Keaton sucks at tech support and needs someone else to do the brainwork.

[Sunblink]

To all who it may concern:

As I am typing this, my laptop is currently at 15% battery and is not charging. However, it is plugged in, as the laptop acknowledges, but it outright refuses to charge.

I have replaced the battery after consulting Yahoo Answers, which only helped for a little bit. Then I used a new laptop charger, which helped for a little longer.

So I don't quite get what's going on. We're going to get a guy to fix it, but I figured I'd check you all to see if there's a simpler solution. As a slight sidenote, this is an HP Pavilion Entertainment laptop which is roughly 3 years old. It is very handy.

And I think my laptop's almost out of battery so I gotta run now okay thanks for listening help would be appreciated b

[Rakala]

One of the very compicated problems I've had with a laptop involved the charger being broken. What had happened was the wires were broken somewhere, so all the computer could really do is acknowledge that it was plugged in but didn't actually charge.

[Ryudo Lee]

Or it could be that the battery has lost it's zero point and can no longer be charged.  I have a couple of laptops here at the office that are like that, due to them being constantly plugged in.

[Tapewolf]

Or it could be that the battery has lost it's zero point and can no longer be charged.

Apparently she's replaced both the battery and the charger.

Keaton, when you say 'replaced the charger', do you mean that you've replaced the power supply for the laptop (which isn't strictly a charger), or that you've got an external unit that charges the battery when it's not in the computer?
Because I'm starting to wonder if it's the charging circuit in the machine itself.

[VSMIT]

Asked my tech support, he says that it's a problem with the internal power supply, and it's not something that is easily fixed without sending it back to HP, but from the looks of it, it's out of warranty, in which case it may be easier to just buy a new laptop and move your files over.

[Tapewolf]

it may be easier to just buy a new laptop and move your files over.

In which case the old machine will make a nice 'desktop', just not something you can lug around.

[Sunblink]

Keaton, when you say 'replaced the charger', do you mean that you've replaced the power supply for the laptop (which isn't strictly a charger), or that you've got an external unit that charges the battery when it's not in the computer?
Because I'm starting to wonder if it's the charging circuit in the machine itself.

The battery attached to the laptop (accessible in a small slot in the bottom) and the charger. I do not have an external unit.

[superluser]

The battery attached to the laptop (accessible in a small slot in the bottom) and the charger. I do not have an external unit.

Then the issue is most likely the internal charger circuitry.

An external charger would be the solution.

Unless, of course, the internal charger circuitry is so badly damaged that it's actually killing your battery.  This is very unlikely.

[Tapewolf]

Unless, of course, the internal charger circuitry is so badly damaged that it's actually killing your battery.  This is very unlikely.

The only other alternative is to try and find a service tech, since it's probably a fairly basic fault at the end of the day.  However, that is likely to cost you.

[Sunblink]

Hm. Weirdly, my laptop started charging again, but I anticipate further problems and my laptop still needs repairs so I'll still be calling a guy. But first, my Avatar: the Last Airbender DVDs.

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

[Tapewolf]

Hm. Weirdly, my laptop started charging again, but I anticipate further problems and my laptop still needs repairs so I'll still be calling a guy.

That would suggest a loose internal connection, or possibly a dry joint.  Should be an easy fix if the guy can track it down.

[superluser]

That would suggest a loose internal connection, or possibly a dry joint.  Should be an easy fix if the guy can track it down.

She may want to try opening the screen to different angles, in that case.

[ShadesFox]

That would suggest a loose internal connection, or possibly a dry joint.  Should be an easy fix if the guy can track it down.

She may want to try opening the screen to different angles, in that case.

Yea, I did something like that with a laptop of mine about a decade ago.  Eventually it just went completely bad and even that didn't help.  Servicing it cost more then a new laptop so... yea...

[Alondro]

Hm. Weirdly, my laptop started charging again, but I anticipate further problems and my laptop still needs repairs so I'll still be calling a guy.

That would suggest a loose internal connection, or possibly a dry joint. 

Hmm... a dry join...

Water will fix this problem!  *KER-SPLOOSH!*

*Laptop ASPLODES!!!*

Huh... so it didn't work after all.   

[RobbieThe1st]

Well, that sounds exactly like something that happened with my IBM T41 laptop. It wouldn't charge the battery, though it would run off it OR ac. Switching the power adapter or battery with another unit from another T41 we have didn't change anything.

It started happening after I replaced the power connector port with a cheap replacement... and didn't realize I ought to have added an insulating strip between it and the motherboard. It worked for a while, but then apparently the + wire shorted with a resistor on the motherboard(big old scorch-mark & missing chunk of resistor end).

