Laptops and Notebooks

Why Is My Laptop Running Slow

There are of course several reasons that a newer laptop may run slow aside from the normal reasons such as spyware, viruses or just needing to be cleaned out and optimized. Two of the most common reasons are actually by manufacturer design. Laptops or Notebooks as some manufacturers call them are considerably smaller than their desktop counterparts and thus have less room inside their case. The parts are miniaturized but that still leaves the issue of heat. The components in a laptop are much closer together, there is much less air flow inside the case, and there are fewer and smaller fans so the chips and components will have a tendency to reach a higher temperature faster.

This is where throttling comes in. As the CPU (central processing unit) starts heating up, it will drop down to a slower speed. This is called throttling. The hotter it gets, the slower it will go. It the CPU didn't slow down, the heat would continue to increase potentially causing damage to the internal components of the system. Throttling may also take place if the laptop is running on battery powered and not physically connected to an AC power source. This is to increase battery life.

So if you find that your laptop is running slower, check to see if you are plugged into an AC outlet or if your laptop is running hot. Often a laptop will come with a program to monitor temperature of the internal components but if it didn't, there are many programs out there that will do the trick. We use SpeedFan.

Why Does My Laptop Power Down So Fast

Your laptop appears to charge properly when connected to AC power. The battery charger indicator light shows that it is charging for hours, before changing to green, or fully charged state. However, once you unplug the laptop from the AC power, the system stays running for only a few minutes before powering down. The most likely reason for this is a faulty battery. Since the laptop works properly from the AC power and runs a short while before powering down on battery power, it is pretty safe to assume that the AC power adapter and the power/charging system inside of the laptop is probably not the issue.

The ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) settings can help with optimizing the power use of the laptop, but those settings would not power down the system just after a few minutes of use. Therefore we can assume that the most likely cause of this issue is a faulty battery that can no longer hold a charge more than a few minutes. In most of these cases, replacing the battery returns the system to normal.

Battery technology is always changing. We used to see NiCd (Nickel-Cadmium) batteries a lot and they were great for laptops as they handled deep discharges. You could completely drain one of these batteries and then charge them back up again. Historically, NiCd batteries biggest drawback has been its susceptibility to memory effect, or its propensity to "forget" and not utilize its full capacity due to use and charging factors.

Smaller more powerful NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries replaced these providing 30-40% longer operation time than NiCd, however these batteries could be over-discharged which would damage the batteries and prevent them from returning to a fully charged state.

One of the major advantages of the Li-ion (Lithium Ion) batteries we use today is their power to weight ratio, which easily exceeds that of NiMH for a lighter, smaller power supply. These batteries tend to be more expensive but they offer a major advantage of not experiencing "memory effect". The batteries can be completely discharged and recharged however the capacity of these batteries decreases over time whether or not they are used thus limiting their service life.

6 Tips To Extend Battery Life

Have you ever been at the library or school, perhaps writing your term paper and all of a sudden, you get a warning that your battery is low and to save your work or plug into an AC outlet? What if there is no AC outlet available and you only wish you had a little more time. Here are some tips to help extend your battery life.

Dim The Display
Turn down the brightness of the LCD panel to the lowest level you can tolerate. This can be accomplished using the Function Key, or in the Control Panel's Display Settings. The LCD backlight can reduce battery life by as much as 30%.
Turn Off Non-Essential Components
Disconnect any USB attached devices when you don't absolutely need them. Also, if you don't need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, turn them off as well. Any device connected that you don't need will place an added drain on your battery.
Don't Use Multimedia
While it may be nice to listen to music while working on your laptop, this is also an added drain to the battery particularily if you are using the CD/DVD player. The speakers and internal amplifier use power as does the motor and laser in the CD/DVD player.
Don't Be Performance Hungry
Unless you're playing Call Of Duty, you probably don't need all the processing power your CPU is capable of. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, select the "Power saver" power plan (found in the Control Panel, in the Power Options section) to extend battery life when on DC power, and leave the 3D gaming for when you're plugged into an AC outlet.
Be Careful When You Schedule Tasks
Be sure that your malware and virus scans are set to a time when you're usually plugged in. Running a full-disk scans keeps the hard drive and CPU fully engaged for the duration of the scan.
Let Your Laptop Sleep
Use the power-management features in the operating system to set aggressive targets for when the display will go dark, for example 5 minutes of inactivity and when the machine will enter sleep mode. (ie. 10 minutes or inactivity). Also set the PC to hibernate, when you close the lid, not just sleep.