"AC Power Adapter Not Determined" , and Power Adapter Won't Work

No, it is not the data pin. It's not bent. I had a very annoying session with your very annoying technical support people that ended up with me buying a new power adapter for 100 dollars. ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Come on, that's retarded and expensive. Just because my warranty doesn't cover anymore doesn't mean you need to be outrageously expensive.

So, you bought an ac adapter that did not resolve your technical issue at the recommendation of tech support? I believe you would be entitled to a refund for that order. I can get that processed for you if you want to email me your service tag or that order number. I could also look at when your warranty expired, and any logged contacts we have to see if there is any way I can help you without your having to foot the bill. Not that I am guaranteeing I can get the motherboard replaced out of warranty, but it's worth looking into. At the very least, you should be fully credited for the purchase of the adapter.

Naw, I bought a refurbished and it works now. I have written about it on my blog, and Bill, if I am not mistaken, you have replied:

http://chaotictech.wordpress.com/2008...
http://chaotictech.wordpress.com/2008...

I bought a inspiron 1501 about 14 months ago. It has been a nightmare. The ac adapter broke. I called and they sent a new one. Great! Then the LCD screen failed. They sent me a new one. It works. Then the AC adapter broke again and would not charge my battery or power up. Dell sent be a new battery. Still no luck. Dell decides to send another AC adapter which would not charge the battery so I just have been plugging my laptop directly into the wall. Guess what..the new AC adapter now does not work. I can't power on my computer. I was sold a complete piece of you know what! I called support again...always in India and they informed me that my warranty was up. The warranty parts that were shipped to me do not work or fail soon after I receive them. I have probably spent 20 hours on the phone with tech support trying to decipher broken English for nothing. Is there anyone at Dell who actually cares about the customer anymore? I run a business and if I pulled this stuff on one of my customers I would no longer be in business, I own 4 Dell computers. I will not be buying a Dell product ever again! I simply cannot believe how far the customer service and product has fallen over the past decade.

Dell Bill - Can you point me in the direction of anyone at Dell who could help me?

Thanks,

Tim

its 5765196853

Thanks

Wow...thanks. Do you know when it should arrive? Again, thanks!!

Hi,

What is the problem if the message AC power adaptor is not determined comes up, but you can still have AC power. The battery is not getting charged only. It not the battery cause I have two. And why would the AC power be ON, if there was something wrong with the adaptor? Help, what is the problem?

Thanks

Bill_B has helped me with this problem. Dell Customer Service is not as prompt as I would like, but realistically and hopefully, everything will work out. All it takes is a little patience (it took almost 6 business days to get things almost resolved). Faith in Dell restored (as long as I get my adapter soon)

Hello Dell. I am having the same problem regarding getting the "AC power adapter cannot be determined mesage". I had this problem before and I was sent a new power cord but to my dismay, the problem is reoccuring now. I believe there is a problem with the motherboard since this will be the second power cord that has stopped working. I wish my motherboard would have been tested the first time this problam occured because my warrenty is close to being up if not already (will be checking this out soon). By the way, almost every time I plug in my power cord a spark shoots out from the metal prongs, that is when it actually works. The power cord used to "kick" back in and resume normal powering but now it has given up. I have about 2 hours worth of battery left and am hoping I get help before it runs out. Is this where I make a post to inquire help from Dell? My apologies if this isn't the correct place.

By the way, I have a Vostro 1000 (XP) and it was bought about a year ago.

Bill, I have the same problem as the people above: my AC adapter won't charge my Dell Inspiron anymore. My service tag is 4vdxtc1.

I have the same problem, what's the easiest way to solve this problem? Do I need to get a new AC adapter? I've only had my computer for 3 months, this is very frustrating.

I'm in the exact same situation. It really, really sucks. Dell Inspiron 9400 with an adapter that refuses to charge the battery. The laptop's probably out of warranty by only a few months. It's disheartening, really..:(

I have the same problem with a Insp. 1501. I think my warranty is expired. I bought the computer in March 07. My service tag is 3BF1MC1. Bill, could you please advise me as to my options?

Thanks.

I have been so frustrated with this same situation. My adapter has been replaced twice, they just seem to burn out. Now I am out of warranty and without an adapter.
This seems to be a common problem with the inspirons.
Is there a way to resolve this?
Thanks so much

I have a dell inspiron 9300 service tag# 5r4wp81. My computer doesn't recognize my power cord, but it only works when the power cord is plugged in. The battery and cord are both brand new, The battery shows that it is fully charged, but it will not stay powered up unless the cord is plugged in. What can I do to have this problem fixed. I own a business and have purchased atleast 15 dell computers. Any help would b e appreciated.

I just reported a similar problem to Dell. Inspiron 6000 under warranty another six weeks or so. New battery being sent out to make a first pass at problem solving. However, I have gotten the "ac adaptor not determined" on and off over the last 2-1/2 years. Now, power meter is stuck at 97% and "charging" but can't run off battery. Tech rep said if new battery does not resolve issue then motherboard would be replaced. So, after reading all these messages I am now wondering if the adapter should also be replaced? In system devices the adapter is displayed as "Microsoft AC Adapter" but it is a Dell original 65W adapter. Service tag DHT6191 if you are out there Dell-Bill.

I have this same problem, "AC power adapter could not be determined" Is there anything that can be done to fix it without spending hundreds of dollars? My service tag number is 8F200F1. I would appreciate any help.

i also have this same issue i contacted Dell and the service rep (Divya_178142) wasnt helpful at all just kept saying i must have had a powersurge and it fried the adapter but i kept telling her it was impossible since its connected to a very good surge protecter and i have another computer attached to which is perfectly fine. i purchased the laptop around end of jan and it has been giving me the AC adapter not recognized for about 4 months but i would unplug it and replug it and it would go away and start charging my battery but now it doesnt even do that. my service tag is D8PXCF1 DellBill if your still out there.

I have the same problem on a d630. I get the message: AC power adapter type cannot be determined and then the battery won't charge. To make matters worse, the cpu clock speed drops to 800 MHz (from 1800MHz). The computer becomes really painful to use.

This is all a scam by Dell to ensure you only buy their expensive adapters instead of cheap universal ones or cheap alternatives. The signal serves no purpose that benefits YOU, the end-user, the customer, the person paying money to Dell for their goods. There is no reason to drop the clock frequency, dim the screen or stop the battery charging. It simply cannot benefit you to do that, it certainly doesn't "protect" you or the machine. Any power supply that outputs 19.5V at the same or higher wattage (current) as the original would work perfectly if not for the lack of signal coming from it. End result, you buy an original from Dell and the big-wigs in Dell buy another holiday home in the Bahamas for a few million.

By the way, a lower voltage or wattage power supply does no harm; the laptop will simply refuse to function.

A higher voltage will potentially damage the laptop (I've tried it and it plays havoc, causing the laptop screen to die whilst voltage too high - the PWM inverter board supplying juice to the LCD's tubes goes into shutdown). The Dell signal nonsense will not protect against overvoltage, the true killer of motherboards (although they can usually be fixed - I've fixed a few). If you use a universal set to a voltage way higher than it should be, the lack of signal from the adapter won't protect the laptop.

