TheGreatSatan

I finally bought a new laptop. The specs are:

HP DV9000z with 17" screen
AMD X2 TL-58
2GB RAM
GeForce 6150 Go
120GB Hard Drive

Being a N00b to Laptops, I have some questions:

I got a bunch of guides on basic setup, none of them said anything about charging the battery. I know the battery has to be attached when the laptop is plugged in, but I don't know how long the battery needs to be charged for and how to determine when it's done. Can it be over-charged? Does the laptop need to be booted in order for the battery to charge or can I plug in the laptop without booting to let it charge?

I'm a laptop noob, so I'm sorry if I sound like an idiot.

maniclion

The battery will charge when the ac adapter is plugged in whether the laptop is on or not. My laptop has an orange light that turns green when it's done charging. The ac adapter has a charge regulator in it that will keep it from overcharging. My 4400mah batt. charges in about an hour when the laptop is off and 2 hours if I'm using it while it's plugged in. The best thing to do is go to a forum for laptops and find threads on your model. You'll find all kinds of interesting things and tips on your laptop. Such as configurations to get the most out of your battery, places where people have found the cheapest replacement parts, mods people have done to theirs....etc.