HP Compaq Power Adaptors SUCK

So here's the story. So I was on my laptop just now, when I unplugged it to move to another spot. Much to my surprise, the battery was down to 35%. WHAT?? How could that happen? I plug my laptop back in, but it continues to run on the battery! I tried different outlets to no avail.

Finally, I unplugged the power adapter, played with the area where the wire first comes out of the brick. I plug the laptop back in, and Viola! The thing is charging!! Except there's one problem. I got a little dialog saying " Warning: For best results, use a higher performance power adapter". As a result, my Graphics Card has been underclocked.

This wouldn't be such a problem the first time. The fact is however, this is the fifth time that my power adapter has failed in one year. This is unbelievable and utterly unacceptable, especially for a business notebook. The sad thing is, the notebook itself has been flawless hardware-wise, although the fit and finish have suffered over time (which is normal for most notebooks, I imagine).

The good news is, we have an on-campus help desk that can get a new power adapter in about an hour. I was planning on heading down there tomorrow anyway to get my hard drive re-imaged.

The point of this post is to warn people about how unreliable the power adapters used by the HP Compaq Business line. If you do go with HP Compaq, I recommend buying a spare power adapter (or two), and being extra-careful with the adapters. The HP Compaq Business line has some of the best notebooks out there, don't get me wrong, but HP really needs to get its act together with the power adapters.

That, and to Rant/let off some steam

Also, the HP Pavilions seem to use a different style of power adapter, so I'm not sure how problematic they are.

 

Oh how I know your pain. I went through three different power adapters with my old X1000. Tech told me it was probably a shot motherboard. If it makes you any better, one of those was a high quality power adapter. I hope that the same doesn't happen with my new laptop.

 

im havin problems too with HP's adapter aswell.. need new adapter for my pavilion after 2 months of use, the light just doesnt want to turn on. Im to the point where i have to put lots of pressure inwards to get some kind of charge going. Cant move the wire an inch or it turns off lol;

Probly my fault tho- for movin the laptop abit as the cord was plugged in. while sittin on a chair

 

I am interested to hear more about this. Has anyone else got something good to say about the adapters?

 

Well, I have had my notebook for about 6-7 weeks now and haven't had any problems at all.

 

ditto on that one.

 

I've had my nx8220 for over 2 1/2 years (nearing 3 in about April 08) and have had no problems with the AC adapter (just a shot motherboard and now a sticky keyboard ).
No problems on my 6910p so far (going on 3-4 months now).

 

The power adaptor on my Compaq X1000 is still going strong after 4 years.
The one on my nc8430 and nc6400 is still working fine after a year.
My battery on the newer notebooks however don't last that long. Degrades after 6 months. Must be due to HP's fast charge technology that's causing greater battery wear.

 

Thanks for your responses! It's very interesting to hear what other people's experiences with HP Power adapters have been. Many of my classmates that I've talked to have had their power adapter replaced at least once also (The sophomores all the same nw8440s here on campus).

And chrixx, you are right about the battery wear. My nw8440 is just over a year old, and I get just shy of 1 hour of battery, whereas I used to get 2 1/2 hours brand new on the same settings. Then again, many of my classmates are lucky to get even 5 minutes of battery life now, so I guess I'm doing something right with the battery . The only people I've talked to who still get 2 1/2 hours are those that have never used their batteries.

 

Just saw this thread ... my just over one year old AC adapter that came with my nc8430 just failed. Spoke with an IT person in my office who told me that this is an issue the department has had with HP adapters ...

 

i've had my dv9500t for 5 days now with no problems. WOOOOOOOHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

here's to hoping




and just after i type that i start hearing a weird noise......

 

Have had my 8510p since beginning of September, and no problems whatsoever in any category yet.. (except that the damn ATI drivers dont always bring the screen back from power saving, so I'm forced to fullscreen/window switch a cmd prompt box in order to kick it back into order. Thankfully it's not a long sequence of keys I have to remember)

 

I've had my nc6400 since april. I had the adapter replaced about a month ago because it wouldn't power the notebook. After getting a replacement from HP (thank god for the warranty!), the new one works great. Crossing my fingers so that i don't have to get a new one!

