1730 faulty battery/mb/or power supply?

Hi, first of all my warranty expired about 4 months ago

I have a problem with my XPS 1730 laptop, this started probably 4 months ago. (second laptop that has screwed up after the warranty ended). I'm hopeless at explaining stuff, so i'll do it in point forms.

* First sign of trouble started when i booted up my comp one day and it beeped before loading windows and paused saying something like

"AC power adaptor not recognised, press F1 to continue F2 to enter setup, system will run slower"

If i continued then it did run really slow (even though power option was set on high performance) and the battery didnt charge.

* Every time i turned on my computer i had to keep putting the power cable in and out, adjusting it as i did so, until the battery light on the top right (near the lcd screen) flashed. If that didnt flash and i turned it on then the unknown power adaptor message would come up. Otherwise it worked perfectly and the battery appeared to charge.

* After a while (couple of months) if i unplugged the power cable while the comp was running it would turn off straight away. And even though it said the battery was charging, it stayed at like 5% charge.

* Recently (past month) it has got VERY hard to turn the laptop on (fiddling with the power cable to get the battery light on takes longer).

Also, now when i plug it in it turns on by itself and has the dell media screen splash on. It also says something about RTC not set, the computer bios clock reverts back to dec 08 EVERY time i manage to boot the computer up.

If i take out the battery and press the power meter button on the back no lights come on, even if its plugged into the computer.

But if i manage to boot up the comp (by wiggling the power cable around till the battery light comes on) and then press the battery test button on the battery, 3 lights come on.

* - * - *

* = light on
- = light off

Don't know what the significance of that is

Anyway, this has been a long winded post. I just really want to know what to do. I'm thinking a new battery, but what if its the mobo's fault? Or what if its the power supplies fault!??

I kinda think its not Power supply coz the computer WILL boot every time i press the power button when its plugged in.

But yeh... I spent heaps on this thing and am struggling financially atm and cant afford to replace the battery only to find out it was the mobo :/

Thanks in advance

 

it sounds like its the power supply, i have heard other issues with the power supply being faulty..the battery is not required because u can run off ac power for a while and u need to charge the battery in the 1st place.
otherwise, the mobo could be causing the issue, however usually when the computer runs out of power completely, the mobo resets

 

The power supply would be my guess also.

Dang, this reminds me, I gotta get them to replace my faulty battery

 

hmm, power supply eh :S

Well the bios clock resets every time i turn it off.

I just thought that since the comp at least turns on every time with the power supply in it might be more serious like a mobo prob.

So I should look at getting a new power supply???

I took a look at dells site briefly but didnt see anywhere i could buy a battery let alone a power supply. I'll look again soon i spose. cheers

 

I bought a XPS 1340 10 days ago. All OK for the first few days - then I got the same message as you - "AC power adaptor not recognised, press F1 to continue F2 to enter setup, system will run slower".

The battery no longer charged. It has been at 0% charge for 5 days now. Dell sent me another power adapter, which gave exactly the same symptoms. They have agreed to replace the computer as the problem happened after so few days. Haven't seen the promised replacement yet ...

I would try to borrow a power supply first. Try running the computer with the battery removed. It will probably give the same message. I think it's unlikely to be the power supply or the battery if the computer runs with the battery removed and the power supply plugged in.

I wish you good luck

Geoff

 

Howdy,

Got the same issue after using my 1730 SLI for over a year.
Mobo is re[placed already and the second time will happend tomorrow (with ac adapter).

Saddly adapter is an issue and cause of all the other problems:

Some complaining:
http://getsatisfaction.com/dell/topics/dell_xps_m1330_battery_not_charging_on_ac_power
you are not alone:
SOme complaining and solution:
http://getsatisfaction.com/dell/top...dapter_cannot_be_determined#full_conversation
the solution:
http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast/content/dell-ac-power-adapter-id-chip-died

I bought 4 year premium warranty. I am so happy I did that. I will advise the same thing to Dell support wander what they will tell me

 

Hi, just want to update this thread.

I went and bought a new bios battery, that fixed the bios constantly resetting problem. I also got a new 3rd party battery much cheaper than dells too. That worked perfectly, however the 'invalid ac adaptor problem persisted.

So i bit the bullet and bought an AC adaptor from dell at $165 in august this year. That fixed the problem perfectly... but guess what

as of 1 week ago when i booted up my laptop...

"The AC Power Adapter Type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. Please connect a Dell 230W AC Adapter or Higher for Best Results"

It lasted less than 4 months... I can still wiggle the cord to get it working atm.

But i've emailed dell asking them about whether the ac adaptor can be replaced, surely its got some form of warranty!!!

Ill wait and see i guess

 

Update # 2.

Called Dell tech support and explained the prob. They said they will send me a new AC adaptor within 2 days... They sounded like they knew exactly about this problem too.

They also said if it does it again, then they will have to fix the motherboard (called it a 'breakfix' or something). The guy said it will cost.... $1000!!!!!

I'm out of warranty, but even still $1000 to fix a problem that is there fault anyway? bugger that.

When the new AC adaptor comes i know it will last about 4 months according to my last one, so im gonna flog the laptop off on ebay