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April 18th, 2013 07:00
dell latitude e6400 unknown power adapter
hi,
on startup i got the well-known problem message "unkown AC power adapter" (dell latitude e6400 notebook).
1) replacing the adapter didn't solve problem.
assuming the adapter was broken, i replaced it with a new one from an Amazon vendor (PA-3E family, PA-1900-28D, model no. LA90PE1-01, same specs and built for the e6400). It is supposed to be an original adapter, but has a slightly different female power-socket than my old one so it could possibly be a third party item (although there are no comments on Amazon regarding the "unknown" issue).
2) i ran dell diagnostics, checked lots of forums and articles - but haven't found any hint that could tell me whether the adapter is the problem or the notebook itself, nor could i find any solution to remove the side-effects.
side-effects: cpu speed reduced to 20%, battery does not get charged anymore (i am aware of the customer-hostile 3rd pin on the plug, the dallas chip and the resulting lock-in to dell).
3) dell-support is out of the question since the notebook is out of warranty (2008 model), buying again another power adapter too, because i don't know the source of the problem.
what are my options?
it seems to me this is a very wide-spread and well-known issue without a solution, so i'd be really thankful for any help :)
best, peter
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ejn63
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April 18th, 2013 07:00
The DC power jack on this model is not part of the mainboard - it's on a plug-in cable. This is the part to replace next:
www.parts-people.com/index.php
If that doesn't solve the problem, replace the system board.
Dell - Harish M
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April 18th, 2013 07:00
Hi Peter,
You could try flashing the latest BIOS from Dell site however you need to arrange for a battery which has more than 10% charge in it as the BIOS update requires a minimum of 10 % battery. If the issue persists after BIOS flash, the motherboard needs to be replaced as the Adapter port is integrated on the motherboard.
kop11
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April 18th, 2013 08:00
hi Harish,
i'm at 5%. it's been 2 weeks until i got the new AC adapter, i have to work on the machine and of course the battery slowly discharged even when on AC. i tried anyways, but it aborts because of the 10% limit.
unfortunately there is nobody around with the same model.
on a side note: I do have BIOS version A32 (i think, for 6-12 months), while the one (and only one available) i just downloaded is A31.
any other escape routes?
P
kop11
3 Posts
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April 18th, 2013 10:00
OK, managed to flash the BIOS back to version A31 with the low bat: cmd window running the "exampleflashbios.exe /forceit" as admin.
i am wondering what is usually broken? the adapter port (the socket+connection ejn63 mentioned) or the dallas chip on the mainboard?
replacing the mainboard would not be feasible, because for the same money I could buy a used E6400 with the same specs like mine.
Dell - Harish M
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April 21st, 2013 06:00
Hi Peter,
You can go as per ejn63's suggestion and if it doesn’t work you might have to change the motherboard.