Notebook Tip: Disable Hardware that you do not use

Most notebooks have several hardware components installed that are not used by the user. A notebook with WLAN and network card for instance and a user that only uses the WLAN to connect to a network and the Internet. Every component installed is using battery and it is a wise step to disable those components that are not used - ever.

The Wlan - Network Card example was just one possibility. Many notebooks have a card reader, DVD drive, webcams and V.90 Modems among other components. My notebook for example offers both Wlan and LAN access and I have disabled the network card which had the positive side effect that it reduced the boot time of my notebook.

I disabled the card reader and the internal modem as well because I never use those components. The DVD drive is disabled as well most of the time because I rarely use it. I don’t have the necessary test equipment to test the battery usage before and after disabling the components but I can verify that the boot process into Windows is faster than before.