We have not found anything on the Web (bulletin boards, user groups, etc.)
suggesting that SP2 shortens battery time on laptops. This doesn't mean there isn't some sort of relationship, but if
there is, it is certainly not a common problem. It is certainly worth continued investigation.
Battery performance is directly related to what your laptop is doing. And the biggest problems we see with
laptops doing too much are directly related to spyware and adware. Your slow startup speed corresponds with this as well.
If you have extra processes running on your machine at startup, it will hinder the machine's boot time, and drain the battery life.
We recommend you install and run at least two spyware and adware removal programs. You can find instructions on the University's safe
computing website at:
http://safecomputing.umn.edu/guides/privacysoftware.html
We also suggest you look through the "Secure a Personal Computer" section and apply all of our recommendations for further computer security.
Another area to investigate is your machine settings such as screen brightness, sound, etc. You can custom tune your energy settings
by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting *properties*, then going to the *screen saver* tab, and selecting *energy options* at the
bottom of the window. Some of our consultants have been able to increase laptop battery life from 2 to 5 hours by carefully
monitoring what processes are allowed to continually run and by dimming the screen when indoors.
One thing is certain, "lean laptops run longer."
Thanks again for your interest in our program.
Sincerely,
Tech Talk Staff
