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I won't be using my laptop for a month. I remember I let a laptop sit all summer and the battery failed.

How do I store a laptop and battery properly?

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well, for better answer, you must inform us the "technology" of your battery, if it is NiMH, Li-Ion / Li-Polymer etc. (probably Li-Polymer). – kokbira Jul 25 '11 at 20:36
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Discharge the battery to 40-60%, and then simply put it in a cool dry location. You really don't need to do this, but you can also remove the battery just in case.

Related: Control charging and discharging of laptop battery

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A month is not really a long time. If you previous battery failed, it was probably not due to letting it sit. It was probably on its way out anyway. – KCotreau Jul 25 '11 at 20:02
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Do you happen to know if it would be better to leave the battery uncharged, at medium charge, or fully charged? – slhck Jul 25 '11 at 20:02
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Definitely remove the battery. Store it in a cool dry place. Laptop should be OK in any place so long as it is protected from the elements. Laptops will slowly drain their batteries even if they are turned off. – music2myear Jul 25 '11 at 20:15
My thought - there's probably a reason why laptops start complaining when the battery is down to around 50%. If your laptop isn't complaining, you're probably safe to store the battery at that charge level for fairly long periods. The exact charge level probably doesn't matter much. My laptop is eight years old, the battery is still good - if I'm not using it for a while I disconnect the battery, but I don't discharge it first - it's mostly run on the mains and kept at 100%. Occasionally I run it on batteries and discharge until it complains for probably no good reason. – Steve314 Jul 25 '11 at 20:24
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