Laptop Battery Information
- What is the "Memory Effect"?
-
NiCad batteries, and to a lesser extent NiMH batteries, suffer from what's called
the "memory effect". What this means is that if a battery is continually only partially
discharged before re-charging, the battery "forgets" that it has the capacity to
further discharge all the way down. To illustrate: If you, on a regular basis, fully
charge your battery and then use only 50% of its capacity before the next recharge,
eventually the battery will become unaware of its extra 50% capacity which has remained
unused. Your battery will remain functional, but only at 50% of its original capacity.
The way to avoid the dreaded "memory effect" is to fully cycle (fully charge and
then fully discharge) your battery at least once every two to three weeks. Batteries
can be discharged by unplugging the device's AC adaptor and letting the device run
on the battery until it ceases to function. This will insure your battery remains
healthy.