Dell Inspiron 90 Watt 2 Wire Adapter Problem

Hi Ron,
I have the Inspiron 1150. (I know it obsolete). The power cord works great. But I heard about the problems. You might also ask Richard why they cost so damn much!

Ron-

I am support analyst at Dell headquarters, and this blog was pointed out to me by Richard to take a look at. He also forwarded your email address on to me, so I’ll ping you there as well.

Firstly, I want to make sure everyone understands that the AC adapter we’re talking about is the same 90-watt adapter in use for most of our notebooks, and has been for over 3 years. As such, any problems with this adapter would not be 1501 specific.

Looking at the comments to the article you posted, the most striking feature about all the people posting is that there seems to be no *one* issue they are complaining about. For example:

Steve (feb17th) notes a problem with his adapter on his c510, which uses a different adapter altogether.

Leona (mar17) stated her AC adapter snapped off in her hand right after purchase. This is an unrelated incident, and should have been covered under warranty.

Martine (mar25) states the lead going into the adapter itself is defective, so that it won’t fit into the brick.

Jen (May23) had several problems with her notebook, the last of which was an adapter malfunction. It is unclear if it is a problem with the onboard socket or the adapter itself.

The comments are a smattering of many different problems. Since this adapter is the 90-watt adapter shipping with all Dell notebooks that require such an adapter, I am sure you can see that millions of these adapters are currently being used in the field. In many cases, when the type of malfunction you note here is happening, it is the result of plugging/unplugging the adapter in at an angle, which sometimes will deform either the socket on the system or the plug itself. Depending upon the damage, either an AC adapter replacement or a motherboard replacement is required.

There is no known systemic problem with these adapters or the 1501. Each case is the result of individual circumstances, as can be demonstrated by those commenting on the other article, and is not Dell specific in scope.

I recently wrote an article for Direct2Dell, showcasing a survey put out by our product engineers to gather information on the way people are using our AC adapters. The goal is to change the design of the product to better meet the needs of those using it. If you’d like to provide feedback to our product designers regarding these adapters, now is a golden opportunity:

Direct2Dell post

I hope this information is helpful, and I welcome any feedback you or your readers may be able to provide.

John
Dell Customer Advocate

Hello,

John (Dell Customer Advocate), I beg to differ. There *does* seem to be a systemic problem with this particular model of power supply (and yes, I do have an Inspiron 1501 - coincidence?)

I’ve had my Inspiron for about six months now and the power supply has just failed in exactly the same was as described by several of the commentators on the other blog post:

http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2006/12/16/dell-inspiron-1501-notebook-computer-ac-adapter-wont-stay-connected/

The problem is that there is no green light on the brick and the mains cable makes a crackling noise when plugged in to the brick or removed.

As I didn’t bother with an extended warranty over the original 3 months, I have ordered a new supply at the astronomical cost of £45 for the unit. (As an aside, I am told that it will take 10 days to ship - lol - 10 days to ship a power supply is hilarious!) I currently have a laptop I cannot use for up to 10 days due to the battery being dead.

With the comments on here, I am expecting the new unit will most likely fail.

How can you argue that there is no systemic failure of these units when so many individuals with these power supply units are claiming that they have failed? The specific comments you cite in your response *are* different to the main two problems (that of (a) the power supply not staying in the laptop and (b) the power supply failing) but equally, there are many comments that are not. The same as my specific problem are:

Owen Barr - July 19, 2007 @ 7:41 pm
rhiannon - August 24, 2007 @ 4:39 pm
Johna - October 15, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
drew - November 9, 2007 @ 6:34 pm
Treeintn - December 1, 2007 @ 1:43 pm

So, have Dell actually conducted any useful investigation into these power supplies? Perhaps determining the number of calls Dell have taken to customer support about these faulty units? What about the number of replacements shipped due to this problem?

Of course, you would claim there is no systemic problem because if there was, a recall would be required which would be expensive for Dell.

Any further comments?

Regards,

Fatman

I have owned my Dell Inspiron E1505 for about a year now and I am about to order my second AC adapter. The first one just quit working one day and the second one shut down but this time it starts beeping once plugged in. The cost is also ridiculous, the cost plus to have it shipped, it is close to $100.

I am also have the same malfunction with the AC power supply on my Inspiron E1705. The green LED goes out, and it begins beeping.

I use my laptop as my home PC, so its doesn’t get moved frequently. I would’ve expected the design to handle a lot more since the entire idea behind a laptop is for them to me mobile.

Also, my battery is also shot now (also a major disappointment), so I need to pretty much be plugged in constantly to use my computer. Now with this power supply failing, I never know when I’m going to be able to use my computer.

Emil

I also beg to differ with John. My second adapter for a Dell Inspiron 5150 has now failed and I am unable to use the computer at all since the battery has completely discharged. The Adapter green light does not come on and the adapter only beeps when I plug it in, The first went bad after about 1 year and now the second adapter has gone bad after one year. Dell has or had a problem with these adapters which they do not want to acknowlege. They need to do right by their customers!

I’m having the same problem with my E1505, the cord developed some exposed wires, which we taped up, and now it’s only working periodically and won’t charge at all. My battery has about a 20 minute life on it, so we have to keep it plugged in pretty much at all times. Luckily, we have two laptops so we can use the other charger for it, but it makes it hard to do our work when you can only use one at a time (and need both).

same problem here, first adaptor went about 3 months ago after two years monderate use. now the second has just given up the ghost. same problem, no green light and a beeping sound…….what to do? like most people i use mine for work and to be out of action for the week it takes to deliver is a nightmare.

any idea if they will replace the adaptor for free seeing as ive only had it 3 months?

So John at Dell how about youy stop avoiding the issue and realise that everyone has the same problem. its time you woke up and smellt the coffee, what you see here is the few people that have found this site and bothered to post on it, the problem im guessing is huge and if you pull up the stats of the numbers of replacements of this product, im sure you will see they are abnormally high. How about you actually make a product that works? instead of sending out an inferior product to me over and over?

My green light on my ac adapter has gone off and ac adapter has started beeping 2nd time this has happened. Im in iraq so it takes me 2 weeks to get a new one so thats 2 weeks twice that i havent been able to talk to family as much as i should have. Very displeased dell. Do some research and make better power chords. (XPS M1210)

I bought my dell laptop no more than 4 months ago, and the brick’s green light has gone out and simply beeps at me. No charge at all in the system. This just happened this morning, and I haven’t called Dell yet to make sure that they can replace this for FREE. There is no way anyone should be held responsible to replace what is clearly a manufacturer’s defect. Glad to know I’m not alone in this problem.