 

Someone recently told me that HP designed/released a new AC adapter that's supposed to be better/more durable, which you can either get upon request for exchange or if your current adapter blows...but I'll believe it when I see it

 

yeah ive had experience with broken HP/compaq power adapters too

 

Wow. This is news to me. I haven't had any problems with my power adapters. My first notebook, the power adapter from my ze5300 series notebook from 2003 has endured so much and still in fine working order. It's been vaccumed over, pulled, tugged at and walked all over. It's fine. My battery after 4 years can still last 2:15 minutes.

My new HP notebook, the dv2608 seems fine to me. I've had the notebook for almost two weeks the the adapter, although seems to come loose a lot easier than my other notebook keeps the battery charged. I guess it's the luck of the draw.

 

Battery thing and failing AC adapter both happened to me. Barely a year old, battery is 1.5 hours when it used to be 4. AC adapter failed to work.

It's disappointing. I thought I Was paying for quality. Apparently not.

 

After reading this thread, I have noticed a strange, ironic trend: It appears that the Pavilion (Consumer) power adapters are more reliable that the HP Compaq (business) power adapters. Go figure!
(They are different adapters AFAIK. I know that they use different power tips)

Also of note: Considering I've had my notebook for about 16 months, and I'm on my 5th power adapter, I'd say that the average lifespan for an HP Compaq business power adapter is about 3 months of daily use/travel.

Which is pretty bad, especially considering these are for business-class notebooks, which are supposed to have better build quality/reliability than most notebooks. But the thing is, it's one simple design flaw that can be easily fixed. The problem lies in the brick, where the wire that goes to the notebook first comes out of the brick. That area is extremely delicate, as if there is no strain reduction on that area whatsoever (bad idea HP!).

Let's hope you're right about those improved power adapters, Ackeron.

 

How do you guys actually abuse your power adapters? Mine doesn't exhibit the same problem, but I've left mine on 24/7 basically.

 

my power adapter lets out a high pitched whine when used with a charged batt.

6910p

 

my adapter for my compaq doesnt work anymore.... and teh battery wont hold a charge more than 10secs. its because its old.

i am NOT looking forward to my hp's adapter failing soon.....

 

yeah mine does too... lol

 

I noticed my latest power adapter I have does this too....

 

All I do is carry my power adapter around in my bag. I even try to wrap the cord so that there is less stress on that fragile area of the adapter. And it still fails. You call that abuse?

Also, if you've left your laptop on 24/7, then I assume that you've never had to move your power adapter. Which, if that is the case, I'm not surprised that your power adapter still works.

But that's an unusual circumstance, considering that the whole point of laptops is to be portable (well, at least more portable than a desktop). HP doesn't seem to understand that, considering how their power adapters fail under normal circumstances (traveling with the adapter)

 

I have a very ingenious idea. Take a semi-flexible piece of tubing around 2 inches long. A piece similar to what you use for the fresh air supply of fish tanks. Place it on on the fragile end of the charger. This will keep that connection from being bent at a sharp angle while still giving it some movement. This is what causes the copper wires to kink and break inside the chord. I would wrap one end in electrical tape to ensure that it doesn't go falling off or move while on the chord. Or you can use that one material that shrinks and seals when a flame is applied. When I was a carpenter we did this to our saws because where the cable would exit the saw it would get bent, over a period of time the inside would fray and short out the saw. Whats funny is that about a month after we did this mod to our saws, the new saws already came with this concept built into them from the factory.

 

That's a really good idea! I will have to look into that.

 

I actually have 2 of them. The one in the office isn't moved around, but I also carry one in my bag all the time to uni and such. It hasn't failed so far (knock on wood).

I should add that both my adapters emit the whine sound if I listen carefully. Sounds pretty scary...

 

This will help with the bending of the chord but I don't know what to do when it comes to excessive pulling, other than taping that configuration from above to the brick.