Laptop/Notebook Storage.

[KhunHeineken]

I would like to leave my laptop in safe storage in Thailand for approximately 3 months.

The issue isn't finding a storage company, my question is how to store the laptop.

I have googled the topic and have found many and varied answers on the internet.

They range from:

A) leave a fully charged battery in the laptop and store it.

leave a fully discharged battery in the laptop and store it.

C) remove the fully discharged battery from the laptop and store it.

D) remove the fully discharged battery from te laptop and store it.

E) remove the fully discharged battery from the laptop and store it, but take the battey with you and put the battery in a fridge.

F) there is no safe way to store a laptop.

With so much differing advice, I thought I would put it to the resident IT gurus on this forum.

The laptop is outside warranty, so this is not an issue.

Have any members used any of the above methods in the past? If so, what were the results.

[WhizBang]

Personally, I remove all batteries from any device I will not be using for an extended period of time.

a: it prevents the device from draining the battery beyond the point of no return (especially ture of cameras), and

b: it prevents any 'battery issues' (such as leaking etc), from damaging the device.

LiIon batteries I store fully charged. NiMh batteries, self discharge anyway, but I will also give them a full charge. Don't use NiCads anymore.

[keeniau96]

Remove the main battery, save in ziplock bag. Cannot remove the internal battery without dimantling the laptop, and no need to do so anyway. Store both in a sealed bag with some moisture absorbing packets.

[koo]

I would remove the battery after charging it up first. A possibly discharging and/or malfunctioning battery won't ruin the whole laptop during storage. And a new battery is anyway cheaper to buy than a whole laptop. Discharging the battery before storage can result in the battery not charging at all afterwards - drained to dead means _dead_.

However, should the computer be stored for longer than three months, there is a possibility that the tiny internal CMOS battery (responsible for time and date, AND BIOS!) runs out and may cause more trouble. The computer might not boot up at all or the boot process can be very slow and result in errors. This normally can be fixed by changing the CMOS battery afterwards, but it is a small nuisance.

Thus I would recommend to have the laptop battery inserted and the whole system charged every 3-4 months or so. This will keep the CMOS battery up to par as well.

[KhunHeineken]

I would remove the battery after charging it up first. A possibly discharging and/or malfunctioning battery won't ruin the whole laptop during storage. And a new battery is anyway cheaper to buy than a whole laptop. Discharging the battery before storage can result in the battery not charging at all afterwards - drained to dead means _dead_.

However, should the computer be stored for longer than three months, there is a possibility that the tiny internal CMOS battery (responsible for time and date, AND BIOS!) runs out and may cause more trouble. The computer might not boot up at all or the boot process can be very slow and result in errors. This normally can be fixed by changing the CMOS battery afterwards, but it is a small nuisance.

Thus I would recommend to have the laptop battery inserted and the whole system charged every 3-4 months or so. This will keep the CMOS battery up to par as well.

This is what I was thinking.

If I leave a fully charged battery in the laptop, the CMOS battery will be fine, but the main battery could discharge to the point of death.

If I remove the main battery, the CMOS battery may discharge to the point of death.

It's easier to replace a main battery than a CMOS battery, but I would like to replace either, if possible.

Do you know how long you get out of a CMOS battery?

[Pib]

Remove the battery. Before removing it, drain the battery to 40-60% charge which battery makers recommend when storing lithium-ion batteries. Apparently significant less stress is put on the battery if stored at less than 100% charge. See this Link for more info.

Just as FYI, I have two Toshiba laptops....I use one all the time and using it right now to write this post. The other one, which was my previous computer, I just turn on every couple of weeks to download Windows updates, get updates for other software, etc. Now, if I leave the battery installed during that two week "turned off" period the battery will discharge approx. 50% from the 100% level it was at when turned off, but if I remove it for that two week period and then put it back in just before turning it back on after two weeks it has only lost about 5% charge...it's still around 95% charge (just some slight internal battery discharging). The reason I told you this story is to give an example of how some laptop's can still somehow put a drain on the computer even when turned off. And my power adapter is unplugged from the laptop during that two week so the battery is not discharging through the power adapter.

And before somebody says, Well, maybe your laptop's BIOS's clock battery is dead and the laptop is using the main battery to power that clock when the laptop is turned off/unplugged." Well, your laptop's clock requires a very minute amount of energy to continue to run...plus I have turned the laptop back on after two weeks using the power adapter only (battery not installed) and Wifi turned off so it can't get a clock sync from the internet and the BIOS's battery is still perfectly on time/date which means the BIOS battery is still good. Just something about leaving the battery in the laptop with the laptop turned off can still cause a battery drain. This same thing happens on my other Toshiba laptop (the one I'm using right now).

