[kirajade]

'ello, just joined because... well, i freak out easily.
I just plugged in my A/C adapter to my Dell Inspiron 640 laptop. I've never had problems with it before, but the laptop is currently running on AC power.
Problem: It's not charging. At all.

I've done the following
Restarted.
Taken out battery, put it back in.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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Hi. First, take a deep breath, don't stress it until you know what's wrong...

Now, when you say it doesn't charge, will it run off AC power? How old is this adapter? Battery?

Is there an LED light on the adapter which shows when it's plugged into the wall? If so, watch that light and make sure it's always lit when you plug it into the computer.

[Facedown98]

Hi. First, take a deep breath, don't stress it until you know what's wrong...

Now, when you say it doesn't charge, will it run off AC power? How old is this adapter? Battery?

Is there an LED light on the adapter which shows when it's plugged into the wall? If so, watch that light and make sure it's always lit when you plug it into the computer.

[kirajade]

Hi, it's not charging, but yes, it is running off the AC power.
The LED light IS on, and my internal network card is active as it always is when it's plugged in.

[Facedown98]

Ok, so when it's plugged in, does the laptop allow you to work from the AC adapter instead of battery? I'm trying to figure out if its still able to be used, but the battery just won't charge... How old is the adapter and battery?

[kirajade]

The laptop was shipped from Dell in August 2006, and I had just ordered a new charger in December 2006 due to my mischeivous rabbit chomping right through the old one.

The charger is letting me work on the laptop straight from just plain ol' plugging it in.
I know that THAT is working because right now I only have 24% battery power left... it wouldve ran out a long time ago if it was working from the battery.

[Facedown98]

Ok, so turn it off and pull out the battery. I'm pretty sure most batteries have a life indicator on the side, if you press a small button. Do you have one? What does it say? I'm thinking that maybe one of your batteries is going too...

[kirajade]

Ok, I pressed the button and two out of the five light lit up - which is understandable to me as the battery is only 20% charged. Not sure if that's what it indicates or not

But a strange thing happened when I restarted the computer with the adapter plugged in. A screen came up and said, basically, that my computer no longer recognizes my adapter.

[Facedown98]

That's almost expected in one way or another. I'm thinking that the adapter died. Is there any way you can try another one from a friend's computer? I know the changes of them having the exact same adapter aren't likely, but it would save you the time and money, especially if the adapter is fine, and the computer is the one with the problem. In any chase, I would suggest purchasing a new adapter eventually.

[kirajade]

just got off the phone with dell a half hour ago.
thanks for all your help, though

[Facedown98]

Sorry I couldn't help more...

Please do keep in touch, I'm interested to know how things turn out