What am I doing wrong to these adapters....

So my new Alienware 17 has .... a failed adapter again.....or at least it was failing , now it seems to be working again after unplugging it and letting it sit for half an hour and running off the spare. I don't get it, what can I be doing to cause these things to fail...this is the 3rd laptop and forth adapter Alienware has given me because the last two laptops had the same problem.

This is happening over 3 places that I normally use my laptop....The first was the last house i was living in which I am not longer in, then my current house that I own and my place of employment although they always seem to fail at the houses.

Are they really that fragile? I mean I move them around A LOT, every day is back and forth to work so it gets unplugged usually twice a day and reattached at the other end. My spare sits in my office and runs to the back of my desk and is buried so I don't pull that out much. They are always attached to surge protectors so I can't see it being anything power related.

Anyone have any ideas? I will phone Alienware in the morning if it fails again, but even if they send me another adapter it seems like only a matter of time before it quits.

 

Is it the adapter that keeps on failing?
Broken wiring inside could be the problem.

I work as an audio/video technician and in my work I've learned a special way to wind up cables and such.
If you would wind the cable too tight you might be putting too much tension on the wires inside and stretching the from the print.
It might also be caused by inconsistancies in the power grid.
But since you use it in 3 different locations it might be a long shot.

Just call AW and ask them for a possible explanation.

 

Sounds like you have an intermittent connection. Try gently wiggling the power cord at the back of the laptop while you have the battery out. If the laptop shuts off, then it likely is a bad solder joint on the motherboard, and the board would have to be replaced.

 

Perhaps you have a short somewhere in the your home? 3 chargers going bad is too suspicious, and I've worked too long in the computer repair industry to believe in coincidence.

 

He said it was happening in multiple locations, and that sometimes switching to another and then back, the first one would work again. That tells me it's likely the motherboard connector being loose/broken.

 

Hey Mog, sorry to hear you are having problems. I also move my computer everyday from home to work and back again and I have been doing that for over 10 years and have never had a problem with a power adapter. I work in Russia and I reckon my power here is not as reliable or as smooth as where you are. Two things come to mind; heat and physical stress on the leads.

The adapter gets quite warm when gaming so I always make sure there is adequate air access around it. That means there is nothing sitting on top of it covering it up and I also keep it away from a heater.

The other thing is what NiveQ said, physical stress on the leads. I have seen people wind the power cord tightly around the adapter and that puts stress on the wires were they enter the adapter leading to the wires breaking inside the insulation. The weakest points are where the output lead exits the adapter and where it connects to your computer. Any sharp repetitive bending of the leads can cause breakage of the internal wires. I always remove the power lead and place the adapter with the empty power socket against the side of the bag and then loosely coil the leads in my backpack. This prevents the output wires being bent sharply by my bag.

 

Thanks for the input guys

The only thing I can think of is maybe the way I am transporting the adapter , I wrap the excess cord around the brick but I don't think I am tightening it beyond what any normal person would be....I guess I will try not doing that anymore at all and see if that helps? Does anyone else wrap their cord up this way? I can't be the only one....

As for the motherboard being the problem I can't see that as I have a spare adapter from one of the 2 previous replacements that Alienware has processed and as soon as I use that adapter it works fine, but yet back to the original and it fails every again so I would have to go with the way it is being wrapped up but I really find it hard to believe that they are that fragile....I guess I will try and get a replacement coming and quit wrapping them up like that. The only other option is to buy a 3rd one so that I have one for home, one for work and one that just stays in my bag.

After talking to tech support they can't see the way I am wrapping it up to be the problem either but either way I will just change my habits and hope that is enough to help because I am really sick of this problem

Thanks for the input and advice guys, I will try to put it to good use

 

That could be the issue indeed. What's exactly happening to them? Not recognized? Blue light won't come on?

 

The lights all come on, both on the adapter and the laptop but when I connect it the charger is not recognized. The computer will flash a warning on the screen telling me that the computer does not recognize the adapter and everyone goes into super low power mode, even beyond what the computer goes into running on battery. The Bios will not detect it , simply coming up as ( Undetected ) and once entering Windows again it goes into the same lower power state. Removing the adapter from the computer and using my spare immediately fixes the problem and the computer goes back to normal operation.

The thing I don't get is how I am the only one to have this problem? I can't be the only one that wraps it up like this or at least I wouldn't have thought so. Either way I will quit doing it and hope for the best.

 

Ah, new information. It's your motherboard...definitely a voltage regulation problem.

 

....but Mog said this is his third computer! He can't be the only one who is getting bad motherboards.

