Are these genuine AC adapters or third party?

Does the BIOS (F2 at powerup) sense the adapter, or is it listed as "unknown"?

Yes the adapter is an original Dell product. This is the adapter that was bought, Dell Original PA-10 90W power ac adapter/ charger.

As for the battery that is a dell product as well.

As for the BIOS identifying the adapter I will have to see. I dont have the laptop in my possession at this moment but will post what I find.

Well I got to check out the laptop tonight. I checked during boot up and sure enough there was a warning stating undetectable AC adapter. The options are f1 to continue boot up. f2 for setup and f12 for boot menu.

I restarted and checked in bios and it also stated ac adapter unknown device installed. I tried looking for the bios version but couldnt seem to find it anywhere. Not even on boot up as the dell logo is on. I tried looking for the quick start up in bios to shut it off but nothing there to change it.

So I boot to vista and checked device manager and went to batteries. In batteries I see microsoft ac adapter. I clicked properties, which states working fine. ????? Confused. The driver date is 6/21/2006. and Driver version is 6.0.6001.18000.

Then I backed out of that and saw right underneath that microsoft acpi- complaint control method battery, Clicked properties, states working fine. Driver date 6/21/2006 and Driver Version 6.0.6001.18000.

This was all with the new ac adapter and battery in.

I then checked both batteries out. They both have a led battery tester on them. I checked the brand new one and pressed the light and one led lit. I pressed the old one and none of the leds lite. Maybe needs a good charge or its dead????

Will a reset of the laptop help any?

You need to solve the adapter issue first.  If you've already tried two different Dell adapters, next replace the power jack (it's on a separate power board in that system.  If that doesn't work, replace the system board.

www.parts-people.com/index.php

Okay Ill order one of those and post the results. Thanks alot for the help. Much appreciated.

Just remembered I have a warranty out on this. Going to send it in and collect on it. Phew. Thinking I just dodged a bullet here.

marky72, did that work?  I have all the symptoms described in this thread.  Downgraded BIOS, tried different adapter, etc.  Nothing.  Do I really need to replace the motherboard?

futbolnut, I sent it in and had a horrible experience with their customer service. They fixed the problem and it was the $25. daughter board. But the laptop came back with a broken monitor casing. I was going to send it back in but the warranty ran out and was getting the run around on it. So  I didnt want to chance another poor service experience and ended up buying a new monitor case myself and installed it. So either way I got the problem fixed free of charge but ended up spending money from their negligence and it cost me more on that then the daughter board. But try replacing the $25 daughter board and see if that helps you out before you send it in especially if you have a warranty.

marky72, i replaced the DC Jack board and the problem continues to persist.  I am very hesitant to replace the motherboard because of the cost.  Not sure what I will do ... maybe it is time to replace my laptop.  thanks

Join the long line of people with the "AC adapter cannot be determined" message.

My laptop isn't a year old yet, and it's on it second visit back to the shop. Dell replaced a part on the first visit, but wouldn't do it under warranty because they said it had been tampered with. (Cheeky shits ! ) After a few calls they did give us our money back. Now it's back in the shop again! Same problem.,

Geez, I am sorry that it wasnt that part for you. If you were having the same problem as I did then I automatically assumed that was the culprit. That is what they told me when I received my laptop back from the shop. Whether they put a new mobo in there I am not sure but the paper work all came back with daughter board written that it was. Have you done a search on ebay for a used mobo. Maybe you can find a better deal. That would have been my next choice if it wasnt still under warranty. Maybe your best bet would be just throwing it on ebay and selling the rest for parts and getting a new one. Again my apologizes but if your symptoms were the same as mine all I can tell you is what they told me and what my paperwork showed they did. Whether its true or not I am not sure as I wasnt there for the repair. Maybe they did do a mobo swap and that is why mine came back with a broken monitor casing????? I explicitly stated to them to be careful not to scratch the monitor case cover and it came back broken. So I guess someone wanted to make sure that my directions werent followed.

Mine was sent to Kentucky so they said. If you would like to see the paper work on it I would gladly scan it for you and pm you so you can see the repair.

Also before I claimed the warranty we bought a new battery and ac adapter. Which cost around $80 without shipping. The new ac adapter didnt work the same error came up. And the battery ran the laptop but it wasnt being charged.

No worries.  I was already planning on replacing the board as that seemed to be the most popular solution on other forums.  I tried a different adapter, but nothing.  The only thing I have not tried is replacing the battery and the mobo.  Anyway, if you can send me the paperwork that will be great. I can see what part they replaced.  Make sure you delete/cover and personal info!  :)

sure thing Ill send it to ya when I get some time.