New portable PC

[Chancer]

Its my first ever and its been worth the wait! compared to my Pentium P166 it goes at warp speed.

I have a few questions though that I hope you can help me with.

I have long noticed people always seem to have their charger connected whenever they can so I realise that the autonomies quoted are optimistic but what is it that creates the major discharge, under what conditions could one ever approach the autonomie of 6 or 7 hours quoted?

I switched on with 100% and by the time it had done its stuff with whatever mise à jour it just had to download there was only 60% left.

2nd thing, I keep getting a warning message about UC, I click on it and it says "44% sur ou moins une UC", its not the French but the technogabble that i dont understand, what is UC, should I be bovvered! If not how can I avoid the endless interruptions like that or to download protection against whetever is the threat of the day.

Finally and I know I have seen it somewhere, I have lost functionality when posting, cant embolden, underline, no smilies, small text box etc. After this mornings mise à jour IE was removed from my toolbar and I now have to choose a navigator, IIRC one of the others siuts this site better than IE8 but would there be any other issues with changing, other sites etc.

thanking you

[AnOther]

Opinions vary but from personal experience of several laptops the best strategy for preserving the battery is to keep it plugged in wherever possible and only use it on battery when there is no alternative.

Proof of the pudding, my current Samsung NC10 Netbook is coming up to 2.5 years old and of it's initial near 9 hours capacity it's still good for close to 6 hours. Screen brightness is the biggest consumer of power so when on battery keep it turned down as far as practical.

Another power waster is a Cd or DVD drive so don't use it but copy the content to the HD and use it from there instead.

Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth except for when actually required.

Directly translated '44% sur ou moins une UC' means '44% on or less one CPU' which is fine but don't know why it should keep coming up, I always suppress such useless pop up messages.

I think what you're looking for is compatibility mode in IE8 it's under Tools.

[pachapapa]

My netbook wont even contemplate a Microsoft Security MAJ without being connected to power.

The selection of the Browser is a competition quirk introduced by the EU.

Install IE9 it will do all the smilies ,etc with torn paper icon activated.

Happy Surfing!

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I've found by keeping the laptop constantly connected to the mains power, it crucifies the battery.

I bought a new battery late last year and it's already losing charge.

[Chancer]

Hey thanks to you all, I am now in "affichage de compatibilité" [:D] still dont know what version of IE that I have, its a new machine so I guess that I have the latest.

In brief as it appears to now be doing what I want it to is there any reason to change to another browser?

Re the battery, my initial thoughts were to work or cycle it, i.e. let it discharge then recharge, but the exhaustive survey of 2 users has polarised opinions/experiences. in any case it seems to discharge so quick that I will probably have to leave it plugged in at least during the day when it is used, I believe heat is a major contributing factor, what if I were to leave it on charge during a hot day? Are the chargers intelligent or do the batteries have a PTC device? Or perhaps its more the heat generated when in use with poor ventilation, on ones lap for instance.

It feels pretty heavy, the battery is not much of the weight, what are the heavy components or do they ballast them to give a quality feel, for the moment I am resisting my urges to pull it apart but its only a matter of time, nothing was sacred in our house when I was a toddler

[Will]

My current laptop is the first that I have had with anything like a decent battery life, its claimed 8 hours seems good for at least 7 hours of fairly hard use. One thing it does automatically is to disconnect the DVD drive when on battery power - you can reconnect it if needed. It runs very cool as well, which no doubt helps; current processors seem very good in this respect.

I normally go through a complete charge cycle - i.e  let it discharge completely and then recharge it - every few days and the battery seems to be holding up well, unlike previous ones which I left on charge all the time and battery life definitely reduced, but then it was so poor to start with I wasn't really bothered as long as I could get an hour or so at a time.

[Pickles]

We have just received a netbook this very day. The instruction manual (yes, I read it - if only to find out where to switch ON!) is quite specific and says that the battery should not be recharged until it is totally discharged.

The Dell laptops that we have as desktop replacements (they have 17" screens so you'd need a pretty wide lap) are generally plugged in all the time and as a result their batteries are shot.

Regards

Pickles

[Chancer]

Unplugging now!

The screen dimmed which I havnt noticed before, either a power saving mode or my  battery is nadgered.

I cant hear a CD drive whirring, in truth I have only used any of mine so rarely that they usually dont work and I  have to buy a new one.

Should I be shutting this thing down between sessions to conserve the battery? I am just closing the lid, the screen seems to shut down but a LED on the side flashes, I reasoned that it took little juice in standby but might use a lot on start up but really have no idea.

To ask the question again what does one have to do to get anywhere near the autonomie quoted? Watch a DVD, use programs and not surf the net, connect via a cable rather than wifi?

Mine didnt come with a manual, I think that I did well to switch it on, still cant work out how to switch it off, I mean it cant be demarrer can it!!

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Chancer"]

In brief as it appears to now be doing what I want it to is there any reason to change to another browser?

