AC Power type cannot be determined

Question

I have a Dell Latitude D610. Lately, whenever I boot my computer it says this after startup:

"The AC adapter power type cannot be determined. This will lower optimal system performance.

Strike F3 to stop seeing power warnings.

Strike F1 to continue, or F2 to run setup utility."

Also, my laptop always needs to run with the charger plugged in because the battery is almost completely dead.

Edit

The end of the charger cord that goes into the computer seems to be failing. When the cord is shifted around it stops working. Also, when I enter BIOS setup, the AC listing says "unable to determine" or something like that.

DELL-Allan D · Answer

Hello BoyRobot22,

I would suggest a couple of steps that would help us in isolating the cause of failure:

Releasing the flea power.
Disconnect all the peripherals from the computer including the battery and the ac adapter and release the flea power by pressing and holding the power button for 5 to 10 seconds and check.
Try connecting a different know good AC Adapter and check if the works.

Also refer the article on AC Adapter not recognized. Please try the steps and write back, would be glad to assist you further.

boyrobot22 · Answer

I tried the steps in the article. The green light on the adapter always comes on. The BIOS setup says the battery is performing normally, but usually when I switch to battery power, I only have about 5-10 minutes of battery life. The battery is completely charged.

Releasing flea power didn't seem to help, as the error message came and the BIOS setup still says "Ac adapter: An unknown device is installed."

ejn63 · Answer

Next try another Dell OEM AC adapter.  If that doesn't solve the problem, the jack or mainboard is bad - for either, replace the mainbord. www.parts-people.com/index.php

boyrobot22 · Answer

I do not have any other AC adapters compatible with my computer.

ejn63 · Answer

Try a local computer shop or a friend with a Dell system - either will work as a check.  If the trial adapter doesn't work, replace the mainboard.

boyrobot22 · Answer

Problem Solved(hopefully)

When I received the laptop and charger, I noticed there was electrical tape on the charger, but I just left it alone. I removed the tape to see if it could help with my problem and I found frayed wires! The rubber had been stripped and there were wires sticking out everywhere.

I'll try posting a picture later, but obviously, broken wires can't be good.

If you have any other suggestions, I will try them, but now I'm going to take it to a computer store and see if it's the motherboard like EJN63 said.

If it isn't the motherboard, I will purchase a new AC adapter.

Thanks for helping!

DELL-Allan D · Answer

Hello BoyRobot22, Please do let us know how it goes.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

AC Power type cannot be determined

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