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Docking station on low wattage
Given that the docking station draws a certain amount of power, I was told that you couldnt really use the power supply that came with the laptop through the docking station as you are then giving the laptop less than the required wattage. So does that mean that when on the docking station it is purely running via the attached power supply? Initially i would have thought that it would just revert to the battery to make up the difference but you would then have a slower charge to the battery itself?
i was told by dell that on a precision laptop that has an adaptor that is 180w you would need an adaptor for the docking station that is around 210w to makeup the difference... hence you couldnt just plug in your 180w adaptor to the docking station... reason being is the original adaptor for the docking station was only 130w.
they also mentioned that running under the required power could result in data corruption and also affect the battery.
when originally running with the 130w adaptor it came up with a warning that said the laptop would need to shape its resources... so it must be drawing on the power directly.
Hi Sandeep P,
I dont have model number handy this minute but I dont see how that should matter. The question im asking applies to all models... i encounter these questions on occassion and want to know the technical details so that I can resolve the matters myself in the future. Otherwise everytime this happens then I need to contact Dell and quote model numbers...
Surely the details should be on the adaptors, docking stations and laptops to be able to determine compatibility.
sandeep_par
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Posted May 27th, 2013 00:00
Hi theblue,
We regret for the delayed reply. I would like to inform you that there are two kinds of docking stations: one which are powered by the laptop and other are externally powered.
If you are using a docking station that draws power from the laptop then it is advisable you use more wattage AC adapter. As AC adapter supplied by systems are to supply enough power to run the system and charge battery.
Also, if the system doesn't get enough power then it might crash the system or cause unexpected shutdowns which could lead to data loss.
If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us.
Thanks and Regards
Sandeep P
#iworkfordellone which are powered by the laptop and other are externally powered. how can i determine this?
If you are using a docking station that draws power from the laptop then it is advisable you use more wattage AC adapter. As AC adapter supplied by systems are to supply enough power to run the system and charge battery.
Also, if the system doesn't get enough power then it might crash the system or cause unexpected shutdowns which could lead to data loss.
my understanding is that the input voltage must match the output voltage but the amps may vary. both of these together give you the watts of the power supply. can there be such a thing as too much watts ie. how much over can the amps be?
the laptop will tell you if the you say tried to use a 130watt adaptor on a 180watt laptop thorugh the docking station... but if you run the 180watt adaptor through the docking station on a 180 watt laptop then it doesnt give any warnings... but based on your advice that is still not ideal...? but could i run a 240watt adaptor through a docking station on a 130watt laptop if the voltage is the same?
sandeep_par
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Posted May 28th, 2013 00:00
Hi theblue,
Thanks for your reply. Kindly let us know which docking station are using with the system.
Docking stations are normally provided along with the power supply and it is always advisable to use the power supply that comes with the docking station only.
You can use an AC adapter of higher watts on the system till the time voltage is same it would work. However, it is advisable to use the power supply of the docking station only when the system is docked.
If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us.
Thanks and Regards
Sandeep P
#iworkfordell
sandeep_par
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Posted May 21st, 2013 23:00
Hi theblue,
Welcome to the community.
Please let us know the model number of the system you have and the version of Windows installed on the same. If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us.
Thanks and Regards
Sandeep P
#iworkfordell