How to solve the problem “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined”
The “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined” problem description
I have brand new Inspiron 1520.
Battery fully charged, when I unplug the charger from the wall, but let the plug in the Inspiron for a while (let’s say a night), when I startup my computer, I get the message “The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. Please connect a Dell 90W AC adapter or higher for best system operation” (needless to say that the power adapter IS a Dell 90W…).
Unplugging and replugging the adapter solves the problem.
The problem happens frequently at Dell inspiron 1525,inspiron 6000, inspiron 600m, XPS m1330, latitude D600 and so on.
The “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined” problem cause :
There are many small silver wires creating a jacket around the cable that frequently fall out. After a few of them break from bending the cable during NORMAL usage there is a drop in voltage but still PLENTY to run and charge the computer.
Break open the power brick. (Yes, really break, beacause there are no screws)
And yes .. as many people suspected the small pin of the connector is the DATA line and is connected to a Dallas DS 2501 1-wire memory chip in the power brick. The 2501 is 512 bit EPROM with also an unique identification code. Measurement by oscilloscope made it clear that this chip is indeed DEAD, the ‘high’ voltage on the DATA line was about 0.6 V while it should be at least 2.2 V.
When disconnecting the data line from the memory chip and measuring the signal level on the DATA line when plugging in the connector in the laptop the signal level is back to a perfect 3.3 V and the laptop is clearly sending request signals, so the laptop should be o.k.
Of course this minor defect can’t easily be repaired, because when buying a new DS-2501 as a replacement, first it should be programmed with the right data, so you need programming software/hardware and of course a power brick with a still intact DS-2501 to copy the data from!
Dell’s Customer service reply :
Hello All,
I am sorry for the frustration, but I am 100% confident there is no conspiracy afoot to sell ac adapters by designing them to fail. We warranty those parts and designing them to fail would drive up warranty costs. If your ac adapter needs to be replaced, I will be glad to dispatch you one myself [out-of-date information removed].
To all others on this thread, if you would like me to replace your ac adapter, please contact the site mods here to get my email address. Then email me your service tag, name and current ship to address. I will overnight you all replacement ac adapters and power cords. Thanks for your patience.
An expert’s advise about “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined”
Concerning this problem, I was also disapointed with the limitations imposed due to the PSID signal on my Dell Inspiron 1100 battery. So this is my solution.
OK the ID function is there for a reason, Dell designed it to help preserve the battery etc, but having emailed tech support with a request for a software override or some other solution to be able to switch off the PSID requirement, they either could or would not help. Just recommended I purchase (as people have said) more of their charging equipment etc. which I also think is a bit unreasonable.
They could easily update the Bios to allow user selection of this function.
Anyway, I ummmed and errred for a while, and then thought why not move the mysterious ID chip from the adapter to permanently inside the Laptop and disconnect the middle ID pin so the laptop ALWAYS thinks it has a correct adapter connected. Fine by me. And you can still adjust the power saving mode on screen anyway.
Now I don’t recommend this to most people as its quite tricky. I’m an electronics engineer and have experience with circuits etc. and it took me a couple of days to do it with inspiron 1300 battery. Remember warranties probably go out of the window.
The first problem is to get your good Dell adapter apart. The case is glued together, and withought butchering it completely, takes some effort to get apart with blunt knives etc. Then unsolder the end of the metal shield nearest the output cord to get to the back of the circuit board.
The (Dallas semiconducter) chip is near the output wires, and fortunately its a pretty simple circuit, just three components: The 6 pin chip of which only pins 1 and 2 are used, a protection diode across them, and a tiny 100 Ohm resister.
Very carefully (you only have one chip) unsolder those three bits (actually its better to replace the resister with a standard 1/4W), making note of the connections. Solder fine wires to the chip pins (I used one strand of a cable). Then add the other two bits to the wires laptop battery. Wrap in a little PVC tape with just the two connections showing.
The Laptop unfortunately needs a lot of dismantling to get to the back of the power socket. I had to take of the inspiron 6400 battery, the keyboard, the screen, unclip the wires etc. take out the hard drive, unscrew all the screws in the back, and lift off the top cover. Needs care.
Cut the middle connection from the back of the power socket so you get a little stub left down to the motherboard. Then just solder the appropriate pins of your chip package to ground and the stub, so that it sits in a good position clear of any screws etc.
The simple solution about “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined”
There are many small silver wires creating a jacket around the cable. After a few of them break from bending the cable during NORMAL usage there is a drop in voltage but still PLENTY to run and charge the computer. The whole thing about the CPU running at a slower speed is totally unnecessary and only there to further encourage a new purchase.
The wiring and AC adapter are DESIGNED to fail. I have never had one last longer than about a year. Oh, and if you try to get a non-Dell adapter (universal) it won’t work either.My macbook 13 battery has not the same situation.
This is basically an engineered weakness causing many AC adapter orders and a borderline scam if you ask me.
There are many small silver wires creating a jacket around the cable. After a few of them break from bending the cable during NORMAL usage there is a drop in voltage but still PLENTY to run and charge the computer.
