Need new power cable for Inspiron 6400 laptop

annie-c

Hello

The mains power cord to my laptop has broken and I'd be grateful for advice about where I can buy a replacement quickly and cheaply - do I need to purchase one from Dell or are these things standard.

The bit that is broken is the bit that plugs into the back of the laptop. The plug and powerpack are fine - so do I just need to get the cord bit that is broken or do I need to get the whole unit, please? Does anyone know the name of the bit that is broken? (I am rubbish with all things technical, sorry...):o

Thanks so much for reading
Annie

Pink.

Hi annie,

You should get more help with this on the Techie board, so I'll move your thread over there.

Pink

CIS

Your best bet is to search ebay.co.uk for a dell inspiron 6400 power pack and see what that gives you, you should be able to sort out the leads and things from there.

annie-c

Thanks, I've had a look around, - I'm looking at around £39 inc p & p from Dell or around £22 on ebay but am not happy enough with the small print of the ebay sellers I've seen so far.. so I'll keep looking. The ebay sellers show pictures of Dell products but then say the product is NOT same as picture and is a generic model... which makes me think I might be able to pop into PC World or similar and get something? The other issue with ebay is that the cables are being sold for £5ish with a £15+ postage fee, which worries me if anything goes wrong and I only get back the £5 item charge. Also one seller threatens that the warranty will be void if negative feedback is left . I wouldn't anticipate leaving a neg at this stage, but the threat puts me off... if for a tenner or so more I can get proper service from Dell... so I'll think it over before buying.
Thanks
annie

T4i

Aviod Ebay, I havn't a clue why people automatically think Ebay is the cheapest when in my experiences its clearly not cheap at all. Infact quite a good rip off at times.

Do you have a model number for the power pack?

TheChillPill

If you have a branch of Maplin nearby, try there. They stock a 'generic' laptop powerpack which has every possible combination of connectors and settings. Usually £50, but last time I saw them they were down to £20 (annoyingly, 2 weeks after I'd bought one for £50!). You won't need anything specific to your model, as long as the voltages etc are the same.

For extra piece of mind, take the laptop with you - the Maplin guys generally are pretty knowledable. Avoid PC World - overpriced, and no guarantee what they sell you will be suitable.

annie-c

Thanks all.

I'll check the exact model number tonight. I've been on the Maplin's website and the universal one is a bit more expensive than getting a replacement from Dell, but it will be a more 'instant' solution, so I might take that route.

Thanks again
annie

espresso

annie-c wrote:

Hello

The mains power cord to my laptop has broken and I'd be grateful for advice about where I can buy a replacement quickly and cheaply - do I need to purchase one from Dell or are these things standard.

The bit that is broken is the bit that plugs into the back of the laptop. The plug and powerpack are fine - so do I just need to get the cord bit that is broken or do I need to get the whole unit, please? Does anyone know the name of the bit that is broken? (I am rubbish with all things technical, sorry...):o

Thanks so much for reading
Annie

From what you have said, you only need to repair or get someone to repair the power lead for you! Take it into somewhere like Maplin and they may be able to do it for you. see here for the sort of plug required and they only cost 52p

HTH

annie-c

espresso wrote:

From what you have said, you only need to repair or get someone to repair the power lead for you! Take it into somewhere like Maplin and they may be able to do it for you. see here for the sort of plug required and they only cost 52p

HTH

Maybe! What has happened is that I have used the laptop literally as a laptop... and so the 'neck' of the cable leading into the plug bit that you showed in your post got twisted and worn and eventually frayed to the point that it doesn't work

YES, I KNOW that I was stupid and lazy not to notice/deal with it before it became irrepairable! But it is done now...

You are right that it could probably be repaired - I just don't know where to do these things. I think I'll take the cable and laptop into Maplins on Saturday and ask....

Thanks again
Annie