Done

[HeXploiT]

Done with this thread.

I just bought a beat up dell XPS M170 from a guy and I'm having trouble getting it to power up.
The story he gave me is that he didn't have the original power supply and that he was using another dell psu with it. He says that he would keep it unplugged, turn it on and then immediately after post he would plug it in and run it off that psu.
I received it with no psu and bought the proper one. When I first turned it on unplugged it did show the post and then the battery immediately ran out and it powered off.
I then plugged it in with the new power supply but now the lights blink on for just a second or two and then it turns off even before the screen gets a chance to turn on. The psu will not charge the battery. The computer does the same thing without the battery.
In the auction he also mentioned this psu/bios error but I can't even get far enough to receive an error.

Anyone have an idea what might be going on here?

 

[Billb2]

The battery is likely bad. It probably has a dead cell. Beg or borrow another to try. If it works (charges and runs the notebook) then you'll know.

 

[HeXploiT]

Yeah But the computer does the same thing even without the battery.

 

[Billb2]

Originally posted by: HeXploiT
Yeah But the computer does the same thing even without the battery.

You mean with just the charger plugged in?
Well, maybe the charger is bad.

At this point I would use a simple 100 milliamp battery charger.
Wire it up with alligator clips and let it charge for a day and see if the battery charges up at all.

 

[bluwing]

Hi,


From what you described it sounds like the Power/Charging circuit is bad. Look at the Dell site to find out if this circuit is a separate board or if it is part of the motherboard.

If it is part of the motherboard then you will need to replace the motherboard..

bluwing

 

[corkyg]

Agree with Bluwing. If the same fault occurs with or without the battery, and with different A/C adapters, the problem then lies inside the notebook. The first circuit that gets involved is the power/charging circuit.