I have a Toshiba C640 laptop which only purchased in May of this year. When I took it back to the dealer today over a minor issue regarding Internet connection he noticed that my battery was not in the computer and he said that I should never take the battery out even though I am connected to the mains electricity virtually all the time. Otherwise it will shorten the life of the battery considerably?

This is directly opposite to what I understood with my previous laptop in that if the battery is kept in and it is essentially being topped up all the time that this will actually shorten the life of the battery?

Now I am being given conflicting instructions. Could anyone confirm whether what the shop attendant told me was correct or incorrect?

Thank you very much

Most modern laptops come with intelligent charging software. It will periodically run down the battery and then charge it up. I would leave the battery in.

Instruction manuals that come with a new computer recommend removing the battery if you are not going to use it on battery power as the prime power source.

I kept my laptop battery for more than a year, and I took it on a trip last year. Upon booting up the laptop, I got a message from Ubuntu saying the battery was broken.

There are a LOT of myths about batteries going around. Mainly because recommendations valid for older technologies remain whil not applicable to newer technologies.

I'm not an expert but for example, Li-ion batteries (those you find in the smartphone nowadays) do not need a full charge before first use and actually hold longer if you don't discharge them completely before charging again.

I suggest to look at the recommendations of the manufacturer rather than rely on what the technician or the dealer tells you, because while they have a good knowledge of the IT part, they usually lack the one related to batteries.

Here are a few interesting reads:

http://batterycare.net/en/guide.html

http://www.marco.org/2009/09/24/laptop-battery-myths

Do as you like. I leave the battery connected so it is a kind of UPS - especially important here in Thailand.

Rule of thumb: Don't do anything unexpected. Manufacturers figure that most people leave the battery in their laptop, so the laptops and batteries are designed for that.

Best for your battery is to keep the laptop plugged in, and the battery in. No need to "run it down" and don't take it out as that might actually run it down and potentially kill it.

One thing you need to know is that Li-IO batteries die from two causes: Charge/discharge, and age. So if you take it out and leave it on a shelf for 2 years, it might still die, simply from old age. Batteries are made to last about 2 years and anything extra is a bonus. That said I have some friends who keep their laptop plugged in most times and their batteries certainly last longer than mine. 3, 4, 5 years.

I don't take any care of my battery - I run from battery frequently and don't do any special conditioning - in previous laptops I usually managed to break it before the 1 year warranty was over, then get a new one under warranty, then replace the laptop the next year.

My current laptop is a MacBook Pro which came with a battery guaranteed for 3 years.It lasted almost 2; then was replaced free of charge under the extended warranty. My new battery has 300 charge cycles and is at 92% health which is pretty amazing. Batteries are certainly getting better!

my last 3 acer notebooks always had the battery in all the time and were all used 98% plugged in

the first one is 6 years old!! and my wife still uses it, battery life 3 hours almost same as new

I use the second notebook as a backup, battery life after 3 years 2-3 hours, same as new

the last notebook is 1 year old, battery life 2-3 hours, same as new

so forget the advice to take out the battery, that was for NiCd or NiMh batteries

Lithium Ion batteries can stay connected all the time

Instructions with a new battery recommended a full charge, then discharge

twice before starting regular use.

To be repeated every month.

Query. How do I know if my battery is NiCd, NiMh or Lithium Ion??