My Blog

Revive a dying laptop battery

08/21/2011 23:55:00

Laptop battery wearing down? ...how to help batteries last longer ... and what to do when they run out!

First, the basics

Most laptops use batteries that can last for 3-5 years, or about 1000 charges. (A premium laptop's battery might last longer.) Every time you charge your battery, the total capacity of the battery is diminished. Originally it may have had a run time of 3.5 hours, but after a year it'll run out of juice at 3 hours, even on a full charge.

If your battery capacity has diminished, there are a few things you can do about it. First, you have to correctly gauge how much capacity has been lost. There are free downloads to do this job, like Battery Bar (for Windows PCs) or Coconut Battery (for Macs). These will compare your battery's current maximum capacity to how long it lasted when it was new.
(UPDATE- we originally recommended Battery Eater and while the program works great, their download site has been compromised and we are recommending an alternate program, Battery Bar downloadable from CNET.)

Calibrating your Battery

You can't miraculously reconstitute your battery's capacity. It loses power over time due to chemical reactions taking place in the battery, as it chugs along powering your laptop. You can't undo those changes, but there is one common battery issue you can fix: In many laptops, the operating system's battery meter gets out of sync with how much juice the battery actually has.

Imagine if the gas gauge on your car dashboard was misreading how much gas you actually had in the tank. You'd either run out of gas when you thought you had a quarter of a tank left, or you'd be filling up too frequently. In your laptop, this can mean your laptop shuts down abruptly when the meter says you have 30 minutes left. Or else the meter might warn that you only have 2 minutes of battery life left and shut your laptop down, when it really has another 20 minutes remaining.

Recalibrating gets the battery meter to correctly read the current state of the battery, so you and the operating system know where you stand with existing battery life.

How to recalibrate

First, charge your laptop's battery to full, and leave it that way for at least two hours. Then unplug your laptop, and set its power management settings to never turn off or lower the monitor brightness. (HP has instructions for how do to this on Windows 7 and Vista, as well as Windows XP, while Apple has instructions for Mac laptops on their site.)

You want to drain the battery completely, then let your laptop sit for at least five hours this way -- like, say, overnight. (Just be careful and mute the volume, since some laptops make a warning sound when they're about to run out.) Afterwards, charge it up again, and you should notice a more accurate portrayal of your battery capacity. In some cases, you may even get more life out of it.

Best practices to maintain battery life

You'd think that the best way to keep your laptop's battery from wearing out is to not use it. Right?

As it turns out, batteries are like muscles; they need to be worked out regularly to stay healthy. Ideally, you'd use your laptop unplugged at least once a day, like on a train or bus commute or on the couch in front of the TV. If you're not going to use it, constantly charging your battery is a bad idea; HP recommends on their website that if you're going to leave your laptop plugged in or put up in storage for more than two weeks, you should take the battery out of your laptop.

Past the expiration date

So when is it time to throw out that old battery? The answer, surprisingly, is "never." Laptop batteries contain lots of toxic chemicals, and should never end up in landfills. Fortunately, e-stewards.org has a list of environmentally responsible recyclers that will take your old battery with no fuss.

When is it time to replace your battery, then? Use the free utility apps Becky mentioned, and when they say that your battery can only hold around 25% of its original capacity it's probably time for a new one. You can buy a replacement battery from the original laptop manufacturer, and there are plenty of places online that sell discounted PC laptop batteries, like Laptops for Less and Batteries.com. Owners of newer Mac laptops can get their laptop's non-removable battery swapped out at any Apple store, with a scheduled appointment.

Tune Up Your Slow PC or MAC

03/28/2011 15:10:00

Video: Tips for speeding up your PC or MAC. Click the picture to link to the video.

Having internet issues due to yt.dll?

12/16/2010 15:24:00

I have heard a lot about an issue loading internet explorer due to a yt.dll error lately. This can be resolved easily in most cases. I would recommend that you have your local computer guru take care of it but if you want to save the money and take a stab at fixing it yourself here is a clue: Go to Start>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs>Click on Yahoo! Toolbar and then Click remove. Restart your computer. If this does not fix the problem take it to your local computer technician.