Mog, is there anything unusual about the power supply at any of the places you use your computer? I guess what I am asking is one place supplied by solar power or gen set for example? Maybe the problem is caused by the environment in which it is used because it seems you are having a problem that no one else is having.

Does anyone know how the laptop recognises adaptor? There is only two connections at the laptop; a centre pin and an outer connector.

A damaged / broken wire in the cable could still cause this. It has the power to light the blue light in the cable end but when current is drawn the damaged area causes a volt drop that the computer senses which then gives you the warning message. If this is the problem then it is possible that once your computer / adapter is working normally by manipulating the cable you should be able to cause the problem to appear.

It is also possible that the damaged area in the cable is warmer.

 

Mog how long after you get a new adapter does it take before you start having problems?

 

He said the adapter gets replaced by Alienware, not the computer.I stand by my diagnosis that's it's a faulty voltage regulator on the motherboard (non-serviceable, the board needs replacing).

 

.... "...this is the 3rd laptop and forth adapter Alienware has given me because the last two laptops had the same problem"

Taken from the first post

 

Doh! I only saw the adapter part. That's what I get for not wearing my glasses. That said, it still really sounds like a voltage problem. If you are getting the error message on screen saying that there is a mismatch, either the laptop, the adapter or the household current has a voltage problem, or a grounding issue. Some older homes still have 2 prong outlets which force users to use the 3/2 adapter, bypassing any ground. If that's the case, it's very possible that the house voltage or circuitry has a problem. Clean, grounded power is important.

 

Hey all,

Thanks for the input again!

Yes this is the 3rd laptop , so I really can't see that many failed motherboards. The adapters seem to last anywhere from a few week to several months as this current adapter I have only had for around 8 weeks or so?

There is no unusual power generation or anything else that I can think of. My house does have the grounding plug and it is being used of course. The only other thing that comes to mind is a possible voltage problem with the plug I am using but it seems off that the first adapter and laptop problem started in a different newer house. My work is a brand new data center with highly regulated and clean power, I can def cut that out of the equation as the problem source.

If the outlet is the problem I can try a different outlet and check the one that I have been using to see if that helps but I don't think the house is the issue as nothing else is showing signs of any problems at all, including my desktop that is on 24/7 and or my older Inspiron laptop, the adapter in that thing has been going strong for 6 years.

Any suggestions on how to look for clean power?

 

Since you have been in 2 houses with it, and gone through so many adapters and laptops, unless you have had a huge run of bad parts, one of the few things left would be temperature or voltage problems. A simple test would be to try and clean up your house power to the laptop with one of these. That should at least narrow it down some.

APC LE1200 Surge Suppressor - Newegg.com

 

Mog if the problem has occurred at three different locations (old house, new house and work) and your current adapter was supplied after you moved into your new house then I think we can rule out the town power supply as being the problem. These adapters are pretty forgiving as far as input power is concerned. I use mine here in Russia on 220 volts and when I am back in Australia I am using the same adapter at 240 volts. The label on the adapter states it will work from 100 - 240 volts and 50 - 60 Hz. I am guessing we have the same model adapter and I am also pretty darn sure the power here in Russia is a lot more unstable than where you are.

I have a couple of questions that might help fault find your problem.
1. Does it seem to matter what you are doing with the computer when it plays up?
2. Does it only happen when you are gaming or does it also happen while casually browsing the internet?
3. Are you overclocking your computer or otherwise increasing the electrical demand of your computer ie charging seven phones of your 4 USB ports?

Have you had a chance to try my suggestion about checking your cable?

 

It does not seem to matter what I am doing. IF I can get it to work, it will continue working until I restart the computer or unplug the adapter, I have never had it give out mid use....basically once I get it going it continues working until I kill the power or unplug it from the laptop and plug it back in. Once I do so it may work for a day or two problem free and then the next time, poof, out it goes.

It does not matter what I am doing, as it usually occurs on power up or upon resume after moving the laptop to or from work.

The computer is not overclocked at all, I see no point as it runs everything I need at stock speeds.

I have not had a chance to try anything with the cord as I have been using my spare until the new one gets here.

As for the surge supressor option I do have an older APC BE500R ... will that help me at all? The battery is shot in it and not in the unit any more and a replacement is just as expensive as a new unit.

 

Shouldn't I also be seeing other problems in the house if this is a power issue? none of my other computers nor any of my entertainment electronics ever see any issues. The only thing that might be worth mentioning is that my power line adapters are never solid green indicating a less then ideal connection and possibly interruptions although they seem to work just fine.

