HP Compaq nx6115 User manual

Power
Document Part Number: 383370-001
May 2005
This guide explains how the notebook uses power.

Power ii
Contents
Power
Power Control and Light Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Standby and Hibernation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Hibernation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Initiating Standby, Hibernation or Shutdown . . . . . . . . 7
Default Power Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Turning the Notebook or Display On or Off . . . . . . . . 10
Initiating or Resuming from Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Initiating or Restoring from Hibernation. . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using Emergency Shutdown Procedures . . . . . . . . . . 14
Power Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Accessing Power Options Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Displaying the Power Meter Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Setting or Changing a Power Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using a Security Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Processor Performance Controls (Select Models Only). . . 18
Battery Packs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Identifying Battery Packs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Inserting or Removing a Primary Battery Pack. . . . . . 22
Charging Battery Packs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Charging a New Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Charging an In-Use Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Monitoring the Charge of a Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Obtaining Accurate Charge Information . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Displaying Charge Information on the Screen . . . . . . 26

iii Power
Managing Low-Battery Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Identifying Low-Battery Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Resolving Low-Battery Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Calibrating a Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
When to Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
How to Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Conserving Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Conserving Power As You Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Selecting Power Conservation Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Storing a Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Disposing of a Used Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Index

Power 1
Power
Power Control and Light Locations
The following illustration and table identify and describe the
power control and light locations.
✎Your notebook may look slightly different from the
illustrations in this section.

2Power
Component Description
1Display switch Puts the notebook in standby if the
display is closed while the notebook
is on.
2Power/standby lights* (2) Green: The notebook is on.
Blinking green: The notebook is in
standby mode.
Off: The notebook is off or in
hibernation.
(Continued)

Power 3
3Power/standby button When the notebook is
■Off, press the button to turn on the
notebook.
■In standby, briefly press the button
to exit standby.
■In hibernation, briefly press the
button to exit hibernation.
If the notebook has stopped
responding and Microsoft® Windows®
shutdown procedures cannot be used,
press the power/standby button and
hold for at least 5 seconds to turn off
the notebook.
4fn+f3 Initiates standby.
5Battery light Amber: A battery pack is charging.
Green: A battery pack is close to full
charge capacity.
Blinking amber: A battery pack that is
the only available power source has
reached a low-battery condition. When
the battery reaches a
critical
low-battery condition, the battery light
begins blinking more quickly.
Off: If the notebook is connected to an
external power source, the light is
turned off when all batteries in the
notebook are fully charged. If the
notebook is not connected to an
external power source, the light is
turned off until the battery reaches a
low-battery condition.
*There are 2 power/standby lights. Both display the same information. The
light on the power button is visible only when the notebook is open; the
other power/standby light is always visible on the front of the notebook.
Component Description

4Power
Power Sources
The notebook can run on internal or external AC power. The
following table indicates the best power sources for common
tasks.
Task Recommended Power Source
Work in most software
applications
■Charged battery pack in the notebook
■External power supplied through one of
the following devices:
❐AC adapter
❐Optional docking device
(select models only)
❐Optional power adapter
Charge or calibrate a battery
pack in the notebook
External power supplied through
■AC adapter
■Optional docking device
(select models only)
■Optional power adapter
Install or modify system
software or write to a CD
or DVD
External power supplied through
■AC adapter
■Optional docking device
(select models only)
■Optional power adapter

Power 5
Standby and Hibernation
Standby and hibernation are energy-saving features that conserve
power and reduce startup time. They can be initiated by you or by
the system. For more information, refer to “Initiating Standby,
Hibernation or Shutdown.”
Standby
ÄCAUTION: To avoid a complete battery discharge, do not leave your
notebook in standby for extended periods. Connect the notebook to an
external power source.
Standby reduces power to system components that are not in use.
When standby is initiated, your work is saved in random access
memory (RAM) and the screen is cleared. When you resume
from standby, your work returns to the screen where you left off.
■Saving your work before initiating standby is not usually
necessary, but it is a recommended precaution.
■When the notebook is in standby, the power/standby lights
blink.

6Power
Hibernation
ÄCAUTION: If the configuration of the notebook is changed during
hibernation, resuming from hibernation may not be possible. When the
notebook is in hibernation:
■Do not dock the notebook in or undock the notebook from a
docking device.
■Do not add or remove memory modules.
■Do not insert or remove any hard drives or optical drives.
■Do not connect or disconnect external devices.
■Do not insert or remove a Digital Media Slot card, a PC Card, or
an ExpressCard (select models only).
Hibernation saves your work to a hibernation file on the hard
drive, and then shuts down the notebook. When you restore from
hibernation, your work returns to the screen where you left off. If
a power-on password has been set, the password must be entered
to restore from hibernation.
You can disable hibernation. However, if hibernation is disabled
and the system reaches a low-battery condition, the system will
not automatically save your work while power is on or when
standby has been initiated.
Use Power Options in Microsoft® Windows® Control Panel to
reenable hibernation:
»Select Start > Control Panel > Performance and
Maintenance > Power Options > Hibernate tab. Make
sure that the Enable hibernation check box is selected.
To set the time interval after which the system initiates
hibernation:
1. Select Start > Control Panel > Performance and
Maintenance > Power Options.
2. Click one of the intervals in the System hibernates list.

Power 7
Initiating Standby, Hibernation or Shutdown
The following sections explain when to initiate standby or
hibernation and when to shut down your notebook.
✎You cannot initiate any type of networking communications or
perform any computer functions while the notebook is in
standby or hibernation.
When You Leave Your Work
Initiating standby clears the screen. When the notebook is in
standby, it uses less power than when it is on. Your work returns
instantly to the screen when you resume from standby.
Initiating hibernation clears the screen and saves your work to the
hard drive. When the notebook is in hibernation, it uses much less
power than when it is in standby.
Shutting down the notebook and removing the battery pack is
recommended to extend the life of the battery pack when the
notebook will be unused and disconnected from external power
for an extended period. For details on battery pack storage, refer
to “Storing a Battery Pack.”
When a Reliable Power Supply Is Unavailable
Make sure that hibernation remains enabled, especially if you are
operating the notebook on battery power and do not have access
to an external power supply. If the battery pack fails, hibernation
saves your work to a hibernation file and shuts down the
notebook.
It is recommended that if you pause your work when the power
supply is uncertain, you do one of the following:
■Initiate hibernation.
■Shut down the notebook.
■Save your work, and then initiate standby.