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| The laptop will not continue charging the battery if left plugged in. (Any decent, modern laptop that is functioning correctly)
The key to long battery life is to not get the battery hot. Leaving it plugged in is better on battery life IF the laptop doesn't run hot and overheat the battery. If the laptop is a flame-thrower, then yes, leaving it plugged in may cause the battery harm--but so will running on battery anyway. But this harm is caused by the heat, not the charging--as the laptop isn't charging a full battery.
Running the laptop off the battery instead of off of AC power will shorten battery life, as battery life is directly related to charge/discharge cycles.
I always leave my laptop plugged in whenever I'm by an outlet (car adapter or AC adapter). The laptop and battery doesn't seem to get as warm if I'm careful where I put the laptop. I've gotten years out of batterys--I've never replaced one, and I've owned about 8-10 laptops since the late '80's. My first laptop was an old Infotel 386SX with a Ni-Cad battery.
When running, run on a adapter power when possible, setting the laptop power settings so it will run cooler when plugged in--ie: make it so it "conserves" power even when plugged in, keep stuff from around the vents, make sure it has good airflow, etc.
If the laptop simply runs hot and makes the battery hot, there will be battery problems. One can remove the battery when running on AC power if they have a hot-running laptop.
Keep the battery cool, and don't keep cycling the battery(ie: keep the laptop plugged in when possible)--my key to long battery life. My current laptop is on its second year, and I still get several hours of battery life. I'm sure my battery life is a little shorter, but I don't really notice. I use my laptop almost daily, and leave it plugged in most of the time. It take it out of its case when possible, and put it on a hard surface--keeping papers and other clutter from around the laptop.
As to the extended warranty--I've only purchased one on any electronic device, and regretted the purchase. I've thrown away a couple of devices over the years that an extended warranty would have covered, but the vast majority of problems were solved with the standard warranty. Plus I've saved far more than the couple of devices I've thrown away were worth.
Edited by Chip 2/3/2007 09:01
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Laptop question on batteries