 

A surge suppressor is a good thing, but it doesn't actually control over/under-voltage. If your lights go dim when the A/C or heat kicks on, that's similar to a brown-out, and if severe enough, can damage electronics, Really though, with a laptop, it shouldn't be as sensitive, since you have a built-in battery, but dirty current has fried many a system. That's why a line conditioner or a voltage regulator unit never hurts.

 

My lights do not dim when the central air or heat kicks in, the only thing that I can think of that causes a dim as such is if I plug in and turn on a space heater but that has been a constant in ANY house I have ever lived in including much newer houses with much newer wiring.

 

It may be the way you put them away then if you are the only constant factor, I keep mine in a zip bag, it means the cable can be loose inside but not get caught up.

 

Mine have been going into a bag as well, the Alienware bag that comes with the Vindicator Briefcase , but I wrap the access cord around the adapter and then put them away. I thought this was pretty common but maybe not.

 

Hey Mog, I also wrap my cord around the adapter and move it every day like you, but I have a way of wrapping it that doesn't put tension on the connection. No problems with the adapter for more than 2 years

It's all about making sure the first coil doesn't pull on the connector. Here's a video I just recorded:

 

Thanks for the vid Appretiate it

That is very similar to the way that I wrap mine up TBH, although yours is a little looser around the top. I am really starting to wonder if it isn't related to something in my house power , I am going top make some calls and talk to some electricians and see if there is something I can do to test it. In the meantime I am connected through an old UPS minus the battery as that was fried, so maybe that will help....I don't know. I will probably order a power suppressor to clean up that outlet because I just can't keep damaging equipment like this.

 

They don't tend to really filter the input AC line.

 

Tomorrow I am going to grab a multi meter and test the outlet and then just replace it to rule that out. In the meantime I am running off of a different outlet

Wish me luck heh.....

 

So I borrowed a multi meter today and did some tests, the first of course being on the outlet that I normally plug the adapter into. That plug ( which I already changed the other day for lack of other ideas ) and all the other plugs in my house that I tested are all pulling between 120-122 volts so everything seems fine there. My biggest concern was that the plug was pulling more then it was supposed to and that was what was causing problems which could have still been a problem but I replaced the plug outlet before I tested them just to rule it out. In the mean time I have still quit using that outlet for lack of other ideas and moved to one on an adjacent wall, only time will tell at this point. I def don't notice any brown outs as others have been suggesting when my furnace kicks in. It is a little cold here to turn on the AC but from what I can remember the last 2 summers that was never a problem either.

 

Still baffled as to how you could blow several laptops and adapters, I mean it's just not normal. That's why we were asking about environmental factors like voltage and temps, cord wrapping, etc. The other thing that comes to mind would be temperature changes. Do you go from leaving it in a cold car for hours to starting it right up when you get inside? Also, how hard are you pushing the laptop? I run my 17 hard (very hard), between my software business, and pleasure, with up to 5 vmware workstation virtual machines, a game (world of warcraft), 7+ tabs on chrome, and SQL running in the background on both the main OS and one of the virtual machines, and mine still purrs along like a kitten, rarely turning the fans on high speed.

So, does the machine give any indication that it's under stress, high fan usage, stuttering, getting hot, screen coloration changes, blinking, tearing? Do you have the laptop on a flat surface or a fan powered cooling base, or do you have it on a soft pillow or surface that blocks the internal air intakes? Do you hook it up to a laser printer via the usb ports, or any other peripherals that may cause a voltage spike?

 

The most it ever goes outside or gets cold would be from work to my car back inside so it never just sits in the cold. If it ever has been left in the car and aloud to cool off like that I have made sure to let it warm up before starting it up, as I worry about the screen more then anything else. In terms of how hard am I pushing the laptop , I don't really think I push it hard at all TBH. Despite the fact that I have 16gb of memory and it will multi task exceptionally well I am one of those people that hates having a bunch of stuff open that does not need to be. I usually run Steam, Origin and battle.net app in the backgrounds with maybe 1 tab. Usually if I am gaming I have only the game and maybe one chrome tab open. The laptop sits on a cooling pad 24/7 and never comes off of it which is powered via USB. The normal USB devices plugged in are my mouse (Logitech G602 , My G930 headset adapter and occasionally my WD 1TB passport drive.

As I stated in a previous answer, I don't OC...ever, I just don't see the point as this thing runs everything I need without any problems. That being said I don't think I push the laptop beyond any normal or expected loads. Most of what I play, with assistance from the cooling pad, never even causes the laptop fans to spin up as the cooling fan keeps the laptop sufficiently cooled. About the most demanding thing I play is BF4 and even that does not cause it to spin right up and the temps are well within acceptable limits.