A higher current does no harm whatsoever. Any electrical device only uses as much current as it needs. The exception is a fluorescent tube which requires a ballast transformer to act as a current-limiter, otherwise the low resistance plasma in the tube will pass as much current as it possibly can, creating a runaway current drawing situation. TVs, laptops, heaters, kettles, computers, stereos - all electronic goods - will use what they require. If you offer them more, all the better - they have plenty if needed!

Dell Bill,

I too have this problem. I have Latitude 630 Service Tag 6541SF1. Please let me know if you can help.

-Thanks. Raela

I had the same problem. I was about to buy a new powersupply. Then I saw a post about the plug not seating all the way. Just enough to power the computer, but not deep enough to connect to the charging circuits. Well, low and behold, there was debris in my power plug. Some random plasitc had become lodged in there and prevented the plug from fully seating. Cleared it out with a paperclip, and it works fine. BTW: the plastic did not come from the computer, it was a different color.

Dell Bill: Will not charge battery. We purchased 2 for our staff. Only one will charge batteries. Service code is FHH0WD1

I'm having the exact same problem. Two computers, both Dell Inspirons, two seperate power cords. Both having this problem "AC adapter type can't be determined, pops up every 5-10 minutes. Thinking about never doing business with Dell again, unless someone can give me a good reason to not do so....

Greg, I'd recommend saving for the Macbook, unless you want to keep forking out for the Dell. Have you tried the power supply from the laptop that does recharge in the laptop that doesn't? If it still won't, then the trouble isn't a missing signal from the power supply, but a fault with the laptop. Most likely the motherboard will need replacing. Trouble is, you pay hundreds to replace that, only for the charger to then become faulty and you have the same problem again, and more expense. The laptop design is inherently problematic, utilising the silly signal system to alert the laptop if a non-Dell power supply is used (they want you to buy their $100 one, not a cheap universal!) and refuse to charge the battery for no reason other than to make it impossible to use away from a power socket so you'll give in and buy a Dell power supply. Similar situation to what Epson did with the ink cartridges and the external cartridge mounted chip - basically it stopped people cheaply refilling their cartridges and forcing them to buy very expensive Epson ones.

Adam - here's a good reason not to do business with them again: they've sold you something that has a feature designed into it that does not help you at all, does not protect the laptop despite what Dell says, but does stop the laptop working as it should if you dare to use a suitable, but non-Dell, adaptor. That way they force you to buy a Dell adaptor whether you like it or not, at whatever price they demand, like it or not. It removes competition and prevents people from saving money and buying bargains. You are at Dell's mercy absolutely. I refuse to do business with a company that uses such a philosophy to increase profits at the customers' expense. What do you do?

Hey everyone,

I had the same problem (see above), so i just went to ebay and bought a $22 power cord that has been working perfectly, plus it has a 3 year warranty. The only downside i'd have to say is that the cord is a bit shorter than a dell cord, but that's something i can live with. I probably won't ever do business with Dell again. This is a cheap solution for someone who can't afford a Dell power cord or brand new computer. Hope this helps!

~E

I have 2 dell e1705 laptops. Both notebooks have the same problem with their power supply. The first time one of the power adapters failed is when the plastic failed and wires were exposed on the end of the adapter where it plugs into the notebook. This happened to both notebooks at different times. Dell replaced the adapters but after I used the new one for awhile then I would get the error message "does not recognize charger and would no longer charge the battery" if I continue to use the adapter eventually it just quit working. While the notebooks were still under warranty Dell replaced the power adapter at least 2 more times each, then Dell replaced the motherboards.

It seemed unusual that I would have the same problem with 2 different notebooks, so I though maybe it was my power. I had my power tested and it tested fine so I used different outlets and surge suppressors with no success. After the motherboard was replace on the 2nd notebook, I bought a power conditioning UPS, and never plugged it into anything else and we also moved to a different location. The power supplies still failed. I have had these notebooks for at least 2 years and have had to replace the power adapters at least every 3 months. I can not afford to continue buying new adapters or replace the motherboards and I cannot sell them with this problem. Please help!!!

Shedens, I could have told you it wasn't your home's electrical supply - the power adaptors have built-in spike suppression and adapt to different voltage levels. Basically, nothing gets into the 2nd stage of the switch-mode power supply.

The problem is the poor design of the goods you're using and the scam being pulled by Dell to get lots of aftermarket money from hapless Dell product owners. The power adaptors and motherboards will continue to suffer the same problem and you'll continue to spend on the devices. As far as I know, no one has successfully repaired either the power supply or the motherboard. The best thing is to scrap the units when they next fail and cut your losses...

I am having this same problem and am SO frustrated. Stupid Dell. And I can't even get any sympathy because all my coworkers use MacBooks and I am the only stupid one who insisted on a Dell. UGH !!!

And to add insult to injury the 3 year extended warranty that we paid through the nose for, ended less than 3 months ago . . . so this piece of you know what waits until the end of the extended warranty to give it up . . . and there is nothing Dell support will do for me even after I asked the customer service rep about an out of warranty exception. This is the last time we will buy a Dell!!!

Anyone ave any legal counsel or experience, self or family members? I seriously think that we should do a class action suit. This is one small area of people complaining about this problem, I would bet many more would be interested.

READ THIS!!
IF you are having power supply issues with the pa-13 and dont want to do what matt suggesed, try these simple little tricks. I am an electrical engineer student. I have gone threw 3 power adapters now. MY home electric power source is old and probably not the best, but my 1st adapter lasted 6 weeks and started to give me the not reconized crap and would not boot with adapter plugged in. 2nd adapter lasted 2 weeks at home plugged in the whole time, then visited g/f's and first time I plug it in It gives me the power adapter not reconized, and now it would not charge battery or boot with power adapter plugged in to to psid shorting out. A cousin who is an electrician happend to notice a electrical recepticle pushed in like it was kicked in or something, causing the wires to hit the back part of the receptical to hit the metal out part of the crappy trailer I live in making a short that all electronics dislike. Low and behold g/f's had no ground. As soon as it was plugged in, this is the 2nd power adpater to crap out, All the juice surged into the adapter and fried the spid. 3rd Brand new adapter was plugged in to my college campus library and crapped out first time as well. 3rd brand new one became paper weight the first time of use at my girlfriends house, you may/may not know how ticked I was.

How do I its not my laptop you say, I took it to a profesional who has seen over 20 others with the same problem and plugged his surge protected adapter to mine, that he says is over a year old, and know kidding he let me borrow it for a night to get my homework done. and I plugged it into my own home and my girlfriends and the same recepticle at school that fried my first one. Gotta love on/off surge protector. I gave it back to him and 2 weeks later for fun asked if his was still working and sure enough it was.

