My netbook power supply does not work, can anyone help me?

espresso

Lucano wrote: »

This is exaclty what I want to do.
I was wondering if there are some big stores here in the UK like MEdiaMarkt, Saturn in Germany. I cannot find any.
There must be something like that here to.
I live in London. Maybe Curries is such a store?

Don't waste your time with Currys!

You should get some help in a Maplins store, see here for your nearest. They sell replacement power adapters if one is needed.

macman

Lucano wrote: »

This is exaclty what I want to do.
I was wondering if there are some big stores here in the UK like MEdiaMarkt, Saturn in Germany. I cannot find any.
There must be something like that here to.
I live in London. Maybe Curries is such a store?

Go to your local independent electrical shop and maybe buy a small item, and then ask the if they can test the adaptor for you. It's one minutes work.
Or you can buy a cheap multimeter for under a tenner.
No, anywhere but Currys/PCW!

Lucano

espresso wrote: »

Don't waste your time with Currys!

You should get some help in a Maplins store, see herefor your nearest. They sell replacement power adapters if one is needed.

You are perfectly right! I lost my time at Currys. They do not have any technical knowledge at all and were not able to test my power supply.
I went then to another store. They were also not competent. I tried to explain to them that I noticed a sort of fluctuation of the led-lamp of the power supply which might be a sign that the power supply is damaged (maybe a diode). Anyway, since they had a new supply, we tested my laptop with their power supply and it worked! So I bought it. They first wanted 30 pounds but I managed to buy it for 20 explaining to them that it was too expensive and that on amazon you can buy it for 18.
I am glad that the problem did not lie on the netbook. :beer:
Now that I have the new one, I could experimentate with the old one. I am pretty sure that I could repair it.
What would be the procedure? Open it and try to find out if a diode is burnt or what?
I just want to learn. There is lots of incompetency out there and it makes me angry. I just want to learn as much as possible.
:j

Garetha

Does your old power supply 'tick' when plugged into the mains but not the netbook?
If so the cable from the 'brick' to the connector may be shorting, probably as it goes into the plug.

Lucano

When the power supply is pugged into the netbook apart from the flattering of the led-lamp on it I can also hear a tick tick with the same rhythm of the flattering in the area wher the cable is pluggent into the netbook.
When I do not plug in the powersupply, the flattering is less intensiv - I assume because the electricity does not flow into any close circuit- and I can't hear anything.

neilwoods

Lucano wrote: »

You are perfectly right! I lost my time at Currys. They do not have any technical knowledge at all and were not able to test my power supply.
I went then to another store. They were also not competent. I tried to explain to them that I noticed a sort of fluctuation of the led-lamp of the power supply which might be a sign that the power supply is damaged (maybe a diode). Anyway, since they had a new supply, we tested my laptop with their power supply and it worked! So I bought it. They first wanted 30 pounds but I managed to buy it for 20 explaining to them that it was too expensive and that on amazon you can buy it for 18.
I am glad that the problem did not lie on the netbook. :beer:
Now that I have the new one, I could experimentate with the old one. I am pretty sure that I could repair it.
What would be the procedure? Open it and try to find out if a diode is burnt or what?
I just want to learn. There is lots of incompetency out there and it makes me angry. I just want to learn as much as possible.
:j

Why would you expect Currys to be able to test your equipment, they are there to sell not repair something you did not buy from them.

As for saying you can buy cheaper from amazon is just stupid, to even compare an online retailer to a high street store is just nonsense, they will will never have the same overheads as shops.

As for repairing then good luck, more than likely going to give yourself a very shock if your lucky due to the fact you don't know anything about them.

Lucano

neilwoods wrote: »

Why would you expect Currys to be able to test your equipment, they are there to sell not repair something you did not buy from them.

As for saying you can buy cheaper from amazon is just stupid, to even compare an online retailer to a high street store is just nonsense, they will will never have the same overheads as shops.

As for repairing then good luck, more than likely going to give yourself a very shock if your lucky due to the fact you don't know anything about them.

