Take care of your laptop battery and ensure that it will be ready to work properly when you need it most. Some general tips for laptop care include: avoid extreme temperatures, don’t leave a laptop outside in cold weather or leave it in a hot car. Cold batteries can’t create very much power and hot batteries will discharge very quickly. Use electrical power when available to keep battery charged. Don’t let your laptop go for long periods of time without using the battery.

1. Smaller Is Better

Consider an ultraportable or thin-and-light rather than a desktop replacement laptop. Smaller displays use less power. Going with a hard drive that runs at 4200rpm uses less power than a hard drive running at 5400rpm.

2. Power Control

Use as little power as possible by adjusting laptop settings. Use the Power Options to set to the laptop to go inactive after a set amount of time. Set adjustments so that the display goes off first, then hard the hard drive stay active a bit longer and store the system content’s to the RAM.

3. Turn Down the Lights

Adjust the display brightness to a lower setting, make sure you can view the screen without squinting. You can also adjust the brightness of the display to suit the conditions you are working in.

4. Watch Your Battery Use

Keep an eye on your battery consumption and know how much power you have remaining. Use the battery power icon on the system tray or you can purchase batteries which have LED gauges on the outside of the battery itself. Whenever you have access to a power source, charge the battery. Before you leave on any trips, fully charge the batteries, especially if you don’t know where or when you might have access to any electrical outlets.

6. Get Another Battery

Some laptops are capable of running with two batteries. If you cannot run two batteries, check with the manufacturer to see if there are high capacity batteries available. External batteries can also be used to extend operating time.

7. Drain the Battery

The first time you use your laptop with battery power, allow the laptop battery to completely discharge. Do this at least twice and don’t try to charge the battery when it is half discharged.

8. Clean Batteries

Keep the battery and its connections clean and free of debris. Clean your battery terminals on a regular basis using a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol on the tip.

9. CMOS Battery Check-Up

The backup battery is a CMOS battery which is a secondary battery to power the clock and can drain a main battery if it is dead. Check with your User Manual or manufacturer’s web site for the location of the CMOS battery and where to get a replacement.

10. Turning It Off

Don’t run programs or devices that you aren’t using. Remove PC cards and turn off Wi-Fi software. Using your laptop to watch movies or play games will drain the battery quickly as well.

After acquiring a Toshiba laptop battery, to begin with, you need to know that it needs to be broken in first before you start to use the laptop computer. They need a first charge of twelve to fourteen hrs – and this must be done on the AC wall adapter – rather than any other charger, such as a car adapter. It doesn’t matter what any charge indicator sign says, wait the full time before disconnecting. It is recommended that you fully charge and discharge your new battery 2 to 4 times to allow it to reach its maximum rated capacity. This could fully condition the battery.

Generally speaking, the present notebooks drop its autonomy primarily by reason of a couple of reasons: Firstly the utilization, secondly the normal aging of the chemical materials. For that reason, regardless of what the tips that you will take your battery pack will wear as time passes.In general the life of a rechargeable laptop battery using is generally up to 2-3 years.

Just some normal proper care of the notebook battery can absolutely help to make a positive change in how long your battery will last as well. Here let me present to you some helpful suggestions on prolonging the lifespan of a Toshiba laptop battery to guarantee you can take most benefit of it.

The very first thing to understand is that it loses a little its load permanently even if you do not use it. More the temp of the battery is, more quickly it discharges. Hence to preserve your battery as fresh as possible is the first thing to do.

Moreover, by no means use or keep the battery in severe conditions, including leave your laptop computer in your car when it is either freezing out or in a hot summer time.best temp to keep the battery is about 15°C.In contrast, to cool too much your battery (such as for example by arranging it in your refrigerator) risk to damage it definitively. If the battery will not be in use for a long time, it is suggested to be detached from the machine and placed in a cool, dry, clean place.