1. Power surge protector pluged to power adapter at all times. Prefferably one that has an on/off button, because power adapters dont have on/off switch which means as soon as you plug it into electrical recepticle its surges electricity thorugh it and that is not good. Ever notice the spark while plugging it in. You should have seen the one I seen, 4 inch long. Glad I didnt touch wasnt zapped by that one. This fries the psid thing that MATT talks about up a few posts. The rest of the adapter is still good, at least my 3 are, in the sense they put out the right volt and amp and watts. It just doesnt send the signal from psid to laptop. I plugged in a 1000 watt lighting ballast with out an on/off switch once and it was like a 4th of july fireworks show for 2 seconds. Same thing applies here. Only more sensitive electrical componits fry easily.

2. Try not to plug and unplug the power adapter more than needed. Unless an on/off surge protector is used.

3. If you live in an older house it is probably your non grounded old wiring with shorts in the wiring causing you trouble like at my girlfriends where my last 2 ac's got thier psid chip's fried from the first plug in and use.

Farmboy 1, Large bilion dollar business, at least in the 1000's
^ me! ^hell! with a d!

Either way gonna cost a few dollars unless you got warranty and already own a surge protector.

Farmboy/nodell

HAppy New Year
but its is a pain for me
i am a yonkers HS student and recieved a brand new dell 1420 inspiron in sep 5th this year (2008)
it has been about 4 months now and my AC adapter is not charging but plugged in and i need to wiggle so the computer will start. an error message pops up and said ac power cannot be determined or something like that. now the charge is at 0% and its been 2 weeks. i use this laptop to do a lot of my school projects since i am at junior year and its been anoying since i carry it around a lot to do presentations. please help, i will really apreciate it
deniz

Please Help!
Service Tag: GHYDDD1. Already replaced my battery about a month and a half ago, just outta warranty. Now my adapter needs to be replaced, and I really feel like the quality of DELL is going down. I spoke with the technical support and out of warranty, which I am still being transferred from one person to another. A new adapter would definately solve my problem, preferably a 90W for my 9-cell 85WHR Battery. Don't know why they sent me a 65W adapter (still excellent condition never used outside my home). If someone can help, I would definatly want to continue to be a satisfied DELL Customer (have been for the almost 10 years now with more than 8 systems purchased). Any help you can give would definately restore my faith in DELL. Thanks =]

[contact information removed]

farmboy-

for most people, and almost certainly you, this had nothing to do with ''power surges''..

Look inside the adapter that plugs into the back of your laptop- see that pin in the middle??

That pin DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.. FOR ''YOU'' that is..

The sole function of that pin is a circuit designed to ''tell'' your laptop if you are NOT using a GENUINE-DELL power supply, manufactured and sold ONLY by Dell.
When eventually the weak corresponding circuit components INSIDE of your laptop that ''read'' that signal fail, (could be from normal heat in the case, static elect. etc..) your computer BIOS is designed by Dell to self-destruct / CRIPPLING ITSELF per the DELL bios, to basically ''punish'' you for what the computer sees as you trying to use a non-dell manufactured power supply, even if its a REAL DELL P.S., that your laptops fried cicuitry can no longer recognize.

Your laptop is deliberately being screwed up so you will be forced to give Dell lots of money.

THATS THE GOOD NEWS, BTW...

The bad news is, if the circuitry INSIDE the laptop is affected, and you merely replace the power supply with a new undamaged one from dell with the same self-sestruct self-crippling circuit in it, you are virtually guaranteed that you will fry the new power supply in short order, and be back to the same problem. Also, you can ''infect'' any other dell laptop with the ''cripple feature'' built into it, that you try out with its power supply on your laptop and then return the borrowed power supply to sevice with the original computer.

This is because your fried circuitry will likely fry the check circuitry in the borrowed power supply, and when you return it to service with its parent computer, the now damaged check circuit in the borrowed power supply will then in turn fry the check circuitry in the computer of the buddy who tried to help you out.

''Bill'' disappears out of forums where this is made clear- just passing out replacement power supplies is going to do no good in the long run for anyone. ''Bill'' is not doing this 'off-the-clock' out of his own niceness, and dell hopes you will take one more power supply and go away and give up after that one blows its check circuit.

This is a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit, that was caused by dells greed ..these computers have been deliberately crippled, and will always be crippled unless a new motherboard WITHOUT the check-circuit to cripple it, if it senses you are trying to use a non-dell P.S. is replaced. This would cost dell a f@#$ing fortune on the probably MILLIONS of laptops they need to swap-out motherboards on that have this consumer-screwing feature built in to cripple them, deliberately. Dell will probably have to declare bankruptcy if/when it is forced to replace for free 5 million laptop motherboards, and it serves the a$$@#$%s right.

Stan is absolutely right. The center pin (the small, weak pin designed to bend or snap off with ease) sends a signal from power supply (call it what you will; PS, PSU, adapter, power cord, power box...) to the laptop, which instructs the laptop to operate at full capability, Without the signal, the BIOS instructs the laptop to run at part capability and, most importantly, not to charge the battery. It's the lack of battery charging that is the crippler; cleverly incorporated to ensure that Dell laptop owners get themselves an original Dell power supply, because without it their laptop has become a slow desktop computer - all portability removed without a battery to run it. Very devious, but clever, idea to twist the arm of those who would otherwise buy a cheap universal or compatible power supply unit. Do you see how this benefits their finances, but not you, the end consumer? Do you really believe that something is being protected by not charging the battery if you use a non-Dell adapter? It's called spin - convincing you that systems being employed are for your benefit, even when they're not. Business is politics, and just as corrupt and self-serving these days.

There are two things which can go wrong: the adapter can stop sending the signal, or the tiny conductor in the cable carrying the signal can become broken. The other thing is that the laptop circuitry which detects the signal can become faulty. Either way, you have to pay to solve the problem. Firstly, you do as tech support tell you from their computer screen's diagnostic program; you replace the cheapest part first, the adapter. If that doesn't work, you then fork out almost the same amount you'd pay for a brand new non-Dell laptop of similar specs on a new motherboard. More fool you, you've perhaps just paid an extortionate amount overall for a laptop probably just over a year old to work like any other brand would do for years and years without problems.

But it's not over yet. Next your battery fails, and that costs you an arm and a leg because the battery also tells the laptop it's an original Dell one, so if you buy a non-Dell one, you get a message telling you the laptop won't charge it. Of course, you might (like me) install original Dell batteries but still get the message and not have it charge the batteries - so you're looking at a motherboard fault again and another, what, $500?

Then, even though many laptop batteries last 2-3 years until they simply don't hold much charge (they power the laptop only for small amount of the original time), you find your 13 month old new $120 battery suddenly dies, even though it may have been running your laptop for a good two hours straight before it failed. Your great Dell laptop says it can't determine the battery, or that no battery is installed, or that the battery has reached the end of its useful life, and it's time to cough up over $100 again,

Do you see the common thread here? You become more and more out of pocket, Dell becomes wealthier and wealthier.