UPDATE: Just called Dell, super nice people. We identified this brick as being fried (plugged it into the wall alone and it still beeped. Easy to diagnose) and they said they would send out a replacement one for free on Monday. Easy. Pain that I can’t use my computer today, but that’s just the way it is today. I’ll have a new brick and cord in my hands on Tuesday.
He said that he had the same issue arrise last week, and they simply sent them a replacement brick and cord.

Thanks all, my power supply just started doing the same beeping / no juice thing tonight and now I know what’s up! Luckily the spouse also has a Dell so we have a spare power supply while I replace mine.

About to order my second adapter in four months. Very frustrated.

i have a inspiron e1705 and my ac adapter has the same problems when you plug it in it makes beeping noises…then if u ram it on the ground it starts working again which is very weird

same problem here. adapter just went out. green light is off and it just beeps. Inspiron 1501, 6 months old. Haven’t contacted Dell yet as I wanted to find out if there were any other people with similar situations online. Lo and behold…

Dear Anyone who knows how to use a notebook.
Personally i hate Dell with a passion but i have seen some clients miss use
their products too.I cant beileve that in many forums including this one that there are so many people that complain about products faulting.If you have used the unit for a few months i cant see why it fails so quickly. It should fail within a 7 day period .Are people using UPS’s and not $2 crappy surge protectors.Does anyone realise that when a notebook is kept with a battery in it and charged constantly that the battery unit will not hold charge as time goes past. Does everyone use the items according to the specs? BTW Dell is not only the Crappy Company

I have an e1705 and I too am having a problem in which the green light is out and the adapter just makes a high pitched beeping noise. I try to take good care of things and don’t think I gave the adapter any unnecessary abuse.

I have a dell 6000 and I have gone through 4 adaptors. The problem is with the connector that plugs into my laptop. For some reason, the connector loses its conductivity after a few months. I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

I am in the process of “shopping” for a new adapter as well as mine died 9 days after my warranty expired. I have an Inspiron E1505 and had noticed that the adapter had been acting up the last couple of days - if I jiggled the wire I could get it to work, but if I moved, I lost it again. It’s totally dead now and I am without my laptop.

I had this same exact issue last year with an XPS M-140. I’m not 100% sure if it’s the same adapter, but luckily that time, it died about a week BEFORE my warranty ran out.

All these issues CANNOT BE A COINCIDENCE!

We bought two identical E1505’s, within six months we had the two original adapters replaced with three new ones. The green light goes out, no charge. Period. An obvious design or manufacturing flaw…

Out of warrantee now but it has only been 6 months since the last replacement adapter, and it has failed. Of course, Dell insists that adapters and batteries are “consumable” products and I should expect them to fail. An “excalation” management team representative actually had the audacity to to tell me that “after all, electrical items can fail at any time.”

I’m calling Round Rock because their outsourced customer service obviously has been told, no warrantee, no service, no matter what…

It’s been about 9 months for my Inspiron E1705 and problems with my ac brick have brought me here. I thought I got a great deal on my laptop, but now I’m not so sure…

I never comment on message boards but this problem is driving me crazy too. My green light doesn’t light up either and replacement costs are rediculous. This is the first Dell that I have ever bought and the screen went black about 2 weeks after using it. I will NEVER buy a DELL again! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 and have had similar problems to what has been described in previous posts. At the end of 2007 I purchased a new battery and AC adapter and thought everything would be fine. Not so, I’ve had flickering of the screen recently and today the power went off and onto battery. As I’m typing this I have jiggled the connection at the back of the laptop and I’m using power again. I’ve been into a few sites like this now and we all appear to be rushing off to buy new AC adapters or replace motherboards. Is it that the connection at the back of the laptops should be made more durable? Should we be asking Dell to strengthen the power pins and power sockets? I’m going to send this off to them but will probably not get any response.

I hope this has helped someone. For all of the frustration I see in blogs and sites about problems with Dell laptops I am wondering if I should try another brand when I wish to upgrade my laptop.

Cheers

Sue

Hello Sue,
I have had good luck with Gateway. Just a thought.
Regards, Ron

I have the same problem with my Inspiron 9300! I was happy with my laptop, but the customers service sucks! I will never buy another pc or laptop of Dell! There are so many people with the same problem, but you can not find an answer on Dells website (or any website at all).

Greets from Belgium

Same problem with my 5150. Plug in the adapter back and forth, pull battery out and in, sometimes it charges. Is the plug on the board bad? Next time i will by a mac.

Inspiron 9400. The battery lasted 12 months. I just replaced it last week and the power supply died today. No light, faint beeping. Planning to take a soldering iron to it.

i have an inspiron 9300 and am BEYOND frustrated. this laptop is on its 3rd battery and 2nd power cord. i don’t care what dell tries to tell its customers, there is still a problem with the power supply to their laptops and the battery/internal temps. i am typing this as fast as possible while i hold the power cord in place and pray that the battery is charging. it is obviously something to do with the ac jack, but this is also the 2nd dell laptop i’ve had with this problem and actually the motherboard of this laptop has already been replaced due to it getting fried by the extreme heat from the battery (yes, the same one that dell says there is no overheating issue with). i’m really at my wits end with dell and this $5000 laptop that is worth about $300 in my opinion. btw, i have 2 identical laptops and they BOTH have the exact same issues. despite this, dell insists there is no issue whatsoever with this model. i guess i was lucky enough to get the only 2 produced with these issues….i’m not sure how this has been allowed to go on for so long, but if anyone is aware of any lawsuits that may concern this issue, i would love to know about it. as a lawyer myself, i just may file my own. i just can’t understand how dell can produce laptops that must be handled like a newborn bady in order to not “break,” yet they market these same units for MANY purposes and understand that people buy laptops for the portability.

Inspiron E1705. Owned 2 years. Same problem. . . no green light.. . . .

The same systemic failure as everyone else. . . . I am looking for a universal 90 watt power supply. I definatly do not want the Dell power cord.

