Using laptop as full time "desktop"?

My computer usage is such that I really do not NEED a
laptop.

I don't travel for work..... and even tho I'm a student
find that dragging a full size laptop to school to be a
burden and unnecessary as campus has many desktops
setting around to use anyway.

Having said that... I can still see value in having
laptop to move from room to room..... take on car
trips.... easy to resale on used market via mail order,
etc.

Some questions abt using a laptop in full time desktop
mode tho:

1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery being
in unit? It's best not to "cook" the battery all day
long if the laptop is plugged in and used as a desktop
anyway, is it?

2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110 vac and
without battery ON all day long? Say you leave the
house for a few hrs..... just leave it on...... will
that be hard on the internals and cooling fan? not
being designed for that?

3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of the
day..... anyway to stop the phantom current flow form
the power brick being plugged into the wall versus just
unplugging it (hassle)?

Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use a
laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing any
damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?

<> wrote in message
news:...
> My computer usage is such that I really do not NEED a
> laptop.
>
> I don't travel for work..... and even tho I'm a student
> find that dragging a full size laptop to school to be a
> burden and unnecessary as campus has many desktops
> setting around to use anyway.
>
> Having said that... I can still see value in having
> laptop to move from room to room..... take on car
> trips.... easy to resale on used market via mail order,
> etc.
>
> Some questions abt using a laptop in full time desktop
> mode tho:
>
> 1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery being
> in unit? It's best not to "cook" the battery all day
> long if the laptop is plugged in and used as a desktop
> anyway, is it?
>
> 2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110 vac and
> without battery ON all day long? Say you leave the
> house for a few hrs..... just leave it on...... will
> that be hard on the internals and cooling fan? not
> being designed for that?
>
> 3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of the
> day..... anyway to stop the phantom current flow form
> the power brick being plugged into the wall versus just
> unplugging it (hassle)?
>
> Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use a
> laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing any
> damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?


I don't know what kind of laptop you have, but I have a Dell Inspiron 8000.
I purchased it in 2001, I believe. Anyway, I use mine as my desktop without
batteries installed. I have never had a problem running on 120 without
batteries. The only minor downside is the batteries will lose their power
over time but that is easily resolved by just slipping them in for a few
hours.

As far as leaving my laptop on, I seldom turn it off. In fact, the only time
I turn it off is when I'm going to be gone for a few days and don't want to
take it with me or if there is a major storm in the area. I will do a warm
boot every couple of days but seldom actually turn the power off.

For the power brick, I have my cord plugged into a power strip that has an
on/off switch. So when I want to shut my laptop down and completely turn off
the electrical flow, I just flip the on/off switch - very easy, convenient,
and fast.

And I might also mention that I have only had 2 problems with my I-8000: my
screen went out about a year after I purchased it (replaced under warrenty),
and I had to replace a crashed HD.

Hope that helps.

Harry

I only have a few minutes so this will be short ...

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:56:53 -0500, wrote:

>I don't travel for work..... and even tho I'm a student
>find that dragging a full size laptop to school to be a
>burden and unnecessary as campus has many desktops
>setting around to use anyway.

I used a laptop to take notes in class.

>Having said that... I can still see value in having
>laptop to move from room to room..... take on car
>trips.... easy to resale on used market via mail order,
>etc.

Yes, from room to room is handy. I use my laptops in my living room
all the time.

>Some questions abt using a laptop in full time desktop
>mode tho:
>
>1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery being
>in unit? It's best not to "cook" the battery all day
>long if the laptop is plugged in and used as a desktop
>anyway, is it?

I have kept laptops on all day and night and left the battery in with
no ill effects. Recently I have put the laptops in sleep mode at
night.

>2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110 vac and
>without battery ON all day long? Say you leave the
>house for a few hrs..... just leave it on...... will
>that be hard on the internals and cooling fan? not
>being designed for that?

It's been OK for me.

>3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of the
>day..... anyway to stop the phantom current flow form
>the power brick being plugged into the wall versus just
>unplugging it (hassle)?

I never worrry about it. The phantom current is my friend because I
use the dark side of the force.

>Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use a
>laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing any
>damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?

I would just recommend getting a USB hub for all your peripherals, a
good laptop stand to raise it so you can see the monitor better, and /
or external monitor.

"Harry" <> wrote:


>I don't know what kind of laptop you have, but I have a Dell Inspiron 8000.
>I purchased it in 2001, I believe. Anyway, I use mine as my desktop without
>batteries installed. I have never had a problem running on 120 without
>batteries. The only minor downside is the batteries will lose their power
>over time but that is easily resolved by just slipping them in for a few
>hours.

Ok so no problem on leaving battery pack out of unit
then.

