Gateway UC73, Reference Manual

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CHAPTER 7: Maintaining Your Notebook
74
Cleaning the notebook screen
Use a soft cloth and water to clean the LCD screen.
Squirt a little water on the cloth (never directly on the
screen), and wipe the screen with the cloth.
Maintaining the battery
The life span of a notebook battery is about 1.5 to 3
years, under normal conditions. As the battery begins
to die, you will have to recharge the battery more
frequently because it cannot hold a full charge.
Do not expose the battery to high heat or freezing
temperatures. Hot batteries discharge very quickly,
and cold ones cannot create as much power. Short
battery life is more likely to be caused by heat than
by charge/discharge patterns. Keep your lithium-ion
battery cool. Avoid a hot car, for example.
Charge often, but do not try to fully discharge the
battery frequently. This only adds strain. Several
partial discharges (regular use), with frequent
recharges, are better for lithium-ion than one total
discharge. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion
battery does not cause any harm because it has no
“memory.”
Batteries with fuel gauges (notebooks) should be
calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once
every 30 charges. Running the battery down in the
equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge
becomes increasingly less accurate and in some cases
will cut off the device prematurely.
Using the right charger is important. By now you
probably know that each kind of battery has its own
technology, its own rate of charge, and so on.
Charging lithium batteries correctly is one way to
extend their life and to avoid damage.
Caution
A notebook LCD screen is made of specially coated glass and
can be scratched or damaged by abrasive or ammonia-based glass
cleaners.