Problem - laptop does not recognise adaptor ?

oops_a_daisy

Hi there - I will have to be quick before my battery runs out
Please can somebody advise me on what might be the problem with my laptop. For the last few months there has been a intermittent problem with the computer not recognising the battery. A warning comes up which reads

'the AC power adaptor can not be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. Please connect a Dell 130W adaptor or higher for best system operation'

The laptop is just over 2 years old and I am still using the adaptor that came with it which is a Dell 130W adaptor. I have contacted Dell support but it is out of warranty so they are going to get one of their engineers to phone me to give me a quote for a new motherboard ( havent got a clue what a motherboard is but it sounds expensive )

I have also had it looked at by a local computer shop and they couldnt find the problem as it was not happening when they had the computer ( intermittent ) so they just gave the fan a clean and returned it.

Has anybody else come across this problem and can you give me any advice.

many thanks OOPS

PS if this is a big problem I have seen an advert for PC World for a Toshiba laptop for £399 including a free printer - is this a good price the details are 512MB Memory, 80GB Hard drive, Pentium Dual Core, Windows Vista, 15' TFT screen, DVD, 56k modem wireless. We dont use the home computer for games so the disk space should be ok but just wondered if the price was good. I also still have the disc for Microsoft Works from when I got the Dell so would be able to use that.

Thanks for reading

albertross_2

Re the new PC, you will probably get more for your money at Dell (if you want to buy another Dell that is) https://www.dmxdimension.com.

Does the power supply transformer have a light on?

have you tried it without the battery in

is the socket round, where it connects to the laptop?

oops_a_daisy

Hi Albertross and thanks for replying. To answer your questions the power supply transformer does have the light on and I have also checked the laptop with a different charger from my work laptop (also a Dell ) and it still does not recognise it. The socket is round where it connects to the laptop.
Dell have just called me back with a quote of £240 to sort it out :eek: I also asked how much they would do a new one for as that seems rather a lot of money to fix it and they said £350 to £400 for a better one. Would I be able to sell the old one with this fault and if so how much would I get for it ? I am now thinking it would be better to get a new one and sell the old one if it is worth anything

gill5blue

HI
my laptop too dIed today the battery Is now dead and the power supply Is not gettIng through when I coonect the power supply the green lIght(on power supply) fluctuates
any suggestIons

gill5blue

Thankyou
It is an ACER, and i knocked the power connection a while ago and it has not recharged properly since i think it is a dodgy connection,
I bought it from a computer fair(paid cash) february2006, but i think it was my fault. It does have round connection.
Gill

albertross_2

Does the green light on the power block fluctuate when it isn't plugged into the laptop?

if you remove the battery, and plug the psu in, do any lights come on? if not, does wiggling the lead change anything?

gill5blue

albertross wrote: »

Does the green light on the power block fluctuate when it isn't plugged into the laptop?

if you remove the battery, and plug the psu in, do any lights come on? if not, does wiggling the lead change anything?

1)No
2)No lights on laptop and nothing wiggling lead (actually i have been wiggling lead for 2 weeks now)

albertross_2

So if you have the battery in, the light fluctuates, but no battery in, no light or light on the brick?

gill5blue

Hi
the green light flickers on the charger wether the battery is in the laptop or not and no green light on laptop in both cases
Cheers

oops_a_daisy

thanks Albertross - I was wondering about the sale of goods act too as it is just over 2 years old and although it gets daily use for a few hours I would expect it to last a bit longer than this ( purchased pre MSE days too so it wasnt cheap :rolleyes: ). I think I will put something in writing to them and see what they come back with.

Hi gill5blue - hope you manage to get sorted :hello:

ps - Dell mentioned something about the connection to the motherboard so it doesnt seem to be a motherboard faliure however ( sorry if this is a silly question ) how would I know if it was a motherboard failiure ?

albertross_2

I think the only real way of finding out is to take the laptop apart, and inspect the power input connector for damage, solder problems.