

    RadcomTxx Notebook Deity

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    i still get nearly five hours out of it. i would say that is close to 90%
     
    RadcomTxx, Apr 11, 2007
    #10