[/quote]Honestly, Chance, I find the "which is the best browser?" debates a bit pointless (not to say, on occasions, mind-numbingly boring).  I hate some of those which others constantly try to tell me are far better than the one I use just because I'm not used to them and their layouts don't suit me.  It's a personal choice so, imho, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

[Pickles]

[quote user="Chancer"]Unplugging now!

The screen dimmed which I havnt noticed before, either a power saving mode or my  battery is nadgered.[/quote]

Your machine will have a couple of default setups, a medium power-saving mode which it uses when it detects that it is running on battery power, and a full-power mode which it will automatically use when it detects that it has a mains connection. The screen dimming is part of the power-saving.

If you are using Windows, go into the "control panel" and then select "Power options". This will enable you to fine-tune the various settings. You get the maximum life by slowing down the processor, turning the hard disk to standby, turning CD/DVD player OFF, dimming the screen, reducing the time "without use" before the computer goes into hibernation, reducing the time "without use" before the screen switches off, etc. From this screen you can also determine what the computer does when you close the lid (default is probably hibernation) etc. If you turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc and connect via cable it will also help. Obviously some of the above settings reduce the usability of the machine ...

Regards

Pickles

[Chancer]

Thankyou Debs.

Good to see you back and I hope that your broken bits are properly fixed this time!

I hadn't posted on your thread started by your husband not because I was uninterested or didnt care but because it is a subject too close to home and hence painfull, I do hope you understand.

[Chancer]

Latest hiccup, despite me being disturbed every couple of minutes so it seems with mise à jours for things that I have never even heard of nor want it appears that having the latest operating sytstem has its drawbacks.

If I try to watch a youtube clip this appears:

Flash Player 10.3 n'est pas disponible pour votre navigateur Web 64 bits.

Les ordinateurs Windows et Mac 64 bits utilisent des navigateurs 32 bits compatibles avec Flash Player. Pour obtenir des instructions sur le mode d'ouverture d'un navigateur compatible et d'exécution de Flash Player, visitez la page Flash Player on 64-bit operating systems (Flash Player sous les systèmes d'exploitation 64 bits).

Téléchargez une version préliminaire de Flash Player intégrant une prise en charge complète des navigateurs Web 64 bits sous Windows, Mac et Linux sur Adobe Labs.

Now computers being the one thing in life that i am cautious about and not having anyone in France to help me if things go tits up, what should I do?

[Salty Sam]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Mine didnt come with a manual, I think that I did well to switch it on, still cant work out how to switch it off, I mean it cant be demarrer can it!![/quote]

Is it a new machine? If so, you'll probably find the manual is in PDF format pre-installed on the hard drive or on one of the disks, that is if any came with the machine.

It might also help if you tell us the make and model!

[NormanH]

I had to download a number of things specifically for windows7 64 bits.  To use flash with Firefox8 (nightly build) I had to download

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplatformruntimes/flashplayer11/     for flash

and

http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

for javasript

see http://www.extremetech.com/computing/90546-firefox-8-x64-has-64-bit-browsing-finally-come-of-age

[AnOther]

Heat is the first enemy of Lithium Ion batteries followed closely by deep discharging and recharging. They have a finite life which is based on age and charge cycles, age in the sense that they begin to deteriorate immediately after manufacture and charge cycles which are typically quoted as 300-500. In the real world this means the less you use them the longer they will last. Overcharging should not be an issue as virtually all laptop batteries and charging systems are intelligent and will automatically turn off the charging once full capacity is reached

Unfortunately many people treat them like Nicads or NiMH's which do need to work but Lithium ion batteries are the exact opposite and I recommend a read here:

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

Pickles:  The advice from Dell is perverse and the only reason I can fathom for them giving it is in the hope of selling customers new batteries prematurely !

I have a decade or more of 1st hand experience on this subject. The battery in the 12.1" ultra portable I had, which unfortunately got nicked about 3 years ago, was approaching 5 years of age yet was still doing about 80% of what it did on the day I bought it.

At work I have a Panasonic Toughbook which is nearly 7 years old. It spends 95% of it's life plugged into power but still delivers 4 hours + when called upon.

My Samsung Netbook I have already mentioned but I don't know what else I can say except DO NOT ROUTINELY FULLY DISCHARGE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES !!!

The only time a full discharge should be carried out is to recalibrate the sensing circuits but this should only be necessary every couple of months and then only if you suspect that what the machine is saying on battery capacity is wrong, I think I have cycled the battery in my Samsung maybe 4 or 5 times in 2.5 years

[Chancer]

Interesting article ANO but a bit contradictory, or at least it can be read two ways.

The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case when running a laptop on the power grid. Under these circumstances the battery will typically last for about two years

Followed by

Should I disconnect my laptop from the power grid when not in use? Under normal circumstances this should not be necessary because once the lithium-ion battery is full, a correctly functioning charger will discontinue the charge and will only engage when the battery voltage drops to a low level. Most users do not remove the AC power, and I like to believe that this practice is safe.

