Avoid exposing the Dell Vostro 1000Laptop Chargerto prolonged periods of extreme heat or cold. Doing so could damage the internal circuitry and prevent it from working. Always wrap up the AC cord tightly when traveling, and avoid any contact with other metallic devices, like coins, pens or paperclips. These could accidentally short-circuit the adapter by causing an connection of the positive an negative terminals, for example, when bouncing around in a bag.