Random laptop PC question

bedhed

bedhed

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With Windows updates being as annoying as they are, I never turn the computer off. I keep it plugged in and let it update at a specific hour.

By doing that, apparently it kills the battery pretty quickly. Over the past 10+ years, the battery has reached a point of providing about 20 seconds of power.

Anyone know of a way to do what I'm wanting, while not killing the battery?

Oddly enough, it even has to have the battery pack installed when it's plugged in, so that idea didn't work.
 
Batteries or computers don't last 10 years. (more like 2.5 years) If you don't want a battery, you should buy a desktop. (as opposed to a laptop) But if you want a laptop, every other day, you should use the laptop with it not plugged into power (using the battery) and let it charge down, then back up again. That keeps it going...
 
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Many laptops like Lenovos allow start and stop points to be set to save the battery. The default setting is to charge the battery when it only drops a small percent so it is constantly being charged after a small self-discharge. If you set it below 50% it may only charge once every few months or even yearly saving a massive amount of wear on the battery. You might research your specific laptop and see if charge points can be set. You can also set the maximum charge to 80%, this will also make a huge difference. I have a dock for mine and setup the batteries this way, it works well.
 
You don't necessarily need to have every single update that Windows deploys. If your laptop was powered off for two weeks and three updates come out in that time, Windows will simply use the most recent update.

Waiting for updates to download and install is a drag, definitely, but killing your laptop battery to make sure your laptop is constantly up-to-date just isn't worth the trade-off.

Aside from that, I agree with @ballpark. If you don't mind your system living in a permanent spot in your house, consider using a desktop system instead. You can keep it in a couple modes that allow downloads and installations without having to keep it on all the time. You'll trade off mobility for a much less expensive, easier to maintain system.

I may be slightly biased: I'm a gamer and find it easier to maintain a desktop system than a laptop system. We mostly use our family laptop for low-demand applications, like emails and forums.
 
@pagrey I'll check into that. Man, that would be perfect. I don't recall ever seeing that option in settings, but it's an HP. Hopefully it's there, and I've overlooked it. That would be the most ideal for me.

The battery has been shot for so long, that it prevents me from "going mobile", but there are times that I do/would. The need is there. Having a desktop as a side option would be nice, but that isn't in the cards for me right now.
 
bedhed said:
@pagrey I'll check into that. Man, that would be perfect. I don't recall ever seeing that option in settings, but it's an HP. Hopefully it's there, and I've overlooked it. That would be the most ideal for me.
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Might be in the BIOS settings on an HP, System Configuration> Battery Care Function where you can set the maximum charge to 80%. I didn't find the discharge thing but you might have better luck searching.
 
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Check the BIOS settings. I had a Dell that had an option like that to tell the computer it was going to be plugged in almost all the time and it should charge the battery less aggressively.
 
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If you're just looking at forums and some emails, look into $40 RaspberryPi & $20 Logitech (k400 Plus) combo wireless key/mouse. Use your TV as a monitor. Opensource/free Raspbian OS.

My Windows 7/8, (Windows Media Center) boxes haven't seen any updates since 2010.

Bedhed, Google your laptop model for battery replacement. They'er about $20-$30 bucks.
 
pagrey said:
Might be in the BIOS settings on an HP, System Configuration> Battery Care Function where you can set the maximum charge to 80%. I didn't find the discharge thing but you might have better luck searching.
Click to expand...
joelachr said:
Check the BIOS settings. I had a Dell that had an option like that to tell the computer it was going to be plugged in almost all the time and it should charge the battery less aggressively.
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I checked settings, but nothing there that's helpful for this. About to try the BIOS route.

KMET said:
If you're just looking at forums and some emails, look into $40 RaspberryPi & $20 Logitech (k400 Plus) combo wireless key/mouse. Use your TV as a monitor. Opensource/free Raspbian OS.

My Windows 7/8, (Windows Media Center) boxes haven't seen any updates since 2010.

Bedhed, Google your laptop model for battery replacement. They'er about $20-$30 bucks.
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I'm routinely pushing this laptop to it's limits, so I don't think work for this, but I'm glad you sent the suggestions. I've got other interests that the RaspberryPi would work great for. Haven't done a whole lot of researching into them, yet. Just dabbling around. May end up tossing some questions out there about it once I get this PC issue sorted.
 
I've got PI's at every TV running Kodi. They handle live TV from 3 HDHR Primes (9 TV tuners).

My current projects involve some ESP8266 and some Arduino stuff. Another topic for later...