Busy Bee I.T.

Anytime, Anywhere Computer Repair

Is Your Computer Feeling a Bit Sluggish?

12/06/2010 12:32:00

Nothing is substitute for getting an expert to sit down and look at it for you, but perhaps this will bring into focus a few possible causes for your computer acting lethargically.

1) Too many programs running at the same time. Over the lifespan of a computer it is common for users to download programs, applications, and other data that is running in the background. The more things that run in the background, the less “attention span” your computer has to do other things you are asking it to do.

Try to avoid downloading too many web browser-helpers like internet-search bars, programs that claim to “speed up” your internet or your computer, or multiple anti-malware programs. One or two may be fine, but too many will result in slow performance. Uninstall programs that you do not use that you see icons for in the lower right-hand corner of your screen, down by the clock. Once this is trimmed up you may notice a speed improvement.

2) Not enough free RAM. “RAM” is what your computer uses for temporary working and thinking space. The more you have the merrier your computer can be! If you look back to reason 1 in this article and have determined you need all those programs running, perhaps your computer doesn’t have enough RAM to do so. The hard drive inside your computer may make a lot of noise, accompanied by slow operation, if you are out of RAM.

RAM is a piece of hardware that can be added to your machine. Four gigabytes or more is recommended in newer computers, but the rule of thumb is to add as much as is affordable for you.

3) Virus/Malware infection. Quite often virus or malware programs running in the background can divert your computer’s attention away from what you want it to do. Internet slowdowns and general slow operation of the entire computer can be one of the symptoms of an infection. You should have the computer scanned for a malware infection to determine if this is the cause.

4) Low hard drive space. This generally applies to older computers. Hard drives, which store all of your computer’s information, only have a finite amount of space. Once filled up the computer no longer has the ability to manipulate your files. The computer will slow down, eventually becoming unusable.

Generally windows will alert you to “low disk space” if this is the case. Moving some of your less-used files such as pictures, music, and movies to an external hard drive would be a viable solution to regaining hard drive space. You can usually install a bigger hard drive as well. Deleting temporary files and performing a disk cleanup are also good ways to reclaim wasted space.

5) Due for a restart. Computer has not been restarted in…um, I don’t know how long? Yes, every once in a while it is a good idea to restart your computer. Some updates cannot be completed until you restart. In addition, restarting your computer can free up some resources that could be getting hogged up by buggy programs.

6) Sharing a wireless network. “My internet is slow but the computer is running fast!” There are many possible reasons this can be happening. Should you have a wireless network check to see if anyone else on your wireless is streaming video, downloading music, or playing online games. You should also make sure your wireless network is secure so someone else isn’t stealing your internet bandwidth. Wireless network security should be at the top of your important things to check.

7) Too many bells and whistles. Sure, that animated pointer and super hi resolution image of your favorite supercar look nice, but unfortunately these can also slow your computer down. These animations and images must be loaded into memory every time you start your PC which leaves less memory for other more important tasks.

8 ) Scanning programs running. Check to make sure your antivirus program, anti-spyware program, or automatic backup program is not the reason for the slowdown. If it is, I suggest you wait it out. Usually this type of activity is a necessity. Manufacturers of these types of software try to make everyday operations unobtrusive to you. There are times, however, when an update must be done or scanning must take place. Your computer will be a little slow to respond to you when this is happening.

9) Not meeting software requirements. Software usually has a list of requirements on the box. Things such as processor speed, operating system, memory (RAM), hard drive space, and minimum video card requirements are usually printed somewhere on the box. Please note that this says minimum “requirements.” These specifications are the absolute minimum to make the software run. Run it will, run well it may not. Try and meet or surpass the system “recommendations” of your software, not the bare “requirements.”

10) A “fragmented” hard drive. This is becoming less of an issue with newer computers, but if you have an older PC it is worth a mention. Perhaps your hard drive needs a “defrag.”