I have this issue aswell, apparently kensington offers a solution with thier 120 watt universal power supply. The 90 watt version does not come with the N19 Tip we E1705 users need. I have yet to test it since the bases NEX can’t stock anything useful, but if any of you are desperate, check the website and scoop one up. Could be well worth it if it doesnt have the same design flaws.

On that note, my brick work intermittently which means there is a connection inside that loose. I would recommend not opening a power supply unless you know what you are doing, but it may be fixable at home?

My company has had 3 of these power adapters go bad in the last year since they started upgrading their laptops to D8xx series. The IT guys just buy new ones and replace them, so that the issues go unreported. I think they have approximately 30 laptops with this power unit.

I’m concerned now, as I’d bought a Vostro 1500 with this power brick in the last year, as well as an Inspiron 1501 with the 65W variation, and I’ve had past problems with laptop power bricks going bad. So honestly, overall power brick quality is a big issue with me, especially when I’m now supporting a total of 3 laptops (one non-Dell) in my own home.

I did buy a 3 year warranty on those laptops, so hopefully everything is covered and not blamed on the user. But issues like this make me wonder about quality issues and future purchases.

Hi G,
Thanks for the info.

You people are all wrong!!! We are all stupid and abusive to our computers and Dell computers are PERFECT and without any flaw of any kind. The only problem Dell has is that every single one of their customers are idiots.

This is NOT a problem with the adapter– at least in my case. Dell 1505 died. Same thing as posted here. Plug in, green light goes out, no power– NADA - dead. However, we already have a 2nd power supply AND a 2nd battery. Guess what? Neither of those works either. Now if Dell tries to tell me that somehow, mysteriously, BOTH batteries and BOTH power supplies just happened to die at exactly the same time– they’re simply not telling the truth. Problem has to be internal, IMHO.

My solution will be to yank the HD out of this thing, make a drive image to a new HD and put that in a real notebook computer.

Hello Ginger and Jill,
Your comments brought a chuckle to my day.

Absolutely there is a problem with the 1501 adapter. My first, that came with the new laptop, failed within the first year. The replacement has now failed after two-and-a-half months. I have a friend with the same laptop - and similar experience. I suppose this is just “anecdotal” or “web rumor” or “urban myth.” Whatever it is, Mr. Dell Analyst, you’d better deal with it because your name is getting rather shit-smeared.

For those of you looking for universal power adapters, my Kensington 90W just went out with no charge light and a high pitched beeping noise. Somehow the Dell is just frying the charger no matter what type it is. I’m no technology expert but it seems to me that the Dell notebook must require a higher wattage or something of that nature. I highly doubt, contrary to all of this Dell expert knowledge floating around here, that it is just a coincidence that so many people are having the exact same problem. I also have an Inspiron 1505 by the way.

Oh and by the way, the tip about slamming the brick into the ground also has worked for the Kensington… At least until it shuts down completely.

I have Inspiron 9400 bought 9 months ago, green light of power card gone out. It costs me again $70. I have taken back to India, here their website is not working. No idea, where to buy.

I have the problem…..

dell inspiron 1501 (yes im aware thats its not being made)

but i was a heavy laptop user, although never abused the mobility of my laptop…
Then about a week ago my laptop died and i checked out the internet as to why it was cutting out so quickly and people said i was having fan problems… So i popped open the laptop cleaned out the fan and got rid of any dirt as suggested.

Put it back together and it was fine although next day my charger would not work, the green led light would not come on….

one thing i did do was put it in the freezer and funny enought it actually worked! plugged it in and sure enough my charger came back to life..
but it went again 3 days ago and since then it has been a struggling battle…..coming on occasionaly and dead for the rest of the time…

now its completely dead and id like to say thats a lot dell you wankers

I, too, have an Inspiron E1705. It is just over 1 year old, and it is under the extended warranty. About four months ago, I started hearing “cracking” noises that sounded electrical, and then five weeks ago, the green light on the brick starting turning off while in the laptop was in mid-use. The laptop would just die - it would not go to battery back-up or give any warning. When I checked, upon re-strat, the batter was 94% charged. I could make the light go back on by unplugging and replugging, but it would not stay on - eventually the computer would just abruptly shuit off..

Dell replaced the power cord and brick. The new one arrived on 5/26/08. No more cracking. Yesterday morning (6/27/08), the same problem occurred with the new brick - no light and sudden shut-off. As before, I could get the light to turn on by unpluggine and replugging. The shutoff has happened three times today. This last time, the light will not come on, no matter what I do. I am almost out of battery but had to express my frustration. I’ll call Dell and get another power cord and brick, but this does NOT inspire confidence, and it angers me that Dell says there is no problem with the adapter.

I too have a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop. I’ve been luckier than most as I’ve had mine for just over a year and have not had to replace the chargeer. However………
I have had numerous problems with my charger brick in the last few months. It’s a very strange phenomenon. The power light will go out in the brick. The first time it happened I just let is sit , while occasionally trying to plug it back in to see if it would power up. About the time I was ready to call it quits (5 or 6 hours later) I plugged it in and , wala! Came back to life. Was good for about 2 weeks. Then it went out again. Same scenario and it came back to life. Now the first two times, I tried various outlets with the laptop attached and w/o with no luck. Since the second time it randomly goes out when changing outlets and I have discovered the WEIRDEST thing. If I unplug the charger from the laptop and the wall and then plug the charger back into the wall w/o the laptop connected it will instantly come back to life. Last night however I didn’t notice it was out until the battery was almost dead. I couldn’t get it to power up using this mysterious method, and figured it was down for good. I went to sleep and left the cord unplugged from the wall and the laptop. Woke up about 5 hours later and nothing. Messed with it for awhile trying various ways of plugging and unplugging it. Nothing. So I’m sitting there smoking a cig and cursing Dell while I left it plugged into the laptop but not the wall. I decided it crapped out for good. I gave it one more try plugging it into the wall while already attacthed to the laptop. Nada. I unplugged it from the laptop to try my “mysterious” method and plugged it BACK into the wall by itself. Wala, it works again.
Now I have read that these Dells are reported to have a known short problem in the power cord to brick part and that would seem logical given what I just explained. Either way , there is a VERY common problem we all share and Dell needs to man up and admit it.
I thought I would also share some sites I’ve found that sell 90W comparable Universal chargers for Dells for $30-$45. Here ya go and I hope it helps some. I’m going to buy 2 just to have on hand for the price of one from Dell. I will list Dells site at the bottom. They get $69.99 for ONE!

http://www.calcellular.com/lap-charger-pro.html

 sterlingtek.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=laptop+charger&x=0&y=0

 accessories.us.dell.com

I have an e1705 and I too am having a problem in which the green light is out and the adapter just makes a high pitched beeping noise. I try to take good care of things and don’t think I gave the adapter any unnecessary abuse. I pulled the cord from the brick and it worked again for a few weeks. Not the thing is not blinking and gets HOT As Hell. I have had the computer for about 15 months, battery is down to 15 miutes no adaptor cord, i only use this unit at home. NOT VERY HAPPY WITH DELL!