I never did get it working again(Ended up getting a replacement used laptop missing some stuff off Ebay), although perhaps later I will see about replacing the resistor and see if it helps. If not... I dunno.


Now that I think about it, what if Keaton's laptop is a bit better designed and has some sort of short-circuit protection? It would do the same thing, and would work again as soon as that connector moved enough.


-RobbieThe1st

[The1Kobra]

As a slight sidenote, this is an HP Pavilion Entertainment laptop which is roughly 3 years old. It is very handy.

HP laptop? Does your charger look something like this?

If so, that might be an issue. I know with mine, the charger doesn't hold itself very firmly, and I have noticed it tends to loosen itself during train rides(or when moving it around) and causes it not to charge. It might be a good deal more sensitive if it's 3 years old (though I wouldn't think hardware would deteriorate that quickly). If that's an issue, you might want to 'brace' it with something, to make sure it stays up and doesn't slip to a position which would cause it not to charge. Something small like a pack of paper clips would do.

[Reese Tora]

Had something like that on a laptop at work a while back, we ended up having HP replace the motherboard (in warranty, thankfully, with that one.)  It costs in the realm of $300-$400 to have them fix it out of warranty, and HP requires you send them the laptop, they won't just send you a part(not that you want to go about replacing the motherboard yourself if you can avoid it.)  Of course, when you get that service, they'll fix about everything that's broken that they can find.

If I might ask, for the sake of my own curiosity, what model is the laptop?

[Turnsky]

Hm. Weirdly, my laptop started charging again, but I anticipate further problems and my laptop still needs repairs so I'll still be calling a guy.

That would suggest a loose internal connection, or possibly a dry joint. 

Hmm... a dry join...

Water will fix this problem!  *KER-SPLOOSH!*

*Laptop ASPLODES!!!*

Huh... so it didn't work after all.   

you need a bigger hammer, then.

[Sunblink]

Oh no, my laptop isn't charging again. And this time it seems to have been exhausted to the point it refuses to charge whatsoever. It's at 0% battery and is sustaining itself on my mom's charger.

HP laptop? Does your charger look something like this?

It did indeed look like that.

The problem is, the charger held itself quite firmly... for a while. Then it started jiggling and loosening it up, therefore forcing me to switch to my mom's charger (which looks entirely different). It's a high capacity 90w AC charger. The kind with the plug shaped like an L.

Had something like that on a laptop at work a while back, we ended up having HP replace the motherboard (in warranty, thankfully, with that one.)  It costs in the realm of $300-$400 to have them fix it out of warranty, and HP requires you send them the laptop, they won't just send you a part(not that you want to go about replacing the motherboard yourself if you can avoid it.)  Of course, when you get that service, they'll fix about everything that's broken that they can find.

If I might ask, for the sake of my own curiosity, what model is the laptop?

In the long run, I think that might be more inexpensive than simply replacing my laptop by buying a new one outright. There are actually a few other issues with my laptop that resulted from me trying to download a virus-laden version of antiquated AIM, so if they can fix that as well, that'd be lovely. The other problem is that the laptop bugged up whenever HP Health Check started and it refuses to locate any nearby networks through that icon on my taskbar. Also, the "Connect To" window accessed through the Start Menu moves much more slowly.

HAAAAAAAAATE.

The laptop model is an HP Pavilion Entertainment. Aka, this one.

My laptop itself looks more like this.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Funny, mine looks like this...

... mine is probably a fair bit older than yours, too... ;-]

[The1Kobra]

It did indeed look like that.

The problem is, the charger held itself quite firmly... for a while. Then it started jiggling and loosening it up, therefore forcing me to switch to my mom's charger (which looks entirely different). It's a high capacity 90w AC charger. The kind with the plug shaped like an L.

Wait... you switched to a charger that didn't come with your computer?
What type of computer did you borrow that from? There might be compatibility issues.

[Sunblink]

What type of computer did you borrow that from? There might be compatibility issues.

I borrowed it from my mom's - actually, we switched chargers, and hers (formerly mine) is working perfectly. My mom's laptop is the same kind as mine.

Our original chargers broke because the puppy tried to chew through the wire (she's fine), so we had to buy these new ones as replacements.

[Jack McSlay]

HP laptop? Does your charger look something like this?

this one looks like a standard plug used for power supplies.
with some luck, it could be possible to go to an electronics store and buy replacements for the connector on the charger/laptop if it's out of warranty.

granted, don't tamper with those things if you don't have experience or can't find someone reliable enough