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rid21481

29 Posts

7356

October 27th, 2004 22:00

? ac adapter died

have an inspiron 2650 and the battery suddendly will not charge.  Is there a way to determine if its the ac cord or the computer or what the problem rather than paying  50$ for a new one and that not being the issue.  Currently my laptop is dead, battery is totally drained and can't power up with cord  One additonal question which ac adapter do i buy for this coputer if thats the problem?

Message Edited by rid21481 on 10-28-2004 04:46 AM

Fat Cat

131 Posts

October 28th, 2004 23:00

(1) Unplug the AC adapter from the computer and wall socket and pull the battery out of the computer.
(2) Plug the AC adapter into the wall socket , but not the computer.
(3) Does its green light come on
  - NO = adapter has had it, time to buy another,
  - YES = adapter is working proceed to 4.
(4) Is there power coming out the other end of the adapter (check with a multimeter)
  - NO = broken wires in cable to the laptop or the plug on the end,
  - YES = so far so good
(5) Plug the other end of the AC adapter (while the green light is on) into your computer.
(6) Does the green light stay on
  - NO = short circuit in power board of your computer,
  - YES = adapter is OK
(7) Bootup your computer and enter the BIOS setup screens (F2 or Del key press when booting).
(8) Find the BIOS page that tells you what type of adapter has been detected by your system.
(9) If the adapter is "Not Recognized" = you have a brain dead adapter that will only power the system at reduced performance, but will not recharge the battery. Solution = buy a new adapter
(10) If the adapter is recognized as a Dell AC adapter, check the BIOS setting for SpeedStep. It should be ENABLED for the battery recharge to work. If it is currently disabled = this is your problem (enable it).
(11) If the adapter is recognized and SpeedStep was already enabled, you probably have a problem with the battery itself or the battery connectors where it plugs into the laptop.
 
Re: new adapters, look at the old one and either quote the model number to Dell when ordering a new one or ask for a more powerful adapter. Generally, AC adapters that put out 70w or less will only recharge the battery when the computer is turned off and plugged into AC power. Adapaters putting out >70w should recharge the battery in the background while the computer is being used. 

Message Edited by Fat Cat on 10-28-2004 07:24 PM

Tifosi_348

7 Posts

November 1st, 2004 22:00

I had an AC adapter die on my 5150.  It had a green light on the "brick" and checked out fine by a multimeter.  The problem was, even though it had voltage, it didn't have the amperage to power my laptop.  I sent it in 2X for service before it was finally diagnosed as the AC adapter.So the only way to truly know it's the adapter is to try and borrow another one.

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