Another idea to realize it is that the autonomy of the battery cut down a little bit with each charging cycle. Just what is not shocking, but when one combines it with the preceding point that can involve unexpected consequences: When a user leaves his battery in his device yet keep his ac adapter linked with the socket, the Toshiba laptop battery of its computer passes constantly by cycles of charge/discharge!

Toshiba Battery which remains to be utilized inside a laptop discharges somewhat more speedily than usual because of the heat revealed by operation from the laptop. Once that the level of load goes down less than a fixed amount (different for each manufacturer), the adapter reloads the battery until the maximum. As the battery ages this cycle is increasingly short what still speeds up the degradation of its autonomy.

Hence, when not using the Toshiba laptop battery, outside of your laptop in a fresh and dry location. Every couple of weeks exercise your battery. This is just a natural method that your battery needs to go through that allows you to retain its long battery lifespan. Toshiba laptop batteries are a product of first-class design, and need to be carefully care to assure they give you top performance and durability within their lifetime.

Keeping your laptop safe from online threats requires some preventative and active controls. Follow these general tips to keep your laptop and the valuable data safe and secure.

1. Install Anti-virus Software

Anti-virus software is designed to identify, neutralize and eradicate viruses that can harm your laptop, destroy your data, or exploit vulnerabilities that give spammers and fraudsters access to your accounts and personal data. Choose a good quality, anti-virus program such (Norton Security, Karspersky Security, or Webroot Security. Be careful when you download a program and make sure it is from a reputable site that you trust or go to the manufacturer’s website. To be effective, update the anti-virus software regularly to get the latest virus definitions (best practice is to set it up for automatic updates-this way you will not forget and always will be protected). Most commercial anti-virus programs have the automatic update feature and we recommend that you use it. For your convenience, schedule scans to run when you are not using the laptop, because the resources it takes to run a scan can slow you down your system.

2. Step: Turn on the Firewall

A firewall protects your notebook from Internet traffic entering in or information leaking out. You can use two firewalls (Hardware) and stack them up to increase the security level. Also the level of traffic allowed should be set to “recommended” or HIGH if you so please. There are software firewalls that can be also used such ZoneAlarm and Webroot Firewall, but while anti-virus software scans emails and files, a firewall acts as a guard dog, keeping your system safe from unauthorized entry. It also blocks communications to and from your laptop. To ensure the highest protection, it’s best to use both a firewall and anti-virus/spyware software.

3. Install Anti-spyware Software

Spyware and adware can cause a variety of things like annoying pop-ups and browser crashes, the installation of unexpected toolbars or icons, redirects to inappropriate sites, keys that don’t function, random error messages, browser freezing and sluggish performance. These types of malware are installed on your computer without your consent, and can monitor and in some cases control your laptop. To lower the risk of infection, use anti-spyware and adware software such Norton Security, Karspersky Security or Webroot Security Essentials. We recommend using at least two different programs for broader security and coverage.

Tips for safer surfing the WWW:

Use a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep it up-to-date Keep your operating system, browser and other software up-to-date and patched Don’t open email attachments or click on an email link from unknown senders (“Use Common Sense”) Scan all email attachments and downloads with anti-virus software Don’t download and install programs of unknown origin or innapropriate sites Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible Scan and Backup critical data often to CD/DVD or External Hard Drive (USB-SATA) Perform regular maintenance on your computer like disk cleanup, defragmentation, and system scans Create a boot disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised Protect your PC-Host file with security essential software or by editing policies correctly.

CHAPEL HILL, NC — The symptoms are familiar to any student who has ever spent a long night pounding out a paper on a laptop computer: an aching neck, throbbing head and tingling fingers.

Because of the way the computers are designed, using a laptop almost inevitably leads to poor posture, said Kevin Carneiro, DO, a doctor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Incorrect posture and computer overuse can cause debilitating physical problems, such as sore muscles or repetitive stress injuries. Typing can also cause carpal tunnel syndrome, an injury to the nerve that passes through the wrist.

