Battery or Cord?

[Stickman]

Hey guys I know I can count on the TPWW tech forum/computer help to help me out.

My laptop all of a sudden stopped charging. The power cord is a two piece, one peice plugs into the laptop which is fixed into the rectangular power thingy, the other end is a plug that goes into the wall, that can be swapped in and out.

I tried another laptop cord but the part that goes into the laptop isn't the same, but I unplugged the wire that goes into a wall and used that with my cord and it worked...once.

But now no cords are working, do you think it's the cord that doesn't work or the battery? Is there a way to test it out.

[Jura]

It looks like this right?

http://www.unitedsale.net/pics/adapter/Acer-AC90W2-AC-Adapter-15-24V-90W-Power-Supply.jpg

The laptop works with just the battery and not plugged into the wall right? If the answer is yes then take out the battery and see if it works just plugged into an outlet. If it doesn't then it's most likely the adapter which is the rectangular thing.

[Stickman]

Yeah that's the cord looking thing. The laptop stopped charging so in your picture the cord on the left I swapped and it worked once but that was it. You are thinking it's the adapter still?

[Jura]

To clarify, does the laptop power up with just the battery and not plugged into an outlet? Or is it completely out of juice? Try to do what I typed below as it could lead to an answer.

1. The laptop will use the ac adapter as it's power source even without the battery so if you take it out and use only the adapter and it still powers on then adapter should be okay. This means it could be the battery not holding a charge.

2. Now if the battery still has some power, leave it in but unplug the adapter and if the laptop still powers on then it's most likely the adapter malfunctioning.

The power cable isn't very complicated. It's just metal wires wrapped in rubber/plastic. Power cables for power supplies on PC's are pretty much interchangeable and it should be the same for power cables for ac adapters as long as they fit. The AC adapter and battery is another matter however. Unless the power cables are both defective or have some kind of damage which should be noticeable like a dog biting it or some cuts or it has loose contacts then I'm leaning towards the battery or ac adapter.

[Stickman]

It's completely out of juice.

[Jura]

So you can't do the battery test then. Take the battery out and just use the laptop plugged into the wall and if it doesn't work then it's most likely the ac adapter/power cable. Unless you're on the laptop right now and we have our answer lol.

[Stickman]

Nope, iPad these days but sometimes my lap top would be nice. Gunnar see if I have a cord/adapter at work to see what's up