>As far as leaving my laptop on, I seldom turn it off. In fact, the only time
>I turn it off is when I'm going to be gone for a few days and don't want to
>take it with me or if there is a major storm in the area. I will do a warm
>boot every couple of days but seldom actually turn the power off.

OK... so what does your laptop do? Go into sleep mode
and stay there for hrs one end? If yes, that's not hard
on it...... keeping the little fan running a lot? Lot
of wear and tear on it? Or does it use so little power
in sleep mode such that the
fan hardly come on?

>For the power brick, I have my cord plugged into a power strip that has an
>on/off switch. So when I want to shut my laptop down and completely turn off
>the electrical flow, I just flip the on/off switch - very easy, convenient,
>and fast.

Ah yes...... that is what I was thinking I would do
above to keep phantom loads down.

Do you also have any kind of docking stand you keep it
in? use it with external keyboard and such?

>And I might also mention that I have only had 2 problems with my I-8000: my
>screen went out about a year after I purchased it (replaced under warrenty),
>and I had to replace a crashed HD.

How was that process above pretty painless? Did you get
extended warranty?

Hi!

> 1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery
> being in unit?

Yes. Some older laptops might have had a problem running without the
battery installed, but I haven't seen any new ones that suffer from
this issue.

It won't hurt to leave the battery in for a day. In fact, I wouldn't
even bother to remove it unless the machine was going to be stored or
run on AC power for a long period of time (more than a week).

> 2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110
> vac and without battery ON all day long? Say
> you leave the house for a few hrs..... just
> leave it on...... will that be hard on the
> internals and cooling fan? not being designed
> for that?

A properly designed laptop shouldn't have problems with that. I've
left both my Latitude D800 and Macbook running for days at a time on
AC power with a distributed computing project going in the background.
That would make the CPU run as hot as it ever could, and it is by far
and away the hottest item in the computer. Only the graphics processor
would get anywhere near as hot.

> 3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of
> the day..... anyway to stop the phantom current
> flow form the power brick being plugged into the
> wall versus just unplugging it (hassle)?

If there is nothing plugged into the AC adapter, the energy usage is
going to be very near to nothing.

If you leave the adapter plugged into the laptop while it is turned
off, you may see a small power draw (my Latitude D800 pulls about 2-6
watts when turned off and plugged in). Also, if you take the battery
out and unplug the laptop, you might find that it loses the time, date
and CMOS settings.

On some laptops, settings/time loss aren't big problems as there is a
"real" battery inside somewhere to keep this running. Others use a
large capacitor or may even depend upon the primary battery being in
place to keep this stuff running. The Dell laptops I'm familiar with
have a small NiMH battery that keeps the time, date and settings
intact. This battery also serves to allow a primary battery swap while
in standby mode. (My Macbook uses a CR2032 battery buried somewhere
inside to keep these settings and the time and date running if all
power is removed.)

> Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use
> a laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing
> any damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?

If it were me:

1. Run the machine on battery every now and again. Every few days is
fine.
2. Let the battery run down a few times.
3. If you remove the battery, keep the machine connected to AC power
when not in use.
4. Keep the vents and fan grilles on the laptop clean.
5. Don't block any of the vents and grilles. You may want to put
something under the laptop to ensure that it can breathe. Something
that's flat and sturdy is good enough.

William

<> wrote in message
news:...
> "Harry" <> wrote:
>
>
>>I don't know what kind of laptop you have, but I have a Dell Inspiron
>>8000.
>>I purchased it in 2001, ...>

> Ok so no problem on leaving battery pack out of unit
> then.

Not for me.

>
>>As far as leaving my laptop on, I seldom turn it off. ...>

> OK... so what does your laptop do? Go into sleep mode
> and stay there for hrs one end? If yes, that's not hard
> on it...... keeping the little fan running a lot? Lot
> of wear and tear on it? Or does it use so little power
> in sleep mode such that the
> fan hardly come on?

I have my power settings to put my computer to sleep after a couple of hours
of non-use. My fans run fine and my laptop stays cool. I've never checked to
see what the fans do when the computer is asleep. I've never worried about
it. Nor have I worried about the power being used.

>
>>For the power brick, I have my cord plugged into a power strip that has an
>>on/off switch. ...>

> Ah yes...... that is what I was thinking I would do
> above to keep phantom loads down.
>

When you buy one, buy a good one. Not one of those "95 cent specials".


> Do you also have any kind of docking stand you keep it
> in? use it with external keyboard and such?

Nope. No docking station or external keyboard/monitor. I do have a USB hub
which makes it a little more convenient to hook up my wireless mouse and to
use my memory key. Since I seldom disconnect the printer, I have it
connected to one of the USB ports in the back of my laptop.

