Extreme power usage - Battery gets low fast

[Klinux]

Hi,
I have a DELL Vostro 1720 and I noticed that on linux power gets very fast low. I turned up my laptop 5 mins ago at it was 98%. When I started writing i saw written 80%, and now I am done it says 75% of battery power. Is this normal???
My laptop normally on windows does 3 hours (when no activity) standalone and for sure 2 when doing normal tasks.

Many thanks

[Klinux]

I sdisabled Compiz Fusion, and the battery is going much better, I have the feeling still more used than in Windows, but I can carry on now for 1:30 hour.
So never use Compiz Fusion on a Laptop.

[rubentje1991]

Which window manager (Desktop Environment) are you using???

[Klinux]

XFWM
XFCE

[Dragynn]

So never use Compiz Fusion on a Laptop.

I doubt very seriously that a blanket statement like that would need to become de facto policy across the board.

I myself find it a little odd, you see I am a long-time XP user, and still dual-boot on a couple of machines, and I find that my laptop batteries last about twice as long on linux, adding compiz and using it, didn't seem to make an appreciable difference. And what's even more telling, is that XP, even when stripped of all the ridiculous and unnecessary processes and spyware from microsoft, and after applying every known tweak I have invented myself or amassed over ten years of use, still requires 70% more ram just to idle doing nothing, than my full flavored-every-option-enabled Zen install does.

YMMV as they say. I myself, would never use a piece of bloatware like Vista or Windows 7 on a laptop, 7 uses like what? 70 processes just to idle? wow! Nice way for the big boys to generate that extra revenue though....I stopped buying lappy batteries years ago, I roll my own and they last for years.

[Klinux]

I do not know what YMMV means.
I never used Vista more than a month and do not want t oinstall Windows 7. I also have on my laptop Windows XP+SP2 build 2600 and PClinuxOS.
Now that I disabled Compiz Fusion, the battery seems normal, but with it enabled its really eating battery. As I told in my first posts, the value changed 5% from when I started typing till I ended (less than 1 minute).
Maybe its something different, I hope so, but I researched on internet and other people seem to have the same issues with Compiz. It could depend on my video card? I do not know, I just wrote what happened.

[T6]

yes, this happens too in my netbook using compiz, battery vanishes fast, should give 3 hours but gives maybe 1:50 or less

in linux i don't have control over the brightness of the screen(well, honestly haven't searched it), i am not controlling the cpu speed and i am not doing any other powersave because i have problems with keyboard and suspend to ram or disk, won't wake up

this things, xp sp3 does well but has it own problems, sometimes doesn't wake up or doesn't wake up sound card or network card

i think we should create a post mentioning how to control, what to install and steps to follow to manage battery properly on pclinux because i see we don't know enough about this and many users have mentioned this before

btw, i am using kde4

[Dragynn]

I do not know what YMMV means.
I never used Vista more than a month and do not want t oinstall Windows 7. I also have on my laptop Windows XP+SP2 build 2600 and PClinuxOS.
Now that I disabled Compiz Fusion, the battery seems normal, but with it enabled its really eating battery. As I told in my first posts, the value changed 5% from when I started typing till I ended (less than 1 minute).
Maybe its something different, I hope so, but I researched on internet and other people seem to have the same issues with Compiz. It could depend on my video card? I do not know, I just wrote what happened.

YMMV=Your Mileage May Vary. sorry, i see that abbreviation used a fair bit these days, gettin' lazy in my old age

Batteries of all kinds can appear good on the surface, and work okay in light use, and yet still have underlying problems, a load tester can sometimes show issues that a multimeter can't. A video card should certainly draw more current under heavier use, but T6's results (approx. 33% less time until full discharge) are more indicative of how a healthier battery should respond. Again, YMMV , I would love to hear other folk's experiences here, some more data to add to the base might be helpful.

[Crow]

I don't know, never used Windows in the laptop enough time to discharge the battery 

[T6]

do you understand that your reply has very little sense here? it is almost a troll answer

don't want to be rude but it is how i understand it

[Crow]

Is not my intention to be disrespectful but is the same kind of comment I've received when talked about the poor quality of audio drivers in Linux.

As for the time in the Laptop, running Linux KDE4 or e17 (installed through task-enlightenment) the battery lasts as long as is expected, I don't use Compiz Fusion now (in KDE3.x I did) and never was a problem.

[Klinux]

I have read somewhere that xfce-power-manager a bit buggy is, (I could not hibernate or standby), so I though, maybe the value displayed on the meeter is just wrong.
I now installed gnome-power-manager (in XFCE) and it says my laptop battery is broken and is not 100% of its capacity. I have read this is also a bug of gnome-power-manager.
I turned my laptop on at 9:50 and it was 100% (45 minutes) now at 10:05 its at 64% (39 minutes). I will now test until the PC turns off howlong it stays.
I was wondering also, could it be possible for software to broke hardware? In this case is it possible that software broke my battery?
I have read that PowerTop is not available anymore on PClinuxOS. Is there any change to get it here again>

EDIT: At  10.30 the battery was empty, I will not charge again 100% and test no Windows XP

[rubentje1991]

powertop is at the moment in the testing section.....
So, if it's a testing-pc (with a testing-install), try it out! 

[genomega]

Install and run gkrellm so you can see what is consuming your power.

[Klinux]

I know booted on Windows XP and power usage is also much. SO I think my battery needs to be changed.
The strange thing is that I had not noticed anything until I started to reuse PClinuxOS on this laptop. In the past I have only used Windows XP.
Now I am not saying its Linux, maybe I just didn't notice it before, but I need to be sure about this before I buy a nwe battery.
So is it possible for software to break in anyway hardware?