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Mobile computing
5.375 x 8.375 ver 3.1
To ensure that the battery maintains its maximum capacity, operate
the computer on battery power at least once a month. The Lithium-
Ion battery has no memory effect so it is not necessary to let the
battery fully discharge each time. However, for better accuracy of
the battery meter, it is helpful to fully discharge the battery
periodically. Please see “Maintaining your battery” on page 45 for
procedures. If the computer is continuously operated on AC power,
either through an AC adaptor or a port replicator (if applicable to
your system), for an extended period (more than a month), the
battery may fail to retain a charge. This may shorten the life of the
battery, and may cause the battery meter to be inaccurate.
The computer also has an internal real-time-clock (RTC) battery.
The RTC battery powers the RTC memory that stores your system
configuration settings and the current time and date information. It
maintains this information for up to a month while the computer is
turned off.
TECHNICAL NOTE: Depending on your system, the RTC battery may
only charge while the computer is turned on.
Monitoring main battery power
The computer’s main battery light gives you an indication of the
main battery’s current charge. The following also applies to the
secondary battery (available on certain models) if installed.
❖ Glows amber while the main battery is being charged (AC
adaptor connected)
❖ Glows green when the main battery is fully charged
❖ Is unlit when the battery has discharged, the battery is not
charging, or the AC adaptor is not plugged into the computer or
AC outlet
Battery life and charge time may vary, depending upon power
management settings, applications and features used.
❖ Flashes amber when the main battery charge is low and it is
time to recharge the main battery or plug in the AC adaptor
HINT: Be careful not to confuse the battery light (), with the on/off
light
().
When the on/off light flashes amber, it indicates that the system is
suspended (using the Windows
®
operating system Sleep command).