# Reset Power Adapter Help?



## Cubbies7 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hello, I have a Dell Inspiron 1525, and recently had virus issues so I just ended up factory resetting everything through Advanced Boot Options, now I have a restored computer but on start up it beeps at me and says AC power adapter wattage and type can not be determined...blah...blah....continue with F1, F2 to run set up, F3 to not be reminded and F5 to run onboard diagnostics. I tried F2 and went back and set it to factory settings again but it did not solve the issue. In the message it says try resetting the power adapter, I feel like an idiot because I have no idea what the heck that means. I've googled, searched through the manual and have not found anything that helps. Can someone please tell me how to go about resetting it or what I should do, any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank and sorry for rambling and not keeping it short. Also, the power light on the laptop flashes blue once, then orange 3 times continually when I have the computer running, again thanks.


----------



## night_shift (Sep 8, 2009)

Hi Cubbies7 and welcome to TSF

I'm going to assume you can boot into Windows. Try this -

01. Turn off laptop.

02. Unplug AC power.

03. Remove battery.

04. Replace AC power.

05. Turn on laptop, allow OS to boot.

06. Once logged in to the machine, perform a normal shut down.

07. Unplug AC power.

08. Replace battery.

09. Replace AC power.

10. Turn on laptop, allow OS to boot. See what happens.


----------



## Cubbies7 (Aug 11, 2010)

I thought I had already tried that, but apparently not! Whatever it was, it worked, sorry to bother with such a trivial problem, I had never seen that before and thought there was more to it than that. Thanks for the help!


----------



## night_shift (Sep 8, 2009)

Nothing is too trivial to bother us here at TSF. You are very welcome that we could have helped.


----------



## Cubbies7 (Aug 11, 2010)

Alright, there are strange things afoot with this machine. Doing that worked once, but has not worked since. I did some better searching and found it could be the DC jack board, or a screw connecting it. I tried tightening the screw but that did not help. So I may need to replace that board, does that sound logical? The weird thing is that it will not let me shut it down, I hit shut down, but it immediately restarts. I have to unplug it to shut it down. Also, at start up, the Windows Logo is blank. I see the status bar scrolling, but there is no Windows logo. I just completely reset the machine to factory settings internally, I have no idea why it is doing this. Should I reset the machine again or will that do nothing, again thanks for the help.


----------



## night_shift (Sep 8, 2009)

Hi

Ok,

Check the power adaptor plug that fits into your laptop dc jack, there should be a small pin in the centre. Is it bent or damaged/missing? This pin is a data pin not a power pin. Try this first before moving on - disconnect the adaptor from the mains power and leave for 20 mins to self discharge. If the pin does not look damaged and it sits perfectly central, then bend the pin very slightly off centre but not too much as not to allow it to fit into the small female hole inside the dc socket. Sometimes the female part of the dc socket wears and this pin does not make contact, by bending it off centre slightly it will make that contact again. Worth a try.

If you can, check the voltage of the power adaptor with a voltmeter. The +ve is the internal wall of the plug and the -ve the external part of the plug. Do ot short the middle pin to any other part of the plug. The voltage should be the same as what is stated on the power adapter +/- 0.5 volts.

Is this a genuine Dell adaptor?

Can you borrow the same type adaptor to try?

The power board on this model is removable and can be replaced, it is held in place by two screws onto the motherboard. I'm assuming that is what you have tightened down?

DC jack sockets cause one of the most common power issues with laptops. If you wiggle or push the dc plug on your laptop does this have any effect, if so then its a worn jack socket. Remove, resolder, replace dc jack socket or buy a new power board.


----------



## Cubbies7 (Aug 11, 2010)

I checked the power adapter plug and it is dead center and intact. I tried as you suggested and bent it slightly and this did not do anything. It is an OEM Dell adapter, charger, battery, everything. I do not know of anyone with the same type of adapter so I do not know of a way to check that. I will check the voltage this weekend, and see if that is the problem. When I plug the jack in it will wiggle a little, honestly I don't feel confident in my soldering abilities to mess with that, ha. Thanks for the suggestions. I guess for a while until I figure out the issue it will be a desktop. 
Do you have any idea why that would prevent me from shutting the computer down? I have to pull the plug to shut it down, and that can not be good. I've never heard of not being able to shut down. It shouldn't be a virus, bc a week ago I restored the machine to factory settings due to a virus. Could there still be residual virus lingering somewhere?


----------



## night_shift (Sep 8, 2009)

I cant see it being a virus thats causing this now. Try as much of this as you can -

Remove any media from media slots including USB, CD/DVD drive and flash drives etc. Disconnect all items connected to USB (including any USB wireless devices), hdmi, firewire ports etc.

• Remove the battery and AC cord. 

• Remove the bottom access cover/covers of your laptop. 

• Remove and reseat your RAM modules.

• Replace your covers.

• Hold down your power button for 30 seconds (Battery and AC still disconnected).

• Replace your AC power (not battery) and turn the computer on.

This is called a hard reset. If it works COOL, then replace your battery. If not try as much of this procedure as you can within reason -

*Black Screen Issues and Troubleshooting *


----------

