Any way to prevent "The AC power adapter type cannot be determined" message on XPS M1710? (AC adapter is properly plugged in)

Hi Nharp0386,

Welcome to the Community. Press the F2 key at the Dell Logo on startup to load into the Bios, and check what does it say next to AC adapter, if it says unknown, try another working adapter. If the working adapter works then its an issue with your ac adapter, if it says unknown in the BIOS then its a motherboard failure.

Thank you

Royan

What BIOS version do you have. Hit F2 at boot to enter the BIOS to see what version you have.

1.Follow DELL-Royan's advice

2.If you still have no solution to your problem and start thinking of throwing away your laptop visit

www.laptop-junction.com/.../inside-dell-ac-power-adapter-mystery-revealed

Thanks everyone for the replies.  I pushed F2 to go into the setup, but instead of going there, it gave me the message about the AC adapter.  With the battery I was using, the battery light on the hinge continuously flashes three times in orange, then once in green while the laptop was plugged in.  I switched batteries, and with the new battery, the battery light does not illuminate at all until I wiggle the AC adapter plug in the laptop over and over again, at which point it will light up in green, and I can then power the system on and not get the message.  When I did this and pressed F2 to successfully go to the setup screen, it said AC Adapter = 130 W.  As for the BIOS version, it says BIOS Version = A06 (04/02/2007).

The DC Input jack is broken or the power brick has a break in the cable for the tiny center pin.

I have a similar problem. 

After power jack replacement, Dell XPS gives this error message: The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. The system can only boot with a 130 W power adapter or greater. Strike the F1 key to shutdown.

I had about the same problem except it said "AC Adapter type cannot be determined and the battery will not charge. This was the same adapter it came with and never had any problems with this before. I unplugged and took out the battery twice like Dell recommended. I updated the BIOS. In the BIOS it said the adapter type could not be determined. None of that changed anything. Then about two hours later I unplugged it and plugged it back and it worked. I have no idea why it decided to start working again.

I have a Dell xps m1730 with this problem. The first time it happened they sent a Computer tech to my home to supposedly replace motherboard & power cord. When he got here he asked if I had recently updated the graphics card. I said yes I had. He rolled back the graphics card & no more error happening. Graphics card is aNvidia  Geforce 8700.

Lately my laptop went to Dell to get fixed. It came back with new fans & a video card which is now Geforce 8700 gt x 2. I play world of warcraft & it just wouldnt play the game well at all. All video options in the wow game are set to either low or disabled. This morning the laptop barely boots up. Windows error telling me my graphics card drivers are somehow effecting my laptop & making it load up slow. So I go to Nvdiea & get the latest drivers for the graphics card. Everything installs nice but on reboot I get that old error I had 2 years ago about AC power adaptor. |Battery is now not charging at all. So I roll back drivers & now no more error of the AC power but I still have slow loadup & wow game is not running great. Funny thing is that its games like WoW & Rift with such intense graphics that just do not run well on my laptop at all but most other games are just fine.

If asked I would say to never buy a Dell laptop again. 3 years of it being fixed over & over. 1 hard drive, 1 motherboard, 2 adaptors, 3 video graphics card & countless phone calls to Dell is just not worth the headache. My hubby puurchased an Alien through Dell & he hasnt had the problems that I have had but since latest patches in the WoW game he now has to turn his graphics in the game down also. His card is also an Nvidia graphics card,,imo these cards just suck when it comes to online gaming. I have not had anyone who has onein their laptop  say they play the game on the top graphic settings in WoW.

The laptop heats up so bad (& has from the day one) you cant touch the left hand side top of the keyboard. Plus so does the adaptor itself,,severely hot! I had a 3 year warrenty which is now gone. Dell wants to sell me another year of warrenty but with 2 different agents trying to sell it to me I got 2 different prices. I turned around & put that 300 bucks toward a decent HP desktop & it runs WoW way better then either of our laptops.

So there's no registry hack or anything I can do to bypass this issue?  When I plug in the AC adapter, the system obviously has power, but unless I wiggle it repeatedly until the battery light on the hinge illuminates in green (and it keeps getting worse and worse... now takes over a minute of wiggling on average), I get this error and the laptop will not allow me to start Windows.

i have face same problem with everybody with "the ac adopter type cannot be determined" my laptop is Dell Studio XPS 16-1640 16" HD Laptop BLACK it seems no solution with this problem or a correct technical suggestion to overcome this problem especially from DELL manufacturer itself, what is wrong with this people?

Try a new Dell adapter.  If that doesn't solve the problem, the system needs an internal repair (on this model as I recall, the power jack is cabled to the system board - replace the power jack).

Cheapest eBay one I could find was $50. Either way this one i bought now has already outlasted the Dell one

The genuine Dell power adapters generally cost between $30 and 40.

www.parts-people.com/index.php

I bought a Chinese knockoff off eBay and it works great... $30 too instead of the $100-something Dell wants to charge you for a sub-par charger. In fact, I would call it a Chinese knock-UP!