What are the laptop specs ? How are you pushing it's limits? What programs are you using?

I see Linux in your future.... Just list your must have programs that you're using.
 
Nothing found for this in the BIOS.

KMET said:
I've got PI's at every TV running Kodi. They handle live TV from 3 HDHR Primes (9 TV tuners).

My current projects involve some ESP8266 and some Arduino stuff. Another topic for later...


What are the laptop specs ? How are you pushing it's limits? What programs are you using?

I see Linux in your future.... Just list your must have programs that you're using.
Click to expand...

Not that it's a huge problem, but I suppose it's RAM is my issue. I mainly notice it struggling when running Adobe Dimensions, and less often with certain tools in Adobe Photoshop. I'm regularly fooling around with Photoshop, Illustrator, Dimensions, and recently dabbling in other 3D modeling programs.

It has an Intel Core i5 and 8GB RAM. Running Windows 10
 
KMET said:
https://helpx.adobe.com/dimension/system-requirements.html
https://www.crucial.com/store/advisor
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Oh hell yeah! If I can add on an additional 8GB, that would be great.

It's been so long ago now, so my memory with this is foggy. But, I seem to remember looking into this years ago and something leading me to believe that I couldn't do this. Whether it was because of the model, or something else, I can't remember.

On their site, I'm seeing this:
"Maximum Memory: 16GB"
*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.

I can't so some online searching about it, and will be, but what is your take on the "Not to exceed......"?

Is that meaning that, if this specific model was not designed to support more than the installed 8GB, then don't do it?
 
bedhed said:
Oh hell yeah! If I can add on an additional 8GB, that would be great.

It's been so long ago now, so my memory with this is foggy. But, I seem to remember looking into this years ago and something leading me to believe that I couldn't do this. Whether it was because of the model, or something else, I can't remember.

On their site, I'm seeing this:
"Maximum Memory: 16GB"
*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.

I can't so some online searching about it, and will be, but what is your take on the "Not to exceed......"?

Is that meaning that, if this specific model was not designed to support more than the installed 8GB, then don't do it?
Click to expand...

The memory may be soldered rather than socketed. Soldered memory isn't considered user upgradeable.
 
That brought up another thought. I was in the local computer shop several months ago for a desktop issue. I mentioned to the guy there that I'd thought about expanding the memory for the owner. He didn't recommend it. Agreed that it can be done, but followed with "more than 8GB isn't necessary, and basically a waste."

Made no sense to me, but my knowledge with computers doesn't go deep enough to confirm or refute it. Was the guy off is rocker with that comment?

joelachr said:
The memory may be soldered rather than socketed. Soldered memory isn't considered user upgradeable.
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Ah, okay. I'll do some digging, or just take it apart and have a look.
 
KMET said:
What's on the screen ?" ......"Post-It-Notes")
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😆 Damn. That one gave me a good laugh.

With a reply like that, if it were me on the other end of the line, I'd have to laugh. That's a good one.

Model# 15-u010dx
 
KMET said:
Battery replacement


Memory

If you're doing all that upgrade to SSD samsung evo 970 1tb it's compatible with that POS laptop
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I don't foresee me putting that amount of money into this laptop, but I may. Who knows. So, that is good to know. As of now, I've been using a Western Digital 1TB external. This was great, until their syncing feature suddenly disappeared.

I wouldn't go so far as saying it's a POS. It's served me well for quite a while now. For me, it's limits began to show when I started using Adobe's newly released (at that time) Dimensions program, and Photoshop features began to expand. To be fair, I'm typically not one to close out other things, just to get another to behave. Lot's of multitasking going on. Multitasking for the PC anyway.

As it always goes, it's simply the continuously increasing demands that lead to the inevitable upgrading or total replacement.

Before I bought this one, I'd researched a fair bit and decided that it checked nearly every box for my need, while not breaking the bank. My needs, at that time: Intel Core i5 (reviews from the i7 didn't look good), minimum of 8GB RAM, respectable storage space, and touchscreen. When I would find another laptop that was better in one area, it seemed to be lacking in another. So, with all of that being on the table, I wound up with this one.

If I could have it my way, I would choose a laptop that could be upgraded just as easily as a desktop, allowing it to adapt to increasing demands, rather than eventually get tossed in the trash. I'm the type run something until it cannot run any longer, so that would be ideal. For all I know, there may be something that closely fits that description by now. The funds aren't there to replace this one, so I haven't looked.
 
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