<p>My 5 year old Dell D505 that I inherited from my D is on the blink. Does anyone have suggestions for a good cheap laptop? I mostly just use it to surf the internet while my hubby watches tv in the evenings- but I do want to be able to watch DVDs on it.
Has anyone else had this problem with Dell- even with a new battery, the AC adapter wont charge the battery- so the battery just runs out. To get it fixed, I have to pay a ridiculous amount, so just thinking of buying new!</p>
<p>It’s conceivable that the charging transformer itself is the culprit. A direct Dell replacement is probably expensive, but in most cases these chargers are interchangeable and somewhat generic.</p>
<p>Most have identifying spec info molded or labeled on the underside. This identifies the voltage output, and the pin polarity requirements for the application, or can be looked up in the tech product spec side of Dell’s website. A generic can normally be had for far less cost than an OEM replacement, but the voltage & polarity MUST match.</p>
<p>Bring the adapter unit to a local computer/electronic outlet and a knowledgeable techie can recommend a replacement. Will still be cheaper than a OEM, or buying a new laptop.</p>
<p>Thanks, Violadad! I have been thru two new adapters from Dell- both have been sent back to them- and they worked fine on other laptops.</p>
<p>My daughter’s Dell would not keep her battery charged as she has a short I believe in the connection on the computer side. As she was still under warranty, we were able to have the part replaced. As she has had many repairs on her laptop I can not remember which part this was, but for some reason I think the adapter might plug into the edge of the motherboard. I could be really wrong about that as like I said, we have had many repairs on her laptop, including 2 or 3 motherboards, 2 hard drives, one screen, as well as other repairs. Boy am I glad I got the extended warranty on her laptop!!</p>
<p>She is so looking forward to getting her Macbook for graduation. </p>
<p>Have you noticed if your battery shows it is charging at all when you plug the adapter in? What about when you wiggle the connection? If a new battery and new adapter do not work, I would guess it is your connection on the laptop itself.</p>
<p>To add to violadad, you can also search out the local little-guy computer repair shops and custom build shops . The ones around here wind up owning leftover power packs. We found one for D’s Dell pretty easily.</p>
<p>I recently got an email from Toshiba offering laptops nicer than mine (though probably still not cutting edge!) for under $500!</p>
<p>Thanks for that tip, Somemom! And for everyone else’s suggestions!
I think I am leaning toward a new laptop in that general price range- anyone have any models they particularly like?</p>
<p>My daughter’s laptop was doing something weird like that and she took it to the computer guys at Best Buy to look at it. They were able to do some quick reset thing to it free of charge and it works fine. If you haven’t actually had someone look at it yet that might be worth a shot. Good luck.</p>
<p>My H bought our younger D (14 yrs old) a new Toshiba laptop for Christmas that was less than $500 including the tax and has turned out to be very nice. Older D has the Macbook, but she does all her music (vocal), pictures and videos on here, but she is a wiz on the computer.</p>
<p>Younger D just needed one to do papers on, surf the internet and watch movies on. The Toshiba we got for her is not super small because it has a nice screen, but it is working out great for her needs and when she goes to bed at night then mom can use it!</p>
<p>Try going to the Dell website and find trouble-shooting. My husband was having the same trouble with his HP and was told over the phone how to fix it with a few simple setting changes. Now he knows what to do. I don’t think this is an uncommon problem. Google sends me to a Dell page with things to try, software setting-wise.</p>
<p>I had a Dell laptop where the AC adapter wouldn’t work when plugged into the laptop - i.e. it wouldn’t charge the battery or power the laptop yet the laptop and same AC adapter worked fine when the laptop was in a docking station. There was clearly something wrong with either the physical power adapter jack on the computer or its path to the other components. I just used the docking station until it was about time to get a new laptop to go to a new generation. I could even use the docking station while on my lap since I used it only to power the laptop rather than to plug external components into. So, here are some options - </p>
<ul>
<li><p>See if a docking station will power your laptop and recharge the battery. It’s best to borrow one for this test if possible. If it does, then you can probably purchase one for an older laptop on eBay for next to nothing.</p></li>
<li><p>Have a small computer repair place, like one curm describes, take a look at it. Before doing so, make sure you have all your data backed up in case they do something they shouldn’t to the hard drive, and make sure there’s no personal data they can get access to. Also make sure they give you a reasonable estimate up front since it’s not worth sinking much money into.</p></li>
<li><p>Almost any part for this laptop, including a whole motherboard, should be available at low cost from eBay or other online companies. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s 5 years old so consider just replacing it with a new one. There are some great deals available and since your requirements aren’t great, you should be able to get a low-end unit that’s still better than your old one. Look for good deals from Dell on something like their Vostro line (google ‘Dell coupons’ to get some good deals direct from Dell), any deals your kid’s college might have, or that the other major players might have - HP, Lenovo.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>One issue I had with buying a new PC is that you can’t get one without Vista - or so I thought. My office desktop was going out and I was dreading replacing it with a new machine with Vista, getting all new software and trying to make it work right, etc. (Been through that with two other machines in the family. Didn’t like it.) But I found a solution which might work for you, too. </p>
<p>I bought a “netbook” from Acer which is still licensed to be sold with XP. Cost under $300, and weighs about 2 pounds. Of course, the screen is only 9", but you can plug a regular monitor into it. (19 inch flatscreens are available for about $100 to $120 around here.) Pre-Vista software (i.e. the stuff you’re already used to working with) is readily available on-line, and cheap. (I hate Office 2007 with a passion, so being able to use the 2003 version was worth the price of the machine right there.) Now I take my Acer with me everywhere I go. I use it as my main office machine with a monitor, keyboard, mouse and external hard drive all plugged into it, then take it home, and read my e-mail with my morning coffee at the breakfast table. </p>
<p>And no Vista. :D</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone for all the great advice! I will check out all my options you all have given me. I had never even heard of a docking station, that’s a good idea.
All the laptop suggestions were nice too!</p>
<p>my current laptop is a Dell, full feature, from a pawn shop. 
Previous owner, “Dads Computer”</p>
<p>kluge…i hate vista too so the Acer netbook is an interesting alternative. I currently use a 3 year old Dell laptop plugged into a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I rarely take my laptop anywhere because it’s too big and heavy.
Do you absolutely need a hard drive plugged in? Don’t they sell the Acers with decent size hard drives? Are there any down sides to this approach? Seems like a great idea…</p>
<p>I have an HP mini and a teeny (in size) thumb drive plugged into a USB slot. I have my word processing program on that thumb drive and so keep any documents on that thumb drive.</p>
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<p>A lot of the Netbooks and other smaller laptops don’t have a built-in DVD drive which I think the OP wants to have in order to watch movies on it.</p>
<p>Some Dell laptops still come with XP (we ordered one last week at work). I love the new Word and PowerPoint, but can’t stand the new Excel. Unfortunately, I do not know how much Dell chages for those XP-running machines, since I do not work in the IT department.</p>