Does anyone know of software solutions to extend

johnnyb · 08-06-2005, 04:55 AM

Does anyone know of software solutions to extend the battery life? I also have an Averatec 3500 and I was able to load software that increased the battery life by 35%. Wondering if anyone has something for the Portege.

WNewquay · 08-06-2005, 05:10 AM

Hi johnnyb,

That sounds interesting ... what software are you using on the Averatec?

Some people have experimented with underclocking the processor, but I don't remember hearing about anything that returned 35% returns.

So, what did *you* do?

johnnyb · 08-06-2005, 05:24 AM

Hey WNewquay,

I stumbled onto this log in an averatec forum
http://www.averatecforums.com/showthread.php?t=1588
I went through the process and immediately went from just under 2hours battery life to over 3....so far so good.

quote:Originally posted by WNewquay

Hi johnnyb,

That sounds interesting ... what software are you using on the Averatec?

Some people have experimented with underclocking the processor, but I don't remember hearing about anything that returned 35% returns.

So, what did *you* do?

WNewquay · 08-06-2005, 05:34 AM

Thanks johnnyb,

Some here have reported using speedswitchXP. I do use it on one of my machines M200s but I can't actually say that I've noticed a significant increase in battery life. I'd guess that the power management may already be pretty good with the Pentium M processors, so there's not as much room for dramatic improvement.

Edit: I could have been clearer about this.

The power management tools that come with the M200 (that work with the Pentium M processors) seem to be pretty good. I wouldn't expect to see > 30% gains out of third party tools. That's not to say that you can't get any, if you really want to dig in.

im12party · 08-06-2005, 11:27 PM

there are two programs that I know of one is Centrino Hardwire Control. The other is RM Clock. I use one or the other. I have seen an improvement of 30% in battery life. My fan runs less as well.
Here is some info that may help.
http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=70943

Kupe · 08-07-2005, 02:14 AM

The built in power management of the M200 can vary the battery life from about 2:00 hours (full power) to over 4 hours (max power save). I'd say that's pretty significant.

PakoPako · 08-07-2005, 10:15 AM

Does this include recalibrating your battery? This is both as a question about extending the shelf life of a battery, and a question as to if Toshiba has software that could recalibrate a battery.

I'm just wondering if "manually" recalibrating (completely draining, disconnect it from the laptop for an hour, recharge) works.

krypticide · 08-07-2005, 02:57 PM

Thanks im12party for that link. I'm testing out what the guy suggested right now. [thumbsup]

im12party · 08-08-2005, 11:47 AM

Thanks Kryp,
Let me know how it works.
I know that even with the Toshiba power saver softeare I was still able to get improved battery life when I run C h c.

krypticide · 08-09-2005, 04:46 AM

Yeah, I lowered my voltage from 1.3 V to 1.1 V, and I've managed to add quite a lot of minutes to my battery life. I didn't do a detailed comparison, but it is *significant*: I'd say 30 minutes, maybe even an hour.