Please, please help with this laptop problem!

[vlad335]

I have my Father in Law's notebook here that he asked me to take a look at. I build my own desktop computers but I admit I know nothing about laptops.

Heres the problem. Computer runs OK but not on AC power. Just runs off the battery when the notebook is on and begins beeping and dies in about an hour. This is with it plugged into AC power. However, when the notebook is off apparently the adaptor charges the battery. I thought it was his AC adaptor so I ran out and got another one at Radio Shack and same deal. The new AC adaptor has a LED on it that is lit when the computer is off but as soon as you boot it up, the LED goes out. You have to unplug the adaptor for a couple minutes to get the LED back on to charge the battery.

I cannot understand why it will not run on AC power. I have got to get this working for him though. He is 56 years old and was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's and is almost completely disabled now. This is all he has.

If worse comes to worse I will break out the credit card and buy him a refurb notebook but I was really hoping this could be an easy fix. ( Plus I really can't afford it right now.) Maybe a setting in Windows or something? Could it be something wrong with the battery?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!



PS: Oh, I don't even know what kind of notebook this is. It has an emblem on it of HB with a picture of a bumble bee. The model is # is GREEN732 if that helps. He bought it in 2001 and I remember he paid like almost 3 grand. Pentium4 with a gig of memory and WinXP.

He can't even remember where he bought it online but that probably doesn't matter as I'm sure its out of warranty.

Thanks

 

[mrblotto]

Try to run it off AC with the battery removed.........

 

[btcomm1]

If it won't run with the battery removed and plugged in then I would say there is an internal hardware problem.

 

[vlad335]

Thanks for the replies!

I fired up the machine without the battery and it booted right up. As soon as the sound plays for Windows and right before it goes to the desktop, it shuts off cold. THe light on the AC adaptor goes out as well. Makes me think this is a setting in Windows or something. Like Windows is telling it to go to battery power when it fully loads.

I went into safemode and it ran fine with the LED on the AC adaptor on the whole time. When I booted back into Windows normally, right before I hit the desktop the LED for the adaptor goes out and battery power takes over.

I can't find any setting for something like this in the power properties in control panel or Bios though.

Weird...

 

[vlad335]

Bump

Any Ideas?

 

[practor]

You have a setting for your Bat & Psu. Find them and Im sure there is a setting not right for your battery and ac supply.

 

[vlad335]

Originally posted by: practor
You have a setting for your Bat & Psu. Find them and Im sure there is a setting not right for your battery and ac supply.

Huh? I don't understand what you are saying.

Setting where? In Windows?

 

[siskel77]

Not sure what setting is causing the problem, but you might try rolling the system back to a date before this started happening.

 

[oynaz]

Well, that definitely sounds like a software problem.

Go to the Control Panel, and choose Power Options (or Power Control, or something. I am on a Danish version of WinXP). Check the settings.
Try entering the BIOS and have a look around.

 

[vlad335]

Guess what it was...

The video card driver! Apparently it was corrupted and was causing this problem somehow.

When this computer booted into windows it did have a warning message to place the ATI disk in the CDROM but I didn't think much of this. Not to cause the AC adaptor to not work. I was going to install a driver for it but I would'nt have thought this would cause a power problem in a million years! my wireless is so locked down here that I didn't want to bother getting this laptop access and I was out of CD-R's to burn the driver on to and transfer it. Figured I would just do this later...

The shop charged me 42.50 to install a video driver. My in-laws wanted to pay it but no way!

I covered the charge as I consider it a tax on my own stupidity. My father in Law is happy as hell now to get his computer back so it's worth it.

 

[corkyg]

We live and learn. The good news is, you helped sustain the economy.