But speaking of keyboards, the letters on my keyboard are wearing off.
Anyone know where I can find some new letters without having to buy a
keyboard replacement (not an option given the age of my laptop :-) )


>
>>And I might also mention that I have only had 2 problems with my I-8000:
>>my
>>screen went out about a year after I purchased it (replaced under
>>warrenty),
>>and I had to replace a crashed HD.
>
> How was that process above pretty painless? Did you get
> extended warranty?

I called Dell tech support and told them my problem, the next day, I had a
local technician call me that he had received my new monitor, and he came
the following morning and installed it. No problem at all. Honestly, I don't
remember if I got the extended warrenty on my laptop or not. However, on
subsequent purchases of desktops from Dell, I did get the extended warrenty
which included a special state-side phone number for support. I have used
that on several ocassions and loved it.

The others who have responded to you have also offered some excellent
advice.

HTH

Harry

,
I would consider purchasing a Notebook Cooling Pad, that the Notebook can
sit on. Some Notebook pads come with additional USB ports. The pad runs off
one of the notebook's USB connection to run the fans, (and extra USB
connectors that are part of the pad, if included).

--
Rich/rerat
(RRR News) <message rule>
<<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>


<> wrote in message
news:...
"Harry" <> wrote:


>I don't know what kind of laptop you have, but I have a Dell Inspiron 8000.
>I purchased it in 2001, I believe. Anyway, I use mine as my desktop without
>batteries installed. I have never had a problem running on 120 without
>batteries. The only minor downside is the batteries will lose their power
>over time but that is easily resolved by just slipping them in for a few
>hours.

Ok so no problem on leaving battery pack out of unit
then.

>As far as leaving my laptop on, I seldom turn it off. In fact, the only
>time
>I turn it off is when I'm going to be gone for a few days and don't want to
>take it with me or if there is a major storm in the area. I will do a warm
>boot every couple of days but seldom actually turn the power off.

OK... so what does your laptop do? Go into sleep mode
and stay there for hrs one end? If yes, that's not hard
on it...... keeping the little fan running a lot? Lot
of wear and tear on it? Or does it use so little power
in sleep mode such that the
fan hardly come on?

>For the power brick, I have my cord plugged into a power strip that has an
>on/off switch. So when I want to shut my laptop down and completely turn
>off
>the electrical flow, I just flip the on/off switch - very easy, convenient,
>and fast.

Ah yes...... that is what I was thinking I would do
above to keep phantom loads down.

Do you also have any kind of docking stand you keep it
in? use it with external keyboard and such?

>And I might also mention that I have only had 2 problems with my I-8000: my
>screen went out about a year after I purchased it (replaced under
>warrenty),
>and I had to replace a crashed HD.

How was that process above pretty painless? Did you get
extended warranty?

<> wrote in message
news:...
> My computer usage is such that I really do not NEED a
> laptop.
>
> I don't travel for work..... and even tho I'm a student
> find that dragging a full size laptop to school to be a
> burden and unnecessary as campus has many desktops
> setting around to use anyway.
>
> Having said that... I can still see value in having
> laptop to move from room to room..... take on car
> trips.... easy to resale on used market via mail order,
> etc.
>
> Some questions abt using a laptop in full time desktop
> mode tho:
>
> 1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery being
> in unit? It's best not to "cook" the battery all day
> long if the laptop is plugged in and used as a desktop
> anyway, is it?
>
> 2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110 vac and
> without battery ON all day long? Say you leave the
> house for a few hrs..... just leave it on...... will
> that be hard on the internals and cooling fan? not
> being designed for that?
>
> 3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of the
> day..... anyway to stop the phantom current flow form
> the power brick being plugged into the wall versus just
> unplugging it (hassle)?
>
> Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use a
> laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing any
> damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?



Personally, I've given using a laptop as a primary some thought. The
battery is of secondary concern to me; a nominal cost.

Regarding externals, I might consider either a D-port replicator or simply
sharing printers etc. wirelessly.....

