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44 Using a Battery
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Battery Performance
NOTE: Batteries for portable computers are covered only during the initial one-year period of
the limited warranty for your computer. For more information about the Dell warranty for your
computer, see "Limited Warranties and Return Policy" on page 146 or separate paper warranty
document that shipped with your computer.
For optimal computer performance and to help preserve BIOS settings, operate your Dell™
portable computer with the main battery installed at all times. Use a battery to run the
computer when it is not connected to an electrical outlet. One battery is supplied as
standard equipment in the battery bay.
Battery operating time varies depending on operating conditions. You can either use an
optional 65-WHr extended battery or an optional second 28-WHr battery in the media base
to significantly increase operating time. For more information about the second battery, see
the documentation that came with your media base.
Operating time is significantly reduced when you perform operations including, but not
limited to, the following:
• Using optical drives, especially DVD and CD-RW drives
• Using wireless communications devices, PC Cards, or USB devices
• Using high-brightness display settings, 3D screen savers, or other power-intensive
programs such as 3D games
• Running the computer in maximum performance mode. See "Power Management" in
the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access help, see "Finding Information for Your
Computer" on page 17.
NOTE: It is recommended that you connect your computer to an electrical outlet when writing
to a CD.
You can check the battery charge before you insert the battery into the computer. You can
also set power management options to alert you when the battery charge is low. See "Power
Management" in the Dell Inspiron Help file. To access help, see "Finding Information for
Your Computer" on page 17.
CAUTION: Using an incompatible battery may increase the risk of fire or
explosion. Replace the battery only with a compatible battery purchased from
Dell. The lithium-ion battery is designed to work with your Dell computer. Do not
use a battery from other computers with your computer.