Should I keep my battery in or remove it?

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Level 1

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Should I keep my battery in or remove it?

I have a MacBook Pro 15" Intel Core 2 Duo and I use it most of the time on my desktop, attached to another display (23"). Eventually I go somewhere else with it, to a bar or library, but not that often. Here's my questions:
Should I keep the battery in or should I remove it (half-loaded as Apple recommend for battery storage)?
If I keep the battery out of the computer, is it ok for the battery bay to be empty?
If I keep the battery in, should I keep the Magsafe always connected, or every time the battery is full I should disconnect it and use the battery till it's low in charge?
Apple's articles about batteries are not very clear about this, so any help would be more than welcome.

Thanks,

richard

MacBook Pro 15" 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8) Dual Screen 23" HD Display

Posted on Dec 2, 2006 2:05 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 2, 2006 2:21 PM in response to therichard

there is no need to remove the battery. if your machine is plugged in, it will always run off the power cord, never the battery, even if the battery is fully charged. if you remove your battery, it is best to keep it at around half full. for optimal battery health, i would keep it in the computer and just occasionally unplug the computer and let it use the battery. this will keep the battery healthy. if the battery just sits without use, this will greatly reduce its capacity after awhile.

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Answer 2

Phil Ta

Level 6

10,400 points

Dec 2, 2006 2:37 PM in response to therichard

One thing to take into consideration is that without the battery in, the processor runs only at 1GHz and is thus slow.

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Answer 3

therichard Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 3, 2006 1:50 PM in response to therichard

Thank you both for the helpful answers, I have now a clear idea how to care my battery, case closed.

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