M1330 AC Adapter = {none} in Bios?

Presumably a new Dell adapter was tried -- if not, that should have been the first thing done.  If it wasn't done, try that. 

If the adapter is OK, and  replacing the jack didn't fix the problem, the fault lies elsewhere - probably with the charging circuit -- for which the only fix is a replacement system board.

It looks like the adapter is not even recognized in BIOS and it doesn't turn on with just the battery (please clarify).  It could be:

- The wall outlet

- the power strip (if applicable)

- The power cord

- The A/C adapter (for troubleshooting purpose, I consider the A/C adapter and power cord as a unit)

- The DC-in Connector

- the motherboard

==> All of these could cause the problem

It looks like it is not even powering on if you just have A/C adapter, if that is the case, it could be anything that interrups the power circuit from the wall to the board.

It is not the power button because with battery it turns on.

Note the following:

- These are issues where one failed component kills the whole system -- troubleshoot accordingly.

- You don't know what the issue is UNTIL it is fixed - known good replacements are your friend.  DO NOT PAY FOR A BATTERY OR A/C ADAPTER UNTIL YOU FIND A KNOWN GOOD REPLACEMENT THAT FIXES YOUR PROBLEM.  System message from the OS, mean little.  If you don't have a known good replacement, find them -- it is the only reliable way to know.

- I see so many people call their vendor to say 'My battery is not charging, give me a replacement!" when the battery is not the problem.  Since the battery is a consumable and only warrantied for a year.  I see so many people say "My computer is not turning on, send me a A/C adapter" when that is not the problem.  

Did you actually try a different power adapter as ejn63 suggested? If you only assume the power adapter is OK because it can power the laptop you can be thoroughly mistaken.

3 adapters actually...... so I'm sure thats not it

Yeah I'm thinking its probably the motherboard that needs replacement. to clarify the computer does power on and work with the battery (I have an external charger so I charged it) Battery works fine as well as the functions of the computer. Its the AC adapter that wont charge the battery or provide the computer with power. Its not an unknown ac adapter issue, it shows up as "none" when its plugged in. I know the AC adapter is good so again that probably means its a motherboard issue, I was just hoping otherwise....

I assume all power adapters were 100%(!) Dell compatible

Did you personally check the soldering of the power jack ? Even though I am quite good at handling a soldering iron I still make mistakes and it is quite easy to overlook a tiny copper track.I hope that the "professional" realized that he had to solder 3 power jack pins and not just 2....

You might also try updating the BIOS before you want to replace the mainboard.

Yeah I know what you mean by "professional" there are alot of them... but this particular person does this for a living with a big company, also I've seen the work personally, I can't tell the difference on an OEM board vs her work. As for the BIOS update I tried that, it wouldnt let me update without having an AC Adapter plugged in...... I tried to bybass this in CMD with the "/forceit" command, but when the computer reboots I get "the BIOS update could not be performed because the ac adapter was not installed"

If you have also used a continuity tester to verify the electrical connection of the power jack then I guess you have to replace the mainboard.It's hard for me to accept a faulty chip under normal circumstances.The only possibility I can imagine that could damage a chip would be a faulty cable of the power adapter: If "plus" of the 19V connects to the ID wire (due to a bad cable) .....

Anyway - hope you find a cheap board