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle. Computers like to store pieces of a file together, like a completed puzzle. Over time, with normal use these pieces can get scattered all over the hard drive; Similar to when your puzzle first came out of the box. The computer has to look to find all the pieces before it can access the file. This is not a problem if only a few files are fragmented. Once multiplied over several thousand files, however, we have a cumulative slowdown of your computer. Defragmenting your hard drive organizes all these pieces and puts them back together again.

QuickBooks Not Loading?!

10/24/2010 14:19:00

There has been a recent outbreak of QuickBooks issues. We recently had a machine with this issue in our computer shop. We spent all weekend working with QuickBooks 2010 Pro trying to figure out a fix... and we have it! Anyone that needs assistance with their QuickBooks program not loading correctly, please give us a call @ (877) 210-2121 or email us at info@busybeeit.com.

Discription of problem:

Loading QuickBooks screen appears and then disappears after installing a Windows update or other program updates

Cause of the issue:

This issue is caused by a damaged component of Microsoft .NET Framework

Intuit QuickBooks problems are our specialty! We are the only ones with the complete fix for the recent QuickBooks problem. Intuit gives some good ideas but they do not have the fix either. They suggest using a 3rd party tool and/or going to see your local certified professional to get it repaired.

DON'T try to fix this yourself without certified help! You can really damage your computer and you will lose all your important business data!

T568A / T568B Wiring Chart

09/20/2010 15:40:00

Reminder - Always view wire sequence from left to right and view from the bottom of the RJ45 plug (non-tabbed side).

Computer Hackers Hijack Personal Information

09/18/2010 23:24:00

There are hundreds of computer hackers looking to hijack your personal information when you are connected to the internet. In many cases they do this by sending fake emails and instant messages requesting your login and passwords to sites that store sensitive personal information (or "Personal Identifiable Information"). Never reveal that information over email or instant messanger, furthermore, never click on a link in an email or on the internet that you don't recognize. This is how a virus can spread from machine to machine. Also, never install something on your computer that is from a software vendor or website you don't trust.

Common Computer Repair Problems

09/16/2010 16:01:00

There is nothing worse at work than having to give a presentation when your computer fails on the spot. When your computer does not function it can cause huge problems in both your personal and professional life, so it is important that you quickly diagnose and fix the problem. Although there are thousands of potential issues that require computer repair, there are a few main categories that encompass the majority of problems you may face. Hardware Failure When your computer won’t boot up when you try to turn it on, it can be a really bad start to your day. Hardware failure is a common problem with computers and unfortunately can be the hardest problem for the layman to diagnose and fix himself. If your computer simply will not turn on, this is considered a hardware problem that could be caused by a drained battery. If your computer turns on but gives you a Stop Error (commonly referred to as the Blue Screen of Death), it is most likely the cause of computer hardware failure. The best thing you can do before calling a computer repair shop is to ensure that power is running to your computer. A helpful hint is to see/hear that the fan in your computer is running to confirm that power is reaching the unit. Software Failure Software failures can be as simple as getting a 404 Page Not Found error when you are trying to connect to a website, or as complex as your entire computer locking up when you try to open a new application. Luckily, one thing the average computer user can do to fix this problem is to reboot the machine. Many times this will fix any software problems you are having. It is important that you are constantly saving any open documents on your computer, because when a reboot if required, often times it will result in you losing changes to any documents you had opened but not saved. Computer Virus A computer virus cannot only render your machine useless, it is also a big threat to your privacy. Lots of personal information is stored on your computer – your address book, your personal photos, and many times sensitive financial information that you don’t want to get in the wrong hands. A computer virus can take over your machine and access some of this data, so it is important that you install antivirus software and update it regularly. Hackers are constantly changing the computer code, so your antivirus software may not detect a new virus if you haven’t updated it in a while. Most security breaches on personal computers are a result of users revealing their usernames and passwords via email to someone who is pretending to be a trustworthy client of yours. Never give our your computer passwords over email or instant messenger, and never install any program on your machine that you don’t trust.