Online Help: Laptop Maintenance Information

Caring For Your Laptop

• Clean outside surface once a month (at least) using a soft paper towel or cloth that is slightly damp and gently wipe off dust. If there are spots that do not come off right away gradually rub a little harder (be careful). If the spot still exists please contact or come to the Help Desk.
• When transporting a laptop, make sure that it is in the proper bag AND in the protective sleeve inside the bag. In case of a drop or a fall, this can help prevent damage to the laptop and help avoid paying to replace the broken parts. If a laptop is being left inside a car, both hot and cold temperatures can cause problems. It is a good idea to bring it inside when it is cold and at least keep it out of the sun when it is hot outside.
• You should take the battery out anytime it is plugged in and not charging. By leaving your battery in while plugged into the wall you decrease the battery life and may have to go through the lengthy process of battery conditioning.
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ThinkPad Battery Facts

• Your battery can be considered a "smart" device because it remembers the level of charge every time it charges up and discharges.
• The ThinkPad has a safety feature that automatically shuts down the computer if the battery tells it there isn't enough energy stored to properly run the computer.
• Because the battery is a "smart" device, it can sometimes become confused about the amount of energy stored, so it may think there is less power left than there actually is. This results in what appears to be a defective battery when the computer can only successfully run for around 20 minutes on a single charge.
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Steps to successfully reconditioning your ThinkPad Battery

• Note: You should NOT do any critical work for a class while performing any of the following steps. Your work may be permanently lost.
• Leave your computer running unplugged until the warning beep activates or your computer goes into standby mode. (Standby mode is the mode in which your computer goes to save energy. You can tell if the computer is in this mode by the green light underneath the moon icon.)
• Once your computer powers off or has been used to the point that any time you turn on the computer it responds "battery critically low, will power off now...", plug it in temporarily and then start it. Once Windows has begun to start, unplug the computer to continue draining the battery.
• If the computer goes into Standby again, wake the computer up, or restart the computer by repeating the previous step.
• When the battery has completely drained, the computer will power off as if there were a power outage at your house. There will not be any beeps or warnings.
• Once the computer is completely drained you will notice that pressing the power switch doesn't get any response from the computer. Plug in the computer and let it charge completely without using it is the best way to get an effective charge.
• When the charge indicator on the top of your Laptop turns green in color your laptop has been reconditioned. You should perform the reconditioning steps 2 to 3 times more for a better battery life.
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