Dell Latitude 120L - Manual (Page 11)

l Battery charge (check by pressing and releasing the status button)
l Battery health (check by pressing and holding the status button)
The battery operating time is largely determined by the number of times it is charged. After hundreds of charge and discharge cycles, batteries lose some
charge capacity—or battery health. That is, a battery can show a status of "charged" but maintain a reduced charge capacity (health).
Check the Battery Charge
To check the battery charge, press the status button on the battery charge gauge to illuminate the charge-level lights. Each light represents approximately 20
percent of the total battery charge. For example, if the battery has 80 percent of its charge remaining, four of the lights are on. If no lights appear, the battery
has no charge.
Check the Battery Health
To check the battery health, press and hold the status button on the battery charge gauge for at least 3 seconds. If no lights appear, the battery is in good
condition, and more than 80 percent of its original charge capacity remains. Each light represents incremental degradation. If five lights appear, less than
60 percent of the charge capacity remains, and you should consider replacing the battery. See
Specifications for more information about the battery operating
time.
Low-Battery Warning
By default, a pop-up window warns you when the battery charge is approximately 90 percent depleted. You can change the settings for the battery alarms.
For more information about low-battery alarms, see
Setting Battery Alarms and Actions .
Conserving Battery Power
Perform the following actions to conserve battery power:
l Connect the computer to an electrical outlet when possible because battery life is largely determined by the number of times the battery is used and
recharged.
l Place the computer in standby mode or hibernate mode when you leave the computer unattended for long periods of time.
l Use the Power Management Wizard to select options to optimize your computer's power usage. These options can also be set to change when you
press the power button, close the display, or press . See
Power Management Wizard .
Power Management Modes
Standby Mode
Standby mode conserves power by turning off the display and the hard drive after a predetermined period of inactivity (a time-out). When the computer exits
standby mode, it returns to the same operating state it was in before entering standby mode.
To enter standby mode:
l Click the Start button, click Turn off computer, and then click Stand by.
or
l Depending on how you set the power management options on the Advanced tab in the Power Options Properties window, use one of the following
methods:
NOTE: You can check battery health in one of two ways: by using the charge gauge on the battery and by using the Battery Meter window in Dell
QuickSet (see Battery Health ).
NOTICE: .To avoid losing or corrupting data, save your work immediately after a low-battery warning. Then connect the computer to an electrical outlet.
If the battery runs completely out of power, hibernate mode begins automatically.
NOTE: See Battery Performance for more information on conserving battery power.
NOTICE: If your computer loses AC and battery power while in standby mode, it may lose data.