clarefd

After 2.5 years, my power cord frayed and went kaput. I bought one online that fits and powers the computer, but I keep getting the message that it's not an "official" Dell power cord and the battery won't charge and the computer is running slower than usual. Now the odd thing is that I could have sworn that the first couple of times I used it, it did charge the battery and I didn't get the snippy message. Am I hallucinating? Is there anyway to go around this? I'm not inclined to buy another power cord...

Thank you

twajetmech

Hello and welcome to the TSF, While I can't say I've ever seen such an error message it seems to very common for the Dell power cords to go bad, there are a lot of complaints on the web about it. From what I can gather, the Dell power cord is a 3 wire cord, so buying a replacement with a compatible adaptor at the end may not provide the correct ground or electrical connection for the charging circuit. Also Dell power cords have a male prong that I'm guessing trips a small microswitch when inserted into the laptop to enable battery charging, many aftermarket cords do not have the prongs or they are not the correct shape/size. Luckily the Dell replacement cord is only $14........http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...n&sku=310-6326

clarefd

Thank you! I was afraid I was going to have to spend $60 or something like that. I've seen lots of complaints about Dell power cords, too - too bad, because otherwise I like the computer...Thanks again.

powercords

it's common also for the asus.
my power cords for asus is also bad .and it's difficult to change it.