I have an Inspiron 9300 and within the first year of owning the PC, I went through 3 AC adapters! My first one died completely after 4 months, and the next 2 were showing bare wires near the adapter plug within months of using. I used this laptop in college and had it plugged in most of the time but was suprised at how cheaply they were made. In total I’ve probably gone though 6 or 7 adapters in the last 3 years. Dell sucks and I refuse to pay $135 for a power cord.

One of my employees has the ‘no green light, beeping’ AC adaptor. It’s fried. So we took the adaptor from an identical laptop and plugged it into his laptop, that AC adaptor got fried when it was plugged in. CAN THE LAPTOP FRY THE ADAPTOR???

I haven’t had a problem with the brick, but like many of the posters above I have gone through 5 adapters in the five years I’ve had my Inspiron 5100 do to frayed wires near where it plugs into the computer. The good news is that you can buy replacement adapters through third-party vendors. I bought one through Simple Micro  http://www.simplemicro.com/laptop-ac-ada…) the last time. Other vendors may have them for less.

Now my Dell will not charge at all. The green charging light will flash or stay on for a couple of seconds if I jiggle the connection, but won’t stay on long enough to let me actually turn the computer on.

I’ve already vowed never to buy another Dell after experiencing their abysmal customer service (for the consumer division, anyway; corporate support seems to be fine). This is another nail in the coffin.

Hello all, I have a dell insprion i got for christmas 07 and 3 months after i got it the power cord started showing wires at the bend and i assume they touched because the power adapter wouldnt work unless i unplugged it and reversed the plug (flipped it over and plugged it in ) and eventually somehow it seems like it fried my motherboard and it did, but they replaced the adapter and motherboard after a hassle LOL

I own about 11 dells, 3 are laptops. I also have many problems with Dell products but not more than other brands such as RIM for phones. I do think that all these companies are crap when they charge so much for essential replacement parts that are short lived in the first place. Not a good way to keep returning customers. By the way i am considering buying other PC brnads now.

ps power adapter on our inspirion 9300 also dead plus a motherboard on my D600 dead. These products do not last long!

Inspiron 9400 ac adapter fried (no green led, just beeping) NOT impressed with short life of this cable and am concerned having heard so many other users with the same problem. It’s almost like DELL purposely manufacture adapters and batteries so they don’t last very long and then make money selling us new ones.

Not happy… will look into Macbooks next time round - won’t buy another Dell unless the quality of these things improves or this one lasts longer. Bad customer service in my opinion.

“The problem is that there is no green light on the brick and the mains cable makes a crackling noise when plugged in to the brick or removed.-Fatman”
I am experincing the EXACT SAME THING…well over 10 days ago I called Dell to replace it..they said Staples still had “ownership”of the laptop. So, we transferred ownership into my name. They said once Staples acknowledged I was the owner they could send me the replacement.. This process should take a week…(A WEEK??) well..as of today i have tried to transfer ownership THREE TIMES to no avail am STILL NOT the owner and Dell wont ship me the replacement power adapter…So..All my work, photos, music, sits inaccessable…all because of this POS power adapter…

same thing. the 90W AC adapter beeps, no green light.

here’s a youtube video someone made that demonstrates the issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqt6zETJitc

I have an Inspiron. I do not travel with it although it is moved from room to room on occassion. The wear and tear on my computer should be minimal. However, since I got it LESS THAN A YEAR AGO I have had to have the fan and motherboard replaced and I am now on my 4th adapter cord, as one after the other fail. With every failure I have offered for Dell to collect my old cord so they can look at it and figure out what is wrong…but they decline. I am just so angry and disappointed in them as a company and with their concern for their client base. No wonder they are losing out market share to HP and are looking to sell off many of their factories in the East. Good riddance.

I have an E-1505, and like most of the others here, my power supply is screwed up as well. The green light does not come on and it steadily beeps. Since so many of you have had bad experiences with new power supplies and their constant replacement, I will most likely go to a third party vendor.

With that said, other than the power issue, I’ve owned the laptop for nearly 2 years and I’m EXTREMELY satisified with it. It’s been to Iraq and back, with no problems, crashes, or glitches. I love it.

Swalker and everyone else with a 9300…I feel your pain. My current laptop is 2 1/2 years old and I am 2 batteries and 3 cords in at this point. And actually, this is my 2nd 9300, as the first fried and in a total fit, I threw it outside on my patio…so any chance to fix was gone. Oh well, it was covered and I received a replacement which turned out to be a yugo as well (sorry for anyone driving a yugo). It was my second dell (doesnt deserve caps) that I have thrown intentionally and no, I dont have an anger problem, but I hate myself every time for continuing to buy dell (still doesnt deserve caps).

Currently, my “new” battery isnt holding a charge and in fact, much like rabbit ears atop Tele’s prior to cable, I have to wiggle the “new” fuckin cord in order to get any juice at all. Makes typing ridiculously painful, not to mention looking at porn.

Michael Dell is currently worth 17.3 Billion dollars and I hate him. I dont hate him because he is a filthy rich, fat man…I hate him because his products continue to fail. I also hate him because he really doesnt do anything to promote “made in America”. Granted, I am not American, but I live in the States and when everything everywhere is made in China, dont give me another reason to go that direction. Asshole

So, dell will never be in caps. Jesus is in caps because he deserves it. Jesus (pronounced “hey-soos” is in caps because he is my gardener.

