Laptop batteries generally come in two types: nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride. It is important to charge fresh batteries in fourteen to sixteen hour cycles. Batteries should be allowed to cool before recharging because overcharging will shorten their life.

Prices for laptop battery chargers range from $ 200 to $ 300 and typically have a twelve-month warranty period. Easy access to chargers is important because nickel cadmium can suffer from a “memory defect”. A laptop user may face this problem if the batteries are not completely discharged before recharging. A nickel cadmium battery needs to be charged only after it is completely depleted, otherwise the battery ‘thinks’ it is only fifty percent of its original capacity and only uses half its potential, increasing the laptop time constraints.

A user can recharge the batteries of a laptop in two ways. First of all, whenever the PC uses AC power, a small flow of electricity reaches the battery, which is called trickle charging. This charge will automatically recharge the batteries after the laptop is disconnected. Another method of charging a battery is with an external battery charger. The batteries are placed in the charger and then the charger is plugged into a standard electrical outlet. Some commercially available chargers offer to charge the batteries in seven hours but this can damage the batteries forever. Nickel-cadmium batteries are likely to discharge automatically, which means they can lose power when not in use. Battery chargers solve this problem by providing the battery with a small charge that keeps it fully charged.

Nickel cadmium batteries work most efficiently when fully discharged and then recharged. If a battery is used in a more fragmented manner, sometimes fully discharging the battery before recharging will improve battery productivity. Some battery chargers do this automatically, but leaving the laptop overnight and recharging the battery in the morning can also efficiently revitalize the battery.