UNSOLVED
Closed
Wrong adapter detected.
I own a inspiron 8200 laptop that I bought about 2 years ago. Just recently it started saying that it has detected a 70 watt ac adapter plugged in and that it's gonna switch to battery optimized mode causing it to run at the slowest cpu speed. Now I know this is a motherboard related issue hardware wise but I am also guessing here that when the ac adapter is plugged in on these faulty motherboards that it's sending incorrect info to the bios... Now is it possible to modify the bios to trick it into thinking it's all ok or perhaps switching to a max performance mode so that I don't have to shell out $800 to buy another motherboard... Any wacky crazy workable ideas are appreciated since I'm willing to try anything... Maybe even flashing it with another model's bios image that doesn't incorporate the ac adapter check or a way of removing that all together from the bios would be great...
- The adapter is not bad at all, there is hardware on the motherboard for detecting the type of adapter plugged in that has gone bad. What I want to do is modify the bios it self to either not detect a wrong adapter and just go on it's way or to give me the choice of what mode to run the system in other then just battery optimized mode..
- It's not a issue of controling it with speedstep cause it's detecting the power supply as a 70watt when infact it's a 90watt ... This is causing it to default the cpu to battery optimized mode which is unchangable afterwards. I just want to modify the bios code to remove the adapter detection or atleast have it tricked into changing to max performance mode..
Patmichalouski
164 Posts
2089
0
Posted November 23rd, 2003 17:00
According to all the post I read , it's a very common problem at least on the inspiron 8200 . I have the same problem and it's not the ac adapter because I have tried three of them on mine and on another 8200 . Dell hotline answers is motherboard issue .
If anybody knows how to solve this , you are welcome .
77avsfan77
4 Posts
2089
0
Posted April 4th, 2004 00:00
Has anybody found a solution to this problem? I am just now getting the problem with an Inspiron 8200. I found that the Bios Version 11 has a bug fix for this, it doesn't seem to solve the problem though. I don't know if the fix in the Bios prevents the problem from occurring but doesn't fix it if you already have it. I previously had version 4 so it wouldn't have been in that version.
Summary of the issue is below.
I updated the BIOS from Version 4 to 11 and still get the problem. I also checked the AC Adapter against a friends and with a new adapter from Dell and still get the error.
"Warning 70 watt AC Adapter detected. System will not be capable of running in full performance mode without a 90 watt adapter. Press f1 to continue botting in battery optimized mode, or F2 to shutdown."
I was told to update the BIOS (already did)
And now I am supposed to upgrade the motherboard, for $599. Sales doesn't even sell them though right now.
I have been told that I can try changing the virtual memory to an increased allotment to increase performance but that doesn't help you out on the battery problem, which is that it doesn't charge in optimized mode.
I don't have any other ideas, I am in the same boat though with an 8200 that is now essentially a desktop system.
SJohnson42
1 Message
2089
0
Posted February 4th, 2005 15:00
I also have this adapter/battery optimized mode. I have verified that the adapter and the battery are both fine. I upgraded to the latest bios, too.Unfortunately, Dell Support has informed me that this problem can only be resolved by replacing the motherboard (which, I understand, is unavailable). How many customers experience this problem? Is it a design flaw?Is it fair that I spent $2000 on a computer only to have it crash and burn two years later? Is it fair than many people experience this problem, and Dell feels no responsibility to correct the issue?
johnallg
2 Intern
•
7280 Posts
1962
0
Posted November 9th, 2003 23:00