This company treats its customers terribly. It has already lost one class action suit in which it had to repair, under an extended warranty of one year the judge made them put in place, the motherboards, adapters and batteries of the laptops in question. Now another class action suit is required with the modern range of laptops encountering these problems. Would you believe that the class action suit they lost was about the technology they incorporate giving the messages 'AC adapter cannot be determined' and 'battery cannot be identified'? This was quite a few years ago, and yet they're still using the same methods despite losing the class suit. Of course, they only had to fix 20 laptops, those belonging to the people bringing the suit. More should have been done to penalise Dell for their actions and faulty products. Stock faults should bring about a recall.

What you can do is take advantage of the warranty and demand the laptop is fixed. Once the warranty has run out, throw the laptop away when it next fails, and buy another make of laptop. Sounds too expensive? Think of what you'll spend overall on the Dell after warranty - motherboards, batteries, adapters... all costing from $130 to $500.

Then, in future, do not buy from a company that treats you like an open-wallet mug. If you go back to them, then you deserve everything you get. Bad companies like this prosper because of the ignorant (those who haven't yet been bitten by them and know no better) and the foolish (those who keep going back for more punishment because of things like 'I've always bought Dell stuff!' and 'Their products were always good before!'

What more need be said?

Today I have emailed a firm that dealt with a class action suit before. I am willing to initiate a class action suit. Yes I will not buy another dell laptop, and discourage others. I will post more when I hear from theml.

well if u file a class action suit add me in .. i have two dell laptops comepletely different models and have poured good money after bad into them .. before my warranty expired dell was replacing my laptop every 3 to 6 months for among other issues the power supply .. my daughters laptop finally just imploded because of it .. i am trixiebele on aol and inflightprincess on yahoo ..

There is actually a real easy way for Dell to fix this (power-supply ''trojan horse'' check circuit) for almost everyone at almost no real cost of hassle to you or THEM...

They simply dont want to do it,

because they ARE SCAMMERS and have been able, for a long time now, to successfully evade any consequences for deliberately sabotaging their computers.
The reason they wont fix it quickly the EASY CHEAP WAY, at no cost / hassle to you or them, is that if they fixed this the EASY way,
they would LOSE ALL THE REVENUE they are pulling in from you, CHARGING YOU to totally waste HOURS on the phone with a pakistani man working a dell phone bank, and charging you for reading from a script on how to diagnose the problem.
They would also lose the huge $$ they pull in from doing a (UN-NEEDED) out-of-warranty Motherboard replacement, or selling you a (UN-NEEDED) replacement POWER SUPPLY.
NEVER will they mention during your paid diagnosis session that the computer was intentionally designed by them to be deliberately ''booby-trapped'' to fail- they will just say 'oh, these things happen, the power supply / motherboard just failed''.

On almost ALL these motherboards they want to swap out at a cost of over 500+ bucks a pop, NOTHING is 'failed' with the motherboards consumer/owner features you actually need to use the computer- the PCB and its end-user components are all in perfect order for actual PC purposes...
the ONLY thing 'failed' is the over-sensitive, non-shielded sensor on the motherboard, and/or power supply brick, that checks whether you are using a Dell manufactured power supply-
when that UN-NEEDED sensor goes out, like its designed to do, the computer is then designed to begin ''acting'' defective, as though their is something mechanically wrong with it-
there is actually only a fault in that UN-NEEDED designed-to-fail circuit that Dell built into your computer like a ''TROJAN HORSE''.
---------------------------------------------------
THE WAY DELL COULD FIX THIS TOMMOROW AT NO EXPENSE TO YOU OR THEM ON MILLIONS OF ITS CUSTOMERS LAPTOPS-

All Dell needs to do is write a BIOS patch for you to 'flash' that instructs all the millions of laptops computers they built this ''Trojan Horse'' into, to stop checking whether or not you are using a dell manufactured power supply.

Thats it- no hassle no cost- you could download it tommorow and have no need for begging anyone for a new power supply like its some kind of favor.

This is also Dells ''tool'' for preventing a costly class-action suit, because even if they lose after a 5 year court battle, the actual cost to them would be paying one engineer they already have on staff a afternoons pay to write a software patch that would eliminate the problem entirely.

Dell is such a devious, insidious company, they have absolutely NO incentive to fix the problem now, because they are RAKING IN huge profits from all the phoney repairs that this scam brings into them, and if at some point in the unlikely event they were ever forced to fix these problems on all the affected computers by a court, it costs them nothing but to post one more BIOS update on their web site.

In other words, these scum bags have NO INCENTIVE at all to either-
a) explain to you they deliberately sabotaged the computer they sold you with a hardware 'trojan'
b) help you fix a non-issue at no cost, as they deliberately built this in to make more money off you, as you now have no choice but to pay if you want your laptop to work again
c) simply issue a software patch to end this nightmare for their customers, as they can fix it if they are ever forced to by a court, cheaply, but unless that ever happens they can rape millions of people for a tremendous profit on un-needed repairs.
---------------------------------------------------

Because Dell knows they can fix this at any minute it wants at no cost at all with a simple software patch,
it may take some effort to find an attorney to pursue this unless they take it PRO-BONO to punish Dell, as the issue can be fixed at little to no cash damages to most affected consumers.
There is no big payday here for a attorney unless maybe they can make the case for big punative damages since its the same repeated fraud that they have already been taken to court over, or the parties who have been defrauded into uneccesary motherboard or power supply purchases can likely be entitled to compounded AND punitive damages if formed into a class this could amount to significant money...

This should, simultaneous to a civil suit, be reported as a case of criminal fraud-
a)dell knows they deliberately built in a fault to their products that was not disclosed to the purchaser in advance, and did not offer any benefit to their consumers,
b)they then collected large sums of money, often close to the original purchase price of the computer, from the consumer to ''turn-off'' the artificial fault they built into their product.

FOR ANYONE WHO FINDS THIS THREAD-
you need to call your state attorney general consumer complaint office- this is a fraud / warranty of merchantability issue.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=...

If you want to get Dell to cut loose with the patch to restore proper operation of all these crippled laptops, a state AG bringing a CRIMINAL COMPLAINT against Dells management will be much more likely to get this resolved quickly than trying to wait 5 years till a class action suit gets to trial and 92% of the affected laptop owners dont even have the Dell laptop anymore. Dell knows they can profit from those who can pay, and can outwait most of us who would like to litigate this...

Getting Dell indicted on consumer fraud is the only real recourse here guys.. lets all call out states attorney generals office TOMMORROW!!

.

dear john i agree that a class action suit would take years and not get us anything immediately .. i also think that this is but one web site that has clients complaining about this issue and others .. one of hundreds we all are having the same issues due to the poor quality of the merchandise and the absolute ridiculous foreigners that are tech support .. i finally had to put my foot down and say you have 4 hours to get someone sitting thier fanny on americian soil that speaks english as thier mother tongue and actually owns a computer and does not live in a mud hut to call me .. the better business bureau has literally over a million complaints and people need to keep filing complaints until finally the government steps in .. in this you are correct we all need to call out states attorney and if you have filed a bbb complaint mention it and that there are millions more that this business should be fined till micheal dell is living in a cardboard box on the outskirts of round rock .. but we ALL have to band together cause this is america and corporate america well all i need to say in enron .. we are bailing out millionaires with our hard earned dollars while we are struggling to pay our bills .. anyone who wishes to and has the knowledge to start a revolution count me in ..

