As usual, this post is also inspired by the questions I have received via emails.

Many of us have bought Notebook just an year ago and many of them have increased the warranty of their product for another 2 years. With warranty or without it, a notebook bought just an year ago would have good configuration to run Windows XP and basic office and home entertainment applications for another year or 2 at-least.

But there is one major draw back with any mid range of entry level notebook bought a year or year and a half ago. That is, a missing DVD writer. Most of these notebooks come with Combo drive which means support for reading DVD only.

A Combo drive is a type of optical drive that combines CD-R/CD-RW recording capability with the ability to read (but not write) DVD media.

With ever increasing size of our personal pictures taken from high megapixel digital camera and needs to convert a video taken on a handy cam to DVD or burning your favorite videos to DVD would require a DVD writer. Unfortunately a laptop / notebook internal DVD writer or as some call it RAMBO would cost Rs. 7500 or higher when taken from computer vendors like, Dell / HP / Acer / Lenovo.

So the question comes up, is there any portable but external solution available which may do the job without affecting the warranty ? Once again, available options like, an External USB DVD writer would cost you more or less the same amount as a internal optical drive !!

However there is one low-tech solution available for this, which is making an internal 5.25″ desktop DVD writer to work with your notebook.

Let us take a quick look at available 5.25″ casing for external DVD writer.

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When shorting my emails for ChotoCheeta.com, I realize that percentage of email question asking for ways to get most out of their notebook battery is quite high !

Therefore I thought of listing few basic steps one may take to get the most out of their notebook/laptop battery.

Check list before purchasing

If you are just about to purchase a notebook and looking for better battery life, then please consider the bellow listed factors.

• 9 Cell battery will offer better battery backup over standard 6 cell ones.
• Smaller screen size would offer better battery backup over a large screen notebook.
• Solid State hard drives consumes less power than normal SATA or PATA hard drives.
• Read the company specification, on their statement of battery backup time !!

Please note, while you order any notebook, you may chose the option to upgrade from standard 6 cell battery pack to 9 cell battery pack, which though would make the notebook a bit heavy but will certainly offer 25% more backup.

13″ or 12″ models would offer better battery back up over a 15″ or 17″ notebook. Large screen would definitely consume more power. Therefore those who needs a notebook for long battery backup usage, should eye for ultra small notebooks like 13″ dell XPS or such !!

Solid State Hard disk comes with no rotating or moving parts thus its really low in power usage and therefore allowing better battery back up time.

Before you make a purchase, do read the company statement on their expected battery backup time.

How to make most out of the notebook battery

There are few tips which you may follow to get most out of your notebook battery.

Use only certified hardware

When you are buying notebook accessories, like upgrading the RAM module or Hard drive, buy only those products or accessories which are certified by your notebook / laptop manufacturer. An uncertified device may consume more power thus reducing the expected battery backup time.

Use only certified Operating System

A notebook would contain information like, Built for “Windows XP” or may be like, built for “Windows Vista“. You may find the sticker of software certifications like,

Using any other OS on a device which is meant for a certain OS would cause poor battery backup, as there wont be proper driver support to maximize the system performance. Therefore, use only a certified OS with your Notebook / Laptop.

Use Up to Date Device drivers and softwares

It is really important that you keep your system device drivers up to date. Device drivers are meant to provide your OS the capability to use your hardwares properly and to obtain optimal performance.

One very common mistake as an user you may make is installing drivers from CD / DVD provided by your PC manufacturer, as it is possible that when you are installing drivers from DVD / CD which comes with your notebook. Do note, it is out dated and your PC manufacturer has uploaded newer and better drivers on their support web site.

• HP / Compaq Support
• Lenovo / IBM
• Acer Support
• Sony Vaio

Microsoft as an OS developer would issue critical OS updates which are not only important for your system but also helps to keep an healthy OS which would ensure best performance and optimal battery life. Therefore keep auto update turned on for your Microsoft Windows.

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