Are power cables interchangeable?

Oddjob

I have been offered a laptop - Toshiba but they want to keep the power cable as a spare for their new laptop. My old laptop which is HP is running on XP and so rather than update it, I would really like this newer Win 7 Toshiba. I know I could buy another cable, but money is really tight at the moment, would the HP cable be alright to work the Toshiba on? I don't want to try it and damage it. Thanks for your help.

Esqui

They aren't interchangeable, unfortunately. The HP charger won't fit the Toshiba

Oddjob

Esqui wrote: »

They aren't interchangeable, unfortunately. The HP charger won't fit the Toshiba

Oh well, it was worth a try!! It will still probably be cheaper to buy a new cable than upgrade my old laptop. Would I be able to use my old laptop to back up the newer one or wouldn't it work as they are on different operating systems, I thought that if I don't go on the Internet with the old one, there will be no risk of hackers on that one. Would I need to clear it altogether or could I still keep my old files on it, photos etc? Sorry, so many questions!!

Esqui

You could use Windows Easy Transfer* and a network cable running between both laptops to get all your files onto the new one, then use some data wiping software to clear off the old one.


*This is built into Windows 7, and will allow you to download the software to a USB stick to load onto the XP machine

Oddjob

Could my old one then be used for back up of the new one?

paulsad

Got my last one cheap off ebay its been fine; just have to make sure you get the right one for your model.

emptybox

Oddjob wrote: »

Could my old one then be used for back up of the new one?

Depends on how you mean, really?

As you say, if you disable the network adaptors, and stop it going on the internet, then it'll be safe to continue using the old laptop.

And you could use the method of connecting it via an ethernet cable (may need crossover cable?) to continue to backup files to it. (see post 4)
But seems a bit of a clumsy way to do it?

Might be better to take the hard drive out of the old laptop, and fit it in a USB caddy, and use it as an external drive for backing up.

cookie365

Get a photo of the very very very tiny writing on the original charger brick or plug to compare with the replacement you buy.

The voltage should match exactly. Though you may be ok and not have your house burn down if it's .5v different.

The amps on the replacement should be at least as much, more is OK.

The watts on the replacement should be at least as much, more is OK. If you've got the volts and amps right this will be OK as the watts is amps times volts.

The polarity must be identical. Look for a icon showing a spot surrounded by an almost full circle. There'll be a line from the centre spot and another from the outer circle. One line will go to a + sign, the other to a - sign. Your new charger must match.

Finally, the plugs must be physically compatible.

And yes, it is a big scam by the laptop manufacturers to make it as difficult as possible to buy anything other than an overpriced OEM replacement.

Kernel_Sanders

cookie365 wrote: »

The amps on the replacement should be at least as much, more is OK.

The watts on the replacement should be at least as much, more is OK.

Surely this only applies if you are running it without the battery. My netbook only needs about 18 watts to charge when off, so what harm could be caused even if you were running it and the battery was partially charged?

John259

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

Surely this only applies if you are running it without the battery. My netbook only needs about 18 watts to charge when off, so what harm could be caused even if you were running it and the battery was partially charged?

The transformer and rectifier (the "power brick") might overheat.

Kernel_Sanders

John259 wrote: »

The transformer and rectifier (the "power brick") might overheat.

Why would this happen if drawing a current less than that shown on the original charger? If the processor demands more power it will just take it from the battery .