Laptop power adapter..UPDATE!!!

[iamsavedru]

A couple months ago I posted and asked if any one had any ideas as to why my Compaq nc6220 kept going through so many power/charging adapters.
It was suggested that it could be the battery and for me to remove the battery and just use the cord.
The cord is no longer powering my laptop.

Any other ideas?
Is is possible to obtain a cord without the charger and just use that?

Please help!
Thanks!

 

[MindoverMaster]

I had to read that twice. I thought you said "The cord is no longer charging your computer"

Your laptop's power port can be bad. Unless you are good with a solder gun, I would not recommend it.

 

[iamsavedru]

So it is possible for power port to work for a month or two, then not work, and work again when using a brand new power adapter, then quit working again..and so on?

 

[FoxMcCarther]

What are the conditions you are keeping your power adapter in? Are you moving it around every day, or do you just leave it at your desk. Also, how often are you using it, is it your primary computer meaning it gets used frequently every day?

I think what he means by a bad power port is it is not working as it should, not that it is not working at all. I don't think that is it, but it could be.

Also, you can not just use the cord. The brick on the cord is actually the power supply.

My guess is what is happening is one of two things
1. you are using it (the laptop) and it (brick on the cord) is simply overheating which is why it goes bad after a few months and stops charging you laptop. (The power supply can get very hot with much stress on them.
2. with allot of movement, you could be shaking something up or loosening the connections.

If you are proficient in soldering, you can do your own repairs easy enough, start off by checking the cord heads themselves, make sure they are firmly connected. Next crack open the brick and look for anything out of the ordinary (burn marks, bloated capacitors, blown resistors, anything that does not belong). That said, if you are not proficient and you mess up or cross connect anything, you may endanger your laptop so... This is probably not the best place to learn if you are not. That said, if you do buy a new one, crack open the old one and scope it out, could be fun.

 

[iamsavedru]

I don't solder. I do get what you are saying. The (brick) does get hot. Laptop does get moved around a lot. As in it is closed and leaning against a wall when not in use, with the power plug unplugged from it. When in use, I set it upon the floor on it's side, while opened. I am frequently getting up and down.

The cooling fan does work.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[FoxMcCarther]

I did not mean movement of the laptop as much as I meant movement of the power supply, however you seem to have got my meaning about the overheating, and I honestly find that most likely.

One thing you can do to reduce stress on the power supply is when you don't need all the power of you laptop, turn down the settings a bit, limit the processor, or turn down the screen brightness, anything that will reduce a bit of power being drawn should keep the brick a bit cooler in the future, generally speaking, more power = more heat.

Sorry I could not offer you a fix, but that advice should extend the life of your next adapter.

 

[MindoverMaster]

The above does save battery life, in the same way it does not take as much power to run.