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#1 2008-09-13 00:45:37

Raccoon1400
Member
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: 2008-04-14
Posts: 853

I occasionally get this power adapter message when turning on my dell.

Every couple months I get this message when booting my laptop, before grub. When it appears, I will see it quite a bit in the next few powerupps, and then it will be gone for a couple months. The laptop is 1.5 years old, and this is not a recent issue.

The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge.

Please connect a Dell 65W AC adapter or higher for best system operation. To resolve this issue, try to reseat the power adapter.
Strike the F3 key (before the F1 or F2 key) if you do not want to see power warning messages again.

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility
Press F5 to run onboard diagnostics.

Fustrated Windows users have two options.
1. Resort to the throwing of computers out of windows.
2. Resort to the throwing of windows out of computers.

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#2 2008-09-16 19:49:15

beissemj
Member
Registered: 2007-05-11
Posts: 43

Re: I occasionally get this power adapter message when turning on my dell.

You don't happen to have this connected to a docking station do you? I used to get this message all the time, when I switched from using a 90w power adapter (the one I used away from home) to a 65w one (the one connected to my docking station at home). I've had my Dell laptop for years, and I've never had any problems from the error message.

I'm guessing it probably has something to do with the change in how fast the battery is charging, and is just trying to "surge protect" the machine.


Professor: This isn't right...It isn't even wrong...

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#3 2008-09-16 20:32:18

Raccoon1400
Member
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: 2008-04-14
Posts: 853

Re: I occasionally get this power adapter message when turning on my dell.

There is no docking station, and this is the power adapter it came with.


Fustrated Windows users have two options.
1. Resort to the throwing of computers out of windows.
2. Resort to the throwing of windows out of computers.

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#4 2008-09-17 17:37:28

beissemj
Member
Registered: 2007-05-11
Posts: 43

Re: I occasionally get this power adapter message when turning on my dell.

Alright I talked to one of my Electrical Engineering professors and I got an entire lesson on the AC-DC converters that laptops use. He's not a computer engineer so he isn't sure about the specifics of how the bios detects the incoming voltage, but he said this (in a not so concise manner):

(I'm not sure if you have a background in electronics, so I'll try to explain at a high level).

Most laptops use what's known as a switched-mode power supply (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply). These are generally cheaper to make, but also have a higher failure rate. Now because you have only intermittant problems it's harder to diagnose, but it is likely something like the following. A passive component (resistor, capacitor, inductor) within the AC-Adapter IC is either going bad or a solder joint is bad (this causes a voltage loss due to voltage leakage/ripple). Because of this the amount of power "stored" before the down-conversion happens is lower than what is expected. So when the DC-DC adapter on the motherboard goes to down-convert the voltage to the CPU-core-voltage it is actually down-converting it too much. This makes the CPU still be able to turn on, but doesn't give it enough 'power' to operate normally. Because the CPU doesn't have enough power to perform normally, the error message is basically a UVLO (under-voltage lockout) warning.

Typical solution: buy a new AC Power Adapter.

More information on SMPS: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/smpsfaq.htm
[url]http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=w … G8qpp2RSCw test[/url]


Professor: This isn't right...It isn't even wrong...

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#5 2008-09-17 20:32:18

Raccoon1400
Member
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: 2008-04-14
Posts: 853

Re: I occasionally get this power adapter message when turning on my dell.

It doesn't seem to impact performance if I skip the message, and it only appears every couple months, so for now, I think I'll stick with the current adapter.

I don't have any background in electronics, I am still in grade 12, I just know what I get from messing around at home.


Fustrated Windows users have two options.
1. Resort to the throwing of computers out of windows.
2. Resort to the throwing of windows out of computers.

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