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:38:54 -0500, Eugene <> wrote:

>S.Lewis wrote:
>
>>
>> <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> My computer usage is such that I really do not NEED a
>>> laptop.
>>>
>>> I don't travel for work..... and even tho I'm a student
>>> find that dragging a full size laptop to school to be a
>>> burden and unnecessary as campus has many desktops
>>> setting around to use anyway.
>>>
>>> Having said that... I can still see value in having
>>> laptop to move from room to room..... take on car
>>> trips.... easy to resale on used market via mail order,
>>> etc.
>>>
>>> Some questions abt using a laptop in full time desktop
>>> mode tho:
>>>
>>> 1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery being
>>> in unit? It's best not to "cook" the battery all day
>>> long if the laptop is plugged in and used as a desktop
>>> anyway, is it?
>>>
>>> 2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110 vac and
>>> without battery ON all day long? Say you leave the
>>> house for a few hrs..... just leave it on...... will
>>> that be hard on the internals and cooling fan? not
>>> being designed for that?
>>>
>>> 3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of the
>>> day..... anyway to stop the phantom current flow form
>>> the power brick being plugged into the wall versus just
>>> unplugging it (hassle)?
>>>
>>> Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use a
>>> laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing any
>>> damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?
>>
>>
>>
>> Personally, I've given using a laptop as a primary some thought. The
>> battery is of secondary concern to me; a nominal cost.
>>
>> Regarding externals, I might consider either a D-port replicator or simply
>> sharing printers etc. wirelessly.....
>
>I've used a laptop as my full time desktop since 1998 and got rid of the
>desk completely over 5 years ago.
>
>Lithium Ion batteries loose some of their life as time goes by so I don't
>see the point in trying to remove it, its just going to wear out sitting
>anyway. Plus if you buy a decent laptop there shouldn't be any thermal
>issues anyway.
>For full time use I'd suggest looking at a Latitude instead of an Inspiron
>since the Latitudes are designed to be run more. Most of the Insprions,
>espically the lower end are designed with only a couple hours at a time use
>in mind so they thermal design isn't as good. The keyboard, touchpad,
>hinges, etc on the Latitudes are usually intended to last longer also.
>I don't run anything external, if I need more drive space I swap the drive
>for a larger one. Printer I've always plugged into an print server or used
>a network ready one. Anything else like a dvd burner for backups I plug in
>USB as needed then put away when done.

It's nice to see a few people talk about batteries being a nominal
cost and not worth the hassle of trying to maximize their life by
taking them in and out and so on.

I agree with the comments about Latitudes, although I am not privey to
"Inspirons... designed with only a couple hours at a time use in
mind". I don't think that's true, but I do agree that the Latitudes
are better built and more solid.

I have been debating about selling my XPS 410 desktop so have been
thinking about what having a desktop means to me. It comes down to
better performance for gaming, being able to use two large monitors,
having multiple fast internal hard drives, and being able to have a
lot connected to it at one time (although with a laptop USB hubs can
aid with that).

S.Lewis wrote:

>
> <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> My computer usage is such that I really do not NEED a
>> laptop.
>>
>> I don't travel for work..... and even tho I'm a student
>> find that dragging a full size laptop to school to be a
>> burden and unnecessary as campus has many desktops
>> setting around to use anyway.
>>
>> Having said that... I can still see value in having
>> laptop to move from room to room..... take on car
>> trips.... easy to resale on used market via mail order,
>> etc.
>>
>> Some questions abt using a laptop in full time desktop
>> mode tho:
>>
>> 1. Can a laptop run on 110 vac without battery being
>> in unit? It's best not to "cook" the battery all day
>> long if the laptop is plugged in and used as a desktop
>> anyway, is it?
>>
>> 2. Is it Ok to leave a laptop plugged into 110 vac and
>> without battery ON all day long? Say you leave the
>> house for a few hrs..... just leave it on...... will
>> that be hard on the internals and cooling fan? not
>> being designed for that?
>>
>> 3. When shutting the laptop down at the end of the
>> day..... anyway to stop the phantom current flow form
>> the power brick being plugged into the wall versus just
>> unplugging it (hassle)?
>>
>> Bottom line.... what habits are worthwhile to use a
>> laptop as a desktop" all day long without causing any
>> damage? and make it convenient as a desktop?
>
>
>
> Personally, I've given using a laptop as a primary some thought. The
> battery is of secondary concern to me; a nominal cost.
>
> Regarding externals, I might consider either a D-port replicator or simply
> sharing printers etc. wirelessly.....

I've used a laptop as my full time desktop since 1998 and got rid of the
desk completely over 5 years ago.

Lithium Ion batteries loose some of their life as time goes by so I don't
see the point in trying to remove it, its just going to wear out sitting
anyway. Plus if you buy a decent laptop there shouldn't be any thermal
issues anyway.
For full time use I'd suggest looking at a Latitude instead of an Inspiron
since the Latitudes are designed to be run more. Most of the Insprions,
espically the lower end are designed with only a couple hours at a time use
in mind so they thermal design isn't as good. The keyboard, touchpad,
hinges, etc on the Latitudes are usually intended to last longer also.
I don't run anything external, if I need more drive space I swap the drive
for a larger one. Printer I've always plugged into an print server or used
a network ready one. Anything else like a dvd burner for backups I plug in
USB as needed then put away when done.