Very good post john mc master. I have looked into the possibility of editing the BIOS rom file to disable the requirement of the ID signal, but according to some people who hack BIOSes on a regular basis, there is nothing yet that will adequately read a Dell BIOS and allow changes to be made to it.

Of course, there is another issue here, and that is of the batteries also emitting an ID signal and the laptop refusing to charge a battery that lacks it (even a Dell one, should the signal fail). Not to mention that the battery packs can render themselves unusable once certain criteria are met that it deems representative of a battery that has reached the end of its life. One result of this is batteries becoming unusable even though they previously charged perfectly and powered the laptop for 2 hours or more still. Another is that if the laptop circuitry looking for the signal becomes faulty, it won't recognise any original Dell batteries. I have usually found with non-Dell laptops that the batteries start powering the laptop for a decreasing amount of time as they approach 2 years old, and after that become worse and worse, but often being usable for 3+ years. The Dell batteries are commiting suicide at only 12 months old in many cases. Li-Ion batteries are rubbish when it comes to lifespan, but 12 months is ridiculous.

What I find incredible is that people knowingly start paying out for spares that over the course of a few years - if even that - add up to as much ,if not more, than they paid for the original machine. To put it into perspective, would anyone expect to have to buy a brand new motherboard for their desktop PC every 12 months? My motherboards have been working fine for many years now, the absurdity of laptop ones not lasting long needs to end. Also, considering you can buy a high spec motherboard for your desktop for $150 or less, it does show how overpriced OEM spares are, especially Dell riding in at $500 for a motherboard no more spectacular than a $100 desktop one.

Staci, that's a good point about this being only one site of many where people must be airing their problems with Dell laptops. It gave me an idea: I don't mind creating a website that could be a central hub for everyone who is having problems, but would need ideas on what to put there. Some kind of form where people can opt in to a class action suit would be good, and then a list of all who have so far.

What do people think?

Staci and Chap-

Dell is esentially engaging in criminal activity, and unfortunately,
the route that almost all of the folks owning/encountering the ''rigged to self destruct'' dell laptops are taking are routes that are only going to be effective against a legitimate business that wants to remain legitimate and protect their reputation.

The B.B.B. is fine to register a problem with, but they are not going to be of any practical benefit against Crooks like Dell,
other than giving you a chance to ''vent''.
The B.B.B. has no enforcement arm its merely a voluntary means to work out unfortunate problems between customers and companies that may sincerely want to regain the goodwill of their customer base after they are made aware of unintended problems with their product or service.

Dell is purposely using damaging, useless-to-you, un-needed,
covert systems they concealed inside their product and never revealed to the purchaser, to gain profit from making totally uneccessary computer repairs.
Thats no different than a crooked repair-man who comes to your home and tells you you have to replace your entire heating system for thousands of dollars, when all that is really wrong is a single 25 cent fusible link....both are criminal and chargable.

If all us affected parties RE-DIRECT our activity and effort from;
threatening to call BBB,
or a attorney,
and INSTEAD unite to pursue our state AG office to INDICT DELL CRIMINALLY, we stand a really good chance of getting what we need fixed and getting dell punished for what they DELIBERATELY are doing.

You do not, first thing, call the BBB or a private attorney when a robber is invading your home.. its a crime.. you call law enforcement authorities.. In this cse because it a so wide spread, you call state authorities.

MICROSOFT issues FREE system 'patches' everyday if it learns that something within its sofware is causing its users problems-
DELL is deliberately refusing to issue the needed software update that is only neccesary because they deliberately sabotaged the products they sell, in first place.

MICROSOFT has been HOUNDED for decades by legal authorities for the ''crime'' of giving away for free its media player and web browser, when other software developers complained it deprived them of income from software they wanted to force us to BUY from them.
According to law enforcement efforts, M.S. giving away its free software is considered a ILLEGAL MONOPOLY, even though it harms no consumer/purchaser, and actually benefits the consumer.

DELL, on the other hand, is writing malicious operating software into its PC products that exists only to punish users by destroying their computers operation when it either MALFUNCTIONS or detects, that they are using accesories that are NOT bought from, and produced by, DELL. This creates a MONOPOLY, because the consumer is no longer free to buy from the vendor of their choice.

So there you have it-
M.S. gives you free stuff and they are dragged to court by the Feds as a ''monopoly''.
Dell creates a trap-door system in its hardware to self-desruct it if the trap-door ever malfunctions or detects that you tried to use a NON-DELL accessory, and its now been allowed to operate this way for years with no hassles.
This would be like APPLE rigging its I-PODs to fail if you insert a aftermarket headphone/earpiece/speaker etc..

Chaps- how about INDICT_DELL.COM if the domain is avail?..
and not that its much but you have free reign to use/modify/quote/alter anything I have written on your site.

I MAY HAVE INFORMATION THAT CAN HELP SOME OF YOU-

I recently bought a used, former corporate-owned, Dell 100L for 200 bucks from a business that buys wholesale lots of corporate surplus.
I knew Dells bad reputation but I figured for 200 bucks with xp installed and an adapter it was too good a deal to pass up on a 2.4 ghz laptop.

Within the first few boot-ups I got a similar message to the one all you report reference the power adapter not being recognized-

I DID NOT GET a message telling me that the computer would be slow or not charge though, and even with the 'messsage' similar to the ones you all received, my 100L always charged and still ran at 2.4 ghz after the power adapter ''message'' (i have the I8K fan control software installed and it tells you the CPU speed after bootup)

I found all these threads here after researching the message i got.on
My used CORPORATE 100L - http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/s...

My laptop is mechanically and visually the same as the infamous Inspiron 5150 (for the consumer market)-
http://www.blaptops.com/images/dell_i...

The only difference is,
the consumer market 5150 has some colored plastic external panels to dress it up,
while the 100L is all dark-grey colored.
Also, most 100L's have celeron processors while the 5150's mostly have the hotter, multimedia P4 processors.

Why all this matters is this- the 100L only has 8 total bios updates in its entire history,
while the 5150 has at last count I think it was 36 bios updates during the same time-frame.

Since all the 5150 owners were getting their processor crippled and battery drained after receiving the dell adapter message ,
and on my 100L, which is the same mechanical unit, I only get a warning about the adapter but no threat of lower processing speed or the battery not charging, I think what may be going on is this-

I suspect but cannot prove without confirmation from some other users who also have ex-business/corporate systems,
that Dhell may be crippling CONSUMER systems sold to private individuals, but on systems sold to large CORPORATE entities who could cost Dhell a lot of lost business/money if they get pissed off,
Dhell has the Bios rigged only to give a warning message over the adapter issue but not actually cause any problems with the computers performance, like it does with the little-guy, consumer models...this could really screw Dhell is a lawsuit, as it takes away any shred of possibility that the ''power adapter sheme'' is intended to 'protect' people, and shows dhell was careful only to try to really screw with small consumers,
I.E., THOSE without legal departments at their disposal.

