"The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. 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 turns out my problem was that my adapter got damaged. Part of the wire was exposed. If that's causing the problem for most people maybe Dell needs to reinforce the wire covering better. The wire ended up exposed on mine due to just normal use.

I have had this problem with multiple Dell laptops and multiple adapters. The warning has nothing to do with power adapter issues and everything to do with getting you to buy a brand new adapter from Dell.

I have even taken apart the adapters and done voltage testing. There are many small silver wires creating a jacket around the cable. After a few of them break from bending the cable during NORMAL usage there is a drop in voltage but still PLENTY to run and charge the computer. The whole thing about the CPU running at a slower speed is totally unnecessary and only there to further encourage a new purchase.

The wiring and AC adapter are DESIGNED to fail. I have never had one last longer than about a year. Oh, and if you try to get a non-Dell adapter (universal) it won't work either.
This is basically an engineered weakness causing many AC adapter orders and a borderline scam if you ask me. DONT BUY DELL ANYTHING!

This is the 1st time this has started happening, I don't know if the adapter was damaged when my son pulled it out to pack it up for me, i had to go on a business trip. Missed my flight, came back home and plugged the laptop back on and the error msg came up, talking about reseating the adapter...? I have a Dell Inspiron E1505, and I'm worried about my computer getting damaged

Hello All,

@bwhitaker- I am sorry for the frustration, but I am 100% confident there is no conspiracy afoot to sell ac adapters by designing them to fail. We warranty those parts and designing them to fail would drive up warranty costs. If your ac adapter needs to be replaced, I will be glad to dispatch you one myself [out-of-date information removed].

To all others on this thread, if you would like me to replace your ac adapter, please contact the site mods here to get my email address. Then email me your service tag, name and current ship to address. I will overnight you all replacement ac adapters and power cords. Thanks for your patience.

I got this AC adaptor problem suddenly two months ago with my Dell Latitude D800. Huge amount of effort upgrading drivers and troubleshooting and searching, before narrowing the problem to this known.

I've been using another ac adaptor from my port replicator. Packing and unpacking it with extra aggravation--and hoping that it won't fail also.

Found this string several weeks ago. Please advise Bill's email address, so I can accept his replacement offer. Thanks.

I have a D610 with this problem but with a 65W adapter. I have 3 different adapters (2 home/1 vehicle) and they all do the same thing. My computer is a company laptop so they will get to it after the weekend. Seems odd that it occurs with 3 different adapters. This would lead me to think it is something with the laptop itself (software or PC hardware). Will let ya know what happens.

I've had this problem recently also and with an adapter that's less than a year and a half old. My previous one was chewed through and I'd fixed it with some degree of success until it started doing the same thing. I have an Inspiron 8600 and if I'm also eligible for this replacement I'm all for it. I love my Dell and will probably buy another when this one has aged past it's usefulness as this is the only problem it's had in almost 5 years and the one I picked out for my mother has been problem free also.

I'm having this problem as well, on my Inspiron E1705. It began as an intermittent thing; re-seating the adapter plug corrected it then. But it kept happening; now, no amount of re-seating will get rid of the message (and the slower operation, I assume)

My adapter model is in the PA-10 family, model LA90PS0; I too would like Bill's email address to see if the replacement would fix the problem...

Thanks,

Andy

I am ALSO having this problem. I was freaking out because Photoshop and Flash were running so slow, only to find out that it was because the system couldn't recognize the adapter, EVEN though I was plugged into the wall. Therefore, until I get a working 90W adapter, my computer is gimped. I would ALSO appreciate Bill's email address to get a replacement adapter (My computer recognizes older Dell plugs, so I doubt it's the motherboard...).

Thanks!

Usually, you can contact an admin and let them know you need it. I better just post it to save some trouble.

[private contact details removed]

Just send me your service tag and current ship to address. If your warranty is long expired, I will not be able to help with a replacement, but if your warranty is current or recently expired, I may be able to help.

This is also happening to me. However mine goes a little deeper.

I have an Inspiron 1520, 5 months old. My power will not charge properly now when connected to the adapter. I simply plug it in and nothing, when I hold the connection at the back it works occasionally but the charge just switches on and off intermittently. I am also getting the above posted message whenever I start the computer with the power cable connected. I have noticed that my computers performance is significatly affected too with all of my programmes running much slower and Microsoft Excel frequently crashing.

Dell have tried to claim that it is the motherboard and added that because of this I am not covered under warranty. The have called back and said they will look at it though now after I stated my complete disgust with the situation. I have a large volume of a lot of sensitive data on the laptop and will now have to do without it for a week while it is returned to Dell.

