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    DELL Laptop AC not Working with Dead Battery

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by gonwk, Mar 10, 2009.

  1. gonwk

    gonwk Notebook Deity

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    Hi folks,

    I have a "DELL Inspiron 8100" that for the past 8 years has been working A-OK. Everything is Original.

    This morning I turned on the laptop but since I was in a hurry I forgot to plug in the AC power. So, when I came back after half hour the laptop was shutdown ... which is OK ... since I know my battery has been degraded over years and it can hold it's power for only about 40 minutes.

    I took the battery out and tried using it directly with AC power adapter and the darn laptop will not even run.

    Q1: Why does my laptop can not run on AC Charger only?

    Q2: Is the dead Battery the only problem?

    Q3: Or is my problem something else ... bad RAM or bad Motherboard ... or ...?

    Any thoughts to steer me in the right direction would be appreciated.

    Thanks,

    G! :)
     
    gonwk, Mar 10, 2009
    #1
  2. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Umm that sounds to be a new quwstion 4 me...
    What I wud do is put battery inside again and try using ac adaptor.
    Also I dont see any reason for ur ram or motherboard to toast on running on battery.
    Must be some minor glitch.
     
    spradhan01, Mar 10, 2009
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  3. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Also try openin ur laptop in diagnostics mode!
     
    spradhan01, Mar 10, 2009
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  4. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Fn+Power On I guess
     
    spradhan01, Mar 10, 2009
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  5. gonwk

    gonwk Notebook Deity

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    Hi Sprad,

    Problem Solved ... but you won't believe the cause ... well at least I did not expect that to be the problem ...

    I posted this last night thinking I better get some input from some of you guys ... so I started playing around with it this morning ... and had my Battery slipped in another DELL laptop to get it charged up ... and my local computer gurus thought for sure the Connection on the motherboard was loose ... that is why can't recognize the AC Charger.

    My buddy happen to have an additional AC Charger ... so I reluctantly decided what the heck let's try this AC Charger ... I plugged into my laptop (without the Battery) ... and viola the darn laptop turned on ... so the culprit was the AC Charger ... either the Connection or possibly the Wire from Charger to Outlet was fried since I was getting Green Light from AC Outlet to the AC Charger.

    Well my laptop is on now and the battery is charging fine and I got my Important Data out so even if the laptop crashes this time I am in good shape.

    THANKS for your help & feedback!

    G! :)
     
    gonwk, Mar 11, 2009
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  6. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Sure man. Happy to know u got ur problem solved. We are all NBR Buddies.
     
    spradhan01, Mar 11, 2009
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  7. Nankuru

    Nankuru Notebook Evangelist

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    Over time the the DC wire is likely to fray where it enters the adapter and is difficult to fix; it's a common failure point. Genuine replacement adapters are pretty cheap.
     
    Nankuru, Mar 11, 2009
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  8. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Not if from the manufacturer I guess.
     
    spradhan01, Mar 12, 2009
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