-Mr Pizando

Folks, this isn’t just a Dell thing. My HP laptop is on its third power adaptor after the Kensington I bought less than a year ago started doing that beeping thing when I plug it into the power strip (without being plugged into the laptop). I don’t know if the laptop fried the adaptor or if the adaptor was just bad to start with, but I’m careful with my stuff and it seems like it should last longer than this…

I have had a Dell Inspiron e1705 for about a year and a half. I am now on my 4th A/C adapter. The first 2 did the same thing, where it plugs into the computer, the wires started poking out, then it just quit, the brick got too hot to handle with bare hands and started beeping.

The 1st one actually threw sparks and *I* got shocked and I hate to say it, but god forbid that my daughter would have gotten ahold of the cord and got shocked or worse, I would either be in prison or would be owning Dell right now. And THAT makes it a safety hazard and it needs to be recalled. I have called them out each time I have to get a new A/C adapter and nothing gets done… I am sure they will end up knowing me by name before its over *evil laugh.*

The 3rd one… I have had it less than 2 months and the green light kept going off, I thought the plug was just loose, so I would unplug it and plug it back in (at the brick in the cord) and it would work fine… It happened again yesterday and I tried that and it didn’t help, changed outlets, didnt help.

I ended up calling Dell screaming like a mad woman at the automated computer… I found out if you yell as loud as you can saying “GOD D**N IT LET ME TALK TO SOMEONE NOW!” You get the next available operator LOL! Anyhow, after being forwarded through 9 different departments, back and forth, I finally got to tech support for the 3rd time, when I found ONE competent person to help me. They are sending a replacement free of charge… I believe this fiasco with the A/C adapter has turned me off of Dell’s permanently… actually it could just be P.C.’s all together… next time I am going for the MAC!

I will very soon be ordering my 3rd power cord in two years. Both of mine have split where at the so called stress reliever where the cord plugs into the back of the computer. I’ve been unbelievably careful with it (to the point that I yell at BF every time he tries to use my computer) and the same thing happened. I wouldn’t mind spending the money to buy a new one if I knew that dell had fixed the problem, but since they won’t even own up to it I might as well just throw my money in the garbage. Or put it towards a new laptop.

Hello Liz,
I just bought this laptop and thus far it is great.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8897624&type=product&id=1212192350169

Regards, Ron

Ron’s (Dell support guy) answer is symptomatic of Dell’s problem and try as we might they refuse to hear. I am an ARDENT supporter of Dell, have used their hardware (mostly all Precision or Precision Mobile Workstations) but I am on my 4th power adapter (the enormous brick, 130W)
for the same 2 year old M90. They keep happily replacing them, although I’m dead-in-the-water during the response time, which is always prompt. If your supporters are trying to help you, Dell, why don’t you listen? YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR POWER ADAPTERS. Stop giving us BS and fix the problem. If you don’t like my attitude, try speaking to Dell CRITICS!!! There are a few of those.
W

Hello Will C.,
Good point. It appears that there are to many people having issues with their adapters for Dell to ignore.

Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. It is appreciated.

We purchased a Dell 1501 November 2007 and our third power supply bit the dust this week. I called Dell and a nice lady in India helped me. We’re still under warranty so they’re sending a new power adapter. The adapter model we currently have is a P-12 family, 3.34 amp 19.5 v, model LA65NSO-00. The odd thing is that our Inspirion works fine with the 4.62 amp power supply shipped with my latitude (PA-10 family, just over one year old).

It appears that Dell sized the power supply (i.e. adapter) a bit too small for this model Inspiron. They offered to sell me an extended warranty to the tune of $213 for a 4-year warranty–what a joke. I can purchase a new power supply for ~$30 online (or pay the exorbitant price of +$100 from Dell).

[...] Dell two wire adapter [...]

I hope this will help. Had the same problem with the power adapter, Inspiron 1520, and i gave it to a friend of mine to see what actually the problem is. The Problem is not in the adapter itself, the problem is in the cable from the adapter to the unit. By some reason it creates a short circuit, and after replacing/ modifying, or whatsoever, I am running with the same adapter, for about two months now. Hope this will help. Good luck!

Thanks Kalin.

Inspiron E1505, one year and six month was beeping on power on. At first it looked that reseating power, that is DC, cable helped. Now it is clear that cable has some broken wire inside and it takes couple of tries to find proper cable bent to find connection. This is going to fail permanently one day. Why do I need to pay for whole adapter $70 when only $5 cable failed? And even if I had this cable I wouldn’t be able to replace it because it is welded to the adapter.

Same problems with my Inspiron 1501. I’ve gone through about 6 adapters overall–one under warrenty and the rest out of my own pocket. Green light goes out and that’s it. I hate repeating what everyone else here says. Why can’t Dell fix this problem? Dell sucks.

Hello JohnH,
I believe many Dell owners are asking the same question. If you have gone through 6 adapters, there should be no question that there is a problem and Dell is ignoring it.

Just throw me on top of the pile of failed power cords. I thought there had to be something else wrong. I mean, power cords don’t go bad. Right? Well, not this one. This is a ridiculous part to go wrong for so many people. It is a lemon of a product.

Hi Sean,
Lemon…………………………. it has a nice ring to it!

guess what lol, yeh ui have a dell 9300 and same problem, beeping block, only had it about 3 months and it happened to first charger too lol.
ridiculous, come on dell sort it out, i like the way the dell man had something to say and now he has been proved wrong, he hasn’t said a word lol.

Hi James,
Good point.

its kind of sickening to see that everyone is having the same problem. my adapter stopped working today, so I googled the problem…. the green light going out and the high pitched beeping.

what a disappointment. this is the 3rd or 4th adapter i’ve had to buy in less than a year. I’m really over it - being a broke college student who depends on her laptop!!!

Might as well jump in with a “me too”….. my daughter’s Inspiron 1200 was bought severlal years ago and used very lightly up until about a year ago. In a year’s time, I’ve been through three of these power adapters….all with the same problem. One day it works perfectly, the next no green light, no power. Crappy design, crappy customer service.

I’m using an Inspiron 5160. Correction, I would be using an Inspiron 5160 if my power supply was passing power instead of beeps. It just sits there lights out beeping even when it is not connected to the laptop. 5th power supply since I bought the computer, including two this year so far and three this year if you include the one I just ordered off Ebay. Looking at this list of identical problems, can anyone say “class action”?

I have the Inspiron E1705 with the 3 wire connection. I have had my computer for 2 years and am about to buy my third cord!!! My first one would get really hot and not charge. They replaces that one for free. The second started exposing wires where it plugs into the computer. At first I thought it was my fault because I traveled with it. I no longer travel with it and it stays in the same spot. It still exposed the wires.