To say I am frustrated is an understatement.

Bill, if a new ac adapter could solve this I would be extremely grateful.

I hope you dont mind me firing you off an email.

Kind regards,

Anthony

Hi, Anthony,

The problem is caused by a relationship between the motherboard and the adapter, to put it in the simplest of terms. If a replacement ac adapter does not resolve the issue, then you would need your motherboard replaced. Is the system still under warranty? If you are in the US or Canada, I can have a look at the warranty status and issue a replacement adapter if it has not been done already. Are you in the US/Canada, or in another region?

Hey Bill, quick question: Ironically, I now get better performance on battery, because I've set my power management settings to maximum on battery -- being plugged in on an unrecognized power adapter actively forces the performance DOWN. Since I've at least got an older 65W plug that IS charging my machine (albeit slowly), is there anyway to override the "Plugged-in" power settings so the system will perform properly when it doesn't recognize the adapter? It's crazy that Flash crawls when plugged in, but runs smoothly on battery ;) Thanks!

I also have this problem with my E1705; I am out of town and my 3rd adapter just died. I just got off the phone with Dell trying to verify compatibility of replacement 130 watt and 150 watt power adapters listed in this article I found on Dell's website (see below), but after 20 minutes of talking in circles with two CS reps that had no clue I just coun't stay on the phone any longer.

Journal ID: 08183D5NMF
Article ID: 334283
Date Published: 10/9/2007
Last Revised: 3/13/2008

There is much conflicting info on the website forums about things like 2-prong vs 3-prong adapters, stray electrical charges, power jack vs motherboard etc. I need another adapter NOW because I have no other option, and thought maybe more watts would help as my system runs really HOT. I also had to replace the battery a few months back, and I am not a happy camper. Any suggestions are welcome.

captaincarrot,

I can think of no way to over-ride the throttling down due to the unrecognized AC adapter message. I believe I sent you a 90 watt adapter, right?

michele,

If you would like, you can email me your service tag and current ship to address on the road. I will look at your warranty, and see if there is anything I can do on my end to help.

Bill, I'm having trouble getting email to you; I've tried to send one out for the last 20 minutes and am getting an error in outlook... I clicked the link you posted for your email, but it's not working for me.

Hi, michele,

Try manually typing the email address into a new message in Outlook. Maybe your antivirus is blocking the link or something crazy like that.

Bill_B at Dell:

What is your email address so I can request a new AC adapter? I will send you my service tag address and my current ship address

Bob or Robert

Hi... er, this is unlikely to help some of these cases but i found that ressiting the power cable into the adapter the other way up seems to work... odd...

RAZZA,

Great point. I should have mentioned that earlier.

Bob or Robert,

My email address is posted above, [private contact details removed]

Interesting... RAZZA's solution worked for me after all sorts of debug for an hr or so.

I have this problem too (running a Inspiron 1520), sending an email your way Bill. Thank you everyone for thoroughly addressing this...I thought it was going to be something totally out there.

i'm having this problem aswell... i'm running a dell inspiron 1501 and i get the error message. but mine is weird. sometimes, it will charge. other times it won't. it happened about a month ago, and all i did was change where i plugged it in and it was working fine. but now it happening again and i'm trying everything i can to fix it. also a few times it happened, i just had to close dell quickset and dell support and it fixed the problem. but now nothing is working.
EDIT: somehow, right after i posted this, it started charging.... so i'll look into it.

What an excellent thread!

I've been getting the error message y'all are talking about on and off for some time, and more frequently as time goes by. And yes, it did start happening when the wiring began to be exposed where the laptop-end wire meets the power block. The adapter is at least 2 years old, so I'm not too bent out of shape about it (though I'd have hoped it would have lasted longer). The comment above that mentioned less power going to the charger as more of the tiny wires snap made a lot of sense.

So, like I said, increasing frequency over time. Well, this morning, when my battery was on the low power warning, I plugged in the adapter, got the error message, and saw the systray icon change to "On AC Power" just as though the battery were fully charged - so I knew charging actually wasn't happening. I unplugged and replugged the adapter with no change in result. I panicked, smacked myself for not having ordered a replacement sooner, and ordered one with overnight shipping.

Later in the day, the charger was working again. It's working now, in fact. Not that I trust it to be working in a hour, mind you.

