Toshiba Satellite U200 - Manual (Page 128)

6-10 User’s Manual
Power and Power-Up Modes
Monitoring battery capacity
Remaining battery power can be monitored in TOSHIBA Power Saver.
Maximizing battery operating time
A battery’s usefulness depends on how long it can supply power on a
single charge.
How long the charge lasts in a battery depends on:
■ How you configure the computer (for example, whether you enable
battery-power saving options). The computer provides a battery save
mode, which can be set in TOSHIBA Power Saver, to conserve battery
power. This mode has the following options:
■ CPU Processing speed
■ Screen brightness
■ Cooling Method
■ System standby
■ System Hibernation
■ Monitor Power off
■ HDD Power off
■ How often and how long you use the hard disk, optical disc and the
floppy disk drive.
■ How much charge the battery contained to begin with.
■ How you use optional devices, such as a PC card, to which the battery
supplies power.
■ Enabling Standby Mode conserves battery power if you are frequently
turning the computer off and on.
■ Where you store your programs and data.
■ Closing the LCD display panel when you are not using the keyboard
saves power.
■ Operating time decreases at low temperatures.
■ The condition of the battery terminals. Make sure the battery terminals
stay clean by wiping them with a clean dry cloth before installing the
battery pack.
■ Wait at least 16 seconds after turning on the computer before trying to
monitor the remaining operating time. The computer needs this time to
check the battery’s remaining capacity and to calculate the remaining
operating time, based on the current power consumption rate and
remaining battery capacity. The actual remaining operating time may
differ slightly from the calculated time.
■ With repeated discharges and recharges, the battery’s capacity will
gradually decrease. Therefore, an often used, older battery will not
operate for as long as a new battery even when both are fully charged.
In this case, TOSHIBA Power Saver will indicate a 100% charge for
both the old and new battery, but the displayed estimated time
remaining will be shorter for the older battery.