My adapter for my 1501 just gave out completely today! Only had it for approximately 11 months. Dell wouldn’t have been my choice but seen as it was a gift, kinda of had no choice. I’ve previously had a fujitsu that lasted me 4 years with no problems (till it died) and with this Dell I’ve had problems within a few months of use. As well, it was a pain trying to get a replacement adapter as the computer was not bought by me so therefore is not registered to me which is total crap as it’s mine! It’s registered under the person who’s credit information is provided when purchased! All I can say is that I am not impressed and my next laptop will certainly not be a Dell!

I have had my inspiron 1525 for less than six months and my second AC adapter just stopped working today. This is especially frustrating to me because i have only had it for a few months now. I am now worried that i will continue to experience this problem because it seems like Dell has not made any improvements to their product.

Yep, same here, green light flashes, power brick beep beep beep. Bought ten E1505 / Inspiron 6400 machines. This is the first one to go, at the 15 month mark. Our supply voltage is 230v, which might make a difference by reducing the amps flowing through the thing. If the brick is alive enough to flash it’s light and make a beep, it’s not completely blown. Has anyone pulled one of these things apart to find the fault? Is it undersized capacitors, or just bad design?

I have a 5150 which was repaired by dell under extended warranty last year. prior that, I had similar problem on the adapter before my laptop broke down. now I have a new adapter after the repair and I’ve been using it for more than a year now. everything was fine until i encountered similar symptoms that I experienced on my laptop the last time it broke down. and that symptom was the “power adapter not recognized” warning… (ooops, this is familiar…) Now what I did was first, I allowed the laptop to drain the battery. Then I plugged the adapter in. the 1st try was a success… Laptop started to identify the adapter. but the 2nd time I encountered the problem, it failed. So I did the 2nd one, unplug all power sources (including battery) then press power button for 10 seconds - which was said to refresh the system’s power source identifier (something..). result, failed. it did not work. now, I did the 3rd, unplug the adapter until green light from adapter shuts off, plug it back again, plug the drained battery, push the power button for 5 seconds, wait if battery indicator turns on. if system turns on, success. If system does not turn on, check if battery indicator turns on. if its on, check if it is colored green. if not, redo removal of AC adapter until adapter greenlight turns off… do this until you get the battery indicator led turned green. then turn on the system. I did this method twice before success…. I have been monitoring my laptop’s temperature since I received it after repair from dell using i8kfangui program and I have a nominal temperature of 40-50 degrees C. So i know I’m not frying my motherboard. my hard disk is around 45-50 degrees C as well. I use a notebook cooler when using my laptop… Now given that the power adapter is ok (and i think most of those who posted who checked their actual adapter voltage through multimeter) what I’m thinking is the problem might not be on the power adapter but on the power chip that identifies/manages/regulates power distribution/identification of the laptop. If we could identify what chip it is and where it is located, then we can do an experiment to try to fix the problem by replacing this chip. I think this chip will be placed around the vicinity of the power source but not too near to it. we can get the IC part number and order some and use it as replacement (if anyone here knows how to solder this…) anybody willing to do the experiment will be of great help to many of us. as of now, I can’t risk my laptop since I just had mine repaired. But to those who are willing, It will be very much appreciated. This is just my suggestion but I’m concerned because I feel that someday, I will be in the position of getting pissed off again.

My issue with my 1501 that is one month out of warranty is that the machine claims the battery cannot be identified and thus refuses to charge it. I updated the BIOS to 1.6.3 and now I don’t get the message but it still won’t charge the battery. This is the second battery I’ve tried (new) and it’s a Dell original for this laptop.

What is up with these laptops claiming AC adaptor problems, battery problems, etc., even when you’re doing as Dell demand and using an original Dell part. I know with the adaptors the foolish ID signal is missing if it claims it can’t recognize it, but what about this battery trouble that occurs no matter which battery you use?

I detected a defect by manufacturing.
Isolation of the +19.5V wire is in the zone of its outlet from the adapter-unit defect. It seems to be not perforated from wire, but simply abscissed - it must be due some processing failure - the +19.5V wire is there naked.
Then, there comes a short circuit between the +19.5V wire and the GND wire.
I cut the end off and soldered to adapter-unit-board again.
All OK.

We have E1505 and a E1705 both have issues with the powercords . I had to put electrical tape on both to cover exposed wires and now the E1705 will not work unless plugged directly into a wall socket. Obviously a dell flaw and probably will be sued when someones house burns down decause of their faulty design.

I can only agree with all the comments and complaints. After 8 months my first adapter (90 W) for Inspiron 9400 broke down during a 7 week trip in Australia and New Zealand. When I was in New Zealand I phoned Dell NZ and was connected through to a call center in Malysia. She couldn’t find the place Havelock North in NZ but worse it was possible to order a new adapter but it would cost 20 working days !!!!!
Back in Holland I ordered a new adapter. And as you all can guess it stats to beep after 4 months, the green light disappeared and the batteries were dying. Now I’m waiting if Dell here in Holland will react because Dell.com doesn’t help people outside US and UK.

Our family business purchased 5 or 6 Vostro 1000 laptops last year. So far, three of the power adapters have failed. No green light, faint beeping when plugged in. In less than 9 months, %50 failure rate. Seems abysmal to me.

I still find it hard to believe that Dell has buried this problem.

LOL! thanks Micheal!!!! (Posted June 30th 2008) My Inspiron adapter LED light went out tonight and my computer wasn’t charging. I am usually super careful with my computer cords so I didn’t expect anything to fail within the first year. The adapter failed on my a couple weeks back, then started working again misteriously, so when it failed a second time I went looking to see if others were having this problem. I was reading everyone’s frutration when I ran across your post. Your trick worked!! I unplugged everything, waited a bit, plugged the one end into the wall and the LED light came back on. Genious. I doubt this will last forever, but at least I can get my work done tonight thanks to you.

