laptop battery issue
 

dell inspiron 600m with a brand new genuine dell battery. computer doesn't recognize a battery is in there and will only operate on ac power. wtf :|

Doesnt look good if your not still under warranty.

http://en.community.dell.com/support.../16881317.aspx

I had the same issue with an older Dell laptop. Turned out to be the battery/AC controller card. I was able to find a replacement on Ebay fairly cheap. Wasn't too hard to replace either.

Battery is probably old and shot from too many charges.

:lol:

Reading FTW. My bad. It's a knee jerk response from dealing with them at work.

I don't blame you WBT, that seems to be the case with my current laptop.

that blows :-x

do you have a link to what it would be or how i can find the correct one? i'm pretty newb at computer organs. thanks 8-)

I looked around last night and wasn't able to find much for that model. My old laptop had a Battery Controller Card, I'm not sure but it looks like they made that part of the motherboard on the newer models.

There were motherboards for your model on Ebay, and if you search on the Dell support page they have detailed replacement procedures.

cool i'll check that out. i saw on the help forum that people recommend reinstalling the BIOS so i downloaded it and try to run it but i get an error message saying make sure the ac adapter and battery are plugged in then click continue. i guess i'm SOL there?

Look in the BIOS install README file. Should have instructions on how to force the update regardless of power status.

- Justin

so i have to put the file i downloaded on a floppy? cause i only have a disc drive? or can it be written to a cd?

You should be able to run the BIOS update from windows.

Can you get past the error for the battery when you try to update? Some laptops require an operational battery to prevent damage to the BIOS ROM. If you lose power while it is trying to update it may fry the chip, I've had it happen on some older computers.

some good info here http://www.bay-wolf.com/bios.htm . There is a DOS command on that page that will force the update regardless of the battery. Just make sure you have a stable power source.

yup, we were talking about it in chat last night. i was downloading the one program to write the cd correctly but i fell asleep :lol: i'll give it a go later today. the ac adapter has worked flawlessly for years.

i got the BIOS to update to A17 last night, nothing changed :(

Time for a new laptop or new MB.

ya i just wanted to bring it on vacation. oh wells!