(solved) Dell Laptops with bad batteries - Power saver mode ?

[beersloth]

Hi,

Latest version of XFCE MX Linux, fully updated. (edit willing to move to KDE or other version if necessary...)

I read with interest the post about running Dell laptops without batteries on docking stations. I am in the same situation, sort of. My e7520 and e7470 have really bad batteries and/or perhaps a faulty charging indicator on one of them.

Due to the declining batteries, the problem that I am running into is that after the battery gets below a certain percentage the laptop is absolutely unusably slow. Windows with several viruses and trojans slow if you have ever experienced that...

I do not mind if it runs full power and then shuts off as I only need to use my laptops for 30 minutes or less on battery, but I need it to be useful the whole time that it is on. So, I am hoping that I can disable any kind of CPU throttling / idling / power saver mode when running on battery ? I looked at the xfce power saving mode and it appears to be the same settings as "power mode" from the main menu. No help there.

Please tell me that there is something that I can do to keep it running fast. Maybe a "2 minutes of battery with these settings" alert to allow me to save and shutdown would be icing on the cake.

Thanks !

[uncle mark]

Replacement batteries are cheap. Just sayin'.

[j2mcgreg]

Replacement batteries are cheap. Just sayin'.

+1

[beersloth]

$100 for anything but a janky Chinese POS is not really cheap considering the laptops cost around 100 now themselves

[chrispop99]

Have you had a look in the BIOS to see if there is a setting there that might be affecting performance with a discharged battery?

BTW, I've purchased many batteries from eBay in the 10UKP to 15UKP range for myself and others, and they have all been fine. They may not have the same capacity as an OEM one, but they have lasted for a number of years.

Chris

[beersloth]

Thanks Chris. I will check the BIOS. I will look at ebay batteries. I have bought from amazon and Alibaba and they were good for a year or less, but maybe ebay has better suppliers.
Thanks again

[user101]

If your laptop has a type of 'battery care' functionality inside it, whereby you can specify where the charging should stop, such as 50%...then all-the-better to extend the usable service life of the battery without torturing it, especially if you have it plugged in most of the time. Charging a battery to the maximum (100%), or depleting it near the minimum are the things they say that severely reduce the service life of the battery. If you can manage to keep charge near the middle most of the time, without going to extremes, that is the best. Be mindful of heat too. Heat will severely limit the usable service life of your battery.

The batteries I have bought from ebay are not what they claim, capacity-wise. But they work...and they aren't too expensive.

[Eadwine Rose]

Please click the checkmark in the top right set of buttons of the post that holds the solution to mark the topic solved, thanks :)