THE FOLLOWING IS UNTESTED INFORMATION AND USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK-
Flashing the wrong bios on your computer can 'brick' it and im not telling you to do this!! This is for info purposes only for those who know more than me or dont care what happens-

Considering you can get a old 5150 pretty cheap now, and considering it came with the same motherboard as the 100L and even had the same processors optional, If you were to flash a CORPORATE 100L bios on a CONSUMER 5150 laptop, you may also be able to beat the Dell scheme to cripple your laptop, as its the BIOS that is telling the computer to stop charging the battery/run slow,
and this does not happen on my Corp. 100L.

Other possibility, if someone who does BIOS hacking disassembles the 100L Bios, (this is how the I8K dell laptop Fan control program was created- http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/ ) you could use that portion of the 100L bios to PATCH the bios on the affected consumer mahines and effectively put an end to Dells racket to sell everyone unneccesary motherboards/powersupplies, as the message itself is not really an issue as long as the BIOS doesnt mess up your computers operation once you boot up. Maybe even the german guy who disassembled the dell bios to create the fan program can do this.. I dont know.

This same ''solution'' may apply to other dhell laptop lines/models that have one targeted to the CONSUMER market and another model number which is mechanically the exact same thing targeted only to the BUSINESS/CORPORATE market.

I would be interested to hear from any other owners of ex-corporate systems (actually off-lease or surplus from a large corp account, and was part of a bulk business purchase, not a dhell that got ordered by your uncle jim-bobs bait shop),
to see if this is holds true across the board. It is VERY common for a BIOS to be crippled/altered/restricted from one application to another but if Dhell has been doing what I beleive they may have, this could prove very 'useful' in several different ways.

This is such a ridiculous problem. Motherboards and connection devices should have a longer warranty than one year, just like the major working parts on a car. My AC adaptor not recognized message started the day the warranty ran out at 10 pm PST. When I tried to contact them their time, which is where-India?, they told me the warranty was expired and unless I paid for the support, they wouldn't help me. Course this was all on the webpages. I would like to send them a complaint letter but can't even find an address to write them. The adapter runs the laptop, but have no battery back-up, so will always need a plug.

My power adapter soon stop working when i loaded up the laptop and it said something like power wattage then after that, the power adapter stop working. I bought the laptop a years ago and my warranty already expired . I don t know what to do now .

Hey i just went to the Dell site, and clicked on drivers and download and updated the Bios and it worked, perfectly. Wow I have a expert computer guy name Mike he is so
Good and I am do happppppy.
Thanks To My Guy Mike

wow, i'll try this and see what happens. Let you all know if it fixes my problem as well.

I tried the bios and it will not run it says to plug in the adapter and battery for the bios system to flash. I press ok and it won't work. It does not recognize the adapter, I think.

Same for me. The last message I got said the battery needed to charge to 10% for the flash to work. Well, the battery won't charge because the computer doesn't recognize the adaptor, and when it happened to stop working the computer/adapter or whatever drained the completely charged battery I had at the time. It's nothing but a merry-go-round and I won't buy another Dell. If it won't recognize the adapter then why does the laptop still turn on with it plugged in with the very adaptor?

Dell Bill: I got my inspiron 1520 as a Christmas present. After having it for one year, my ac adapter is not charging the battery. The green light on the power block wont even turn on. it has been under normal use. To solve this I bought a third party adapter and it will not charge the battery. My warranty expired like a month ago. Would you still be able to help me?
PS i live in Canada too. I hope that isnt a problem.

I have a Dell E1705 that I bought used that had a bad battery. I bought a new 9 cell from ebay for this model laptop and it lasted 4 days. It is now stuck at 7% and will not charge! I do not get any messages of "AC Power Adapter Not Determined" or anything like that. Machine works fine and at full speed with A/C adaptor. But my new battery will not charge! It does show at 100 when I do self test but only one LED is lit. What I have been reading is that if we use 3rd party A/C adaptors or battieries, they will cripple and damage our Dell laptops? Is this the case!!??!?!

My 5160 had this problem about 18 months ago. Dell sent out a new motherboard and PA-13. This took care of the problem. Then about October of last year ('08), it started intermittently not recognizing the adapter again. Of course the warranty expired that same month. It worked off and on for the next eight weeks then quit all together. I just bought another PA-13, and all is well for the time being. I would really appreciate Dell replacing my bad adapter, as I know it is only a matter of time till this one quits also.

Rich
Apex, NC

PS. They also replaced the motherboard about two years prior to all this happening for another problem. There was not a problem with the adapter, but they also replaced it which I thought was strange. The original adapter was a different type, though I cannot remember what model it was.

I bought a Dell Vostro 1000 in 2007 November and since the last few days I'm getting the message that the AC Adapter type cannot be determined. Now my battery won't charge and I'm forced to use the laptop with the power connected always. How do I get this fixed?

For those of us that came across this site a bit later, how do we get in touch with Dell_Bill, or whoever is the Dell rep for this problem now? Thank you.

Wow, I just checked this out, and I'm really happy to know that this is still an ongoing conversation!

Hi Bradr,
Don't hold your breath. I have not heard squat from anyone regarding any resolution or person to contact with Dell. If anyone can reply with whom to contact, it would be appreciated. From looking at much earlier post, there were apparently some people that received assistance from someone at Dell.
Richard

Wow, this has been going on with my effin computer for about 6 months!! Cannot recognize my ac adapter.......what a joke!!!!! works when its plugged in but wont charge the battery..LAME

Last time I ever buy a dell. I will be sure to tell everyone about this scam Dell has going regarding these adapters.

at least your computers will boot and work on the adapter .. mine shows the message on and off but once it starts to show permanentely i have a 3000$ paperweight .. mine will not boot on the adapter when it is showing the message .. it says on boot up the same message about the ac power adapter and shuts itself down .. we all have been gabbing but the best advice i have gotten off this site is that we all need to get together and sign a petition to send to our states and federal attorney generals .. we need to file a fraud suit against dell .. or else we all will be out our money ..

Sharon and everyone else , i dont mind using my snail mail address for written letters and signatures or if you all think it would be just as effective to use an e petition .. i will be more than happy to spearhead the effort .. i personally think hard copy would work best but it will take slightly more effort and the cost of a stamp i am afaid it would deter some from writing out of sheer laziness .. lets brainstom and make this happen kids befoe my puter takes a permanent shit .. staci

email works for me, i am off to travel. So the laptop will be my only source of info for a while. Thanks Staci

Does anyone know why after about 3-6 months sitting in storage my adapters will work again for awhile? I have about 6 of these old nonworking adapters, when the current one died, I went back and tried one of my old ones and it is working again.

