<p>There have been some good threads on buying laptops and on security programs. I wondered if someone could give me some advice. </p>
<p>When I went on-line to search for a new laptop battery, I found a “battery recharger” marketed by one company which supposedly works with my laptop. I thought that the battery just automatically recharged when you plugged in the computer to power. It does say “plugged in, charging” when it’s working. Is the “battery recharger” a good thing? Do they work? </p>
<p>I have a low-end Toshiba laptop, purchased about 3 years ago. The power cord died. I ordered a cheap replacement through Amazon. The replacement cord worked about 3 months. It died. I shipped it back–at my expense–and got a replacement. This one now has died. They are sending me a new one–didn’t wait til I mailed it back this time. </p>
<p>I thought I should buy a new battery. Maybe it’s the problem. I’ve gone ahead and purchased a cheap replacement battery. Maybe that’s a mistake. But do battery rechargers work? </p>
<p>If I paid Toshiba for a new battery and new power cord it would be about half the cost of a brand new computer. </p>
<p>I took the laptop to Staples. The kid said that the power cord for one of the Toshibas on the floor would fit. It did. He plugged it in and the laptop powered up, so the computer itself is fine. A Staples brand power cord would be MORE money than the Toshiba, so that’s out. But at least I know it’s not the computer himself. He said that he couldn’t check the battery for me because Staples didn’t have a battery that would fit in stock. (He didn’t charge me anything, so I’m not complaining.) </p>
<p>The last time the computer worked, it at first said “plugged in, charging.” Then it said “plugged in, not charging.” Does that mean it is the battery?</p>
<p>I get all my stuff like this on eBay. You can search by the brand and model number of your laptop and get a power supply for probably less than $15 (shipping included).</p>
<p>Make sure the voltage and wattage match your original adapter, it’s not enough that the connector fits because many different laptops use the same connector.</p>
<p>If the battery is trashed (or it is just worn out and won’t hold a charge) you can get one of those on eBay for around $40, maybe a little more.</p>
<p>I feel dumb. A “battery charger” is the same thing as the “AC adaptor.” I did try ebay and learned that by looking at them. So, one issue resolved.</p>
<p>Again, though, if the battery is the problem, will trying to recharge it with the power cord/AC adaptor going to short out the power cord? Or is it okay to plug in the computer with the AC adaptor, even if the battery is dead?</p>
<p>^^ It should be okay but it really depends on the design of the charging circuit. Are you saying your battery is dead? If so, get a new battery (usually not from the manufacturer unless you want to pay more) since you probably want it to operate on battery anyway. If you don’t care about it operating on the battery just remove the battery and run only on the AC adapter. If your battery is dead and won’t accept a charge I think you should do one of the above, either replace it or remove it entirely, just in case that laptop has a problem in its charging circuit where a dead battery, perhaps with a shorted cell, can break the adapter as it seems you’ve been experiencing.</p>
<p>I know I must “sound” like an idiot, but I don’t know whether the battery is dead and don’t know how to test it to see. The computer won’t work at all. I took it to a Staples as I said above, and the clerk used the power cord from another Toshiba laptop on the selling floor which worked. The computer turned on and started to boot up, so the Staples guy said the computer itself was fine. The AC adaptor is definitely gone. The company I bought it from is sending me a new one, as it is still within warrantly.</p>
<p>The Staples guy said he couldn’t test the battery because it doesn’t fit in any other Toshiba laptop he had on the floor. </p>
<p>When the new AC adaptor comes, I can run the computer without the battery. </p>
<p>But if I plug the AC adaptor into the wall and into the computer with the battery in and the battery is in fact dead, will it just blow out yet another power cord? If I understand what UC dad is saying, that’s possible. So, is the only way to find out that’s what’s going on to buy a new battery? Or is there some way to tell whether the battery is dead and can’t be recharged without risking blowing out the power cord? </p>
<p>As I said, the last message I got before everything went black was “plugged in, not charging” which makes me think it might be the battery. On the other hand, the AC adaptor then went completely dead, so it might be the AC adaptor. I just don’t know. </p>
<p>I guess the bottom line is that I don’t know how to test the battery to see if it’s okay or I need a new one without running the risk I blow yet another AC adaptor. </p>
<p>The original AC adaptor from Toshiba–which no longer makes that model–lasted a bit less than 2 years. The replacement worked 3 months. The next replacement worked about 36 hours. Awaiting the arrival of the FOURTH AC adaptor. Don’t want to blow it out if in fact it’s the battery that’s doing it. </p>
<p>Thanks for your help–at least I know I can run it without the battery so I can get my stuff off it. (Of course, I didn’t back up everything.)</p>
<p>After you had the last one or two adapters and had it plugged in for a few hours did you try to run the laptop on the battery or did you only try it plugged in until the adapter eventually failed? The battery should charge enough in a few hours to power the laptop for a bit. If you think you tried this and it would never work unless plugged in then I’d say the battery has probably failed (I’m using a different term than ‘dead’ which can sometimes mean simply out of charge but still good). If you never tried it then the only way to know is to charge the battery a bit from the adapter and see if it charges up in a few hours. </p>
<p>OTOH it’s unusual for even one adapter to fail let alone 3 in a short timeframe. Given that, and if you want to run your laptop on battery power sometimes, I think you may as well get a new battery. If your battery is over 2 years old it probably needs to be replaced anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ve ordered a new cheap battery through Amazon. It will be a while though before I get it, so I guess I’ll take the battery out and run it plugged in until the new one comes. That is once I get the new power cord. </p>
<p>When the first power cord failed, I took it to an authorized seller of Toshiba parts–two different ones–and they both said it was just the power cord. But then the second power cord died in 3 months–so I kind of wondered. During that 3 months, I did use the computer multiple times on battery power and there didn’t seem to be a problem. </p>
<p>So, I figured I just had bad luck and ordered a replacement. That power cord only lasted 36 hours. I’m not sure, but I don’t think I ran it on battery only power during that 36 hours. </p>
<p>Toshiba doesn’t make the original AC adaptor any more. The replacement adaptor had 50+ comments and a rating of 2.x out of 5 on Toshiba’s own site–LOTS of folks said they were on their second or third adaptor. And the Toshiba adaptor is $90. It’s warranted for less time that the cheaper one I bought. </p>
<p>Next time I buy a laptop, I’m going to pay a LOT more attention to the cost of replacement parts, especially the adaptor and battery! But I’m hoping I can get a couple more years out of this one. I use it mostly for my hobby.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for your help. I genuinely appreciate it.</p>