![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Okay, now I've been officially on the record before as stating that there is no magic and mystery to computers. Once all illogical possibilities are removed from the list, the most logical one can be found with a little work. I continue to stand by this, and never accept the more ridiculous "voodoo" explanations for anything. While swinging a cat over your head might not hurt when trying to troubleshoot, it is not going to be the answer to the problem. Hell, my girlfriend can troubleshoot, identify, and repair some of the more common hardware issues (and way more software ones than almost any geek dudes at the computer stores, which is our secret joke), so it's not like this isn't something anyone who wants to can learn.
Despite this, I am baffled by something with one of my laptops.
My "workhorse" laptop is my 2Ghz P4 Northgate lappy, and has been my tried and true performer for about two years now. It's been through hell and is still working like a champ. That's a hell of a lot more than I can say for some other companies' products. Now, since it's a P4 and not a mobile, it takes a battery life hit that I was already aware of and decided the trade-off was worth it. Over the last few months, its battery life has gone from non-stellar to absolutely horrendous, with the average life span usually being around an hour, tops, and over the last month, around 45 minutes average.
I did everything I could to try to squeak as much life as I could out of the thing, including going to "max battery" mode in the power settings. Little to no effect. I decided to just deal with it until I could spare some cash for a new battery, because I wasn't ditching the computer that has worked so well for me just because one component goes limp.
Recently, I acquired a Sony Vaio mini-laptop (10.5" screen) from a friend for a steal of a price. Now, they had dropped and damaged it and were getting rid of it in lieu of another one, and after I got it in my workshop later I found that I was able to fix most of what was thought to be broke (I need to order a component from Sony, but I dunno if they'll sell it to me). However, I don't need the part right now (PCMCIA slot) thanks to the wireless (it's a 1Ghz centrino), and it's been very useful now that I slapped it back together and restored the OS to factory defaults (the friend, even after informed, said to keep the deal). The battery life is incredible, and after taking out the unnecessary programs installed by factory restore and installing my own list, it serves as the perfect little addition to my work (and play) tools. When not near a socket, it gets used as my mobile computer now.
Here's where the weirdness comes in.
Just last weekend, when on a drive to NYC, I had my workhorse open and running, since it was the only one with MapPoint on it. I was worried about it lasting through the 3 1/2 hour drive, but something strange occurred to me as I kept checking the battery meterthe battery power was dropping more slowly than I ever remembered! To push it a little, I left open MapPoint, stuck in a wifi PCMCIA card, and turned on NetStumbler (does that make me a l33t h4x0r?). Still steady and strong for most of the ride. I was amazed and determined to figure out what was up when I got home later.
So far, the only difference I noticed was that I changed the battery settings to "portable/laptop" instead of "max battery" to get the better results. I haven't tracked services and miscellaneous boot-time items yet, but I'm pretty confident none of that has been changed since I'm the sole user of the machine.
It's as if my Northgate has developed Vaio envy.
To the untrained eye, I can totally see how this would seem unexplainable and like voodoo. I don't even have an adequate explanation just yet. I'll be looking into it, to be sure, but I still haven't been able to determine if this was solely a software setting issue, or if hardware had something to do with it. I just don't know.
So, what I'm asking is if anyone else has seen this kind of drastic change in behavior with their laptops, and if they noticed any changes or symptoms that might explain it. The workhorse runs XP Pro (the mini runs Home), and I typically hibernate it instead of shutting down, usually for weeks or months at a time (the record is 3 months, I think). Anyone have any similar experience with XP power settings and/or battery life? I'd be curious to know.
Despite this, I am baffled by something with one of my laptops.
My "workhorse" laptop is my 2Ghz P4 Northgate lappy, and has been my tried and true performer for about two years now. It's been through hell and is still working like a champ. That's a hell of a lot more than I can say for some other companies' products. Now, since it's a P4 and not a mobile, it takes a battery life hit that I was already aware of and decided the trade-off was worth it. Over the last few months, its battery life has gone from non-stellar to absolutely horrendous, with the average life span usually being around an hour, tops, and over the last month, around 45 minutes average.
I did everything I could to try to squeak as much life as I could out of the thing, including going to "max battery" mode in the power settings. Little to no effect. I decided to just deal with it until I could spare some cash for a new battery, because I wasn't ditching the computer that has worked so well for me just because one component goes limp.
Recently, I acquired a Sony Vaio mini-laptop (10.5" screen) from a friend for a steal of a price. Now, they had dropped and damaged it and were getting rid of it in lieu of another one, and after I got it in my workshop later I found that I was able to fix most of what was thought to be broke (I need to order a component from Sony, but I dunno if they'll sell it to me). However, I don't need the part right now (PCMCIA slot) thanks to the wireless (it's a 1Ghz centrino), and it's been very useful now that I slapped it back together and restored the OS to factory defaults (the friend, even after informed, said to keep the deal). The battery life is incredible, and after taking out the unnecessary programs installed by factory restore and installing my own list, it serves as the perfect little addition to my work (and play) tools. When not near a socket, it gets used as my mobile computer now.
Here's where the weirdness comes in.
Just last weekend, when on a drive to NYC, I had my workhorse open and running, since it was the only one with MapPoint on it. I was worried about it lasting through the 3 1/2 hour drive, but something strange occurred to me as I kept checking the battery meterthe battery power was dropping more slowly than I ever remembered! To push it a little, I left open MapPoint, stuck in a wifi PCMCIA card, and turned on NetStumbler (does that make me a l33t h4x0r?). Still steady and strong for most of the ride. I was amazed and determined to figure out what was up when I got home later.
So far, the only difference I noticed was that I changed the battery settings to "portable/laptop" instead of "max battery" to get the better results. I haven't tracked services and miscellaneous boot-time items yet, but I'm pretty confident none of that has been changed since I'm the sole user of the machine.
It's as if my Northgate has developed Vaio envy.
To the untrained eye, I can totally see how this would seem unexplainable and like voodoo. I don't even have an adequate explanation just yet. I'll be looking into it, to be sure, but I still haven't been able to determine if this was solely a software setting issue, or if hardware had something to do with it. I just don't know.
So, what I'm asking is if anyone else has seen this kind of drastic change in behavior with their laptops, and if they noticed any changes or symptoms that might explain it. The workhorse runs XP Pro (the mini runs Home), and I typically hibernate it instead of shutting down, usually for weeks or months at a time (the record is 3 months, I think). Anyone have any similar experience with XP power settings and/or battery life? I'd be curious to know.