[loki16]

I have a 3 year old Packard Bell laptop that last night let out a small spark when I was plugging in the power adapter last night and now won't recharge at all.

I know the charger works (have tested it in another laptop).

The laptop is 4 weeks out of warranty (how do they do that?).

If it's going to be a new battery or equally expensive perhaps it's time for a new laptop. From what I've described is it possible to list the likely causes?

Thanks all.

[Advertisements]

Hello loki16.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,

From your description I would say the battery has been fried or the connection on the laptop has been fried. Does the laptop turn on with battery power?

[rshaffer61]

Hello loki16.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,

From your description I would say the battery has been fried or the connection on the laptop has been fried. Does the laptop turn on with battery power?

[loki16]

Thanks for the welcome!

It did before it ran out of power.

Edited by loki16, 01 December 2009 - 12:45 PM.

[rshaffer61]

he spark indicates a short in the connection since the power adapter still works.
This would mean that the system would need to be looked at by a shop to determine if the connection can be repaired or the issue is deeper then that.
Being the system will not boot up at this point the options we have are very limited. I can suggest very little to help at this point except to take it to a repair shop. If they determine the laptop is not fixable do not throw it away. The data on the hard drive may still be intact and can be retrieved. We can cross that bridge if and when you get to that point.
Let me know what you decide to do and i can proceed with the saving of data. It will most likely mean you would have to purchase a external 2.5 inch enclosure to get tot he data on the hard drive.

[loki16]

Just a quick followup; the problem seems to have fixed itself.

I'm not too happy, weak electrical connections tend to get hot, and hot isn't a good thing, but I can't replicate the problem.

I suspect the issue is the laptops input, it's in a spot where the power cord gets bumped and I imagine this can weaken the bracket holding it in place.

(Did a full backup the moment it was running again.)

Thanks for you support, much appreciated.

[rshaffer61]

I would suggest still taking it to a shop and see if they can fix the loose connection for you before it does permanent damage to your system. Please let us know how it all works out for you. Thank you for choosing GeeksToGo for help.