Start laptop as normally with AC supply, after complete booting of system, turn off AC plug, just press the cable (coming from adapter) towards the adapter (with normal force) and Turn On AC. Surprisingly it’s charging my laptop battery.
Put it all back together, and it works well. I now get no more notifications of unrecognised adapters and full speed operation whenever I want.
Some Dell customer say :
The excuse Dell gives for disabling the computer in this way, that the computer has to “adjust the performance to match the power available”, is a joke. How does the computer know how much power is available if it can’t identify the adapter? Why does running my computer at half speed somehow ensure that I will have enough power available, regardless of what adapter I might be using? If Dell really did have the customers’ interests in mind when creating this “functionality”, they would have provided a way to override it in the BIOS for those who know they have a powerful enough adapter. Clearly, this is simply a way to force people to replace lost or worn adapters (which typically are not under warranty) only from Dell.
Dell is notorious for these types of games. While researching this problem, I came across one case in which their desktop computers came with power supplies that looked identical to industry-standard ATX power supplies. However, if you attempted to use the power supply with a replacement motherboard that was not from Dell, it would destroy your computer. (see the wikipedia article on the ATX standard, where there is a section devoted to Dell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atx .)
I was shocked to read one post in this forum in which someone describes having the same problem on their brand new XPS1530. I had this issue on my inspiron 8600 battery about four years ago. It’s one thing for Dell to try to lock people into using only Dell adapters, but continuing to do it after so many years of knowing all the unintended grief it causes for customers makes me never want to buy a Dell again. I just canceled my order for an XPS1530 after reading Matias’s post. (no joke. customer 95034710).
The Dell support solution about “Dell AC power adapter type cannot be determined”
1. Update the bios (I have A01, A03 is out). Ok, but I can’t. In order to do so, you must have the battery and the AC Adapter plugged in or the update program gives an error and forces you to cancel.
2. Motherboard needs to be replaced. Don’t think so, it worked just fine before on the older AC Adapter. Plus if they searched this forum they would see that that did not work for others with the same problem.
But obviously it is not helpful.
The all info is from Dell and getsatisfaction.com
05/02/2009 at 6:49 am Permalink
Same problem with my laptop, a Dell Inspiron 1720 since more than 1 year and my 90W Dell AC power adapter seems to be died (no voltage at output).
I’ve purchased a 90W noname compatible AC adapter. Of course, I get the message “The AC power adapter type cannot be determined…” and my laptop is running slowly.
A solution is to start the laptop on battery, and plug the noname power adapter during OS loading. It’s working for me, my Dell Inspiron 1720 is running at full speed, but no battery charging.
In this way, I successfully updated my BIOS (A05 to A09).
05/02/2009 at 2:30 pm Permalink
This is the best article I have found on the Dell power supply ID problem. You have quite an ingenious way of fixing it! I could fix it this way but I’m wondering, would anyone have a BIOS hack for this?
05/02/2009 at 2:48 pm Permalink
I already found it.. :). http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/
07/02/2009 at 12:36 am Permalink
happened to me on my year old dell inspiron 6400, as i moved to asia i had to buy one for $100 to replace the dead old ac power brick, now 1 month in, and the new one is saying the same thing LOL, it also says my battery is not there but if i take out ac power the laptop still runs. I like dell machines cas there nice and cheap, i dont know what brand to buy if i dont buy dell oh well
09/02/2009 at 11:37 am Permalink
thanks for this entry. the tip to push the cable worked for me - at the moment. can’t wait for the day when the power brick completely dies.
has anybody tried to replace the cable from the supply to the laptop with standard coax or other cables?
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20/03/2009 at 3:59 am Permalink
I recently bought a Dell Studio XPS 16. 4 days later got this error. Called Dell, after 30mins of useless questions the support guy asks what we should do!
Since I tried another charger which resulted in the same problem. It looks like its the Mobo / Power unit in the laptop.
Dell will be sending a techie to replace my mobo!!!
This is dissapointingly bad engineering.
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I noticed that this is not the first time at all that you write about the topic. Why have you chosen it again?
14/04/2009 at 8:10 pm Permalink
As far as I know, many people’s dell adapter cant work, for this they buy a new battery replacement.
I also have this problem. I just find some useful tips in web, so I write this article.
Maybe my job makes me more sensitive about this. As you know I am a battery manufacturer .
Now I must buy bread for my 2 years old daughter. Just this.
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26/05/2009 at 1:55 am Permalink
it just started a few days ago. when i started my computer i would get 2 very loud beeps and a black screen saying that the AC adapter was not recognized, it also gave me the option of disable that alert. i did. i regret it now… i think it had more info.
my adapter is not recognized and wont charge the battery. is it the adapter? battery? laptop?
PLSSSSSSSSSS … help
26/05/2009 at 1:59 am Permalink
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17/06/2009 at 1:51 am Permalink
I have an old 1.5GHz Dell D600 Inspiration (Desperation) and the PSU brick has died. The case melted and the room was filled with smoke. I bought a universal PSU - the computer works great, but when I boot I get the PSU not recognized error.
