Solved! Dell xps m1330 power problem

corkdork

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Feb 16, 2011
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Have a dell xps m1330 with Vista 32 bit home (not sp1 as that update crashed, so restored to earlier set up)
Motherboard was replaced about 18 months ago under warranty.
Soon the charger stopped charging battery. Replaced charger. Fixed it briefly then it wouldn't charge it, mostly, as only sometimes it would. Jiggling lead helped. Finally stopped charging altogether. Laptop works when pluggged in though, so it's like a desk top. Eventually no charge at all in battery and slightest knock of lead would make it go dead. Battery dead became or not working according to power status. So, replaced battery. Now it's working when plugged in but still not charging and has battery has 71% charge. BIOS says AC adaptor not recognised.

Question: Assuming good battery and AC adaptor, will replacing the power jack fix it? I've been quoted €70 for this. Or, do i need a new mother board or 'power circuit' part of it, which would be much much more expensive. Or is it son I've googled and this is it seems a very common problem.

Martin in Dublin
 
Solution
It sounds like it is a bad power jack. If you want to spend more money on it, you may as well get it fixed. But if you are fed up, I'd look into getting a new, reliable laptop when you can afford to do so.

GaryQQQ

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Sep 13, 2010
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I have a cheaper version of XPS M1330 (Inspiron 1318) with the same charging problem. I replaced the Jack myself and it didn't resolve the issue. There are damaged components further down the charging circuit from what I'm told by the tech who repaired mine (AQSTECH.com)