New Laptop? Battery?

Question

I just purchases an HP Pavilion dv9235nr and I want to know whether or not i need to charge it fully before use? How do I know when its fully charged without turning it on? Also, Should i purchase a protection plan for $380?

Answer 1

It is not necessary to charge it fully before use. Keep it plugged in and use your laptop while it's charging.

As for the protection plan, it depends how much the laptop is worth. Some very smart people calculate the cost of protection plans and they put a hefty premium on it. They always make a lot of money with protection plans. In fact, you have better odds in blackjack.

A search revealed that the cost of your laptop is about $1500. At Best Buy the cost of their "Performance Service Plan" is 3 years.

Does your HP come with a warranty? Most come with a 1 year warranty so you're really just paying for two additional years. Also, for electronics, the point of failure is early in the life cycle or late in the life cycle. So if it survives the first year, it's very likely to survive the next several without any problems.

Now if you're talking about an accidental protection this all depends on how risky you are with your laptop. If you plan to have your laptop in your room 90% of the time, it's probably safe. If you're a road warrior and you fly all around the country and are in and out of the airport constantly then you might want to consider buying it.

Warranties and protection plans are simply not worth it (from a cost to benefit analysis). Never. However, people always regret not buying them when they need them and always regret buying them when they don't need them. Studies have shown though people are happier when they buy it because it relieves them of the stress of having to hassle with a lemon, accident, or whatever.

I personally never buy an accidental protection plan or a warranty plan. I do have an extended warranty for my car and I have to have an accidental insurance plan. For consumer electronics I opt out.

I travel about 30% of the time and I bring my laptop almost everywhere I go and have never accidentally damaged it any of them. I have dropped my laptops while they were in a case but they survived. I've seen people drop them without a case and the laptop usually survives short drops.

You're paying 25% for this protection and most people treat their expensive electronics very well and pack them very tight. I guess if you're clumsy too that's another factor to consider.

Answer 2

Different folks will have different experiences here. I can only relate my tales.

I have found that if you do a full charge before using, the battery tends to perform better over the long-run. Also, let the battery run down fully every three months or so. This helps calibrate the power-saving software in your computer. (There are those out there who will say, "Insomniac, that's a load of hogwash!" Hey, like I said, this is my experience. Your mileage may vary.) You should be able to tell by one of two ways...there should be a battery LED that is green when charging, but turns amber or turns off when it is full. Secondly, some batteries have a little button on the underside of the unit with a row of small LEDs. Touch that and if the entire row lights up, you are charged. Failing that, about three-to-six hours should do for a full, first-time charge.

The protection plan? Depends on how much you know about computers. I work with the things everyday (I'm an IT guy), so, for me, I don't see the value in a protection plan as I can diagnose a problem as well as anyone on the Geek Squad, but for someone who doesn't deal with computers on a daily or professional basis, it may be worth it. Your call, my friend.

Answer 3

On many laptop batteries there is a place you can press and it will light up a series of leds. The more leds that light, the more juice it has. Besides that or getting out a multi-meter you will need to fire up the laptop to see how much juice it has.

That laptop, like most newer ones, have a LI-ION battery. Unlike older NICDs you do not need to drain them to erase their memory to get them to charge fully. Just use it, let the computer worry about the battery.

Not knowing how much you paid for the laptop the $380 for protection does not mean much to me. You should consider it, especially if you take your laptop places. I have seen laptops get water, juice and coffee spilled in them. I have seen them dropped and dumped out of bags. I have also run into a number of them that broke for no reason anyone could think of. If the screen or motherboard goes bad, $380 is cheap.

Laptop are more expensive then tower PCs to buy, but it gets even worse if you ever have to service one. Radio Shack and is an authorized HP service center. You might stop in and get estimates on common repairs. Ask them how much the typical laptop repair costs.

Answer 4

Before first using your laptop you should allow the battery to fully charge. To tell when the battery is charged the little light by the battery symbol on the computer case will either stop blinking or change colors from red or orange to green.

As for the protection plan, its really a great idea to purchase the plan as if anything happens to your computer it will be replaced, unless you abuse the computer.

Answer 5

$380 for a protection plan.. hmmm, to me, I would have to look at where the unit is going to be used.. If you're just going to use it around your home, or office, no, if outside of those two, a lot? yes..
I would definitely charge the battery fully, before use.. gives you better battery life..
Hopefully, you get better life and time of use out of yours than I do out of my stock Toshie battery which barely gives me an hour's use before going to hibernation..
Of course, they want me to buy a more powerful, (read expensive,) battery, but, heck, I can't afford it.
Good luck