When it died the light would not come on and it had a buzzing sound when I plugged it in and it would not charge battery or run notebook without battery. Now the light comes on and no buzzing sound and it charges battery. I have had this happen before but it only lasted a few days. Does anyone know why this would happen and is it safe to use it?

thanks

D600, factory rebuilt. Worked well for a year them same message. Shows 251 mhz in ControlPanel, 399 in Intel speed step. Battery doesn't charge but computer works, sort of. I fly a lot. Always have to start computer at security check-in. Have one dead, but good battery. The second 65% charge. I have to fly to Europe in 4 days. I don't have time to sort out DELL'S problem.
If DELL would just issue a new BIOS to flash that would work around the problem they would have a lot of less unhappy people.
Last DELL for me and my family!
Peter

Hi,
I bought this XPS M1730 5 months ago or so, and now I can't recharge the battery and it runs really slow when it's plugged in. I get the AC adapter not determined error. What should I do ?

Hi I have an inspiron e1505 and I have the same problem-AC Adapter not recognized now the computer does not recognize the adapter at all so my laptop is dying. HELP!! Service tag is 13KD0D1

Don't bother attempting to contact Dell unless you have a warranty. They basically told me to go screw myself, and that because it is out of warranty there is nothing they will do. That is of course AFTER getting hung up on 20 CSR's in India and FINALLY resorting to email actual Dell executives. They still won't help. I have two computers, both with the same problem, gone though 2 AC/Adapters, and replaced the power jack on one computer already at a cost to me. Dell is horrible, I would suggest getting rid of your computer and getting one from ANYONE that is not Dell.

I had this same problem with my Dell XPS M1210 Laptop when it was under warranty. I called Dell support and they sent me a replacement power supply. That didn't fix it, and then they sent me a replacement battery. That didn't work, and then they sent a technician that replaced the motherboard. Then it worked fine for a few months. Now the problem started up once again, but now it is out of warranty. In researching this issue online, it seems that thousands have people have had this issue with several different Dell models, and for most it was the power supply. However, I'm afraid to pay the money to replace it because it may not be the root cause. I might just have to buy another laptop, and it definitely will not be a Dell.

Pete

HI,
Same problem here - Someone gave me free Inspiron 300m w/o charger. I bought universal one that said it is compatibile with 300m. It turned out that power jack was also busted - i soldered it back together. Still nothing.
Then by pure luck i noticed that battery was charging... (?). After short investigation I noticed that when adapter is plugged in exacly right moment - power off - plug in + power on in the same moment it WORKED :/.
Maby some one that knows more then me will figure out why it worked.
Thanks.

I too have , although my Inspiron 8500 has been doing this for aroud 5 years now. The problem first occured after about 10 months. I was issued a new ac adapter and that fixed the problem. Of course the day after my warranty expired, this adapter failed and Dell was of course no help to me. After searching other forums I realized that the problem was the faulty communication between the adapter and the motherboard. I posted on the Dell forums a couple of times asking if a BIOS update could be made, and the only response I got was people telling me that I should have bought the extended warranty. I have told everyone I know to never buy a Dell and I know that a few people wlll never do so. The only solace that have in this whole thing is that the issue is still occuring and there may be a chance that Dell will get around to fixing it. That and pigs may fly.

I have a 1505 ..Same problem.. Will be looking for the answer and if I find it I will post.... I am a tech so I will try to fix it how ever I can .....

I have the same problem with a Dell Inspiron 6000. Called tech support and was told to download and run Bios. Same problem..still can't recognize ac adapter.

I had this problem, bought a new AC Adapter that took over two weeks to get here. And finally got an e-mail saying sorry for the wait. Except I had my school work on there so I had to wait to hand in some assignments :|. My dad went out and bought a used one from a local computer store and then 3 days later the one I bought managed to show up. It looks like a different model (it is a 95 W, instead of 65W) it's thinner and longer. My battery still doesn't charge, and my new adapter I bought for 85 dollars just gave me sparks, and just gave me the same message again. I JUST BOUGHT this AC Adapter. I am a student, and don't really have the time or money to have another one sent to me. I can't afford 85 dollars every month to have a new adapter sent to me when this should not even be a problem anyway!
This is a joke, and I will never be buying a dell again.

Add me as another victim of this scam. I got my Inspiron 6400 almost three years ago (not under warranty anymore). My problems with Dell AC adapters is when my first one got internal frayed wires and caught on fire. After paying $60 for a new one, I got another year of normal use before the "AC Adapter not recognized" problem came up. Thanks to the OS being jammed up with Dell's junkware, it didn't shutdown before I put it away, so my battery drained to zero. Now I'm stuck with a weaker "desktop" than my 9 year old Windows ME P.O.S. I dread going on an Indian adventure with Dell support, so I'm probably going spend a few hundred on a cheap, simple laptop rather than replacing a motherboard. My only hope is sending in my laptop to a local computer repair centre, and seeing if they can fix that ONE TINY CIRCUIT that is causing all these problems.
Any hope of a class-action. I'm in Canada, BTW.

I'm having the same problem with my Inspiron 1520. It does not "recognize" the AC adaptor. At first if I wiggled the wire the battery would charge, but now nothing seems to help. The battery is now out of power and today when I plugged in the adapter, I got sparks from the wall outlet end. Of course, my warranty ran out three weeks ago. Until now, I've been a happy Dell customer--I also have a Dell desktop. Any chance Dell can help me with this?

There is a "battery charger" being sold on Ebay for about $30. In the picture it looks like a regular power cord. Although it says it's for Dell laptops, I'm sure it's not a
Dell product. Does anyone have any experience with such a product?

Hi, I am having the exact same problem. When I plug my adapter into my laptop - a message pops up on the screen saying "The AC power adapter could not be determined...." My battery is stuck on 4% remaining and I really need to take it in for university. If I plug my adapter into a socket at home/university etc, I get bright blue sparks from the plug every time I do this? What is causing the problem? Any help would be much appreciated!
Btw I have a Vostro 1510 which I bought about a year ago in the UK

I decided to replace the power cord. Dell sells them for some $80 but I found it for less than half the price at simplemicro.com. They say it's a genuine Dell part. We'll see.

Same problem with inspiron 6400. Just ordered new power supply. If this doesn't fix it Dell looses another customer. I have been using Dell for desktops at work and desktops at home as well as several laptops. It is unacceptable that Dell does not care enough to fix this problem without their loyal customers spending hundreds of dollars. You can buy brand new laptops for what you would have to spend to get this one repaired. (Toshiba makes good laptops if you are thinking of switching.)

I just received a new adapter that I bought from from another company and it has solved the problem. My question now is, why is Dell charging so much more for its parts when they are available from other companies for so much less.

I'm an IT manager who has approx. 60 dell laptops with only one of them having this issue a D630 Vista 32, It works fine without docking station, but fails docked, no doubt another mother board to replace. The true fix is a simple BIOS patch as others have mentioned, which would resolve it cleanly and without follow up. Their laptops are by far the most unreliable, with power, docking and Mother boards being 99% of the issues for me.

Hello,

I also have the same problem. The error message is:

The AC adapter wattage and type cannot be determined.

The battery may not charge.

The system will adjust the performance to match the power available.

I bought my xps M1330 in Malaysia, to be used for my Master Computer Science study in Japan. Now when i need it most, and my warranty is almost over, this problem came up.