But here's my real worry: The error message specifically says "Please insert a 65W Dell adapter", and the only adapters Dell sells anymore for the Inspiron e1505 are 90W 2-prongs. That's what's arriving on my doorstep tomorrow. Should I be worried? Is my laptop going to see a 90W adapter and whine that it's not the 65W adapter it specifically asked for? Or is it going to be happy to be getting at least 64W?

(And what's up with the Dell product catalog differentiating between a 90W "two-wire" adapter and a 90W "two-prong" adapter for the Inspiron e1505? I once asked a Dell phone customer representative about it, and he was clueless--it was too far off script, I suppose. Prong versus wire; should I care?)

Thanks for any answers you've got. I'm very glad to have found this thread.

(That, of course, should have said "to be getting at least 65W," not "64W".)

Hi Bill,

Sent you an email. I've been afflicted with this problem as well. I thought that the problem was the battery since the adapter was powering the computer without a probem. Of course the batter is now as dead as a doornail. I bought a new higher capacity battery and found the "system will operate slower and the battery will not charge" message remained. So... I guess the adapter is bad after all.

I sent you an email and, as a long time repeat Dell customer, would appreciate any help you can provide.

Thanks.

I have the exact same problem (in a long line of problems) with my laptop. The laptop doesn't recognize the adaptor; it was a replacement from Dell under warranty. The battery died in April so I have been using it on AC since. I bought a replacement battery (Arrgg) and everything was fine until the charge died. Now it won't recharge the battery. I've tried some suggestions, i.e. bios, but get the message saying can't perform due to battery has to be at least 10%.charged!! I'm beyond frustration at this point.

Just jumping back in to say that my new 90W adapter is working with my Inspiron e1505 without a hitch. The old 65W adapter, that had been throwing the error message that is the topic of this discussion, remains at home to plug into at bedtime, and, ironically enough, it hasn't thrown the error message once since the replacement arrived! So now I have two adapters. I guess I'll keep using the old one until it finally craps out for good.

Bill... are you or anyone at Dell still monitoring this thread ?

I've not received any response to my email of five days prior and wondered if you had received it.

Thanks

I got this problem a while back and noticed if I push the plug upwards where it connects to the laptop it worked. Dell told me that my warranty had expired and that a mainboard replacement for an obscene amount of money was the way to go. Having had a few Dell's I took my latitude apart and noticed it was an issue with the three prongs that go into the mainboard, one of them had broken off. I soldered it, which lasted a few months, but now I'm back to the same problem again. The two important pins are working, so it's getting power, but having the cpu running slower makes me not want to get a dell again - awful design.

Hi, all.

I am monitoring this thread. Sorry, but I got a little behind last week. I am all caught up, and anyone needing an ac adapter for this issue who has emailed me as of Saturday, 7/26 has been dispatched a replacment.

Speaking of email. If you get my email from this site and request help from me, firstly, I am glad to help all I can no matter what. But if you could just drop in a quick post here at GetSatisfaction, so they can better guage the effectiveness of their site, it will ultimately allow them to have a better understanding of their business and how to make decisions on content, format, etc that will better benefit all those they so graciously serve here.

Dell is not affiliated with GS.com, and we are just grateful guests who are trying to serve our common interest- Dell customers. This is only a request from me personally. It is not a requirement or expectation.

I am getting this same problem! I have been dealing with it for a few weeks now, but it will not go away! Sometimes the message will not pop up for a few hours, then at other times I will get the message 3-4 times in a row, and repeatedly after every 10 minutes or so. Sometimes it will charge, then other times it wont and will show a red 'x' on the power icon. I've also been a dell customer for years and this has never happened to me before, my laptop is relatively new in fact!

Hi, Sonya.

Sorry about your frustration. If you email me your service tag and current shipping address, I will get a replacment adapter out to you as soon as possible. [private contact details removed]

Bill,

I guess im having the same exact problem as everyone else. ie: the ac power cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. I believe i am still under waranty. also my battery will no longer charge. to save time im going to email you right now

eric

Hi Bill,
I emailed you a couple of days ago requesting replacement for myself as well. Name is Syed Ali and am in Canada. Please let me know if you need further info.
Thanks

I am all caught up now!! Anyone still needing assistance from this thread, please go ahead and email me your shipping address, service tag, and short issue description. Thanks.

I sent you an email about my AC adapter. I hope u recive it and email me back atm.

Thank You

So... if u can plaese email me back... if lost the email just email me at trouble-double@hotmail.com with what info u need

Hi all.

I am pretty much up to date on dispatching adapters for folks through Saturday. I have a couple of outliers from Sunday, and will get to Monday's tomorrow or tonight from home. Thanks for your patience.

