inspiron 1300

If it won't power up on AC only - no battery -- something other than the battery is faulty (most likely the mainboard).

Hi Janet,

Are you using the original Dell adapter? When was the last time the system was working fine? When you press the power button, how long does it take before the system turns off? What is the last screen you see before the system turns off? Is the adapter frayed? When you plug in the adapter to the system, does the led on the adapter stay on and stable or does it go off? Does the adapter stay in firm?

Please check if there is any damage on the machine. Check if all the ports on the machine are fine or misaligned. Sometimes if the pins in the USB ports are touching each other, they are known to cause many issues on the machine.

Restart and press the f2 key to enter BIOS - see if the system turns off automatically while in BIOS environment.

Restart the system and press f12 key on startup - choose diagnostics. Let it run the diags and if you encounter any errors - make a note of the complete error and report the same to us.

If the issue remains the same, then I would suspect a faulty motherboard. 

If there is no warranty, then you could contact our team to get a quote for a paid service call - http://dell.to/1vnT6CQ

My personal suggestion is that you invest your money on a new machine than to repair this system.

Write me a private conversation with the service tag and your contact details(Name and Email) for case records.

Let us know if you have any other queries.

OK - thank you.  I've ordered new battery and charger, so hopefully that will sort it, but if not, is the mainboard easily fixable, or is more cost effective to buy a new laptop do you think?

Thanks

Thank you for your reply Rishi.  The original Dell adapter wire is a little kinked in places, but the green light does come on, so maybe it's not the adapter at all.  I've actually managed to power it up by holding the power lead in the port, so I think it's either the port or the end of the charger that are faulty.

I'll see if new adapter and battery sorts it out ...if not, then as you say, probably better to invest in a new machine.

Thank you.

Hi Janet, 

A frayed adapter is not advisable to be in use. It might lead to an electrical shock or damage the system.

Secondly, based on your description, I feel the port holding the adapter in could be loose and that would need to be replaced. You would need this part - http://bit.ly/1VTyEK3

If the port is indeed loose, then new adapter will not help power on the machine. 

Ponder this - Is it possible to cancel the order for the adapter and battery or return them once you receive the package to get your money back and invest the same in a new machine. Or you could think about using the machine this way and get the DC port replaced by a local technician or yourself.

Let us know if you have any other queries.

Hi Janet,

Thank you for your response.

Should you need any help / info, contact us anytime over this forum or click on my user name and send me an email.