Hey everyone

I have a dell inspiron 6400 about 3 yrs old that shut off during use about 2 weeks ago and wont turn on.

I had been getting warnings that my battery was" still able to charge, but reaching the end of its useful life" for a few weeks.(from dell quickset or whatever program it is) the battery would still power my laptop for an hour or more tho...ohh it is an extended life battery

After sitting for a week or so without me fooling with it it actually turned on and booted up for a minute but then shut off within 20 30 seconds.

laptop wont work when plugged in to power cord alone, power cord w/ battery, or battery alone.

i put the battery into my dads newer inspiron 1501 and it works fine.(same 11.1v rating 85wh capacity and chargers have same stats) it does say the battery cant be identified when it initally boots and prompts me to enter bios but i do so then exit and it works fine.

i put his battery into my laptop and it does nothing. and i try with his charger plugged into it with no result.

i thought my battery was the problem but now Im guessing its not?

Any help is appreciated

i just picked up my inspiron and noticed a burnt smell when i put my face up to the empty battery socket. something must have burnt out.... any ideas where to go from here to find out specifically what it is?

just in case this helps... when i try to power it up(battery and charger intact) the power light flashes green once, and like 5 seconds later the charging light flashes off then turns back on. the charging light is always green when plugged in and a battery is in

i can propose the max8731 or something in neighborhood of this chip(means, mosfets, diodes, etc) death. it's a battery charger, and it takes almost full for charging main battery(19v comes right 2 this chip).

From your description, it is likely you have a bad hard drive, and there is little likelyhood any burning occurred. It can also be a power adapter, dirty CPU cooling fan, or other temporary defect that can be repaired by replacing parts.