Dock shuts off when plugging in laptop

Just a follow-up. I plugged in the laptop into a different dock (a known working dock) and the same thing happened - as soon as I plugged it in, the dock light went off and I couldn't turn the computer on. So, I think you are right, it is something to do with the laptop and not the dock. Right now the user is just using the laptop without the dock and we got a usb hub for him to plug in a keyboard, mouse and printer. I'm still curious if the connection on the laptop can be fixed or if the motherboard will need to be replaced.

So apparently I am not the only one with this issue.  It started a week ago, and I have tried numerous workarounds.  For a while, I could start the laptop on battery (undocked) and then attach it to the dock, at which time the dock "recognized" the laptop.  Now, however, even that doesn't work - after numerous attempts at docking and undocking, booting and rebooting, etc.  I suspect there is an issue with the connector in the base of the laptop.  Has anyone else (other than Cold_Drink and me) experienced this?  And have you found a solution?

It ended up being a physical problem with the dock connector on the laptop. We had the motherboard replaced and all is good again.