AC power adapter cannot be determined???

I'm cross posting this to several related threads.

I am having the exact same problem on my five month old Vostro 1710. On this model anyway, it is NOT a motherboard problem. I'm still under warranty, so Dell sent a tech out to replace the motherboard and the power adapter. Brand new power adapter didn't solve the problem, so he went on to change out the motherboard. But once he got the system apart, he could see that the port where the adapter plugs in is NOT even part of the motherboard. It's connected to the plastic chassis underneath, by a couple of tiny plastic pieces, which had broken. Without those pieces to hold it in place, the port was loose and couldn't make a good connection anymore.

This is 100% a design flaw IMO...it doesn't take much to break those little plastic pieces. In my case, five months of normal usage (plugging and unplugging the power adapter once or twice a day) was enough to break the plastic and render the port inoperable.

My point being...this is NOT necessarily a motherboard problem, even though tech support seems to think it is.

My problem with my Vostro 1710 was the same (after 10 months). Messages saying battery not charging. It turned out that the power jack socket was loose and the power lead was not able to go in far enough. I solved the problem (or have attempted to if it works) by removing the cover over the power buttons (it simply prises off) and sticking some padding to the jack case and the case around it, which held it out far enough, and back in the position it should be in.

The first repair did not work for long but with a more liberal application of UHU instead of superglue it is now holding. I am trying to attach some photos which should help you.