Laptop batteries usually come in two types - nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride. It is important to charge brand new batteries in cycles of fourteen to sixteen hours. The batteries should be allowed to cool down before recharging them because overcharging them will shorten their life.

Laptop battery charger prices range from $200 to $300 and usually have a twelve-month warranty period. Ready access to chargers is important because nickel cadmium may suffer from a 'memory defect.' A laptop user may face this problem if the batteries are not fully discharged before recharging. A nickel cadmium battery should be charged only after it has been completely exhausted, otherwise the battery 'thinks' that it only has fifty percent of its original capacity and only uses half of its potential, thus increasing the time constraints of the laptop.

A user can recharge batteries for a laptop in two ways. First, whenever the PC is using AC power, a small flow of electricity runs to the battery that is called a trickle charge. This charge will automatically recharge the batteries after the laptop is disconnected. Another method of charging a battery is with an external battery charger. The batteries are fitted into the charger and then the charger is plugged into a standard electricity outlet. Some chargers that are available in the market offer to charge the batteries in seven hours but this may damage the batteries forever. Nickel cadmium batteries are likely to self-discharge, which means they may lose power when they are not being used. Battery chargers solve this problem by providing the battery with a small charge that keeps the battery fully charged.

Nickel cadmium batteries perform more efficiently when they are fully discharged and then recharged. If a battery is used in a more piecemeal fashion then, occasionally fully discharging the battery before recharging it will enhance the productivity of the same. Some battery chargers do this automatically, but leaving the laptop during the night and recharging the battery in the morning can also invigorate the battery efficiently.