Thank You very very much your an awsome help and saved my laptop ^_^

The comment from Bob above about RAZZA's suggestion of reseating the adapter plug had also worked for me. My AC Adapter is the PA-12 for Dell XPS M1210

Hi Bill, I just had the problem with my dell 1501. Im from the Philippines. I sent you an email.

bon

Joel,

I have 2 Dell Inspiron 1501 with the AC power adapter isn't recognized...Bill I wou;ld appreciate 2 new power adapters. I called Dell on tthis in April 08 and they had me remove battery and adapter, and plug in adapter only and push and hold the FN and power key it fixed nothing. I still get the error warning. One of the 1501 I tried updating BIOS to 2.6.3 and I get a flash failure error 144. PLease help Bill..I will supply service tags, etc.

Thanks,

Joel

Bill,
My Inspiron E1705 is having the same problem. I will send you an email. I'm glad to see this issue being addressed.

Thanks,
Jed

I have a e1705 that one month after the warranty expired the graphics card (nvidia 7900 gs), power adapter, and power port on the computer all died. One or all of these problems ARE common with dell laptops. Dell even knows it, but they don't care about customers and refuse to help. Don't bother spending hours on the phone only to have someone tell you they will call you back and never do. I also believe this IS a way for Dell to make money by forcing people to buy more of their junky products to fix thier computers that should not be breaking down in the first place. The best advice I can give to everyone is NEVER and I mean NEVER buy any Dell products. Tell all your friends and family to NEVER buy Dell and tell them to tell someone and so on. Only this way will Dell get the hint to admit to these problems and fix them for all of us no matter if we have a warrranty or not. If they don't we will run them out of business. The web is latent with people having problems with Dell laptops, but Dell does nothing. They sell defective parts and don't care because they last till the warranty runs out and then Dell will tell you SORRY. That doesn't cut it when you buy a $3,000.00 laptop that dies for no fault of mine. I could go on and on, but it is a waste of time. I will never buy anything Dell again. Good luck everyone with your cheap and junky Dell computers.

I've learnt from the helpful Mr Wm Bivin that sadly, but hardly surprisingly, the replacement adapter offer is limited to North America.

This made me experiment with other solutions to the "adapter type cannot be determined" problem -- and I seem to have found one which works for me.

Switch off the computer and perform the following in rapid succession.

1 Restart the laptop using the power adapter.

2 During start-up, await the DOS-style error message that invites you to press F1 to continue. If you don't see this message, it may be switched off in BIOS, where there's an option of suppressing adapter warnings.

3 Pull out the power plug from the jack at the back of the computer.

3 Press F1

4 Immediately replace the power plug at the back of the computer.

This seems to "fool" the adapter into recharging the battery.

Of course this may only apply to laptops similar to my Inspiron 9400. Also, my adapter looks to be in sound condition, with no snapped or bent wires. And the motherboard seems healthy apart from this adapter recognition quirk.

I'd be interested to know if this works for anyone else.

I should add that the above can't work if your battery is completely drained ... step 3 will blank the computer!

Yeah... I've had the same problem with my power adapter. I (very stupidly) ignored it hoping it would be okay and wasn't that serious.

Except now my laptop battery won't charge or run on AC power at all. And both my battery and my backup are dead. So basically I now have a useless hunk of plastic and metal that used to be my laptop. Furthermore I am a writer who just (this weekend) bought a flash drive to back up all my work. Which I now cannot access because my computer is dead. Oy.

I sent an email to Bill (it is bill right?) and I hope a replacement power adapter is all I need! I'm crossing my fingers!

Also, it's really nice of you to help all of us out, Bill. Thanks a bunch!

i have an inspiron 6400, i got it in may of 2006, and just recently have been having the same problem. i took it on vacation with me and it worked fine but now that i'm home if i unplug it, it turns off and won't turn back on unless i plug it back in, and then the message about the power adapter comes up

I have been having the exact same problem with my Inspiron 1501, it just started recently as well. And the warranty just ran up.

My Inspiron 1525 laptop ac adapter that came with the system went bad along with the battery. Today I received replacements for they were under warranty still. The battery seems to be doing fine but when I plugged in the new adapter I get the same message as you guys. I got online with Dell and someone is sending me another adapter. I really hope just sending another helps the problem. How could a brand new adapter be bad. I thought maybe they send the wrong one but looking at my old one and new one they look the same.

