There has been of great deal of ink spilled on the subject of prolonging your laptop's battery life, but what about caring for your battery? Over time, the capacity of any rechargeable battery diminishes, to the point at which it is no longer useful. However, with proper care, batteries can last a long time. Read this guide to make sure you get your money's worth out of your laptop battery.

Most laptop batteries these days are lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are substantially better than either of their precursors, nickel cadmium (NiCad) and nickel metal hydride (NiMAH) batteries, in that they do not suffer from the "memory effect". This means that, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to let your battery run down all the way. In fact, it's better that you don't. Having said that though, I need to add that lithium-ion battery users should allow their batteries to fully discharge on the first two or three charging cycles. Beyond that, though, computers with lithium-ion batteries should be plugged in whenever they're not in use.

However, it is not good to leave your laptop constantly plugged in. Many people use their laptops largely as desktop replacements, using them on the desk and leaving them plugged in most of the time. These people would do well not what their laptop batteries charge constantly. Although there's no danger of "overcharging" lithium-ion batteries, leaving a laptop plugged in for months at a time will have a detrimental effect on its battery. If you use your laptop as a desktop replacement, try unplugging it when it's not in use. Take care to unplug the Battery charger from the wall, too, as otherwise it consumes electricity. Better yet, leave the laptop plugged in all the time, but remove its battery. For long-term storage, lithium-ion batteries should be allowed to run down to little below half charge. Store them safely in a warm, dry location.