subject: Dell Inspiron 1420 Battery, Question With Inspiron 1420 Battery [print this page] Question:"Dell inspirion 1420 battery not charging adapter not recognized?!? dell inspiron 1420 battery isn't charging.. everytime i try to plug it in i get the message "The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. Your system will run slower and the battery will not charge..." I don't know what to do? My laptop battery is at like 0% so when the charger comes off accidentally my laptop shuts off. I called dell and the guy was a dick. "
Solution:"
I believe your problem is the laptop ac adapter because Dell has a build in mechanism to make sure the adapter is Dell before allowing it to charge the battery. However, even if the charger is Dell, if the identifier chip inside the adapter is broken, the laptop would refuse to recognize the adapter and stop charging. It seems that your laptop was starting to have the problem when it shows you the message that ac adapter cannot be recognized.
You can follow this Dell's troubleshooting guide to try to get the laptop to recognize the ac adapter. However, it may not work for your laptop because the guide is outdated.
If the troubleshooting does not work, most likely, you will have to buy a new dell 1420 ac adapter. However, before you buy a new ac adapter, borrow someone else's adapter to make sure it will charge the laptop and that is the problem for sure. I wouldn't want you to waste money on a part that is not necessary.