Anyway, drain the battery to the 40-60% ballpark and remove it from the laptop for storage.

Edit: P.S. the CMOS (BIOS) batteries in both of my 6 year old Toshiba laptops are still working fine. But how long your computer's CMOS battery will last will vary from computer to computer...I think the guy in this Link sums it up pretty well.

Edited July 25, 2013 by Pib

[aarn]

Whatever course of action you follow, a good tip for a dud main battery is to store it in a freezer 24hr, then try recharging.

A couple of non-techo friends revived their laptop batteries in this manner. Good luck, AA

[sirchai]

Be sure that you don't leave your laptop in a flood area.....

Edited July 26, 2013 by sirchai

[Crossy]

People. It's only for 3 months.

Charge to about 50% (it really depends upon the battery technology, but most types don't like to be stored discharged), take out the battery if it makes you feel better (they self discharge anyway), store it.

When you return, replace the battery if you took it out, plug in the charger.

Use your computer.

[edcv2007]

Wowwww.

If i would not have 12 years experience with labtops and computer and after read some comments here i could get panic

I recomended you a full charge battery before you keep your labtop sleepy for long time.

Dont put any new battery on the fridge. The new generation is made from electronic and those could get damaged. That freezy history doesnt work anymore.

Cmos battery on computer/labtop usually can live more than 10 years and the reason for it is to keep some kind of config such as clock speed if you changed some parameter on the BIOS. If the battery is dead the computer/laptop will continue doing boot and you will get a warning message on the boot but will start as always.

My longer experience is keep 2 labtops 3 and 4 months without using. No problems found after that.

Keeping the labtop in a labtop bag is enaugh. Dont use plastic to envelope it because plastic is friend of humidity.

My baggage experience with labtops tough me that is much important try not using the battery when the plug is connect to the electricity. I mean take out it from labtop. They suffer to much because the charging proccess. If you dont do this your battery will die between a year or two. If you listen to me your battery will live around 5 years.

Anyway remember batteries are not eternal and in that day is better to buy a new labtop. In a 90% of the cases the battery wont find in the market at that time and if do the cost will be around half of a basic new labtop.

Opposite to labtops, the computers will live untill you get tired in 80% of the cases.

Be back in 3 months and tell us so more people will know and could be useful for them.

Your best option is the C.

[KhunHeineken]

Wowwww.

If i would not have 12 years experience with labtops and computer and after read some comments here i could get panic

I recomended you a full charge battery before you keep your labtop sleepy for long time.

Dont put any new battery on the fridge. The new generation is made from electronic and those could get damaged. That freezy history doesnt work anymore.

Cmos battery on computer/labtop usually can live more than 10 years and the reason for it is to keep some kind of config such as clock speed if you changed some parameter on the BIOS. If the battery is dead the computer/laptop will continue doing boot and you will get a warning message on the boot but will start as always.

My longer experience is keep 2 labtops 3 and 4 months without using. No problems found after that.

Keeping the labtop in a labtop bag is enaugh. Dont use plastic to envelope it because plastic is friend of humidity.

My baggage experience with labtops tough me that is much important try not using the battery when the plug is connect to the electricity. I mean take out it from labtop. They suffer to much because the charging proccess. If you dont do this your battery will die between a year or two. If you listen to me your battery will live around 5 years.

Anyway remember batteries are not eternal and in that day is better to buy a new labtop. In a 90% of the cases the battery wont find in the market at that time and if do the cost will be around half of a basic new labtop.

Opposite to labtops, the computers will live untill you get tired in 80% of the cases.

Be back in 3 months and tell us so more people will know and could be useful for them.

Your best option is the C.

The suggestion from most members is to remove the battery. Are you suggesting to leave the battery in the laptop, fully charged, or fully charge the battery and take it out and store the laptop?

[KhunHeineken]

******** Note: I have just notice an error in my original post.********

"C)" should read:

C) remove the fully charged battery from the laptop and store it.

Maybe a mod could fix this error and also change the emotion to "B)"

Apologies, I typed this new thread whilst in a hurry.

Edited July 26, 2013 by KhunHeineken

[Pib]

To the OP, I see some people recommending storing your lithium-ion battery fully charged. These folks are incorrect...now will it cause the battery to go bad if stored at 100% charge--no. But it's best/recommended by battery/equipment makers to "not" store lithium-ion batteries fully charged to extend their life. Maybe folks who are recommending your laptop battery be fully charged for storage are thinking Lead-acid or NiCd batteries which you should store fully charged since their chemistry is radically different from lithium-ion batteries.

