Dell Inspiron Mini 9 - battery not working

The admin password is set by the manufacturer(dell). My suggestion to solve all the issues is to find a pc with XP, create a bootable flash drive with the XP ISO on it along with the hardware drivers(you can get from the Dell site) and install XP instead. I got mine with UBUNTU and I hated it, it now has XP and I have no problems. Unless your really technical Linux is not for you. Theres a video on youtube where the guy walks thru doing this to a HP netbook, I followed it and had no problems. Goodluck!!

I have exactly same problem: even two month period ;)

Just wander how yours had been solved?

I have a mini 12 and had the same problem.  You need to disable airplane mode for the battery to charge.

The password you are prompted for is YOURS, not the administrator, assuming you were the first (only) person to login.  Ubuntu works by allowing the first user who set up an account do administrative things by giving their own password. 

You can then set other users as administrator in the "System/Adminstration/Users and Groups" menu item

I think the latest BIOS revision is A05, and the comment next to it says it corrects a battery charging issue. Sounds like A04 didn't last long.

I run Windoze XP, have had no problems with battery, get around 4 hours per charge. Takes about that long to recharge. Li-ion batteries have more capacity than the older technologies, but are somewhat touchy about charging. I suggest getting the latest BIOS and see if that helps.

Hi can I ask this group a (probably) stupid question... I just got my Mini10 with Windows XP.  I don't have internet at home and havent hit a wifi spot yet to update the BIOS like the instructions say.  I plugged it into the wall to charge it overnight for the 12 hours, but I don't know it did anything.  The white LED didn't come on as I had not powered the actual mini on.  Do you have to be powered ON to charge the battery?  My hp at work can charge without being on-just plugged in, and I assumed the same thing here, but I don't think I got anywhere with it.  I have read a bit of threads on this and wonder do I have to do the BIOS update first before it will activate the charging.  Thanks for any guidance.  I am anxious to use this little devil, but sure don't want to destroy my battery out of the gate...

I have a Mini 910,

I cant for the life of me figure this out.

The Battery states 100% charge yet when I pull the plug on the AC adapter the thing just dies no shut down or nothing.

also while the AC is plugged in to it. the battery charge light never comes on...

Running WinXP home.

Bios ver  A04

Exact same problem here. Computer is 13 months old. Battery completely fried.

Dell response is that this is not under warranty.

Anyone have solutions. Battery icon show 99% full.

But red light flashing show that battery is dead

Same problem: computer is 1 year old and I've used it a lot, with no battery problems until now, very suddenly. 

Battery is not "dead" because computer says it is 98% full, but the red light is flashing, indicating battery is dead. 

If I unplug the AC, the computer dies.

I would love to avoid having to buy a new battery.  Is it an issue with the battery itself or with the computer??

Had the same problem. So while I'm perusing this particular thread with the hope of finding a solution, my wife is fiddling about with the 910 - she pulls the battery, shakes it a few times ... yes, shakes it ... replaces it, and voila! Working again.

I'm an electrical engineer - albeit not a battery specialist - so you can imagine who is and who is not the technical champion in the house tonight.

I may apply her technique to all inoperative devices I come across in the future, with differing degrees of vigour.

I think there's more going on here then meets the eye.  I started out with a condition where my Mini 9 would only run on AC power -- the battery reported itself as about 97% full, but it never quite reached 100%, even if I left the machine shut down and plugged into AC for 18+ hours.

If I pulled AC, the computer shut down instantly, no matter how full the battery appeared to be.

I bought a brand new, official Dell battery, since my Mini was out of warranty.

I conditioned the new battery exactly as recommended -- leaving it plugged in and shut off for 12 hours.  It provides power for the system as normally expected.  But I've noticed another misbehaviour that I cannot reconcile:  When I turn on the machine with AC plugged in, it uses AC as normal, until the battery is fully charged.  But as soon as the battery reaches a full charge, the system disregards the presence of AC power and will run on battery power exclusively until its next reboot.

It doesn't matter if I leave the system running on battery power for a while until the battery starts to get a noticeable amount discharge -- it will not run on AC or charge the battery.  It doesn't matter if I unplug AC and plug it back in -- it still runs off battery only.  If I leave the AC cord plugged in and just let the system run, the battery will slowly indicate that it's discharging at the normal rate, until it reaches 0% -- and then and the system shuts off.  It doesn't matter if I switch Airplane mode on and off until I'm blue in the face -- it still runs off battery only.

It will only start running off AC and charging the battery again if I reboot the computer.  Sometimes I even have to remove all power from the system -- pull AC and remove the battery -- before I can get the thing to recognize the presence of AC powIer again.  And all this is with a brand new battery that I bought direct from Dell.

I think the problem is more than just the battery.  I think there may be something wrong with the charging logic in the motherboard itself.

Hi... I still cannot update my BIOS to A04 version I'm using DELL Mini 910 inspiron.

When I tried to update using Phoenix WinPhlash

it said:

"Bios update failed: Failed to flash BIOS image:

BIOS is not flashable.
Error Code: -144

See the Help for troubleshooting"

How to fix this problem? Since I also had problem with my battery that cannot charging?

I can't find the airplane/aircraft mode on my mini dell imspiron 910. Can someone please help.When I called dell they had no clue how to help me.

I can't find the airplane/aircraft mode on my mini dell inspiron 910. Can someone please help.When I called dell they had no clue how to help me.

Airplane mode is only available if you are running Unbutu - if you are running Windows, you can stop looking for it - it isn't there ;)