Can't make this up! Here I am, in a hotel lobby in Washington DC, and I just plugged in my Dell Inspiron 14 laptop. I was working on a post about the draft Basel Secretariat "Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment" (needs polishing, won't publish now). I got the infamous, dreaded 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”
(If you arrived at this blog looking for a solution, rather than an essay on "e-waste" policy, go to this excellent UK "Laptop Battery Blog").What makes this Dell laptop power adapter problem "infamous?" This is the same original Dell adapter that came with the laptop. It lights up, the board detects it. But from normal wear and use, evidently the laptop can become "estranged" from its working power supply, and no longer allow its current to recharge the battery.
