Attempting to prolong laptops life

[aeons]

Hello,
Okay I am trying to elongate the life of my Dell Latitude C510/C610. The problem is that it keeps powering off in a manner I can't seem to lock down. The battery has been dead for a long time. So I run it off AC power, it seems like if I move it it powers off, it has become so touchy i basically am afraid to move it. I think the problem has to be the connection of the power cord to the power input. I guess what I don't know is, what if anything can I do about it?
Cheers.

 

[Alvin.C]

Hello,

As you thought, perhaps the power cable is damaged (maybe there's a break somewhere inside the cable), in which case a new power supply should fix the problem.

Another possibility is that the power socket on your laptop is damaged. Take a close look and see if any metal contacts are loose. If this is the case, then the solution would be to replace the motherboard (which is costly), or resolder a new power socket onto the motherboard (which is difficult).

 

[SapperX]

There is a very good chance the power port on your laptop is damaged. If you are skilled in soldering this is no problem, I wasn't when this happened to me. I had this exact situation and ended up dropping $500 on a new motherboard since eventually the port went completely out.

 

[aeons]

Thanks for the prompt reply guys! @sapper: I don't think I'm brave enough to take a soldering iron to my laptop, perhaps when/if I get a backup I guess in the mean-time I'll just be ultra-gentle with it.

 

[KurrentEweser]

Just for the heck of it try another AC adapter.