Had the same problem. Contacted Dell, had a new charger in 2 days. Of course, I'm under a corporate next-business-day warranty. Nevertheless, I am quite pleased with Dell support and customer service.

having the same problem with an Inspiron 1150, except the message reads a little differently: "Quickset - the ac power adapter type cannot be determined" and that system performance will be affected. Unfortunately, the battery expired and the system is now dead in the water. I think I'll try Bill...

Hi guys, i hope that i figured the problem with the adapter. I had the same problem. Then I try to connect adapter first to electric and then to laptop. Never see error again... Hope this help... Marfy

Yeah, I got a replacement adapter about six months ago. The same thing happened. When the problem first arose, I could just unplug and replug the adapter into the computer and it would work. Now, I haven't had my battery charging for about 2 weeks. I don't know about any conspiracies, but the fact of the matter is that these adapters are horribly designed and will fail after about six months. Don't worry about sending me a replacement, it's not worth the hassle but, please, Bill, tell your superiors that those adapters are terrible and that type of annoying issue is what drives people to buy Macs.

Greetings Bill,

I just sent you an email about this issue as well. I have a brand new Vostro 1700 (less than 2 weeks old) and it gives me the same error message as indicated above. It's very annoying. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am currently having the same problem. It has been popping up for a few days now. I would unplug it and plug it back in and it would work fine. Now it is doing NOTHING. Very frustrating as I work from my laptop everyday. I don't remember if it is under warranty still or not. Now I tried it again and if I plug it in to the back of the computer and hold it a certain way it will work. But then I do have several wires exposed close to where it plugs in to the computer. I had this problem with my Compaq when I had it. I had to replace the cord 3 times due to wires exposed.

BILL PLEASE HELP ME
I have my Essay for a school exam save on my computer but it wont turn on because my battery is completely drained and the ac power adapter can not be determined!! please can you send me a replacement?? its really important!!!! thanks

I hope this helps. I just started using my XPS M1530. This problem appeared the third day. The message appears every time I boot. What is interesting is that the laptop has remained plugged and neither the adapter nor the laptop have moved, so nothing may have loosened.
Maybe the problem is not physical damage.
--Matias

Hi, all.

I took some time off last week, and am playing some serious catch-up this week. Sorry for any delays in responding to your emails.

I will get to all the emails I have now as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Going forward, if anyone needs an ac adapter replacement, and you are under warranty, please contact Tech Support. Chat and email options are easy to use and retain a copy of your corresponsdence. Chat and email are also staffed full time, so the turnaround time would be quicker than anything I can manage.

The links will vary by region and can be found on the Dell support pages by region, but for the US:

Chat and email support- http://support.dell.com/support/topic...

Unresolved technical and non-technical issues- https://support.dell.com/support/topi...

Dear Bill,`

I got this XPS M1210 which is about 2.5 years old. and guess what I have the same problem. right now my battery is 69% but wont charge more. When i reboot i get message charger not recognized , comp will run slo ... blablabla....!

I have tried moving sockets but it wont work.i also noticed that if i use the laptop in battery (when i am travelling) and then when i reconnect it to charger it works for sometime but stops charging again !

I dont know about these guys but i am a big fan of dell, have recommneded my freinds to by one and have about 50 machines in my office which i procured. but this incident and after reading these emails is putting me off!

I have not contacted dell support they are not so good here in india. I had 1 year complete cover which is long expired so I dont know what to do with this machine.

Please help Servicetag :F2H1M1S

Naveen

Same problem!!! Weird how everyone all of a sudden has this same dilemma!

Bill any chance of gettin us hooled up with a UK Dell employee, if you could just advise him of the situation. Thanks Bill, you've been great!

Hello, I'm having the same problem, and I did just e-mail Bill. It's quite frustrating considering I begin teaching next week and I need this computer to be working at full speed. It's gotten so bad that it isn't storing any power anymore. I hope this helps. My warranty expired last year :(

Dell 1521 here. My error message says, "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 to a Dell 65W AC adapter."

I am having the same problem. The green light on charger which used to come up doesn't come up any more. Does someone know if the problem is the charger specifically or the laptop E1505.

I have this problem too on my Inspiron 1501 laptop. If you have a laptop, you can remove the battery and run it plugged in. Which leads me to believe it's not a problem with the AC adapter, but with the battery...

I started having the same problem after missing by about an inch when attempting to plug the adapter into the back of my computer. The adapter hit a metal prong on a nearby port, which created a spark and damaged the chip inside the adapter which identifies it as a Dell adapter. The adapter itself is fine, but my computer refuses to run at full speed or to recharge the battery.

