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Thread ID: 129151 2013-02-06 03:30:00 Dell Adapter bk T (215) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1326737 2013-02-06 03:30:00 My mate's old Dell laptop power adapter has decided to call it a day and he bought a generic unit - same output wattage and voltage. Plugged it in, turned on the machine, straight a window pops up saying that the power adapter is not genuine part from Dell and it may not work, press F1 to continue. (something to that effect). What the hell is this!

The machine turns ON OK but it is not charging the battery.

Is Dell really that fussy?
bk T (215)
1326738 2013-02-07 01:47:00 Yes, genuine Dell power adapters contain an IC that sends a code to the laptop to ID itself as a genuine adapter.

jack380.wordpress.com

www.laptop-junction.com
Agent_24 (57)
1326739 2013-02-07 02:03:00 Bit like Apple products not liking non Apple USB charging sources. Guess there could be some rationale behind these decisions but it is still a damn nuisance. linw (53)
1326740 2013-02-07 02:24:00 The idea is that a genuine Dell adapter will have a known supply capacity, and the laptop will know how much power it can draw safely.

A generic el-cheapo adapter could be all manner of crap quality, so the laptop will suspend charging and go into lowest power mode to avoid overloading the unknown supply. Fairly sensible idea in terms of safety, but their implementation of the ID circuitry is bad in terms of reliability.
Agent_24 (57)
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