Using XPS 1730 without a battery

Well since about november last year my laptop has been playing up (XPS 1730).

It first started when I turned it on and the 'laptop can't find a battery' or 'undertermined battery so system will run slower' (Well whatever it is) message popped up asking me to press f1 to continue or f2 to enter setup.

Now when i pressed the charge meter on the battery it was weird. Like the first light was on, 2nd off, 3rd on, 4th off. For me to use the laptop properly i had to wiggle the power cord in the laptop until the battery light came on (that panel on the side of the laptop with hdd/power/bluetooth light). When that light came on, then the computer would perform fine and the no battery message wouldn't show up.

The funny thing is that if i went into system bios and looked at the battery info, it would say 'no battery detected'. But like I said the system ran at full speed.

Anyways... the battery held no charge, as soon as the power cable unplugged it turned off, couldn't even turn it on with only the battery etc etc.

I tried my brothers xps 1730 battery in my laptop and it worked perfectly,

So I'm going to buy a cheaper battery than what dell sell for (seriously over $200 for a battery!!! im buying one for $92).

Basically long story short. How can i use my laptop without the battery being in or detected (the wiggling power cord trick no longer turns battery light on and i keep getting the no battery detected message and the laptop runs like crap).

Yeh, so battery is now completely dead and i want to use lappy while other one is on its way.

Sorry im really confusing

 

you can use it. you'll only lose your portable "ups" lol

 

Sorry, you mis-understood what i was trying to ask (little wonder since i ramble )

Whenever i try to boot the laptop up without the battery in it, i get a message saying that the laptop can't find a battery and thus it works in reduced performance mode.

Is there a way I can turn off this reduced performance mode so it runs full speed? (I saw nothing in bios that might do this).

Thanks.

 

Well, my 1730 works very well without the battery inserted... dunno why yours doesn't do the same.

 

Even though the Dell OEM batts are pricey I would still recommend you purchase one. Aftermarket batts have issues in my experience. In the case of laptop batts, you get what you pay for.

 

It's possible that you don't have a beefy enough power brick? Do you have the standard 90W job or something bigger?

 

Well, I guess he has the standard 230W power adapter that comes with M1730.

 

yeh i got the standard 230W adaptor. At first I thought the adaptor may have been faulty, but then i used my bro's battery and it was fine so...

Are you guys telling me that if u remove ur battery, plug in the mains and boot up, you get no kind of messages?

Mine does the following...

'RTC mode fixed - Time and date may be wrong'

This is the first message. Sits here for a few minutes loading... Oh something else i remember, i ALWAYS have to set the time and date everytime i turn it on if i have unplugged the comp. (It reverts back to like 11 DEC 07, date of manufacture? ).

'Time-of-day not set - please run SETUP program'

Then this message followed directly by...

'The AC power adapter wattage and type cannot be determined.
The battery may not charge.
The system will adjust the performance to match the power available.

Please connect a DELL 230 AC adapter or greater for best system performance.

To resolve this issue, try reseat the power adapter.'

This message ALWAYS pops up. Sure it says the power adapter is the problem, but why does it not give this message when i used a different battery?

It also never popped up when i wiggled the power cable so the battery charge light came on before turning the computer on.

I don't have access to another 1730 power supply anymore, so i cant test that.

I don't want to pay over double the price for a dell battery, when the one i have now failed in under a year. I'll buy the other one i saw that comes with a year warranty. I just want my lappy to see a battery again.

I guess I might as well look at the price of power adapters too? Well maybe when my new battery comes and if it's not being charged properly i will.

Thanks for the replies

 

Well i found this post

http://getsatisfaction.com/dell/topics/xps_m1730_invalid_ac_adapter_cannot_be_determined

Funny how this problem happened almost immediatly after everyone is out of warranty I'm not sure what im gonna do after reading all the posts though.

I mean, buy a new AC adapter only for it to be fried? I can only imagine how much it would cost to send the lappy in to dell to be fixed :S

 

Perhaps the nice little motherboard battery needs to be replaced... Could always try that prior to replacing the battery.

See:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1730/en/sm/coinbatt.htm#wp1179886

The symptom you described re: resetting the clock and date is a common thing when the MB battery is dead. The battery maintains your BIOS settings (including time and date) when the unit has no power to it (i.e. power cord unplugged and no battery in battery bay).

Have you tried charging your battery in your brother's m1730? Do you see the same issue?

My guess after reading your followup post is that you will have to replace your motherboard battery as well as the main battery. The MB battery most likely discharged due to the main battery failing and the cord not plugged in at some point. Could be wrong though. Hope it works out.

 

AH ok, i'll try replacing the the MB battery. Had a quick look at the link, it looks like battery i can buy from the shops locally? It's not a special battery that i have to order from dell is it?

 

Nawww... just get the battery out of the system and head down to your local electronic shop - if you are in the USA - try Radio Shack. Shouldn't be more than a couple of dollars.