So if I read this correct I should leave it plugged into the mains all the time but remove the battery whenever I want to use the computer!

I might  as well have bought a tower and not a portable!

[Chancer]

[quote user="Salty Sam"][quote user="Chancer"]

[/quote]

Is it a new machine? If so, you'll probably find the manual is in PDF format pre-installed on the hard drive or on one of the disks, that is if any came with the machine.

It might also help if you tell us the make and model!

[/quote]

Yes new machine, no disks or manuals, probably on the hard disc but I dont read manuals until something goes wrong anyway.

I will tell you the make and model as long as you promise not to launch into "mines better than yours" or "you didnt want to do that!" (Harry Enfield voice)

Its a Compaq with an identity crisis because it thinks its an HP

Its a CQ56 something or other with chips and bits of a bus [:D] 3gb of ram, I thought it was 3mb but my pal told me that my phone has more than that, he aint seen my phone!!!

And to me it seemed bloomin cheap,  €312 inc delivery, as you have been so good I will allow you to say "you should have gone to............ they are cheaper there!" [;-)]

[AnOther]

I see the contradiction and despite recommending the article have to say that the statement 'which is the case when running a laptop on the power grid' is rather misleading and would have been better saying may be or could be, definitely not is - but even that is unnecessarily alarmist.

As correctly stated the charging system in a laptop will be specifically designed to prevent heat build up and any heat which does get into the battery will normally be as a result of transfer from the heat producing components in the computer itself, principally the processor, but that will rarely be sufficient to pose a risk to it so the advice to keep it plugged in except when you actually need to use it as a portable is sound.

At the indicated price point we will not be talking about a fire breathing screamer of a machine requiring an asbestos blanket to protect your thighs so heat transfer to the battery is not likely to be an issue [;-)]

'but remove the battery whenever I want to use the computer!' not sure how you arrived at that one [blink]

[Salty Sam]

I'll hazard a guess at it being a Compaq Presario CQ56-113SA Notebook PC.

The link to the following page may be of interest and contains plenty of useful information which you won't be able to retrieve if your laptop goes tits-up!

[url]http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/manualCategory?product=4326132&lc=en&cc=uk&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=uk[/url]

If you so wish you can also access the French version via the same page.

Sometimes it does pay to have a look through the accompanying documentation, but there again if it is located on the hard drive - it is nice to have a note somewhere which provides a 'quick start' guide!

[Chancer]

Thanks Salty Sam, very interesting, I would never have known of the functions.

Its a CQ56-142SF, looks the same as the one in the manual, the only thing that I would have liked which it lacks is a lecteur des cartes.

[pachapapa]

You have 3 USB 2.0 ports.

There should be something like this in your local store at under € 10.

http://www.amazon.fr/Transcend-TS-RDP5W-Lecteur-cartes-MicroSDHC/dp/tech-data/B001NS829E/ref=de_a_smtd

Check that it is OK for SDHC, older cheaper ones will only take a SD card up to 2 GB.

4 GB and 8GB SDHC cards are dirt cheap now.

[Chancer]

[quote user="AnOther"]At the indicated price point we will not be talking about a fire breathing screamer of a machine [/quote]

After my P166 it feels like driving a Golf GTi after Minis and Escorts.

Now heres a funny thing, my old computer managed 2mb download speed on a good day using Speedtest.net, and it had to be connected via an ethernet cable to achieve that, it was either slower or non existant via wifi dependant on its mood.

Now on this one via wifi I get 5.5mb download [:D]

What in this case has made the difference?

[AnOther]

Your internet speed is a constant and if your actual speed is 2mb then both ethernet and WiFi should have no problems whatsoever in working at that, or better. On your P166 ethernet will have been at 10mb and WiFi, if you had it at all, either 11mb or 54mb (max). Given that then there is no logical reason for your new machine to be performing any faster.

What does Degrouptest.com say about your line and possible speed.

[Chancer]

Says that I can get 4.7 or 4.9 from either Alice or Orange.

Just tested old machine and it does seem to be a tad faster, I got 3mb and then 2.5 but the speedo goes higher than before, up to 5mb but there are lost of lulls showing on the bar chart which brings the speed down.

The wierd thing is and Ii put this down to my imagination, it is as if the new kid on the block has put the wind up the old faignants and they have risen to the occasion, I could have sworn that the old computer felt a bit faster and my internet radio that used to cut out all the time does so with far less regularity, if i tried the same stations on my old computer it was pretty much the same, it was only when I got this one that I realised I could listen without constant interruptions, since then the internet radio (Revo blik) does not deconner anywhere near as much.

Its akin to borrowing may Dads car years ago and blowing out the cobwebs, it saved me having to decoke it later!

 

[NormanH]

I reckon you should have waited a bit...I hear there are a few going for £20 in South London markets [6]