Plugged in, not charging. No battery detected!

So ever since I received my M15x just over a year ago it would sometimes on startup bring up an error message saying the AC Adapter was not the original 150W adapter supplied with the laptop... Then in windows I would get the dreaded "Plugged in, not charging" notification over my battery in the system tray.

This problem was usually fixed with a restart and would only happen very rarely so I didn't think much of it. Recently however the problem came back and came back permanently. No matter how many times I restarted, unplugged or fiddled with the battery it wouldn't charge. I've searched for and tried all the fixes for the problem but none seem to work. The general consensus is that the motherboard needs to be replaced to solve this issue, which of course as my insurance has just run out, I don't really want to believe...

Anyways, just yesterday in fact when I turned it on in the morning I'm still getting the AC adapter error message on boot, but now the laptop doesn't even detect the battery. It says "No battery is detected" in the system tray and it has a little red cross through it.

Does anyone have any experience with these problems? Do I really need a new motherboard? Or perhaps a new adapter? Or a new battery... ?
Alienware are great... but from the moment I received mine it has just felt so... unstable.

Thanks.

 

Are you sure your A/C adapter is properly plugged into your computer? The one time I received that warning was when I accidentally had it only half-plugged in.
Concerning the "Plugged in, not charging" issue, try this:
1.) Make sure your A/C cables are all properly secured and connected.
2.) Carefully remove the laptop's batter (while the laptop is on).
3.) Wait ~10-20 seconds.
4.) Reinsert the battery.
Let us know how it turns out! Good luck!

 

Hey, I tried everything you said - it's all hooked up fine and I've tried removing and replacing the battery many times. And I've tried power drains and all those things but still nothing...

Thanks for the help though! ^_^

 

could just be a faulty power supply, call dell and have them send you a new one.

 

Do you know someone that has another dell laptop that uses the same kind of AC adapter? If you do then make some tests with it because if your warranty ran out then dell will not send you any parts and theres no point of blindly buying something that will not fix your problem. There are some nice AC deals at ebay, around $25-$30 bucks.

 

Many of the Dell machines share the same power supply connection. Even if the power supply is not a full 150w, you may be able to see if it will charge the battery with the machine off. (From personal experience, if you turn the machine on with a less than 150w power supply, it will complain.

I think there is a setting in the bios for the power supply warning - you might try toggling that to see if it makes a difference.

If you have a friend with a voltmeter (or if you feel inclined to get one from Radio Shack (about $20 or so), you could measure the voltage output from your power supply - specification is on the side of the brick. That wouldn't tell you if it can deliver the current, but if it's abnormal, you know you need a new brick.

Good luck,

Joe

 

I have the same problem with my April 2009 M15x.

Same "Plugged in, not charging" and bios warning.

But somehow if I try push and twist plug into AW hard and at certain point. It will start charging again (and the bios warning is gone).

Try Fn+F2 as well. It works for me.

I have talked to Dell UK support, they said my adapter is broken, or grab one from eBay will be much quicker.

 

Try Fn+F2, it always worked for me!

 

Make sure you are on BIOS A09
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/549258-m15x-bios-a09-discussion-thread.html

 

FN+F2 worked for me!!!!!!!!!! I have had this problem for sooooooo long, and my warranty is out now. I am soooooo glad I read this thread and saw that, my battery has been slowly declining for about a month and a half now without charging!!!!!