Dell inspiron 4000 battery problem

[adhdavid]

I have a Dell Inspiron 4000 laptop. I suddenly started getting a message that my previously fully charged battery was not and was dangerously low. Unclear if the problem was battery or machine or both, I substitued a charged battery from my aunt's Inspiron 2500 (compatible) and put the dubious battery in her unit to charge. next morning the old battery was still not charged, the fresh one did not work in my laptop, and when returned to her laptop now read 14% and charging (apparently discharged in my laptop overnight).
I don't want to buy a new battery if the problem is the laptop. how do I figure out the source of the problem & the solution?

 

[patio]

Sounds like your AC/charge cord has seen better days...either that or the pin connector for AC on the lappy is bent damaged.

 

[adhdavid]

AC/Charge cord/battery problem dell inspiron 4000

thanks for the input. First, how can I test the AC/charge cord? And if that is the source of the problem, why didn't the fresh battery work in the laptop? any further troublesheeting thoughts?
thanks.

 

[patio]

The only way i think of would be to borrow a like model from a friend and or a computer repair shop while they test yours...

 

[Sharam]

See if in the BIOS or installed software from DELL you find a battery calibration and test utility.

Check DELL for updates and such before going any further. It does sound your battery might have gone bad but may be your laptop did offer a helping hand!

On HP laptops that I have seen a lot of, there is a calibration utility right in the BIOS; there are also tools on line for certain models to re-calibrate the battery /charger.

If you set your BIOS to take care of your battery’s charge and system performance, don’t allow windows to manage it as well.