Don’t expect too much from your laptop! Checking your email and using a word processor consume much less power than playing a DVD or gaming. So, use the laptop for business or school and use the desktop for other activities.
Don’t multitask! When you are on battery do one thing at a time. It’s not a good idea to let your email client run in the background, while you write a document and listen to music. Try to focus on one thing at a time. If not, you’ll drain the battery completely before you get anything done.
Optimize the “Power Options”! Go to the Control Panel, click on Power Options and choose Max Battery for the maximum effect (see figure 1)
Figure 1 Power Options
Defrag regularly! The less your hard drive spins, the less power the laptop uses, so defrag your laptop regularly to make the hard drive as efficient as possible.
Dim the laptop screen and Hibernate when not at the laptop! All laptops allow you to dim the laptop screen. Cut down to the lowest level you can tolerate and close the lid when you leave the laptop, along with putting it in Hibernate (instead of Standby).
Cut down on the programs running in the background! The most you need is: firewall, antivirus, sound and video drivers. Anything else has to go! Shut down everything that is not crucial in order to safe power!
Unplug that mouse! Or in other words, cut down on external devices, USB mouse included! Charging your iPod or MP3 player is another big NO-NO! ..unless you want your batteries drained very fast!
Add more RAM! This means your computer will be able to process more with the virtual memory it has, therefore more power efficient.
Run from a hard drive rather than CD/DVD! CD and DVD drives literally drain your batteries, therefore try to run on virtual drives.
Keep the batteries' contacts clean and take care of your batteries! Clean the metal contacts every couple of months and don’t leave a charged battery dormant for months! Every two to three week you should use the charged battery.