Cheers,
Dan

Surely Dell must admit that this is a real problem - that isnt effecting one or two users.. but enough of us having the ‘No Green Light and Beeping’ syndrome! Im another frustrated and annoyed dell customer. This is ridiculous. Made even more frustrating by Dells lack of acknolwedgment. It seems that they will only own up if the power pack is exploding! Wasnt that last year?

i have a dell inspirion 1420 that i have had 1 year and 1 week. about a month ago i heard a strange beeping and thought it was the fan in my boyfriends desktop, but soon enough i realized it was my power supply. it still worked although the green light didnt come on. last night it died completely. i called dell today. i thought it would be a short quick call but after an hour and a half i had a new ac adapter on the way to me free of charge yet still no answer from them as to why it was beeping.
my computer was close to $1100 and is the first one i ever bought. for that much money i do hope the ac adapter will last. of course the minute i call dell it works fine and as soon as i hang up it stops working agian.
i am a single mom on a very limited income, i can not afford to replace the one thing i need just to be able to turn on a computer, that cost enough in the first place.

Just some stats here from my own experience. I worked in IT for a company and they used Dell D531’s. 15 were purchased and within 8 months I had to call Dell and replace 10 of them. All had the same problem saying that they were not using “Dell” factory power supplies and Dell had to replace due to the warranty on them. Horrible make and model. The only good thing to come out of it was being able to fly through customer support to get replacements!

I’d just like to throw my name in the hat and say I’ve had the same issues as reported 100x over on this page- green light goes out, soft beeping noise, won’t work anymore.

the little luck I’ve had was from twisting/messing with the “out” cord from the brick (while unplugged from both computer and wall), then plugging it into the wall to see if the light comes on. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

the worst part is when the brick get shorted out WHILE it’s connected to my laptop, which causes the computer to turn off instantly, even if it has a battery. everything is lost.

after this laptop dies (completely), i’m definitely not buying another Dell product. you can bet on it.

btw, their batteries ain’t worth a dime either.

Yes I have a power brick doing the green light out, and crackling when I plug it in. If I put up to my ear I can hear a buzz sound going buzz, couple seconds buzz, etc…until I unplug it. I find if I continue to unplug and replug eventually after many tries and pure luck the green light comes on and its on til I move the damn thing… so I am planning to get a new one myself.

Wow…I have replaced my AC Adaptor/charger (PA-12 family for the Inspiron 1520) 3 times within the year warranty. The charger just stopped working. No light on the charger and no light on the laptop. So now that my warranty is expired and the charger went up AGAIN, I called Dell only to have them tell me I have to pay $132 out of pocket to get a replacement that will fail again anyway. I have since found multiple places on the net to purchase OEM Dell chargers for as low as $18. But I am NOT going to buy another Dell product again. I will pay an extra $20 for a universal or another charger that is compatible. 3 Failures within 2 years….this is UNACCEPTABLE! There is something wrong with the design of these chargers for them to fail so quickly and apparently in the same way. For the time being I am going to attempt to reverse engineer the charger to discover the point of failure. Considering I have 3 dead chargers I think I can mangle two to find out what I need. And to the rep who is from Dell….stop making excuses as to why these chargers are failing and get Dell’s R&D dept to find out why!

I too facing similar issue with my Dell AC adaptor. Green light does not come up and adaptor constantly beeps.

I had been using the laptop since last three months and it was working fine. Now suddenly it has stopped working and it is as good as dead until I can’t find a replacement.

Wonder if so many people have this problem it would be some design defect at manufacturer’s part.

I’m on my 3rd adapter and it’s just started playing up today. My laptop is only just over a year old. I’m going to try and contact Dell tomorrow. They have to accept responsibility for selling faulty goods.

Matt

My adaptor went today. Ordered a new one and borrowed a disused one to tide me over until the new one arrived. The borrowed one has just stopped working.

Will never buy Dell again. Not because of the faults, because of the lame response from the man from Dell way up above in this forum.

Not good enough.

XPS 1710 - 130W power adapter, fried / shorted. Have had for 2 years, does not move, have had plugged in to surge and protective outlets.
Started crackling one day, beeping… I wiggled cord, noises stopped - everything started working again fine, for a week.

I believe that the connection points inside are not soldered very well. (being foreign made) A simple fix if you have the right equipment to deo so. Have ordered a new unit - one week lead time. I will tear apart old one to see if corrective measures can be done. If not - so what - its broke anyway..

Wifes “Inspiron” battery (6 cell) is junk - just after 6 mo. Shows 12% constantly - will not charge. Hmmm. What else is going to go bad on these units???

It’s a shame - the issue has been very accurately described. Some people are sharing what actions they took to FIX THE PROBLEM. Others just rant. others just use ridiculous thick language such as ‘lol’.

I came here to get an insight into how to work around. The ONLY useful tip I have got is the suspected ground short on the transformer to laptop cord. Any more objective insight into the recommended procedure to correct this would be great. eg cut the cord where? is the short likely to be on the connector end or the transformer end?

MY inspiron 1520 has the same fault. Green light goes out and the power supply just beeps. This post series goes back to before i bought my laptop! classic. I emailed Dell and they are in the process of replacing/sounding out their advice.
I had a few months of wiggling and banging to make it work but today seems that my patience is smaller than the time needed to wiggle - bang it to make it work. My friend has a inspiron 1525 with a 65watt adaptor and it hasn’t failed. Seems something about it being 90w - maybe..

Matt and Martin, you can abandon contacting Dell - Its a mission impossible. Of course I had battery problems, too, with it showing just over 12 % full, constantly. Anyway, I, like you have a beeping laptop power pack and my laptop is just over a year old. This was my experience with Dell, which was disgusting and despicable service f for me,their customer. I went onto the dell site because my laptop adapter, like so many other clients were beeping. After a long search, I found the chat. I was asked for a service tag no, and got a message back that I am outside US, therefore I was kicked off chat and referred to an 0800 number and here is the detail:

0800-444-617
Monday - Friday
8AM to 10PM Local Time

I called at 8.10pm and got a recorded message that office is closed. How slack and unprofessional, totally unacceptable, useless customer service. Its a cop-out. The continuous problems with the adapter pack is widely know and has been documented since 2007. We are now in the second half of 2009. Dell should stop its ‘big corporate muscle flexing tactics and and start providing customers with a ‘customer service. Dell’s service and behaviour is absolutely appalling and unacceptable.

You would think Dell would own up to this problem and get it sorted. Have Inspiron 9400 and now on second power supply that has just failed with its signature finale… and only 6mth old… Why, oh why can dell not just say what is wrong, recall the product and fix the wire if that is all it is… and like somebody said before, Mr Dell-Rep has failed to get back online to comment… gutless i’d say

OK - I’ve root caused it. It is a short in the lead going from the transformer to the laptop - ie the 19.5v lead.