An high street retailer?? Is is ridiculous what you are saying there! :T
Actually everything you said is quite ridiculous!! Do you work at the Currys?
Anyway, for the "highstreet retailer", the guy of "the highstreet" behaved like on the market. He wanted 30 but when I told him that on Ebay it costs 18, he gave it to me for 20!! :T

On to your smart comment concerning the repairing: what I was looking for here was a competent answer not such a nonsense comment :rotfl:

Ratboy

AFAIK Currys have a instore repair centre called 'Mastercare', so just fobbed you off by not even testing it for a small fee even.

Glad you got sorted, at the price I quoted, and the fault was exactly as I explained.

Messing about with mains equipment, when you don't know what you are doing is highly dangerous, as it can retain a charge even when unplugged.

You would need a multimeter, set to diode check setting, break open the transformer box (they are normally glued shut), and WHILE UNPLUGGED!!! check the 4 diode array, they should be s/c one way, and have resistance the other, but solid, not leaking. If you find one s/c or o/c, it needs replacing. Other components in line with them can give false readings, in which case, the diode needs t be removed to test properly. It may also have a 12v voltage regulator IC in there, these are checked in the same way, collector (middle pin) should read short one way, resistance the other, on both its outer legs, and not s/c between the outer two legs. It may be more sophisticated and have a dedicated 8 pin IC to do the job of the above, ie current regulation/energy saving, in which case when something fails, most things fail, and its a write off.

I'm an experienced engineer, and had more shocks than I care to remember, so, after I told you how to remove the battery, and you still do not know how to do it, then I would STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU LEAVE WELL ALONE, as you could BE KILLED.

Lucano

Ratboy wrote: »

AFAIK Currys have a instore repair centre called 'Mastercare', so just fobbed you off by not even testing it for a small fee even.

Glad you got sorted, at the price I quoted, and the fault was exactly as I explained.

Messing about with mains equipment, when you don't know what you are doing is highly dangerous, as it can retain a charge even when unplugged.

You would need a multimeter, set to diode check setting, break open the transformer box (they are normally glued shut), and WHILE UNPLUGGED!!! check the 4 diode array, they should be s/c one way, and have resistance the other, but solid, not leaking. If you find one s/c or o/c, it needs replacing. Other components in line with them can give false readings, in which case, the diode needs t be removed to test properly. It may also have a 12v voltage regulator IC in there, these are checked in the same way, collector (middle pin) should read short one way, resistance the other, on both its outer legs, and not s/c between the outer two legs. It may be more sophisticated and have a dedicated 8 pin IC to do the job of the above, ie current regulation/energy saving, in which case when something fails, most things fail, and its a write off.

I'm an experienced engineer, and had more shocks than I care to remember, so, after I told you how to remove the battery, and you still do not know how to do it, then I would STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU LEAVE WELL ALONE, as you could BE KILLED.

Many thanks!
yours is a constructive and competent answer!!
No, no, of course I knew and still know how to remove a battery. This is the easiest things to do. You do not need any expertise to be able to remove a batter from a Netobook :-)
Anyway. Yes, of course the test must be done unplugged.
So inside of the power supply there should be 4 diode. What do you mean with s/c and o/c ?

Ratboy

If it is a really basic model, there is a transformer, that converts 220V (or 110V abroad), down to 14v, 12v, 9v, whatever required; for a laptop. But this is AC voltage, and the laptop needs DC, so it is fed through a series of 4 diodes, they are generally black, with a white band to tell you which way they conduct/resist the electrons. o/c means open circuit, like a blown fuse, s/c is when they have failed and act like a piece of wire.

This is then fed through a small capacitor, think a quick acting battery (thats the thing that electrocutes you - or anything attached to it, if there is an open circuit, which is quite possible), if the top of it has secretions, or is bulged out, then it may be broken, there may be a couple of resistors in there to regulate the capacitor at switch on, and the regulator transistor keeps things at the required voltage, by using potential difference between it's input and output.

Other PSU's (power supply units), have dedicated chips inside, and when one component goes, it all goes

BUT I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DO NOT DO THIS