Laptop battery life

[joko]

my lap top battery has suddenly started lessen its power time.

I barely use it with just the battery and it used to hold about an hour - now it loses 10% in 2 mins!

is there a cause for this? can i remedy it? can i prevent it happening or getting worse? can i restore it? am i doing something to cause this?

thanks in advance

[Kerplunk]

Sounds like you need a new battery. Make sure it is fully charged as per the manual when you first get it. Try and let it run empty before fully recharging (I know this isn't always practical). This should help give a longer battery life.

[Tritan]

Another useful tip, if your laptop is mainly on a desk and plugged into the main for power, remove the battery all-together and use the system. Even though the laptop is using the mains power, the battery is still being "charged" when it does not need it. Because of the battery 'memory', the battery life is effected.

This is the best way I can describe battery 'memory' (bare with me on this pls!):

Full battery = 100% and Empty = 0%

If you consistently run the battery down to 20% and then charge it, over time the battery 'memory' kicks in (the way the chemicals are charged/polarised) and it starts to register that 20% is in fact 0%. Therefore the battery life overall is reduced and when it report 100% charged it actually is only 80%. This goes on and on until eventually you experience what I have which is a battery that lasts no more then literally 5 minutes.

I can�t remember where I read this theory (or fact), but since I changed the way I use my new laptop (now 2yrs old) when it�s plugged into the mains, the battery is great!