The wires break down inside and there is a dead short. I suspect the amount of wiggling or wrapping the cable around the transformer when packing up is the decider how soon they fail. The beeping from the transformer is a typical response from the short, the alternative of course would be heat and flames. My suggestion would be to cut the lead near the transformer and solder a new lead on, utilising the connector the other end. Making a good job with insulation tape afterwards

Whinging, whining and bleating about Dell or any other company is of course a useless activity that bears no fruit - and that accounts for 99% of the posts here. More objective comments that actually address the issue is much more valuable. Maybe the guy who moderates this forum should take this on board. Hope my work helps somebody!

Hello Steve,
Thank you for this fix. I will do a new article about what you have presented hear. As you stated. Hopefully it will help someone.
Regards, Ron

[...] Original post is here. [...]

mine just died 10 minutes ago. low battery warning then i realised the adaptors dead.

how do you open the adaptor? do you have to cut it open. its glued all over.

any pictures of the fix?

[...] Original post is here. [...]

My Dell Inspiron 5160 power adapter developed a problem fews weeks ago. The power adapter is not showing the green led and its producing a tiny beeping sound .

What to do? Can someone help?

Hi Josph,
Read this and see if it helps.
http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2009/07/30/dell-inspiron-90-watt-2-wire-adapter-problem-repair-solution/

I would just like to say that the problem with dell power cords has not been solved. I too had my first one fail under warranty…got another that too died. I have had nothing but problems with them. They constantly overheat and burn out. I have three other family members that have had the same problems.

So I bought my Dell XPS M1530 3 months ago and this morning my adapter went out. Seeing as the dell rep said they use the same 90W adapter and have for 3 years, no doubt it is the same problem as everyone else. No green light, beeps, and pisses me off. I have a warranty thank god but seriously, I might as well buy an HP if I want all these problems.

an article with a solution:

http://moomtaz.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-fix-your-dell-ac-ad_115684034589417647.html

There is definitely an issue somewhere. My power supply is also beeping and failing to charge. This is my 2nd one in less than a year.
Related? who knows, but when i first received my laptop, it was a dead brick. After 2 months of haggling with Dell , they shipped a new motherboard and 2 sticks of Ram. When the hardware arrived to my doorstep, I had to make the call to a local Dell technician to come install it.
Turns out, the ram sticks were fried…
Dell gave me nothing but ’sorry for the inconvenience” .

As for the ‘fix’ published earlier, um..i paid good money, why on earth should i fix it myself, when obviously its a known issue that Dell will not correct. Numbers game.

Just joining the crowd. Was hoping to find a solution to the Kensington 90W K33403 that I had to buy after my <1-yr-old battery died, followed by a fried adapter. It just beeps when i plug it in. Lasted about a year with my E1705. $70/year to keep them going, i guess.

Same deal. 90 Watt charger on my XPS 1710. No green light, charger just beep when I plug it in. Is it asking too much to just have things work?

I bought a DELL Inspiron 1525 and the 90watt adapter gave up after 9 months, same symptoms, beeping and dead LED light, bought a replacement 90watt adapter, and it gave up after four months…. so now I am sitting with two dead DELL 90watt adapters… ordering a third one? I have asked DELL and they need an order number from the shop that sold me the second adapter (Schoemanns Office Systems in Namibia), Everytime I tell my colleagues about my adaptor nightmares, they say, “its high time you got a mac”. DELL must hang their heads in shame.

I bought a “supreme SPS 13.3″, the most expensive dell last year. after the warranty expired, the AC adapter start beeping.
One of my friend, got adell inspiron 15, right after the waranty expired, the hard drive died! shame dell!

don’t know what to yet! any suggestion from anyone?

My daughter just told me, keep away from Dell, move on to Mac!

Shame, shame, shame dell.

thanks

I Have had the same problems with 4 out of 6 Dell power adapters and have fixed all of them myself. All of them died and started beeping. I took off the power cover and found that the poor workmanship of the Chinese factory workers was to blame. You need to be confident in soldering but all you need to do is cut the power lead from the adapter to the laptop about 5cm(2inches) from the adapter. Unsolder the cut segment and reattach the new section on. Attach cover and presto all is fixed. The first one i fixed has been running everyday for 3years without any problems. Hope this can help someone. Its all comes down to very poor workmanship from the factory who makes the adapters. Shame on you Dell, you dont want to fix this problem, you just want to make more money on new adapters. Another way of screwing honest people out of more money. (”Who cares if it works, we will sell spare parts forever” a similar line is in Robocop).

I am so pissed off that I am writing on this blog with my real name. I recently joined the ranks of the unemployed and depend on my 3 year old Dell Inspiron e1705 for EVERYTHING-sending out resumes, checking my bank accounts, filing for unemployment- EVERYTHING! Less than a year ago, I had to purchase a new power adapter due to the short circuit/beeping issue that everyone here is having. It wasn’t cheap. Not only did the power adapter crash, but also the battery- within 18 months, it just stopped working. The power adapter is the only way to power my laptop unless I want to shell out another small fortune for a battery that doesn’t last! Then, yesterday, I plugged in my laptop and the beep sounded. ARRRRG! I am lucky to be writing this today, as this cord is on it’s last legs (it’s literally bandaged up with electrical tape).

My question to you, dear complainers, is WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? At the very least, we should consider sending a formal petition to DELL to improve or recall their product and reimburse us for/replace our adapters. Yes, this is a call to action. Who’ll join me?

I have owned 2 Dell laptops. THe first one is unusable as the power supply on the motherboard is not working i went through 2 adapters on it. My newer xps is about 2years old and i am on my second power supply. What i noticed on the adapters that started to go was that they got very very very hot on the little steel part that plugs into the computer as soon as i noticed that happeing on my newer laptor i discontinued the adapters use and ordered another (feared the heat destroying another motherboard). Dell you definetly have issues with your adapters as my computer sits in my office and does not move there should be no reason i go through these adaptors.

I am on my third year with extended warranty and will have to get my FOURTH adapter upon returning to the states. I have now decided upon arrival I will buy ONLY mac products and will patiently wait for this hunk of junk to kick.