Info from support page:
Service Tag: 7QXQT1S
System Type: XPS M1330
Ship Date: 2/24/2008
Dell IBU: Asia / Pacific

Description              Provider Start Date End Date Days Left

NBD (Next Business Day on-site) DELL 5/24/2008 5/24/2009 61

POW (Parts onlyWarranty)        DELL 5/24/2008 5/24/2009 61

XPS 24x7 Phone Technical        DELL 5/24/2008 5/24/2009 61

Support

I cannot report to Dell Japan as i cannot read Kanji. :(

thanks,
aiesa

Wish I knew of a BIOS fix. It seems thousand have this same problem.

This has cost too many too much. The cost has been in the form of TIME, MONEY AND EXTREEME FRUSTRATION. Yet Dell could have avoided it and easily rectified the situation early on. imo it was greed plain and simple.

I used to like Dell b/c I could order my whole system online. Why didn't they do a simple honest recall or admit it and send out a fix? So much time wasted with the customer service run around.

Hello all good news .. i bought an offline adapter for my xps m1710 from a company called mobile tech and it was half the price of a dell adapter and that included the shipping AND !!!!! it charges the battery AND i have yet to get the message again .. so far so good i will let you all know how it is going in a couple of weeks : ) i am thrilled that i dont pump more money into the dell machine but yet it is making the damn machine run and charge .. i hope the place goes belly up soon .. maybe we should all charge michael dells house and stone his family like they are doing to the aig execs : )

For the "AC power adapter type cannot be determined" failure, how would a Dell Class Action law suit do? You could contact classaction@poynerbaxter.com with your complaint. They seem to be commencing a class action suit............ with less risk than would be throwing stones ........ stones could bounce back ........

Bought a Dell Studio machine for my Mother about six weeks ago; same problem as everyone else here... blah, blah, blah. On its second adapter, now; still won't charge the battery. It's under warranty, of course, but, let's face it-- I'm screwed aren't I?

to be honest mig instead of fighting to get another charger or motherboard i would be fighting to a refund of every dime and go buy your mom something else : ( it will never get any better and the sooner dell goes belly up the better for us all ..

well mig fight for them to give your money back ... i am getting good results from the charger so far i have only had it a week .. i will keep u posted : )

I just got my new adapter from ebay seller, adapter-giant $13 + shipping, it powers on and the battery is charging!!!! I am finally happy and dell did not get any money from me

Hi Bill, I'm having the same problem as these folks. However, I can provide a bit more detail:

Starting my Dell XPS M1330, a error message will appear saying that AC adapter cannot be determined, will operate at a lower performance level, please use 65W adapter. Press F-something to continue.

Once Windows Vista has booted up, the same error message pops up in a window. Hovering over the battery meter, it says, "Plugged in, not charging."

Battery health is normal according to the battery meter. I checked the adapter, the data pin, the cable and the AC port for damage and found nothing unusual.

However, interestingly enough, when I enter setup with F2 while the computer boots, and check the battery -- the systems says the adapter is detected and is charging normally. Leaving at the setup screen for about an hour, I was able to get a substantial charge to my battery. So I think the adapter is not charging when Windows is booted up.

Can you help me with my problem? I have tried reformatting my computer and re-installing Windows Vista. I've tried everything and am getting quite frustrated and annoyed at Dell right now...

My service tag is GJ7TDF1

I believe you will need to replace the mother board, its a hardware not software issue.

But the adapter charges normally when in the setup screen? This is the setup screen before Windows even starts... so somewhere along the line the adapter is working properly?

I have same prob, computers only a couple months old.

service tag: FSHB6G1

Same problem: adapter not been recognized and battery not chargin any more. Service support expired. Talked to support guys in Brasil and they wanted to sell another adapter for $350 reais, that is US$160,00.

I too have this "AC adapter not determined" I'm on my second AC adapter. The original had the same message a year ago. My replacement, a generic, just got the same message. Paid $75 for it. Several posters have already said the MB had to be replaced. I don't buy it.

If the second power supply worked then it's not really the motherboard. It most like has to be something on the Power supply itself. Some people have stated that the tip of the dc jack might be a problem. My generic PS has a bulky dc jack. I don't think it's even remotely damaged. However, my theory is that the other end (coming out from the supply) somehow got over flexed and a wire in question has become crimped and lost the connection.

Luckily, the power supply still works if I boot up from the battery and plug the PS in afterward to bypass the "AC adapter not determined" message. So far it is charging, but that could change. (I'm also on my second battery)

Evidently this power supply problem has been an issue since 2005. If there was a class action suit, I'm in. I can't dump $150 (battery/PS) into a lemon every year. My XPS Gen2 costs 3,000 in the day, but it's soon to be a piece of junk. The hard drive is going out, the DVD reader never could write a good disc. I think Dell dropped the ball big time.

I also have the same problem. My power supply started sparking because of a broken wire close to the connection to the laptop (Inspiron 1525). It was still under warrantee but I was out of town and needed it for business so purchased a replacement at an electronics store. The replacement was not recognized and would not charge the battery. I dragged my feet for several months and used the laptop while plugged in.

Last week I decided to get a new adapter but when I checked the warrantee had expired. I looked online and ordered a charger from amadvance.com. The charger arrived today and does not charge the battery! I have now wasted almost $90. I called support and they told me the warrantee had expired and I could purchase one at a reduced price of $79.

I asked them to take my name off all Dell advertizing. I have purchased at least 6 or 7 systems from Dell over the last 10 years and vow to never purchase another one!!! It makes me a little sad because I do enjoy shopping a new system online, but I just have to do it on principle.

By the way, I was able to reproduce the results of another poster above and get the adapter to charge the battery by going into setup (F2) on boot. I am letting the battery charge at least one last time.

Bill, if you are still around and are willing to get me an adapter, It sure would make me feel better! Please let me know if you need any numbers off the system.

This is crazy! I just bought my laptop in February and I hardly even unplug it but yet it wont charge the battery. Makes no sense. I will never buy Dell again!

I think I have same problem, but I am not sure. Since my computer knowledge is just limited on if it turns on that must be working. I have this problem about one year. We never take it serious until we replace the battery and actual read the message and start to do some search about the problem before we replace our actual dell 90w aca adapter. The actual message is "Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. Please connect a Dell 90w Ac adapter or higher for best system operation". It is 90w ac adapter from dell; however, when I check the system sitting, it said it is Window AC adapter. Computer works while plug with ac adapter, but it just does not charge battery.
Is any body know what is going on or can help me? Do I really need to replace the motherboard or just ac adapter?
Please help!
Thanks,
Lee

bought an adapter a few months ago--quit working--would operate computer but not charge battery.

bought another one---not dell---works fine

I believe I have this problem as well. I was recently at college where everything worked perfectly fine. Then i come home to plug it in and I am getting the ac adapter warning message that everyone else seems to also be receiving. Tried perhaps different outlets, still nothing. It does not loose battery while plugged in, but does not charge either. Wondering if you could point me in the right direction.