Mac OS X 10.4 Help
Calibrating an iBook or PowerBook battery
If you have an iBook or PowerBook portable computer, you should calibrate the battery to get the longest running life during the first week you have your computer.
Calibrating the battery involves using your computer until the battery is fully discharged and then completely charging it again. You only have to fully discharge and then charge your battery once to calibrate it. After that, you can connect and disconnect the power adapter when the battery is at any charge level.
To initially calibrate your battery, follow these steps:
- Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your iBook or PowerBook battery until the light on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
- Disconnect the power adapter and use your computer.
- Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.
When your battery's charge gets low, you will see the first low-battery warning dialog on the screen. Continue to use your computer until it automatically goes to sleep; at that point the battery has been sufficiently drained for calibration.
If you purchased additional batteries, repeat the calibration procedure with the additional batteries as well.