62 www.gateway.comChapter 5: Managing PowerMonitoring the battery chargeYour new Gateway notebook is designed to provide an exceptionalbalance of performance and portability. Your notebook uses the latestchipset and mobile processor technologies to manage the processor speedand power consumption for a greater battery life experience. This designprovides you with maximum performance when plugged into AC powerbalanced with optimized battery life when on battery power.Closely monitor the battery charge. When the battery charge gets low,change the battery or connect to AC power immediately to prevent losingany unsaved work. To monitor the battery charge:■ Double-click the power cord icon or battery icon in thetaskbar. The Power Meter dialog box opens.■ Look at the battery charge indicator (see “Front” on page 10:■ LED blue - main and optional secondary battery are fully charged.■ LED purple - main or optional secondary battery is charging.■ LED blinking red - main and optional secondary battery chargeare very low.■ LED solid red - battery is malfunctioning.■ Wait for a Low Battery warning message to appear.If your battery charge indicator displays what looks like an inaccuratecharge, you may need to recalibrate the battery. For more information,see “Recalibrating the batteries” on page 63.Important If the power cord or battery icon does not appear on thetaskbar, click the show hidden icons button. If the iconstill does not appear, make sure that Always show iconon the taskbar is checked on the Power OptionsProperties Advance tab.For more information, see “Changing notebook powersettings” inUsing Your Computer which has been includedon your hard drive. To access this guide, click Start,All Programs, then click Gateway Documentation.
