laptop Battery Degradation Settings
Oh guys and Gals - I'm confused and could really do with your help please. 
Setting up my new Sony Vaio I found some battery settings that seem a good idea but for some reason my brain can't quite compute what this means.
In the Vaio Control centre there is an option for 'Select Enable Battery Care Function for longer Battery Life' after that the next page reads as Below, (attached is a snip of the actual page with the settings options.)
Battery life will be about 80% of the one of the fully charged battery, however, this mode prevents battery degradation and is more effective if you usually use the computer with battery power.
[Note] When you use the AC adapter to power the computer and the battery power is higher than the desired value, it takes time to reach the specified amount of battery charge. It is recommended to discharge the battery to less than 80% by using the computer with battery power.
Maybe I am having a really blonde day but I can't grasp what it actually means and with the price of vaio batteries the more I can do to stop the degradation the better.
Thanks peeps -
Setting up my new Sony Vaio I found some battery settings that seem a good idea but for some reason my brain can't quite compute what this means.
In the Vaio Control centre there is an option for 'Select Enable Battery Care Function for longer Battery Life' after that the next page reads as Below, (attached is a snip of the actual page with the settings options.)
Battery life will be about 80% of the one of the fully charged battery, however, this mode prevents battery degradation and is more effective if you usually use the computer with battery power.
[Note] When you use the AC adapter to power the computer and the battery power is higher than the desired value, it takes time to reach the specified amount of battery charge. It is recommended to discharge the battery to less than 80% by using the computer with battery power.
Maybe I am having a really blonde day but I can't grasp what it actually means and with the price of vaio batteries the more I can do to stop the degradation the better.
Thanks peeps -
Agree with Pierre..... however, if you remove the battery, two things.....
DO Remember, you cannot move the laptop to another location,...... (unless you have a very very very long extension lead) ..... as removing the power will be the equivalent of shutting down improperly.... and could cause corruption on the hard drive....
DO Remember..... put the battery back in once a month, run it down, re-charge it, then remove it again....
DO Remember, you cannot move the laptop to another location,...... (unless you have a very very very long extension lead) ..... as removing the power will be the equivalent of shutting down improperly.... and could cause corruption on the hard drive....
DO Remember..... put the battery back in once a month, run it down, re-charge it, then remove it again....
Cheers Guys - you kind and lovely people, what mess would I get myself in to without you! 
I will defintely follow the advice about running the battery down regularly, saying that is there any way of running the battery down completely? - my power settings will not let me set the 'critical battery leve'l to less than 3% and cannot see any way of disabling the critical battery action - will it make any difference if it doesn't get a complete discharge to 0%?
RE the Sony Battery Settings, I have newly attached the first screen on the vaio control centre -( immediately preceding my earlier attachment screen) that shows the option to use this 'battery care function'. If i follow your much appreciated tips (and BELIEVE me I will) will it really make any difference to me when I will be running it on AC and Battery Power in equal measures, Sony deifnitely like to put these 'extra' things on that just seem to complicate things!!
This time I'm going to blame the chocolate eggs for frazzling my brain!!
Have a lovely bank holiday - as ever , thanks for your help, it REALLY, REALLY is appreciated. 
I will defintely follow the advice about running the battery down regularly, saying that is there any way of running the battery down completely? - my power settings will not let me set the 'critical battery leve'l to less than 3% and cannot see any way of disabling the critical battery action - will it make any difference if it doesn't get a complete discharge to 0%?
RE the Sony Battery Settings, I have newly attached the first screen on the vaio control centre -( immediately preceding my earlier attachment screen) that shows the option to use this 'battery care function'. If i follow your much appreciated tips (and BELIEVE me I will) will it really make any difference to me when I will be running it on AC and Battery Power in equal measures, Sony deifnitely like to put these 'extra' things on that just seem to complicate things!!
This time I'm going to blame the chocolate eggs for frazzling my brain!!
Have a lovely bank holiday - as ever , thanks for your help, it REALLY, REALLY is appreciated.
if you discharge to 0%, that means the battery is flat. Which is the same as just pulling the plug out of the wall of a desktop pc ( = not good!) so you cant really discharge to flat. i dont think it makes a huge difference.
What i do is:
Powerplan is set to "high performance" (i do quite alot of intensive apps, which take an age to load if i dont use this)
i almost always have the powersupply plugged in, but once a fortnight i drain it to at least 10% / 10 minutes remaining (whichever is last) -- go as low as you like here, but if it gets to the point where your laptop is putting itself to sleep or hibernate, you waited probably too long
that way the battery gets powercycled (drained and charged) properly, and you shouldnt have to tinker so much with settings.
Its not a major thing if you dont do it - but its to make sure you get the most out of the battery, and to ensure it lasts along time!
and Hope you're enjoying the bank holiday weekend too, think too much chocolates keeping me awake, and im up for work in 5 hours 
ho hum!
What i do is:
Powerplan is set to "high performance" (i do quite alot of intensive apps, which take an age to load if i dont use this)
i almost always have the powersupply plugged in, but once a fortnight i drain it to at least 10% / 10 minutes remaining (whichever is last) -- go as low as you like here, but if it gets to the point where your laptop is putting itself to sleep or hibernate, you waited probably too long
that way the battery gets powercycled (drained and charged) properly, and you shouldnt have to tinker so much with settings.
Its not a major thing if you dont do it - but its to make sure you get the most out of the battery, and to ensure it lasts along time!
and Hope you're enjoying the bank holiday weekend too, think too much chocolates keeping me awake, and im up for work in 5 hours
ho hum!