My wife bought me a laptop yesterday, so she’s telling me if I use it only under power it will ruin the battery. This seems rather foolish talk to me and I want a computer expert to chime in. BTW they sure make nice laptops for relative cheap these days and that is not a tale! I didn’t want to call this an old wifes tale so as not to insult my bride, just looking for the truth! 
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My wife bought me a laptop yesterday, so she’s telling me if I use it only under power it will ruin the battery. This seems rather foolish talk to me and I want a computer expert to chime in. BTW they sure make nice laptops for relative cheap these days and that is not a tale! I didn’t want to call this an old wifes tale so as not to insult my bride, just looking for the truth!
Sounds like she is trying to limit your time on IDO. 
Sounds like she is trying to limit your time on IDO.
Nope she would never think of it. We now can Skype while I spend a month away 
When I come back its off to Lake Nipigon with her for trophy walleye, pike, and trout of the lake and spec variety
Using a laptop without unplugging it can creat a memory in the battery causing shorter capacity when it actually does get unplugged. The battery needs to discharge occasionally to keep it “fresh” and maintain its capacity over the long term. With today’s lithium batteries this is less of an issue but it is still a good practice as it helps maintain the battery meters accuracy. M FW always has a problem with her battery life being short when she travels- because her laptop is always plugged in when she is at home- until she has drained the battery and recharged it a few times.
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Using a laptop without unplugging it can creat a memory in the battery causing shorter capacity when it actually does get unplugged. The battery needs to discharge occasionally to keep it “fresh” and maintain its capacity over the long term. With today’s lithium batteries this is less of an issue but it is still a good practice as it helps maintain the battery meters accuracy. M FW always has a problem with her battery life being short when she travels- because her laptop is always plugged in when she is at home- until she has drained the battery and recharged it a few times.
So in essence she is correct, its best to full use your battery life down. I did that yesterday and even started watching the hobbit last night since it has a dvd player with it. I bet I got close to 6 hours on it even with the movie. Not bad. Thank You for the info I will tell her she was right 
I was wrong
[ I will tell her she was right I was wrong
Foolish newlywed!!
There goes your “Man” card. 
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Using a laptop without unplugging it can creat a memory in the battery causing shorter capacity when it actually does get unplugged. The battery needs to discharge occasionally to keep it “fresh” and maintain its capacity over the long term. With today’s lithium batteries this is less of an issue but it is still a good practice as it helps maintain the battery meters accuracy. M FW always has a problem with her battery life being short when she travels- because her laptop is always plugged in when she is at home- until she has drained the battery and recharged it a few times.
X2 
Li-on batteries do not have a memory. I would expect a 3-5 year life no matter what you do. Don’t worry about it.
Google says the jury is out on keeping it plugged in with a 100% charge. Some say keep it charged between 40-80%.
Lithium batteries do not have memory.
Allow your battery to completely drain or nearly completely drain and then charge 100% to recalibrate the battery. Shallow recharge cycles can lead to inaccurate battery gauges on your PC.
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Li-on batteries do not have a memory.
That is correct, but they do not respond well to continued charging when at 100%. In theory, the charger should not charge when the battery is fully charged, but that is not foolproof. With cell phones, which also run lithium ion batteries, constantly leaving your phone plugged in when fully charged will over time take a toll on your battery. I would assume the same could be possible on a laptop.
My previous laptop would go 5 hours on battery when I first got it. I very rarely used it on battery. After 9 months, it would make it 2 to 2.5 hours at most. My current one gets run on battery every day and after 9 months, it will still go 6 hours on the battery. Coincidence? There are both HP laptops and both run lithium ion batteries.
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Li-on batteries do not have a memory.
That is correct, but they do not respond well to continued charging when at 100%. In theory, the charger should not charge when the battery is fully charged, but that is not foolproof. With cell phones, which also run lithium ion batteries, constantly leaving your phone plugged in when fully charged will over time take a toll on your battery. I would assume the same could be possible on a laptop.
My previous laptop would go 5 hours on battery when I first got it. I very rarely used it on battery. After 9 months, it would make it 2 to 2.5 hours at most. My current one gets run on battery every day and after 9 months, it will still go 6 hours on the battery. Coincidence? There are both HP laptops and both run lithium ion batteries.
I wonder if this is because after time and as you personalize your CPU, programs run in the background draining battery life?
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[ I will tell her she was right
Foolish newlywed!!
Ha will be married 23 years this October, but we still have some newlywed moments now and then
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Li-on batteries do not have a memory.
That is correct, but they do not respond well to continued charging when at 100%. In theory, the charger should not charge when the battery is fully charged, but that is not foolproof. With cell phones, which also run lithium ion batteries, constantly leaving your phone plugged in when fully charged will over time take a toll on your battery. I would assume the same could be possible on a laptop.
My previous laptop would go 5 hours on battery when I first got it. I very rarely used it on battery. After 9 months, it would make it 2 to 2.5 hours at most. My current one gets run on battery every day and after 9 months, it will still go 6 hours on the battery. Coincidence? There are both HP laptops and both run lithium ion batteries.
X2 Lithium Ion batteries are much more resistant to memory but don’t believe they are immune. Kind of the difference between water resistant and water proof. Ultimately GoreTex will fail at some point but is billed as waterproof. Lithiums are better than NickeMetalHydride Nmh) which are better Nickel Cadmiums(NiCads). Kind of like the “waterproof” jacket from kmart vs the top end GuideWear from Cabelas with Goretex.
Batteries will function better if allowed to drain on a regular basis. My company has about 600 laptops and we see this on a regular basis.
As far as the newlywed comment here’s my two cents. If she’s willing to go to Nipigon with you then it’s a fine compromise to let her know she’s right once in a while 
I was told the same thing about my cell phone..its on the charge about 23 1/2 hours a day… I was told this would ruin my battery prematurely… I got 6 years out of it… and the one telling me was on her 3rd in 2 years 
Same goes for my laptop, plugged in constantly… except when I take to the cabin, it can go 3 days no problem, without a charge.
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