My Dell Inspiron 1520 seems to use a lot of battery power, even when the lid is closed, and nothing is running. Is there any way to save battery power, without going into standby mode, or turning off the hard drives? Thanks...

How long does your battery usually last? If it lasts 2 hours or more, that's normal for a notebook computer. The standby mode and turning off of hard drives is what notebooks are designed to do to give you more battery life. If you have to have it on and available all the time without going into standy mode, you'll need to get used to charging it every couple of hours. If you want to get more battery life, try the following options:
1) have the display turned off when not in use (this setting can be changed where you set up your screensaver)
2) turn off the wireless function (if available) when not in use
3) have the computer go to standby mode after 10 or 15 minutes of inactivity.
4) lower the brightness of your display

All of the above assumes that you're getting a decent charge and can use the notebook unplugged for 2 hours or more. Naturally, over time, notebook batteries wear down and don't hold a charge as well as they once did. If your notebook is a few years old and you're only getting an hour or so on a full battery, then it is probably time to invest in a new battery. If your notebook is new and you are getting this short battery life, contact Dell for a replacement battery as yours may be defective.

One last thing about notebook batteries. They are designed to be charged up and run down. If you leave your computer plugged in to a/c power all the time while you are using your computer, this greatly speeds up the wearing down of the battery. Whenever possible, you should fully charge your battery and then run the battery down to 10% or less before plugging it back in. This ensures that you get the most battery life on a consistent basis.

Hope this help. Please take a moment to rate the solution. Thanks.