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Battery info - more than you could ever need

Three options for tracking the life and times of your laptop battery.,

Over time, your laptop battery gets tired and less able to keep a charge – but how to know when it’s time to replace it? There are some nifty utilities to track your battery status in great detail or the bare essentials.

The clever folks a NirSoft have a new and comprehensive Battery Information View that not only tells you the current state of your battery but also tracks usage over time.

Battery Info View from Nirsoft.jpg image from Battery info - more than you could ever need at Office-Watch.com

Details like manufacturers name and date of manufacture as well as more technical details such as current capacity, full charged capacity and, for comparison, the designed capacity of the battery.

Aside from the extensive details, the utility gives you a lot of detail without needing the proprietory battery utilities sometimes available from different laptop makers.

 

If you just want to keep an eye on the basics, try the Battery Meter gadget.  This is one of several Vista/Win7 gadgets from AddGadget.com that track CPU, GPU or network performance.

AddGadget.com - Battery meter.jpg image from Battery info - more than you could ever need at Office-Watch.com

 

With both these utilities, the information available depends somewhat on the features and details available from the battery.

 

Windows 7 - battery meter in notification area.jpg image from Battery info - more than you could ever need at Office-Watch.com

For simple info, the Windows notification area has a power icon that should be visible on any battery powered device.

Just hover over the icon to see if the battery is charging and the % capacity. When running on battery the tooltip usually shows the approximate time left on battery alone, at the current usage levels.

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