Hi, I kind of suspected that the PB was dead - I'll keep an eye out for a broken one on eBay and see if I can't get another motherboard/processor for it - it does look pretty okay other than it not turning on and if I can get something cheap to fix it up I don't mind the expenditure.
As for the Inspiron - I am using an original Dell adaptor, and I did try another one from another machine - both rated correctly. I've seen this message reported before, but I just cannot remember exactly where, quite a long time ago actually - when it boots, it says that it has a 70W adaptor, instead of a 90W adaptor and it's putting the machine into battery optimised mode. That info might make the problem clearer.
Regards
Dave