If you do press F3 so as not to get the error massage then you can go into the page BIOS and change the PSU check from disabled to enabled, then it asks you every time.
But it still does not help me. The battery fitted beneath, and the battery in the CD bay still do not charge.
I have a HP that did not charge batteries because of a motherboard problem, but I built an external charger and it works fins, BUT this silly DELL battery does not have two terminals where I can see the 11 volts. If I could find that then I could strap a diode and resistor from the AC PSU to the +11v terminal of the battery to bypass the DELL internal charging crap.
Anyone know the battery pinout?
Is there a fix for the BIOS?
22/06/2009 at 8:43 am Permalink
The article about removing the DS 2501 chip from AC adapter and sticking it onto the motherboard is an interesting thought. I would try it except the article needs more details such as the power connections to the DS 2501. This is a memory chip of some sort so one would assume it needs a VCC and gnd to power it up. Also, is there a simular chip on the motherboard or no chip at all?
ray
24/06/2009 at 12:42 pm Permalink
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20/07/2009 at 6:02 am Permalink
Hey Jack, thanks for your article about removing the DS 2501 chip from AC adapter and sticking it onto the motherboard, it could be extremely valuable to many people!
But I agree with Raymond. Please post more details and perhaps better pictures of what you did because I want to try it too! It’s crazy that so many people are having this same problem. Do you think it’s possible for someone to create a bios flash that will override this frustrating PSID crap? Thanks
Inspiron 6000, 3rd charger in 3 years.
21/07/2009 at 2:02 am Permalink
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22/07/2009 at 4:49 pm Permalink
thx for great info…
11/08/2009 at 11:21 am Permalink
Great advice on the adapter.
Could someone give me the contact info for the guy at Dell who said he wold replace ?
Thanks
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24/08/2009 at 9:41 pm Permalink
SO I get the message. I hate that message. Is my computer really operating slower? Can I get a replacement?
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13/10/2009 at 5:52 pm Permalink
Hi Jack, great article. Could you email me or tell me the email for the Dell guy who says he will replace power adapters?
I have had this Laptop only since July, it’s a Dell 1545, everything about it until now has been absolutely great. Suddenly today I plug in my laptop and I get this message. At first I thought it was Dell’s Quickset program just messing up, so I closed it, that didn’t fix it, so I restarted my laptop, and the problem is still there. I am using the original power adapter supplied with my laptop. I hope to get it replaced as soon as possible.
Thanks so much if you can let me know how to get in contact with that Dell guy.
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14/10/2009 at 10:01 pm Permalink
Can you please email me the contact information for that Dell guy? I have this problem as well, I contacted Dell and they want me to send them my laptop so they can replace the motherboard. I don’t believe it’s the motherboard since the problem sometimes goes away if I re-seat the adapter’s connector to my laptop several times.
The tech support doesn’t listen, I told them about all the people having problems online. They completely ignore what I say, and repeat that I have to send them my laptop to have the motherboard replaced. I’m using the Dell power adapter that came with my laptop. Can you please give me the contact information for the Dell guy?
19/10/2009 at 2:20 am Permalink
Hi joshua you can view the original post in http://getsatisfaction.com/dell/topics/_ac_power_adapter_not_determined_and_power_adapter_wont_work
Yes the problem is actually caused by dell motherboard.
24/10/2009 at 1:40 am Permalink
Same problem with a xps m1330 I hate D(h)ELL
01/11/2009 at 4:25 am Permalink
Yesterday i got “The AC adapter type cannot be determined” error message with my Dell Inspiron E1405. I googled, seems that either my charger is not working properly, or the motherboard problem.
Anyway i am out of warranty, i am very disappointed with Dell Customer Support, i think the worst one among laptop manufacturers. Either i have to call them or send an email, nothing else…can’t chat…. really very poor support.
Anyway I want to know, is there is a way to change that “system will operate slowly” thing to the normal one. Eventhough my battery is not going to charge, at least i want a full performance…. I changed Dell Quickset option to Maximum Performance, but it didnt help. Can you help me?
01/11/2009 at 7:47 am Permalink
Hi I have no idea what has happened to my AC ADAPTER it was fine when i used it the night before but then all of a sudden i noticed that it wasnt charging and there was a message displayed saying:
‘The AC power adapter wattage and type cannot be determined. The battery may not charge…Please connect a DELL 64W AC Adapter or greater for best system performance. To resolve this issue, try to reseat the power adapter.’
I have only had this laptop for almost 5 months and it hasn’t even been used much. So therefore do not see why it has stopped working.
02/11/2009 at 3:45 am Permalink
Out of Dell warranty ?
First you must confirm that the Ac adapter and the battery is good?
Then Try to download the newest Dell BIOS for E1405, maybe it can solve the problem.
Good luck
04/11/2009 at 8:27 pm Permalink
Just connect the dell customer service to change the motherboard. But it may take you 30days to get your new laptop motherboard.
03/12/2009 at 7:22 am Permalink
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