Carneiro said that when you work at a computer, your body should form 90-degree angles at your elbows, knees and hips. Meanwhile, your eyes should look straight ahead at the top third of the screen.

But because the keyboard and monitor are combined in a laptop, they can’t be positioned independently for typing and viewing.

“When you use a laptop, you have to make some sort of sacrifice,” Carneiro said.

Most laptop users end up with incorrect neck or shoulder posture, he said, which can lead to muscle pain in those areas.

The problem is likely to become more widespread as many universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, now require first-year students to purchase laptops.

In 2008, global sales of laptops surpassed that of desktop computers for the first time, according to iSuppli, a market research firm based in El Segundo, Calif.

For frequent laptop users, Carneiro said the ideal solution is to use a docking station. The station links a laptop to another monitor and keyboard or to a stand that raises the screen to a higher level. You can also use a FireWire or USB cable to connect your laptop to an extra monitor or keyboard, which you can then adjust to the proper height.

Other Tips for Back Protection
When you purchase a laptop, consider how much it weighs, including accessories such as the power cord, spare battery or external hard drive. If you’re a student, remember that you’ll be carrying heavy textbooks in addition to the computer.
For your dorm room, obtain an adjustable chair with back support.
As you use the laptop, position it directly in front of you on your desk. Adjust it so that you can read the screen without bending your neck, such as by using a docking station.
Set up your mouse so that your wrist is in a neutral position. Both your wrists and elbows should be supported.
Take short breaks every 20 minutes to allow your muscles to rest in a different position. As a bonus, taking breaks will help you maintain your concentration as you power through long papers.
During your breaks, adjust your posture by shrugging your shoulder and gently rolling your head from side to side. You can also try Bruegger’s position, which helps to keep the spine straight, shoulders level and shoulder blades close together, Carneiro said.
Watch for these warning signs: neck and shoulder pain, headaches at the top of your head, wrist pain or tingling in your fingers, particularly in your thumb. These symptoms indicate that you need to take more frequent breaks, adjust your posture or see a doctor.
Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water keeps the discs in your back lubricated and healthy, Carneiro said. And don’t forget to exercise daily.

Laptops tend to lose their charm quickly when you’re constantly looking for the nearest power outlet to charge up.  How do you keep your battery going for as long as possible?  Here are 15 easy ways to do so.

1. Defrag regularly -  The faster your hard drive does its work – less demand you are going to put on the hard drive and your battery.  Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging it regularly. (but not while it’s on battery of course!) Mac OSX is better built to handle fragmentation so it may not be very applicable for Apple systems.

2. Dim your screen – Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen.  Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance.  Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice.

3. Cut down on programs running in the background.  Itunes, Desktop Search, etc.  All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life.  Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery.

4. Cut down external devices – USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery.  Remove or shut them down when not in use.  It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery.

5. Add more RAM - This will allow you to process more with the memory your laptop has, rather than relying on virtual memory.  Virtual memory results in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Note that adding more RAM will consume more energy, so this is most applicable if you do need to run memory intensive programs which actually require heavy usage of virtual memory.

6. Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD – As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse.  Even having one in the drive can be power consuming.  They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used.  Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones.

7.  Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol.  This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient.

8. Take care of your battery – Exercise the Battery.  Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time.  Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-on battery completely discharge. (Discharing is only for older batteries with memory effects)

9. Hibernate not standby – Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does.  Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down.

10. Keep operating temperature down – Your laptop operates more efficiently when it’s cooler.  Clean out your air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner, or refer to some extra tips.

11. Set up and optimize your power options – Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect).

12. Don’t multitask – Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery.  Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3′s, set your mind to one thing only.  If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed!

13. Go easy on the PC demands – The more you demand from your PC.  Passive activities like email and word processing consume much less power than gaming or playing a DVD.  If you’ve got a single battery charge – pick your priorities wisely.

14. Get yourself a more efficient laptop -  Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries.  Picking up a newer more efficient laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix.

15. Prevent the Memory Effect – If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ – Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which do not suffer from the memory effect.