In terms of the number of laptops, that could easily be one less but the tech that I talked to when the last adapter problem cropped up decided to simply replace the system instead of putting me through hassals I went through on my first exchange. A lot of my problems have stemmed from the on site tech they have sent out but I have already told them he will never touch my system again. It is funny because he comes into the data center I work at to do work for our customers and fixes their servers and such and I just cringe every time he goes in...I can only hope all he is changing is hot swappable drives or something hard to break.

 

I hear ya on the tech, they will never touch my system again, not after the way he pawed my R4, snatching wires off the board. I have over 12 years experience configuring and repairing sans, servers and such, and have never seen such ham-handed techs as from Alienware. Funny, the server folks were always skilled, at least in my state, and while I did my share of backplanes, fiber switches and san brainbox replacements, when the tech did them, they always did fine.

Anyway, back to your system. That is truly a mystery as to what's causing the breakage, but if you rule out a bad run of parts, that just leaves user or environment. I have seen headphones shock the sh..t out of me when plugged into a laptop, but it's rare to have a component cause a hard fault or failure, especially usb. I've seen network cards cause a pc not to boot, and all manner of weird stuff from peripherals, but to blow multiple adapters and laptops like that goes beyond million to one odds...

And you have said before that you can unplug one and let it sit awhile, then plug it back in and it works, so that's where I initially got the voltage theory, as if it were going into thermal or overvoltage shutdown, or popped an internal circuit-breaker. Does the power adapter blue light go out when the adapter stops working, then comes back on when you try it later?

 

No, the power light stays on through it all

They don't always come back when I let them sit , but occasionally I can get them to work again after playing with them for awhile and then they might be good for a day or two and then randomly poof they quit again so I dunno. I was really thinking it had to be something I was doing but I just don't see what as I baby this thing pretty hard. I find it hard to believe I have had that many bad parts but I guess anything is possible.

 

What is the P/N on the back of your power adapter(s)? Could be related to a model that is not supposed to power your laptop I guess.

 

Mog I am almost out of ideas here and I can see why this is driving you crazy. I just want to clarify something you said earlier.

You are happily working / playing and then suddenly get an error message indicating your adaptor is not working so you plug another adapter in and it works and after a time (your computer is still on and you haven't moved it) you unplug the working adapter and plug in the original adapter and sometimes it works again!

Is that correct?

 

I would rule out temperature shock because when I walk home in winter the outside temp is sometimes in the minus 20's and I just plug the computer straight in and start playing and I have never had an issue. I have also left my computer in a car in those temperatures and just plugged it in an started playing.

My adaptor DELL part number is FWCRC; Model GA240PE1-00

 

Basically if I plug the adapter in and don't get the error message, as in everything seems to be fine, then the adapter will work until the power is disconnected. The adapter has never failed on me after I have successfully connected it and been using the computer until the power is disconnected again. For instance, when this last one went, I used the adapter all week at work, happily towing it back and forth with me every day until my last day of work. I shut the system off, packed it all up and came home. Set the computer back up, plugged it back in and bam, error....This continued for a good two hours at home at which point while testing I got it to work again in my office. I used the adapter the rest of that night with no problems, used it the next day all day with no problems until I packed it up and went to my in laws house, then bam...error again, and that is usually how it goes. If the faulty adapter starts acting up I get my spare and use that which works immediately without any problems but if I try to switch back and forth I can see the failure over and over with the bad adapter which would seem to rule out anything hardware wise in the laptop itself. If I play with the adapter, unplugging it and plugging it back in repeatedly or sometimes pulling the battery out of my R4 and draining the system would fix it, I can get it back occasionally but it gets worse and worse the longer I leave it until the system won't pick it up at all. Pulling the battery on the new 17 is a pain in the so I didn't go that route this time, I just phoned tech support and wasn't all that happy when I talked to them but even they can't figure this out. The new adapter came in like clockwork in 24 hours and has been working fine ever since so I am really crossing my fingers at this point. The only thing I have left is occasionally the adapter might get bumped when I lower it down behind my desk and what not, but it isn't like I am taking a baseball bat to it, so i don't know.

Honestly what scares me the most if although I have over a year of warranty left, what happens when that runs out...I am not going to be buying new adapters every 6 months....

 

Paraphrasing what you just said.
The adapters work for several weeks / months without a problem being moved back and forth until one day when after moving it you start to have a problem where the computer does not recognise the adapter. Once the adapter has the problem you get into a situation where the adapter might work or it might not and the problem gets progressively worse as days / weeks go by. If you have the problem you can immediately swap to another adapter and everything works fine.

