stratzilla's dashboard

I've been searching on the Internet for a way to fix my laptop troubles, and I keep coming across GetSatsifaction.com and seem to find a lot of people having the same problem. Dell tech support hangs up on me when I phone so I have no where else to turn to.

My Dell 1520 was bought Nov/Dec 2007 and as of May 09 the battery does not charge. It's the same battery that came with the laptop. Hovering over the battery icon in the system tray says "Plugged in, not charging". I also get an error screen at bootup saying my AC adapter is not recognized.

I bought a new battery for some 100$ and it gives the same problem so I'm fairly certain the battery is not the issue. The AC adapter is going to run me another 100$ to replace, which I'll gladly do, but I want to confirm that is the problem before aimlessly throwing money around. It could either be the AC adapter or the motherboard itself that is broken. The laptop works via AC, but as soon as it's unplugged, the laptop powers down.

My service tag is FWW39F1 if it helps.

If you could give me some advice on what to do, I'd be very appreciative. The laptop cost an arm and a leg and I'm still paying for most of it via financing. Would hate to have to throw the laptop away even though I still owe so much on it.

Thanks for your time,