VGN-FZ18L Battery Life?

[drdratsony]

Not a new machine anymore, but it is still nice to use, except ....

When we bought it the battery was said to last up to five hours. It actually lasted about a half hour (which I know is still 'up to five hours!'.

I decided that there was a problem with the battery so invested in a new one.

Guess what, it now lasts about half an hour!

Anyone else had this problem? More to the point what can be done about it?

[rich912 · Accepted solution]

Hi drdratsony,

This is a common complaint and there was, at some time, detail on the support site of the running conditions under which maximum battery life is determined.

From memory this included, but was not limited to:

Screen brightness reduced.

Wireless turned off.

No DVD drive use.

Power option set to maximum battery life.

Minimise aplications running in the background.

The above may help extend battery life but whether you will ever achieve 5hrs is debatable.

Rich

[drdratsony]

Thanks for that Rich,

Yes I have heard that before, I think it also included not using the internet. In other words don't use the thing at all and it will last longer!

We just bought a notebook type pc to replace it. I really fancied the Sony one but did not consider it due to the problems above.

rgds