The excuse Dell gives for disabling the computer in this way, that the computer has to "adjust the performance to match the power available", is a joke. How does the computer know how much power is available if it can't identify the adapter? Why does running my computer at half speed somehow ensure that I will have enough power available, regardless of what adapter I might be using? If Dell really did have the customers' interests in mind when creating this "functionality", they would have provided a way to override it in the BIOS for those who know they have a powerful enough adapter. Clearly, this is simply a way to force people to replace lost or worn adapters (which typically are not under warranty) only from Dell.

Dell is notorious for these types of games. While researching this problem, I came across one case in which their desktop computers came with power supplies that looked identical to industry-standard ATX power supplies. However, if you attempted to use the power supply with a replacement motherboard that was not from Dell, it would destroy your computer. (see the wikipedia article on the ATX standard, where there is a section devoted to Dell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atx .)

I was shocked to read one post in this forum in which someone describes having the same problem on their brand new XPS1530. I had this issue on my inspiron 8500 about four years ago. It's one thing for Dell to try to lock people into using only Dell adapters, but continuing to do it after so many years of knowing all the unintended grief it causes for customers makes me never want to buy a Dell again. I just canceled my order for an XPS1530 after reading Matias's post. (no joke. customer 95034710).

Oh my gosh I thought it was only me with the 1501 inspiron adapter problem! I am sad to see someone say " adapters are designed to fail" there is definetly a flaw somewhere . I thought it was because it fell out or I am not very computer knowledgable but now I see I it is the same as many of you others and also the time frame of when mine happened. I am definetly keeping my fingers crossed that you Bill can get me a replacement. It would definetly renew my faith in Dell! I am from Canada but will sure give you an American adress where I can pick it up if you can help me.

So, this has begun to happen right after my warranty expired (go figure, Dell!) and now about two weeks later, my laptop won't charge at all. Suspicious? Not at all! I've been a Dell customer for ten years, and my last power supply for my Inspiron 1050 lasted somewhere around four years before kicking the bucket. Just over a year for the lifespan of a power adapter with newer technology (Vostro 1500) is just ridiculous. And, of course, this happens just as the next school semester occurs and I've decided to take two of my classes online.

Hej,

I got the same problem with my XPS M1710, the whors part i'm from denmark, but hope to finde somby who can helpe as Dell Bill_B here in europe.

Called dell service but the refuce to help as my worrenty expired in may, even thou my power adapter was replace last year ( the wire on the olde one broked ), so now i can only count the days for how long I can use the system, as there is no overwrite in the BIOS and the system refuse to power up on the adapter.

Dear Hoplebus's problem. Good luck. I have been having this problems for the past year with my Dell computers. The best I can get is new power adapters.

I can't believe Dell quality has gone downhill so much. If you look at the blogs their customer service sucks also and it is not getting better.

Regards,
I can't believe this.

Emailed you Bill

Just received my DELL XPS 1530 laptop last Friday. And I got the adapter problem next day. when ever I boot , its showing the error. I tried to re flash the BIOS. BIG trouble now hibernate and shutdown doesn't work at times. It just restarts if I give hibernate. I spoke with dell tech support and they changed the BIOS setting to disable the alert. Even dell recommended that it should be kept enabled ;-(

Called up them to resend the package back. Technical guys told they will try to figure out the problem with BIOS. If nothing happens going to send it back to them and get replacement...

Same problem here a couple hours after having the graphics problem on my xps m1330 happen and updating the drivers i started receiving the power adapter message, battery does not charge. after spending 45 minutes with tech. they told me they would have someone come and replace my motherboard I questioned why they wouldn't just send me a power adapter to try to resolve the issue but the hard to understand rep said the tech would bring the power adapter with him. Now doesn't this seem a bit odd and cost consuming as opposed to just sending me a power adapter and trying that first. I would prefer not to have my comp opened and fiddled with if it doesn't have to. as i begin to read more it seems like this model just seems to be popping up with more problems on a daily basis.

im having the same problem with my dell xps m1330 its just started today. i can only use the laptop if its plugged in, it switches itself of as soon as i unplug the adaptor. its just under a year old. help!

Question for Bill from Dell:

I too am getting the message with my M1530 out of the box.
The adapter shipped was a 90 W. The message says it is looking for a 65 W. I tried a known good 65W from my old machine and still received the message.

The machine seems to run normally other than that in that the battery charges. I don't know if the processor speed is reduced - is there a way to tell?

I can live with the initial error message if all else is fine . What do you think?

