It appears that the list of features that Microsoft Vista offers doesn't include all positives. Some of the Vista features can cause your battery to drain faster and that is always a major inconvenience for remote workers. Rather than panic if your laptop battery has drained while on the road, take some steps before you go on the road to prepare your laptop so that you don't have to experience any laptop drain problems as a result of using Vista on your laptop.
1. Set Display to Lower Brightness
Display brightness is deemed to be the major culprit for battery drain more than any other factor. Your laptop may have controls on the keyboard (quite often a Function key and FN key combination) to quickly adjust the display brightness. This is your best bet to adjust the brightness level so that you can change it when connected to a power source without going through a lot of steps.2. Turn Off Wi-Fi
Not only is it safer to keep your Wi-Fi turned off but it helps keep your battery power from draining. Use the software settings and hardware control (if applicable) to shut off your Wi-Fi. Having to always ensure that you have access to external power when using Wi-Fi could be a pain, as any other Vista laptop owner will be searching for the same thing.3. Turn Sound Off
Okay the sounds effects in programs are kind of cool, especially when you've spent time personalizing them but really you don't need them if you are working with battery power only and in a public location.4. Put Your Laptop into Automatic Hibernation
If you happen to be away from your laptop for a period of time and want to ensure that you are conserving battery power and keeping your documents safe, then using manual hibernate is a good solution.5. Disable Aero Glass Feature
The Aero Glass feature is cool and for most it's the one feature of Vista that differentiates it from previous versions but any method that helps prevent battery drain is a wise idea. To disable:- Right-click on desktop and click on Personalize
- click View Color and Appearance
- Open Classic Appearance
- Select Windows Basic graphical interface from pop-up menu
- Click OK
6. Use Laptop Manufacturer's Power Management Program
The majority of laptops will include their own power management program and from the reports they appear to be more effective at preventing battery drain. Each company may use different programs for this function so read your User Guide and also check the manufacturer's web site for additional information.7. Use External Power
Whenever you have access to an external power source, keep your laptop plugged in. This way you won't be draining your battery needlessly and you keep your battery charged.NOTE: Another option with this is to purchase an extra modular bay battery to have handy.