3 Posts
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9721
AC adapter not recognised - Inspiron 5558
I have a problem that my Inspiron 15 5558 does not recognise my Dell 65W AC adapter so the battery does not charge and the system generally very runs slow. From F2 BIOS setup screen the battery status is 'excellent' and adapter status is 'unknown'. There is no sign of physical damage to the adapter or input.
I suspect it may be a software rather than hardware issue as the problem began immediately after I had to reinstall the operating system (ubuntu 16.04) following a hard disk replacement.
I have been through all the troubleshooting steps here:
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
except for the final step of updating the BIOS firmware which is currently A09.
My questions are:
a) Is it worth trying to update the BIOS?
b) If no, what else can I try?
c) If yes, how do I update the BIOS with <10% battery left? My operating system is ubuntu 16.04 (which I manually installed - it was originally a windows 8 computer) so I can't use the windows based solution here
https://www.dell.com/support/article/uk/en/ukdhs1/sln137741/forcing-a-bios-update-without-the-ac-adapter-attached-on-a-dell-laptop?lang=en
This page
https://www.dell.com/support/article/uk/en/ukdhs1/sln171755/updating-the-dell-bios-in-linux-and-ubuntu-environments?lang=en
gives options for updating the BIOS in linux but none of them work for me. Flashing the BIOS fails as the system recognises the battery is too low and refuses to proceed with the update. With the freedos solution when I try to load the bootable USB from F12 one-time boot screen, I get an error 'Invalid partition table' followed by a message that it cannot find an operating system. The wine based solution doesn't work for me as I get an error that the executable does not recognise the "-writehdr" flag.
Thanks in advance for any help.
ejn63
10 Elder
10 Elder
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23K Posts
1
August 19th, 2018 08:00
a. No. This is a hardware issue.
b. Try a new OEM adapter first. If it isn't recognized either, replace the DC jack:
https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=19226
If one of those two does not solve the issue, the mainboard is bad.
c. You should not. It can be forced, but it's dangerous - and this is not a BIOS issue.
mjayuk
3 Posts
0
August 19th, 2018 09:00
Thanks ejn63, that's very helpful.
Looks like my choice is whether to attempt installing a new DC jack on my own or to find someone qualified to do it.
mjayuk
3 Posts
2
August 29th, 2018 06:00
Turned out to be the adaptor in the end - simply needed to change it. (The third Dell adaptor in 18 months).
A little suspicious to say the least how this extra pin (to establish it's a genuine Dell product) breaks so easily, even when the rest of the adaptor is fine. So we have to pay even more money to Dell. Complete fraud really
Daniel1968
1 Message
1
May 6th, 2020 04:00
yep. i have the same problem. after changing the cable from the laptop, i think that the solution is the bad father connector (from the adapter) not the mother connector (from the laptop). the central pin from the Jack connector is relly weak
NedB
1 Message
0
July 10th, 2020 05:00
Make sure the adapter plugs all the way in, if it doesn't it means the little pin in the power plug is bent; unplug the AC end of the adapter, wait for the LED light to go out, then with a small screw driver, bend the pin straight again.
Plug in and it should work, unless the bent pin broke something else!
m.sharefi
1 Message
0
January 21st, 2023 08:00
Thanks for the helpful information,
actually, I have tried a new adapter and replaced the DC jack yet still did not solve the problem.
so I think I am stuck with a bad mainboard, is there by any chance a way to get it fixed or override the superslow performance, or has it to be fully replaced?