Gateway 400 series User Manual

122
Chapter 7: Sending and Receiving Faxes
www.gateway.com 

8
123
Managing Power
While your notebook is running on battery power, you 
should manage power consumption to get the most use out 
of the battery. Read this chapter to learn how to:

Check and recharge the battery

Recalibrate the battery

Change batteries

Extend the life of the battery by conserving battery 
power and using alternate power sources

Change power-saving settings 

124
Chapter 8: Managing Power
www.gateway.com
Monitoring the battery charge 
Closely monitor the battery charge. When the battery charge gets low, change 
the battery or connect to AC power immediately to prevent losing any unsaved 
work.
Monitor the battery charge by:

Double-clicking the power cord icon  or battery icon  in the taskbar. 
The Power Meter dialog box opens.

Pressing FN+STATUS to view the power status box, which opens in the 
upper-left corner of the screen. The power status box shows the...

125
Recharging the battery
www.gateway.com

Pressing the battery meter buttons on the battery. The battery meter light 
indicates the percentage of battery charge remaining.

Waiting for a Low Battery warning message to appear.
If your battery charge indicator displays what looks like an inaccurate charge, 
you may need to recalibrate the battery. For more information, see 
“Recalibrating the battery” on page 126.
Recharging the battery
The battery recharges while it is installed and your notebook is...

126
Chapter 8: Managing Power
www.gateway.com
Recalibrating the battery
If your notebook unexpectedly goes into Standby mode while you are using it 
but the battery charge is not low, you may need to recalibrate your battery. 
You should also recalibrate the battery periodically to maintain the accuracy 
of the battery gauge.
To recalibrate the battery:
1Connect the AC adapter, then turn on your notebook.
2As soon as it starts and you see a startup screen, press F2. The BIOS Setup 
utility opens.
3Open...

127
Changing batteries
www.gateway.com
Changing batteries
If your notebook is plugged into an AC outlet, you can change the battery while 
the notebook is turned on. If your notebook is not plugged into an AC outlet, 
you must turn the notebook off while changing the batteries.
Replacing the battery
To replace the battery:
1If your notebook is on and is plugged into an AC outlet, go to Step 2.
-OR-
If your notebook is on and is not plugged into an AC outlet, save your 
work and turn off the notebook....

128
Chapter 8: Managing Power
www.gateway.com
4Slide the battery release latch and lift the battery out of the bay.
5Place a recharged battery into the bay and press down until it snaps into 
place.
6Turn your notebook over.
7Open the LCD panel and press the power button. 

129
Extending battery life
www.gateway.com
Extending battery life
Conserving battery power 
While using the battery to power your notebook, conserve power by:

Dimming the display as low as is comfortable.

Removing PC Cards and IBM Microdrive cards when you do not need 
them. Many PC Cards and Microdrive cards use a small amount of power 
while inserted, even if they are not being used.

Modifying the power management settings for maximum power savings. 
For more information, see “Changing power...

130
Chapter 8: Managing Power
www.gateway.com
Changing power modes 
You can use the following power modes to lengthen the life of your notebook’s 
battery:

Standby - while your notebook is in Standby, it switches to a low power 
state where devices, such as the display and drives, turn off.

Hibernate - (also called save to disk) writes all current memory (RAM) 
information to the hard drive, then turns your notebook completely off. 
The next time you turn on your notebook, it reads the memory...

131
Changing power settings
www.gateway.com
Changing power settings
You can change the function of the power button, Standby system key, and 
power-saving timers by changing power settings on your notebook.
You can customize power settings from the Windows Control Panel by selecting 
power schemes, setting power alarms, adjusting advanced power settings, and 
activating Hibernate mode.
Power schemes (groups of power settings) let you change power saving options 
such as when the display or hard drive is...