Thanks,

Ed

Bill just wondering if you or someone from dell is still with us as emailed you 13 days ago. I check every day as am anxious to hear if you can help me.

This is long, but I hope helpful to some. Bill Biven to the rescue again! (But the mystery remains.)
On Aug 7, the 65-w adapter for my Latitude D520 failed totally and quietly while in use. I only realized there was a failure when the low-battery alarm came on and I saw the green light on the adapter was out. No mystery here; the adapter just failed.
I then plugged my wife's laptop adapter (Latitude D600; 90-w adapter in PA-10 family) into the D520 and the battery recharged. However, subsequent powerups produced the incompatibility message and what it promised: no battery charging and a marked CPU slowdown. This seemed odd because Dell lists the PA-10 family as compatible with the D520. Then a second shock: the 90-w adapter no longer worked properly in my wife's machine either! Again, the message, no charging, and low speed. Could using it on my machine have somehow "poisoned" it?
I emailed Bill (william_bivin@dell.com) and he kindly sent me two replacement 90-w PA-10 adapters by DHL Express which arrived in two days. I can now interchange the new adapters between the two laptops with full functionality retained. So the problem is fixed, if not solved.
I am very careful in handling connectors, cables, etc. One possibility is that the 90-w failure was coincidental. But this would imply a continuity problem; the last strand of wire happens to break, etc. However, it wasn't a cable-continuity problem but an internal adapter problem (see below).
This led to some questions, and I made some observations:
1. Is adapter trouble always a hardware problem? Or is a software/procedural fix possible (e.g., via the registry, BIOS, QuickSet or special software)?
2. Does the error code generated by the diagnostics software (3600:0649) help in any way, like implying existence of a solution?
3. The following web page has potentially useful hints, aside from the obvious (bent pin, dirty contacts, etc.):
http://geekswithblogs.net/jjulian/arc...
It refers primarily to Inspiron 8600 dock/power problem but has a lot on the subject of adapter compatibility failure too. See:
Posted by Mike on 12/13/2005 11:18 AM - reset internal connector from switchplate to mainboard
Posted by Darrin on 8/11/2005 3:22 PM - 90w, not 65w adapter needed to charge battery while laptop is on (not my experience; I had over a year of simo use/charge on original 65w, it ran only lukewarm, and battery was fully charged when adapter failed; but others attest to replacement by 90w fixing their trouble)
Posted by WxULM on 10/24/2005 9:18 AM - discussion of ID cct/logic
Posted by Simon on 4/5/2006 3:54 PM - more on ID cct
Posted by Patrick Liechti on 5/15/2006 2:56 PM - link for mainboard connector replacement: http://www.computekinc.us/dell_projec...
Posted by Roland on 8/20/2006 2:59 PM - interesting problem similar to my computer poisoning a good adapter
Posted by Jim Wilson on 11/9/2006 2:18 PM - related to docking, XP hdw config
Posted by Khalid Siddiqi on 1/25/2007 1:16 AM - problem fixed by cable replacement (involving opening adapter and soldering)
What I glean from all the above is that replacing my two failed adapters with new 90w types fixed my problems because the new adapters are more robust to component tolerances. Just a guess.

Some of the postings there describe several instances of failed connections, on the mainboard, the adapter and the interconnect cable. Many seem the result of a simple continuity failure in the third conductor, others possibly from a failure of a circuit in the adapter that generates the ID signal. Could the Dell people at least tell us what the signal is (e.g., a particular resistance or voltage, or something more complex) so those of us who don't mind a little hardware hacking could at least localize and possibly repair the failure and not have to total our adapters/motherboards? (Probably not, which is why I did the following.)
Observations that may be helpful to DIYers: Below are resistance and voltage measurements taken from my wife's defunct 90-w adapter and my new works-fine 90-w adapter from Bill, at the cable end that connects to the laptop. These should at least enable you to decide if it's a motherboard problem or not. I took resistance measurements with the adapters unpowered and voltage measurements with them powered. The connector from PA-10 adapter to laptop is a hollow cylinder with 2 cylindrical shell terminals on the outer and inner surface and an axial pin. The shell terminals provide power and the pin is a sensing signal. In the following I refer by 1, 2 and 3 to the outer shell, inner shell and pin respectively. I didn't measure between 2 and 3 due to the risk of shorting. (Tip: cut off a 10-mm piece of tubing such as plastic straw, slit it lengthwise and stuff it into the connector to protect against shorting 2 to 3 while measuring 1 to 3.) The resistance measurements were made with the ohmmeter connected both ways. Ohm- and voltmeter connections are indicated below by + and - signs.
POWER-OFF RESISTANCE
Old adapter, new adapter, +1-2 and -1+2: All indicated capacitative loading (not unusual for power terminals), with R ranging from 10K to 800K. Generally ramping through a range, but odd discontinuities occur after a momentary disconnect of the meter (maybe a semiconductor threshold effect?).
Old adapter, +1-3: 1.97 M
New adapter, +1-3: 1.66 M
Old adapter, new adapter, +3-1: infinite (max ohmmeter reading is 2M).
POWER-ON VOLTAGE
Old adapter, +2-1: 19.33 v
New adapter, +2-1: 19.39 v
Old adapter, +3-1: 0.004 v
New adapter, +3-1: 0.238 v
I wouldn't pay much attention to the 1-to-2 readings; both adapters were OK in delivered power. All the voltage readings were "solid", i.e. they didn't change when cable and connectors were wiggled. Obviously the last two voltage readings are most significant, suggesting old adapter no longer sends a good ID signal.

