On 09/12/2013 20:41, Charlie wrote:
7 years is not a long life for a laptop, I have heard of others that are still working after 10 years on this list I think. They keyboards on my laptops are pretty worn and they each only have 512 MB RAM but otherwise work as when new but now running Debian Jessie.
I agree with you, laptops last a long time; I have one acting as a network Gateway, it's 12 years old.
We're not on Solar and, since its function is needed all the time, it's on all the time. But I worry about damage to its battery because it is trickle charging all the time. It still works on battery when the power is cut off (due to faults or weather, etc) and seems to last an hour or so. Previously, I'd heard that switching laptops on and off repeatedly can be an issue for their batteries, because they re-initiate a recharge cycle. That was a serious problem with older Ni-Cad batteries; this and most modern laptops use Ni-MH or Lithium batteries and, so far, I have not heard that either of those have problems with recharge cycles.
So I think there *might* be an issue with your (understandable) on-off cycling, but I would think it is only a battery issue. If you were concerned, obtain a spare laptop battery before the machines get so old that no-one has replacement batteries any longer. Especially if you ever rely on your laptop battery, eg to avoid demands on the Solar at times when other demands are high.
regards, Ron