Acer 505 series User Manual

Contents

Acer 505 series User Manual Manual pdf 56 page image

2 Operating on battery power34Checking the battery levelUsing the Windows battery meterThe Windows battery meter indicates the present battery level. Simply rest yourcursor on the battery meter (or AC plug) icon on the taskbar to see the presentcharge level of your battery.Optimizing battery lifeThis section helps you get the most out of battery operation. Optimizing batterylife prolongs the charge/recharge cycle and improves recharge efficiency. Followthese suggestions to optimize and maximize battery power:• Purchase an extra battery pack.• Use Sleep Manager to reserve hard disk space for the Hibernation function.See “Sleep Manager” on page 66.• Use the AC adapter whenever possible so that the battery is reserved for on-the-go computing.• Keep the battery pack in the computer powered by the AC adapter. Theconstant trickle charge maintains the battery level to eliminate the batteryself-discharge effect. The charge-in-use function also charges the batterypack.• Disable the parallel and serial ports if no devices are connected to these ports.You can do this through the Setup Utility. See “Onboard DeviceConfiguration” on page 84.• Eject the PC card from the card slot when it is not in use, since the PC carddraws extra power. See “Ejecting a card” on page 22.• Store the battery pack in a cool, dry place. The recommended storagetemperature for battery packs ranges from 10 to 30 degrees Celsius. Thehigher the storage temperature, the faster the battery pack self-discharges.• The batteries can be recharged about 400 times when used as directed.Excessive recharging decreases battery life.• Take care of your battery pack and AC adapter. See “Care and maintenance”on page xx of the preface.