Battery life dwindling already?

When I first got the AAO (6-cell version), I was able to go a whole day unplugged (about 8 hrs). Of course, it goes to suspend if I don't use it for 10 minutes.

The power settings haven't changed, but I noticed that I am running out of juice twice as fast! WinXP used to say it would estimate 6 hrs at 99% charge, but now it says 4 hrs.

At 50%, it would usually say 3 hrs left, but now it says 1:30 hrs left!

Anyone else notice that their battery seem to be degrading faster than normal? (My AAO is less than a month old).

This behavior is expected after a year or two of use, but not less than a month!

 

I am quite certain that what you are experiencing is Windows getting a better read on your battery capacity instead of a decrease in the battery capacity already.

 

With people getting about 2:30hrs on a 3 cell, I was hoping to see the 6-cell to be double that time.

 

After some usage the battery meter may become decalibrated, this is usually fixed by discharging the battery completely.

 

Windows uses more power than Linpus linux. It also depends on what you are doing - reading an ebook consumes less power than playing mp3s for instance.

However, taking good care of your battery as mentioned above is a good idea.

 

same issue here, my 6 cell at power saver and wifi disabled has only 4 hours and 30 minutes of usability. but however, I turned the critical alarm off and it lasted 6 hours. so, there must be an issue there.

 

Chances are your usage has substantially changed as well. On a fresh install you have little to nothing in the background and there are few if any files to index. Over time, you have a couple more programs running in the tray, and more files to keep track of. Of course your battery life gets worse. Reformat and/or turn off all the nonsense you have in the background and your battery life will skyrocket. Sitting closer to your AP doesn't hurt either.

 

Try to recalibrate it with some software.
For example you can try the "battery doubler" in this web http://www.dachshundsoftware.com
It has a function to recalibrate battery.

Regards...