Based on that; there is nothing wrong with your computer or your electrical supply. Somehow your adaptor is being damaged. Based on your description I would guess the problem lies in the cables to or from your adaptor. I know you said earlier that when you wrap your cable you don't put excessive stress on the cable but is it possible that when your adapter is in your bag / backpack that the cable where it exits the adapter is being bent sharply? I assume you are not pulling on the cables hard enough to break the internal wires because this the first laptop you are having a problem with. Repeated sharp bending can cause work hardening of the copper wiring which can lead to individual strands breaking. That would account for the progressive deterioration as more strands break over time.

Is your carry bag new? Did you get it at the same time as your new computer?

If your computer is working fine and you swap to the bad adaptor how much time expires before you get the error message? Is it instantaneous or is there a delay of several seconds?

 

I have 2 bags that I switch back and forth between. The first is the Alienware Orion backpack from the previous generation products and more recently I have been using the Vindicator Briefcase to carry everything around. In the backback I didn't have nice adapter bag like this briefcase does so the adapter and cord just got placed in the bag loose but I don't think they were getting a lot of excess stress placed on them that would have caused any cable breakage but at this point I think that is the only thing left.

When I swap to the bad adapter I get a few seconds ( maybe 3 ) of nothing happening before the message comes up with unsupported adapter, unlike a normal adapter where the OSD comes up and tells me I am on AC power immediately with a normal functioning one.

 

I am still using the old Orion backpack and just drop the leads in to the same rear compartment as the computer. But I do check that the adapter is laying flat and not resting on its end (not putting pressure on the cable).

That three second delay before the warning message has maybe spoilt my idea to help pin point the problem. If a damaged cable is the problem it will almost certainly be where the cable meets either the adapter or the plug to the computer and out of those two I would first suspect the area where the cable meets the adapter. It is very unlikely to be the removable cable. My suggestion would be use the bad adapter and gently manipulate the cable to see if it causes / fixes the problem. Other than that I am fresh out of ideas.

When you are given a new adapter I guess they take away the old one.

 

Indeed they do, and I have already shipped it off ..... that being said, with any luck it will be the last time that I have the problem but I will def play with it the next time it happens , which is hopefully never lol.

On the bright side it could be worse....I work with a guy that pulled the trigger and bought a new 17 for himself and his GF and he only got 24 hours out of his laptop...he left it on overnight and when he got up in the morning his adapter was not recognized and the light was off. He unplugged it, plugged it back in and the board shorted and blew up lol.....left a nice scorch on the top of the board, the underside of the keyboard and god knows what else fried at the same time. Alienware is shipping him a new one

 

So I'm joining the club.
Just pulled out my trusted m17x r2.
And hooked up the adapter, and the blue led ring isn't turning on.
So I used a multimeter and its dead.

And I'm really carefull with my adapters and laptop.(I carry it around in a freaking huge pelicase for godsake)

So I'll just pick up a 330w from dell or eBay.

 

I moved my R2 on a daily basis for 2 years and had a spare 240W PSU in my travel bag, I never experienced a bad AC adapter. I wouldn't say I was "carelessly" handling it either, I don't think being gentle has anything to do with the life of the adapter (not that you should be punting it like a football though).

 

Ya know I was sitting here before all fat dumb and happy but this conversation has really got me thinking. If my adapter decides to quit on me here I am going to up the proverbial creek in a barbed wire canoe with no paddle in sight. I think I am going to have a look at getting a spare adapter.

I guess it has to be the Alienware one otherwise it won't work.

 

Alienware doesn't manufacturer the chargers, they are contracted out to Delta/Flextronics.

 

Yeah. I meant the brand that was supplied with the computer.

 

update,

ordered an 330 watt psu off ebay for about € 65 including shipping.
and its off course not recognized by the laptop.
with my old deceased 240 watt just lying there i decided to do the old psu-chip-mod.

and built a very small dongle out of it.

i only need to fill it up.
and in the future i will be able to plug into any kind of adapter (if the wattage/voltage is sufficient)

 

Very nice, let us know how it goes.

 

update:

got it working and glued it.

 

I have lost another one.....this is so frustrating. Since the last one came in I have one that I carry around with me and one that I leave at home all the time plugged in. The one that I have at home and leave plugged in is just fine so I know it isn't the house....it is transporting them around as often as I do I guess, which really irks me that they are this fragile....

I will phone Alienware in the morning but at this point I am really getting annoyed.

Quite honestly I love my computer but if I have to replace the adapters out of my own pocket every 6 months then I may have to sell it and switch brands.