I have a MBP, and a few questions.

[NitrousFlare]

So I'm a bit confused on a few subjects. I'm switching from a PC.

1. My battery meter is set up so I see the battery and the time remaining, however after I unplug the power cord the time stays in parenthesis. A few days ago, when I unplugged the power it showed the time without parenthesis. I know it's not a big problem, but if I could get it back to normal it would be comforting.

2. When I boot into Windows XP (using bootcamp), is it normal for my fans to get to 6000 rpm?

3. What are some good battery management techniques to keep my battery healthy?

Thanks

 

[skedealz]

So I'm a bit confused on a few subjects. I'm switching from a PC.

1. My battery meter is set up so I see the battery and the time remaining, however after I unplug the power cord the time stays in parenthesis. A few days ago, when I unplugged the power it showed the time without parenthesis. I know it's not a big problem, but if I could get it back to normal it would be comforting.

2. When I boot into Windows XP (using bootcamp), is it normal for my fans to get to 6000 rpm?

3. What are some good battery management techniques to keep my battery healthy?

Thanks

im new to macs too but i will try to answer some of your questions from the best of my knowledge, and to the people who know more, please correct me if im wrong.

its normal to have it in parentheses, however you can change how and what you view by clicking on the battery icon and changing the settings under "show"

its been a long time since i've used bootcamp on my macbook since i just use vmware instead. i do remember my fans getting loud on while i was in bootcamp though. does it stay at 6,000 the whole time?

what i do to try and keep my battery healthy is to completely drain it after charging (meaning i wait for the low battery alert message or til it sleeps by itself). and i disconnect it from charging as soon as the light turns green to prevent the charge from actually draining the battery's power. i never leave it charging on green when i use it, i disconnect it once its green. and calibrate your battery at least once a month by fully charging it, and leaving it charging for i think another 3 hours, and then disconnecting it and using it until it turns of by itself, then you leave it in the sleeping mode for about 6 hours or more if possible, and finally you charge it and you can use it once its green.

 

[MowingDevil]

Is it always charging when plugged in? ....or is it possible to run the AC power & not be charging it? Just wondering how to best manage it. I've heard if its less than 100% then if you plug it in that counts as a "cycle." There was a recall on a faulty battery that wasn't holding its charge properly and my friend was told he had too many "cycles" so they weren't going to replace it....or something to that effect. He only used his battery like any other normal user, nothing excessive. Apparently the battery records cycles whether its a 10% charge or 95% charge as exactly the same.

 

[NitrousFlare]

Mine charges most of the time, but sometimes I leave the power cable in while I play games. I will calibrate it though, since I haven't done that yet.

Yeah, my fans run at a 6000 rpm, and I can tell because when I boot back into OS X iStat pro and smcfancontrol show it.

 

[spring]

The fans shouldn't be at 6,000 constantly. I notice that my fans get a little louder during boot up and it slowly quiets down after a couple minutes. However using any CPU intensive applications causes the fans to constantly run at higher rpms.

 

[alphaod]

Congrats on the computer!

1. My battery meter is set up so I see the battery and the time remaining, however after I unplug the power cord the time stays in parenthesis. A few days ago, when I unplugged the power it showed the time without parenthesis. I know it's not a big problem, but if I could get it back to normal it would be comforting.

The time in parenthesis is just that it's still charging—but when you unplug it, it might takes a few seconds for the computer to refresh. With parenthesis, it's battery remaining and it's an estimate.

2. When I boot into Windows XP (using bootcamp), is it normal for my fans to get to 6000 rpm?

Yes. In Windows, the power management is different. OS X (without fan control software), it kicks in at a higher temperature so people don't complain about the fans being loud. In Windows it's about performance, unless Apple releases a utility for Windows that does otherwise.

3. What are some good battery management techniques to keep my battery healthy?

If you use your battery like normal, I wouldn't worry too much. If you plan to keep it charged all the time, then calibrate it once a month, by charging it full, running it til it forces sleep, and then recharging it to 100% full.

 

[tdgrn]

The unplugging of the battery every time that you get the battery fully charged is a little excessive. The only real issues that you can come across with a laptop is that if you leave it plugged in for several weeks, then you would need to let the battery drain itself by using it without power for a while.

As far as for bootcamp, I do not have that issue with my fans. The get a little louder when I boot into Windows XP, but then they quiet down. Do a Apple Software update for Bootcamp, that might fix some of your problems.

Congrats on the new computer man!