I have 2 Dell machines out of warranty that are doing this. I am an Electrical engineer and I took it upon myself to determine what's up with this common problem. I found inside the Dell power adaptors, an ID Chip that outputs a specific code via a 1-wire serial link. The part is made by Dallas/Maxim. It is custom and programmed with Dell-specific information, so you cannot buy one. They do this to insure you buy original Dell adaptors, as any aftermarket adaptor would not produce the correct code and then the machine's BIOS would disable charging and reduce CPU speed. This is done in BIOS software, so Dell could release updated BIOS code to disable this "feature" so we get our machines back. This "feature" was done for greedy business reasons and not to protect power supplies or computers.

The problem with this system is the serial data line is electrically "fragile" and can easily be blown by static electricity, improper connection (dirty), or even just normal wiggling of the connector. It's not engineered correctly, and could have been electrically "hardened" by adding protection diodes. This applies both to the ID chip in the power supply and also to the motherboard. It is easy for a power supply fault to blow the serial ID line on the motherboard. If this happens (as mine are) buying a new power supply will NOT fix the problem. The system management microcontroller is what is damaged on the motherboard and this is a custom part and not replaceable. A couple of simple diodes costing very little would have reduced this vulnerability and eliminated thousands of motherboard replacements.

I find Dell's methods highly objectionable and unethical, and negligent in their duty to properly engineer this AC adaptor ID system. Thusly, I have decided to never buy another Dell product ever again. I will also recommend to anyone I know to avoid Dell. In addition, I will be happy to be an expert witness in a class-action lawsuit. I am going to talk to an attorney friend of mine and see if there is enough interest in opening a class-action investigation. Dell should be responsible for this inadequate engineering and money-grabbing attempt which is crippling otherwise useful machines!

I tried to contact Dell regarding this and they basically told me "it's out of warranty, too bad!".

I expect Dell to replace my power supplies/motherboards as necessary to get my machines functional again. Of course, they could also just release an updated BIOS to disable the power supply checks, which would be a wise strategy and might very well save them a huge class-action lawsuit.

-Phil S
Berkeley, CA

Well, if I'm successful, I will of course post anything I learn here. On most actions of this type Dell will be required to notify affected customers as well. I'm sure it will make significant news as the number of systems Dell has implemented this dirty trick on is very large!

There doesn't appear any easy way to message users on this board, and I'm hesitant to invite spam by posting an email address. It's probably best just to subscribe to this thread (as I have) and watch for replies.

Note that on one of my systems the warranty was valid (just barely) when the problem started occurring and Dell's support area indicated I needed a new AC adapter. This is before I knew what was going on and believed them. Rather than deal with them, I simply ordered one off Ebay. Of course the problem is in the Motherboard, so it wasn't fixed. Now this machine is just barely out of warranty and they told me:

"I have checked on your system and the symptoms shows that the motherboard needs to be replaced. However, the contract or warranty for this system has already expired so this means we cannot set up a service call to have your motherboard replaced. We apologize for the inconvenience. You can call our Spare Parts department during 8am-5pm CS Monday-Friday at 800-357-3355 extension 72-69938. You can purchase the motherboard for your computer which has the part number N4878."

The cost of purchasing the motherboard is more than the system is worth. An amazing scam!

-Phil S
Berkeley, CA

Well, I received my new adapter from Bill today, and all is working perfectly.

Thanks a ton!

Bill the "knight in shining armor" THANKS my new ac adapter you sent works perfectly also. I am so glad I found you on this site! Also want to thank you for the helpful advice on my other computer related questions.