Take a look again at that link I gave you in my earlier ost. And here's another Link giving some good Tips on lithion-ion battery use/storage.

And here's one more link from an Tektronic article regarding maintenance/storage of Lithion-Ion batteries and the storage section is quoted below.

Storage Charge or discharge the battery to approximately 50% of capacity before

storage.

Charge the battery to approximately 50% of capacity at least once every six

months.

Remove the battery and store it separately from the product.

Store the battery at temperatures between 5 °C and 20 °C (41 °F and 68 °F).

NOTE. The battery self-discharges during storage. Higher temperatures (above

20 °C or 68 °F) reduce the battery storage life.

[KhunHeineken]

To the OP, I see some people recommending storing your lithium-ion battery fully charged. These folks are incorrect...now will it cause the battery to go bad if stored at 100% charge--no. But it's best/recommended by battery/equipment makers to "not" store lithium-ion batteries fully charged to extend their life. Maybe folks who are recommending your laptop battery be fully charged for storage are thinking Lead-acid or NiCd batteries which you should store fully charged since their chemistry is radically different from lithium-ion batteries.

Take a look again at that link I gave you in my earlier ost. And here's another Link giving some good Tips on lithion-ion battery use/storage.

And here's one more link from an Tektronic article regarding maintenance/storage of Lithion-Ion batteries and the storage section is quoted below.

Storage Charge or discharge the battery to approximately 50% of capacity before

storage.

Charge the battery to approximately 50% of capacity at least once every six

months.

Remove the battery and store it separately from the product.

Store the battery at temperatures between 5 °C and 20 °C (41 °F and 68 °F).

NOTE. The battery self-discharges during storage. Higher temperatures (above

20 °C or 68 °F) reduce the battery storage life.

Thanks for those links Pib. Very informative.

[edcv2007]

Wowwww.

If i would not have 12 years experience with labtops and computer and after read some comments here i could get panic

I recomended you a full charge battery before you keep your labtop sleepy for long time.

Dont put any new battery on the fridge. The new generation is made from electronic and those could get damaged. That freezy history doesnt work anymore.

Cmos battery on computer/labtop usually can live more than 10 years and the reason for it is to keep some kind of config such as clock speed if you changed some parameter on the BIOS. If the battery is dead the computer/laptop will continue doing boot and you will get a warning message on the boot but will start as always.

My longer experience is keep 2 labtops 3 and 4 months without using. No problems found after that.

Keeping the labtop in a labtop bag is enaugh. Dont use plastic to envelope it because plastic is friend of humidity.

My baggage experience with labtops tough me that is much important try not using the battery when the plug is connect to the electricity. I mean take out it from labtop. They suffer to much because the charging proccess. If you dont do this your battery will die between a year or two. If you listen to me your battery will live around 5 years.

Anyway remember batteries are not eternal and in that day is better to buy a new labtop. In a 90% of the cases the battery wont find in the market at that time and if do the cost will be around half of a basic new labtop.

Opposite to labtops, the computers will live untill you get tired in 80% of the cases.

Be back in 3 months and tell us so more people will know and could be useful for them.

Your best option is the C.

 

The  suggestion from most members is to remove the battery.  Are you suggesting to leave the battery in the laptop, fully charged, or fully charge the battery and take it out and store the laptop?

 

I suggest to remove the battery from labtop everytime when you switch off the labtop but that is only what i do. If you plan not use the labtop for long time, sure, remove it from it. Apply it to any camera, clock etc.. The acid could damage the gold contacts.

My experience is recharge the battery close to full charge and keep it (remove from labtop) but how says the last post you could try it in half charge. Anyway when you back your battery will be discharged so recharge it again.

Thanks for the links to the other poster.

[KhunHeineken]

Wowwww.

If i would not have 12 years experience with labtops and computer and after read some comments here i could get panic

I recomended you a full charge battery before you keep your labtop sleepy for long time.

Dont put any new battery on the fridge. The new generation is made from electronic and those could get damaged. That freezy history doesnt work anymore.

Cmos battery on computer/labtop usually can live more than 10 years and the reason for it is to keep some kind of config such as clock speed if you changed some parameter on the BIOS. If the battery is dead the computer/laptop will continue doing boot and you will get a warning message on the boot but will start as always.

My longer experience is keep 2 labtops 3 and 4 months without using. No problems found after that.

Keeping the labtop in a labtop bag is enaugh. Dont use plastic to envelope it because plastic is friend of humidity.

My baggage experience with labtops tough me that is much important try not using the battery when the plug is connect to the electricity. I mean take out it from labtop. They suffer to much because the charging proccess. If you dont do this your battery will die between a year or two. If you listen to me your battery will live around 5 years.

