AC Power Adapter Type Cannot Be Determined

My answer may not apply to everyone, but I'm posting this for those of you it may help.  In my case I got the message about plugging in 65 watt or greater power supply on a Latitude E6400 which is about 1 year old.  This machine was purchased for a user who would occasionally need to take the laptop home, so it was purchased with a docking station which comes with it's power power supply.  It turned out that in a period of a year she only took the laptop home about 3 times.  This meant she used the original power supply (90W) 3 times. She had now left the company and I need to reimage the machine.

While on the docking station it didn't have a problem, but since I had to take to my office to re image it, I'm using the original power supply, this means it's only the 4th time it's being used.  As soon as I plugged it in my office it gave me the error and I immediately though it was an false error, but no matter what I did I couldn't make it go away.  My own dell precision M4300 occasionally has the same problem, but in my case it just goes away if I reseat  the power cord in the back and it doesn't come back for weeks or months. Anyway my usual work bench was busy with other machines and didn't have the space to place this laptop and I was using another bench area where I usually keep reference books and software since there was a plug I decided to use it.  This is where the problem started happening.  In any case I decided to leave it alone until I had more time to troubleshoot it or call Dell for warranty.  When I got around to it I used my usual work bench and the problem had gone away.  If I go back to the previous work bench the problem comes back.  This tells me something is wrong my outlet.  At this point, I don't know what';s wrong with the outlet but I suspect I will have to call an electrician to tell me.  This also tells me there is nothing wrong with the power supply, but that the power supply is very sensitive to issues with a power outlet.

-Fabio

This problem just popped up a few days ago for me and it has me pretty frustrated and disappointed in Dell After reading some forum posts. Multiple laptops, all in identical, temperature-controlled climates with no use ALL having the same issue? And tech support- they offer all of these options, but if your warranty is expired, theres only a few options, including buying parts online, or calling them (and its not toll free) and to have them diagnose it, which costs $100+.

With my laptop, I found that my charger still charges my battery partially. When plugged in the battery meter stays the same while running. And i'm posting this now from my laptop with the battery out and the charger in. I really just want a quick fix for the problem, even if i have to do it multiple times just to save money. Hopefully its just my charger and not computer.

I have the same problem with a Dell Studio. I've had nothing but trouble with this laptop for the 10 months I've had it. I bought one for my wife too but she hasn't had any trouble. Next time I'm buying MAC. I don't care how much more they cost.

Don't get your hopes up. I have had my Dell Studio 1737 for almost 2 years.  Before the warranty ran out my CD froze and I had this same error problem. They sent me a new power cord and all was good, for approx 8 months.  I started getting the same error message and was told that I would have to purchase a new power adapter ($65). Needless to say, I will not be buying another Dell in the future. There are a lot of choices out there and if Dell can't provide a good quality product that will last a few years, then they won't get my hard earned money. 

Same problem. Plus a lot of others. The nice things about Mac are 1) they work and 2) if you have a question you just call a person. And that person knows what they are talking about...and they speak English. With Dell the only time I've been able to get a person is when I've paidd $150 for 5 hours of talk with an Indian person or a Pakistani person - whichever, it was totally exhausting to understand them. Doesn't Dell see these posts and want to do something about the way people see them??? I'm here after 10 months of issue after issue after issue. When I finally got everything working I started getting this "AC adaptor type cannot be determined..." So I have an expensive laptop I'm afraid to unplug. And the expensive wireless capabality is stupid  because I have to sit 3 feet from the cable modem and network transmitter. I could have just plugged in the cable modem instead of buying an expensive Belkin networking unit. It's so rediculous. I am going to tell everyone I know: "buy a Mac!"

THANKS ramki1! 

I have also been having this issue, but it would eventually start charging.  I was down to 5% and it wouldn't charge the last two days.  I tried your forceful way and thankfully it started charging again...hopefully, it will continue to charge now!

I had this problem with my dell D600 and had a universal ac adaptor which had the right plug adapter that worked for this laptop and is working great now. Bought the adaptor off of ebay for $12.

Ok, I am being driven to distraction by this now!  But found this on another website and thought it may be useful to post on here, its something that is worth considering.

"I am having the exact same problem on my five month old Vostro 1710. On this model anyway, it is NOT a motherboard problem. I'm still under warranty, so Dell sent a tech out to replace the motherboard and the power adapter. Brand new power adapter didn't solve the problem, so he went on to change out the motherboard. But once he got the system apart, he could see that the port where the adapter plugs in is NOT even part of the motherboard. It's connected to the plastic chassis underneath, by a couple of tiny plastic pieces, which had broken. Without those pieces to hold it in place, the port was loose and couldn't make a good connection anymore.

This is 100% a design flaw IMO...it doesn't take much to break those little plastic pieces. In my case, five months of normal usage (plugging and unplugging the power adapter once or twice a day) was enough to break the plastic and render the port inoperable.

My point being...this is NOT necessarily a motherboard problem, even though tech support seems to think it is."

Hope this helps somebody - hey, may even be me - lol !

K

I was going to start by saying I haven't had any problems with Dell until now !  Until I tried to log in, was told I didn't exist, then when tried to create a new account - I did exist !! Then it took about 15 attempts for a username! Amazing is this technology lark!

I have an Inspiron 1545, and I have exactly the same problem., "The AC power adapter type cannot be determined.  Your system will operater slower and the battery will not charge.  Please connect a Dell 65W AC adapter or higher for best system operation."  Did it a couple of times, then I wiggled it and worked, my lap top charged.  I have now sat  and gone through all the posts and tried everything apart from the disconnecting the BIOS battery and nothing has worked!  Think google is fed up with me too.  I don't think I have quite had this a year, so I am going to ring them and see what they say - but I bet they will say it's general wear and tear.  Actually, I might even see what the store I pirchased it from say first. 

It actually makes the purpose of a laptop useless! 

If anybody has any other solutions/ideas, please, please help! 

K

I had this problem earlier this year.  At first I thought my battery was bad, so I used my warranty to replace that.  The problem still existed.  Then I replaced the power cord and I have not had that problem since.  Hope this helps

Don't get your hopes up. I have had my Dell Studio 1737 for almost 2 years.  Before the warranty ran out my CD froze and I had this same error problem. They sent me a new power cord and all was good, for approx 8 months.  I started getting the same error message and was told that I would have to purchase a new power adapter ($65). Needless to say, I will not be buying another Dell in the future. There are a lot of choices out there and if Dell can't provide a good quality product that will last a few years, then they won't get my hard earned money.

I have started getting this problem with my Inspiron 1545, its only just over a year old, and having this problem, I am going to call Dell to fix this problem for free as its an inherent fault as we can see by the sheer numbers of people having this problem, under the sales of goods act in the UK, we have 6 years to claim, and their warranty is besides the point.

Just to update you, been in contact with Dell and they are sending me a free power adapter after I mentioned the sales of good act, and requesting information who to write too, keep it very polite and don't take no for answer and they will oblige , hopefully it will fix the problem