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PC not recognizing AC adapter although it is working well.
Every time I turn on my Dell Inspiron N5010 laptop, I get the following message:
"The AC adapter wattage and type cannot be determined. The battery may not charge. The system will adjust the performance to match the power available. Please connect a Dell 65W AC adapter or greater for the best system performance."
I don't know why I am getting this message since:
- I am using the 65W Dell AC adapter that came with the laptop
- The adapter is charging the battery properly
- The green light on the adapter stays on all the time when in use
- The port connection is fine
So, other than this annoying error message, everything seems to be working fine.
Should I just ignore it ? If not, what else do you recommend I do ?
DELL-Roshan L
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June 26th, 2012 07:00
Hi lsavinon,
Welcome to the Community,
Since you're conforming the battery is charging fine and Adapter light always stays on,try going to BIOS (Tap F2 at start up),check under the Main screen if AC adapter is getting detected normally(if it shows 65 watt adapter).
If it shows 65 watt and if you want to get rid of that error message on start up,in BIOS go to Advanced tab,find Adapter warning and disable it.
Note:Once you disable this setting for adapter warning,in future if there is a real problem with the adapter,system will not warn you about any such problem.
Thank You
DELL-Vikram M
1.1K Posts
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November 15th, 2012 23:00
Hi Sophie,
Please share the exact error message that you are getting from the system. Please check if the charging port on the laptop is loose. Connect an alternate ac adapter to see if that works fine with the system.
Do you see light on AC Adapter? If yes, please follow the below steps:
Please check the status of the AC Adapter in BIOS:
If you are getting 'Plugged in, not charging' message, I will recommend you to update the BIOS:
Please find the link for BIOS update: http://dell.to/SEKdFG
Note: The ac adapter should be connected and the battery should be at least 10% charged. Please disconnect all the external devices connected to the system before updating the BIOS. Please save all the unsaved data as your system will restart automatically while updating the BIOS.
Keep me updated. Please reply for any further questions.
sophiebell
1 Message
1
November 15th, 2012 23:00
Hello,
I have the same issue as Isavinon, but it doesn't appear to be charging. My laptop is a Dell Studio 1535. I have never had an issue with charging or the adaptor before. This happened when I turned on the laptop for the first time after not using it for 3 weeks..? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Sophie
narissamf24
2 Posts
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March 22nd, 2013 10:00
Hi,
I have the same problem where it says the Dell 65W AC Power Adapter cannot be determined even though my adapter is a Del 65W Power Adapter and the little green light is on and on the battery icon it says plugged in not charging. The battery health said normal but that the long-term life was decreasing. I have an Inspiron 1420.
When I went to BIOS it said the ac adapter type was unrecognized device installed. I tried to update the BIOS on the link but it said "Running on an unsupported system!" and only gave me the option to cancel.
What should I do?
Narissa
ejn63
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March 22nd, 2013 12:00
Try a new Dell OEM adapter. If that doesn't solve the problem, the power jack or mainboard needs to be replaced.
narissamf24
2 Posts
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March 22nd, 2013 16:00
OK. Thanks
aatishsaraf
1 Message
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May 17th, 2013 01:00
Hi Roshan,
Thank you so much for your reply. I have been facing the same problem, I received a 65 W adapter for my Inspiron 5421 and every time I plug the adapter it gives me the warning.
I specifically have 2 questions :
1. What is the standard wattages adapters given out with an Inspiron 5421. The reason why I am asking is that I got this laptop from the dell store which was in display (as my choice of color for the laptop was on available online) and may be by mistake they gave me the wrong one
2. Incase 65 W adapters are given away, does this reduce the battery life (funny if you would say yes, because I just bought this laptop 2 weeks back). So is it suggested that I invest again and buy may be a 90 W AC adapter ?
Thank you so much for your help
Aatish
DELL-Roshan L
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May 17th, 2013 03:00
Hi Aatish,
Welcome to the Community,
System model Inspiron 5421 is offered with 65 watt and 90 watt AC adapter.If you're system came with 65 watt adapter you need not switch to 90 watt adapter.65 watt adapter will work on your system and it does not reduce the battery life.
Did you check in BIOS (tap F2 on start up,Dell logo),if the AC adapter is getting recognized normally(as 65 watt) or does it show "Unknown"?
Also on the BIOS screen check and post back the BIOS version.
Thank You
speedstep
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July 8th, 2013 09:00
If a new adapter does not fix this then the motherboard may need to be replaced.
Non Dell Adapters will say Unknown and may run the unit but will not charge the battery.
I would not recommend an adapter for the N7110 less than 130W.
Dell P/N: PA-13 PA-4E FAMILY 130 watt 19.5V 6.7A
kygreen24
1 Message
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July 8th, 2013 09:00
I am having the same issue but with an Inspiron N7110.
When I go to Bios - the AC adapter is unknown. How do I fix this?
MicroTest
934 Posts
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July 8th, 2013 10:00
...and additionally to SpeedSteps advice you may want to test the power jack first before replacing the mainboard.
Inspiron N7110 DC power jack:
dslomer64
18 Posts
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July 11th, 2013 16:00
I've had an Inspiron N7110 since 11/11/11 and within a week, I had the message about wrong adapter. Dell wanted to replace mobo. No way.
I finally decided to restore to a prior restore point; problem vanished. Luck? Doubt it. Windows autoupdate was going on at 3am or whatever and I assumed that power went to 0% or close enough to abort update. Just a hunch; anyway, problem solved.
Today, same problem. This time I decided to try Safe Mode--you know, start Windows with MINIMAL driver support. After waiting to see if battery was charging, 14% was reported. (I assume THAT driver, if applicable, was loaded and that this wasn't just nonsense.) I then shut down. No further problem.
In BOTH cases, the battery was at or nearly at 0% (3% today).
So DON'T just run out and start replacing things until you try to see if just maybe whatever Dell added to Windows to "check" the battery condition is at fault.
I wouldn't even replace BIOS.
And for heaven's sake DON'T select "ignore battery warnings" in BIOS or allow the Dell message to convince you to agree to quit seeing these messages. You WANT to see that there is or isn't a problem.
Disclaimer: the above is just what MY experience has told me. Anyway, same hardware, problem occurs every year or so. Just keep battery above 10% and you (and I) will probably never have the problem again.
NOTHING'S WRONG with MY hardware--internal or external. Probably not yours, either.
Battery's now at 74% and charging.
MicroTest
934 Posts
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July 12th, 2013 04:00
@dslomer64
BIOS error messages - like "unknown adapter" - are usually hardware and not Windows/software related.If this message turns up intermittently you have to deal with a "hidden" hardware problem and in your case most likely a loose connection,which in the worst case could mean to have the mainboard replaced unless you know how to handle a soldering iron.
Utkarsh241996
1 Message
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July 17th, 2013 11:00
Respected Sir,
My 90watt adapter is working properly.It's light is glowing all time.But my battery is not responding properly.I don't know what to do.I'm confused.Plz tell me a solution for this.I'm tired of this thing.Plz help.
ejn63
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July 27th, 2013 09:00
No - only the latest one needs to be applied. That said, this is a hardware problem - not a BIOS issue.