Anyway remember batteries are not eternal and in that day is better to buy a new labtop. In a 90% of the cases the battery wont find in the market at that time and if do the cost will be around half of a basic new labtop.

Opposite to labtops, the computers will live untill you get tired in 80% of the cases.

Be back in 3 months and tell us so more people will know and could be useful for them.

Your best option is the C.

The suggestion from most members is to remove the battery. Are you suggesting to leave the battery in the laptop, fully charged, or fully charge the battery and take it out and store the laptop?

I suggest to remove the battery from labtop everytime when you switch off the labtop but that is only what i do. If you plan not use the labtop for long time, sure, remove it from it. Apply it to any camera, clock etc.. The acid could damage the gold contacts.

My experience is recharge the battery close to full charge and keep it (remove from labtop) but how says the last post you could try it in half charge. Anyway when you back your battery will be discharged so recharge it again.

Thanks for the links to the other poster.

Removing the battery is what many are suggesting. I was just concerned about the BIOS battery, but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

[Pib]

Thought I would just add another reference regarding how to store "lithium-ion" batteries....repeat, lithium-ion batteries like used in laptops and so many other devices nowdays; not other types of batteries like lead-acid or NiCD batteries that have different chemistries, charging requirements, storage recommendations, etc. Anyway, I think probably everyone has heard of Energizer batteries...you know, the Energizer Bunny. See this Energizer webpage/document regarding their storage recommendation for their "lithium-ion" batteries...and below is a partical quote from that document.

Storage: The lithium ion battery should be between 25% and 75% of full charge when stored for a long period of time. Store in a cool, dry, well ventilated area. Elevated temperatures can result in loss of battery performance, leakage, or rust. Do not expose the battery to open flames.

[edcv2007]

 

 

Wowwww.

If i would not have 12 years experience with labtops and computer and after read some comments here i could get panic

I recomended you a full charge battery before you keep your labtop sleepy for long time.

Dont put any new battery on the fridge. The new generation is made from electronic and those could get damaged. That freezy history doesnt work anymore.

Cmos battery on computer/labtop usually can live more than 10 years and the reason for it is to keep some kind of config such as clock speed if you changed some parameter on the BIOS. If the battery is dead the computer/laptop will continue doing boot and you will get a warning message on the boot but will start as always.

My longer experience is keep 2 labtops 3 and 4 months without using. No problems found after that.

Keeping the labtop in a labtop bag is enaugh. Dont use plastic to envelope it because plastic is friend of humidity.

My baggage experience with labtops tough me that is much important try not using the battery when the plug is connect to the electricity. I mean take out it from labtop. They suffer to much because the charging proccess. If you dont do this your battery will die between a year or two. If you listen to me your battery will live around 5 years.

Anyway remember batteries are not eternal and in that day is better to buy a new labtop. In a 90% of the cases the battery wont find in the market at that time and if do the cost will be around half of a basic new labtop.

Opposite to labtops, the computers will live untill you get tired in 80% of the cases.

Be back in 3 months and tell us so more people will know and could be useful for them.

Your best option is the C.

 

The  suggestion from most members is to remove the battery.  Are you suggesting to leave the battery in the laptop, fully charged, or fully charge the battery and take it out and store the laptop?

 

 

I suggest to remove the battery from labtop everytime when you switch off the labtop but that is only what i do. If you plan not use the labtop for long time, sure, remove it from it. Apply it to any camera, clock etc.. The acid could damage the gold contacts.

My experience is recharge the battery close to full charge and keep it (remove from labtop) but how says the last post you could try it in half charge. Anyway when you back your battery will be discharged so recharge it again.

Thanks for the links to the other poster.

 

 

Removing the battery is what many are suggesting.  I was just concerned about the BIOS battery, but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

Don't worry for the BIOS and CMOS. I had many old computers which i didnt switch on in years and they boot at first day. Same test in labtop. I have an ACER ferrari 64 bits. Unfortunately i could not found a new battery. He run as first day when plugin on electrical. Your only worries in labtop will be the battery, sometines hard disk because hot ( in Thailand use a fan under is a very good idea), electrical tranformer conexion and screen if you dont take care well.

[JakeBKK]

a good place to store would be a large tupper ware box, those are air as well as watertight. If you want to spend more: otterbox that's the best solution there there is. Batteries taken out with a charge between 50 and 75 %

yes, a cooler storage facility would be nice. but i haven't seen one with climate control. And that would be pretty pricey. If you go for an extended time, it is cheaper to buy a new batt when you come back