When the AC adapter is plugged and I press the power button it came on for a few seconds and shut off. I tried something different, I took the battery out and plugged the AC Adapter but this time it didn’t even come on. Do you think its the AC adapter or something is wrong with the laptop.

I think your AC adapter is bad.

The laptop turns on for a few seconds with the battery connected because the battery still has some charge left but not enough to start the laptop.

The laptop will not turn on at all when the battery is removed because your AC adapter is bad.

You can test your AC adapter with a voltmeter. If there is no power coming out, replace the AC adapter.

My HP 520 laptop battery discharges even though it is connected to the DC power and another thing the battery starts charging if i shut down the laptop. Please give me the solution.

I think this problem is related to the DC jack failure. In HP 520 laptop the DC jack soldered directly to the motherboard. Overtime, if you plug/unplug AC adapter a lot, connection between the DC jack and motherboard breaks and it stops charging the battery.

Most likely you can fix the problem if you resolder the the DC jack.

In order to repair the jack, it’s necessary to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard. This service manual will help you to remove the motherboard.

My laptop just died as I came back from school. I took the battery out and had it unplugged. I waited a minute or so, in this time I pressed the power button to drain whatever energy was left in the circuitry and after I just flipped it back over and placed the battery back in. As i tried to turn it on, the green light came on but only for a second and turned off again.

I think you have a failed power adapter. Apparently, the power adapter died while you were using the laptop. The laptop worked until the battery had charge and finally shut off.

Now the laptop will not turn on because the battery is empty and the power adapter doesn’t provide any power at all. That’s why the green power light comes on only for a second.

Test your power adapter with a multimeter to confirm the failure. Alternatively, you can test the laptop with another known good adapter.

My AC adapter/charger gets very hot when using my laptop plugged into the wall outlet. In fact, I’m on my 3rd AC adapter. The others have smoked. The laptop battery will only last a few minutes if not on the charger. Is the battery causing this?

It’s hard to tell without testing the laptop with another known good battery.

Remove the battery and run the laptop just on the AC adapter. Is it till getting hot even with the battery removed? If yes, most likely it’s not related to the battery.

Make sure you are using the right type of the AC adapter. The output voltage on the AC adapter must match voltage required by the laptop. The amperage on the AC adapter could be the same or higher then required by the laptop.

It’s possible that your AC adapter is getting hot because it’s not powerful enough for the laptop.

It looks like my laptop getting power and charging the battery but when I go to turn it on the power light goes on for about 3 seconds the the unit turns back off again. Any ideas???
It’s a Toshiba Satellite P300.

It’s possible that there is a problem with the AC power adapter. Maybe the adapter is not working properly under load. Test the laptop with another known good adapter.

If the laptop still fails even with another AC adapter, most likely this is the motherboard failure. You’ll have to replace the motherboard.

I have an older IBM R40 Laptop with an AC adapter with and output of 16V, 4.5Amp. I ordered a replacement from Lenovo but it is a 20V output unit. Can I safely use this?

I wouldn’t use this adapter. If you are replacing the AC adapter, it’s very important to buy a new one with exactly the same voltage. Higher incoming voltage can damage the laptop.

You can follow this rule when you are looking for a new adapter. The voltage output must be the same. The amperage can be the same or higher than on the original one.

I don’t think that you can safely use a 20V adapter instead of your original 16V adapter.

While showing a presentation a few days ago my laptop went into hibernating and shut down. AC plugged in. When attempted to power back on nothing happened. LED lights on front panel blink but power LED does not. My laptop is HP Pavillion dv5000.

Probably the power (AC) adapter is dead. I think your power adapter died while the laptop was showing a presentation. Without AC power the laptop was working until the battery charge went down to zero and then it hibernated. Now, the front LED flashes but the laptop will not start because the battery is discharged. The power LED will not light up because the power adapter is dead. That’s my guess.

Before you purchase a new power adapter, I would suggest testing the old one with a voltmeter. If the old adapter is OK you may have a problem with the motherboard.

I have a Dell Inspiron 9100. Mine kept on shutting down randomly and eventually got worse. I got a laptop technician out and at first he thought it was overheating but it turned out to be the AC plug going into the back. Every time it moved around the laptop turns off. This implied that it was something to do with the motherboard. I only use this as a spare laptop now, but want to have a hand at fixing it myself. What would you suggest? Is there any kind of botch job I could try before buying a whole new motherboard?

It’s possible that the power jack (the socket where you plug the adapter) is loose or damaged. When you move the AC plug inside the power jack it shorts the motherboard and because of that the laptop shuts down.

It’s necessary to disassemble the laptop, remove the motherboard and take a closer look at the power jack. If it’s broken or loose you may fix the problem without replacing the whole motherboard.

1. Disassemble the laptop. You’ll find instructions in the official service manual.
2. Remove the motherboard and take a closer look at the power jack.
3. If the power jack is loose or broken, you’ll have to resolder or replace the jack.
4. Find a new power jack here and replace it.

Before you take it apart, I would suggest testing the laptop with another working power adapter. Will it shut down with another adapter? If not, your problem could be related to the adapter. Apparently, there are damaged wires inside the power cable and you short them moving the cable. It’s possible the laptop shuts down because of that.

If you still have the same problem even with another adapter, you can inspect the power jack as suggested above.

I have a Toshiba Satellite A105-S4284 laptop. It is not showing that it is connected to the power cord. When I jiggle the port it registers. It seems loose. It doesn’t have warranty. I took it in to best buy and they think my motherboard needs replaced. Please help if possible…

First of all, this problem could be related to the power adapter. It’s possible that one of the wires inside the power cord is damaged and they make contact only when you jiggle the power plug. You can test the power adapter with a voltmeter. If the power cuts off when you jiggle the cable, most likely the power adapter is bad and has to be replaced. Also, you can test the laptop with another working power adapter. If you still experience the same problem even with another known good power adapter, most likely the problem is related to the power jack.

If your problem is related to the power jack, you can replace the jack WITHOUT replacing the whole motherboard. Fortunately for you in this model the power jack is attached to the power cable witch can be unplugged from the motherboard. You can find a new power jack (DC-IN cable) by this part number V000922060. From my experience, the power jack in this model is not reliable. I think that’s your problem.

In order to replace the power jack you’ll have to disassembly the laptop, remove the top cover, unplug the old broken DC-IN cable and replace it with a new one. You can use my disassembly guide but proceed on your own risk.

I have a HP Pavilion zd7000, question is, I get no lights on when I plug in the a/c adapter. I tried without battery and still no lights whatsoever. I hope its not the motherboard, I will hate buying it and that not being the problem. How can I know if it’s the motherboard or something else? Thanks for any replies.

What makes you think that you have a problem with the motherboard? First of all, you have to test the AC adapter. Make sure the adapter provides correct voltage, you can test it with a voltmeter. If the AC adapter is rated 19V, you have to get the same 19v on the voltmeter. It’s possible your adapter is dead and the laptop doesn’t get any power.