Tag Archives: dell ac adapter

laptop AC adapter not recognized

Every time I turn on my Dell Inspiron 15R 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 130W AC adapter or greater for the best system performance.”

I don’t know why I am getting this message since:

– I am using the 130W Dell AC adapter that came with the laptop

– The adapter is charging the battery properly

– The green light on the Dell DA130PE1-00 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.

Solution:

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 laptop power ac adapter to see if that works fine with the system.

Do you see light on Dell AC Adapter? If yes, please follow the below steps:

Please check the status of the AC Adapter in BIOS:

Restart the system and keep tapping ‘F2’ as soon as the Dell logo appears.

Under ‘System’, go to ‘Device Info’.

Check the status of Dell Xps L702X Adapter.

Note: Use arrow keys to navigate in BIOS.

Also, check the battery health in BIOS:

Go to ‘System’ and go to ‘Battery Info’ and also check ‘Battery Health’.

Also, boot the system in Windows and place the cursor on the battery icon on the right bottom corner of the system and it will show either of the messages:

Plugged in, charging.

Plugged in, not charging.

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 Dell XPS 15 L502x 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.

Click on the above link.

Click on ‘Download Now’.

Select “Single-file Download” and click on “Continue”.

Click on “Run” and follow the on screen instructions.

Keep me updated. Please reply for any further questions.

Difference Between PA-10 and PA-12 dell ac adapter

What is the difference between these two Dell AC Adapters chargers?/?

Which one of these two Dell AC Adapters (chargers) is more powerful:

1) PA-10 Family, maxima output power: 90W

2) PA-12 Family, 65W AC Adapter

Also, what is the difference in power and/or speed between the two adapters? Is it better to have a stronger powered one, or not?

see laptops come with different types of batteries

most of the laptops have a 3 cell(net top) to 6 cell (normal laptops)

these laptop charge with the 65W adapters

they may damage using 90W adapters

(actually batteries get heated when they are charged so a low cell battery when charged With higher power Adaptor may get heated faster therefore reducing its life)

90W Adaptor is good if your laptop have a 6 cell or above battery

even dell gives you option to upgrade the Adaptor unlike most manufacturers

the 90 W Charger will charge faster but will cost more

there are higher end laptops like the XPS series in dell

or Alienware laptops most of them come with 9 or 12 cell battery

these battery will take ages if you charge them with 65w Adaptor

so a 90W or higher rating Adaptor is recommended to use with them

see adapters have transformers and special circuits whose price increase with power rating

so they cost more with more power rating

if you are a gamer it is highly recommended for you to go for a higher rated Adaptor so that your battery charges quickly even if you are running system heavy applications because they drain more power

the real battery damage is the voltage rating of an Adaptor

the battery is supposed to be charged at certain voltage

so if you take other Adaptor for charging it could drastically reduce your battery life if its voltage rating is low

dell allows you to configure your laptops

it allows you to change the battery type in most of its laptops

like if you are buying a studio or XPS you can change standard 6 cell battery option to 9 cell or more

so you can change the laptop ac Adaptor

a 9 cell battery gives better battery backup than 6 cell

but increases the weight of laptop

If a laptop needs dell PA-12 you can use PA-10 but if a laptop needs dell PA-10 you can not use PA-12. When you use PA-12 on laptops that needs PA-10 it will give a message saying this adapter is not suitable press F1 to continue and also it gives a message stating that if you do not want to see this message press F2, but it takes long time to charge like

that and it works well without any issue.

Both the 90Watts (PA-10) and 65Watts (PA-12) Power Adapters will work for most of Dell’s recent notebooks. The PA-10/12 will work with notebooks such as 8500, 8600, M60, M70, D600, D610, 9200, 9300, 6000, 600m and 700m. It is true that the dell PA-10 ac adapter will charge the batteries faster than the PA-12 with these laptops.

Both PA10 & PA12 Chargers are used with Most Dell Latitude, Dell Inspiron, Xps, Dimension laptops and notebooks.