closely monitor the battery charge. when the battery charge gets low, change the battery or connect to ac power immediately to prevent losing any unsaved work.

    monitor the battery charge by:

    ■ double-clicking the power cord icon or battery icon in the taskbar.

    if the power cord or battery icon does not appear on the taskbar, click the show hidden icons button. the power meter dialog box opens.

    ■ pressing fn+status to view the status display, which opens in the upper-left corner of the screen. the status display shows the current power source, the battery charge, and the power management mode.

    ■ looking at the battery charge indicator:

    ■ led green - battery is fully charged.

    ■ led orange - battery is charging.

    ■ led red - battery is malfunctioning.

    the battery charge indicator only lights up when the notebook is plugged in.

    ■ pressing the battery meter buttons on the main battery and optional secondary battery. the battery meter lights indicate the percentage of battery charge remaining.

   

    ■ waiting for a low battery warning message to appear.

    if your battery charge indicators display what looks like an inaccurate charge, you may need to recalibrate the battery. for more information, see "recalibrating the battery" on page 118.