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  #1  
08-15-2011, 09:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Superstar
long time, no talk! i need your assistance with something again

remember the laptop that you recommended for me? well, unfortunately the battery that came with it doesn't work, and now the power cord that came with it, the one u plug into the side of the computer and then plug that into the power outlet, suddenly seems to be shorting out on me today.

so, i need a battery and a new power cord.....whenever you're able to, can you try to find me a new battery and power cord? you always seem to find me the best things, so i greatly trust your opinion and recommendations...

the laptop that i have is the Dell Inspiron 1750 Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz 4GB 320GB DVD RW 17.3" WLED Vista Business w/Webcam & 9-Cell Battery (Purple)
Note: Remember to ask all computer help/tech questions on the forum. Thanks!

Well, I know that laptop has given you some good mileage this year so far, and it's sad to hear the battery doesn't work. Are you sure it's not just in need of a long charge, with a known-good power cord? The issues could be related, you know!

Even if the battery is truly bad, it was still a great price on a really nice laptop. So don't fret that part of it.

And then power cords do go bad, especially if you plug/unplug them a lot. That happens to any kind of wiring. Laptops are fairly infamous for it, of course. Dell, HP, Sony, Compaq, even Apple -- the wiring lead into the laptop itself is often the fail point. If you're not really careful, you can also screw up the power input on the laptop (which can be self-repaired if you have a service manual, so it's not the end of the world).

Generally speaking, it's always best to use the batteries issued by the original manufacturer. In this case, Dell. However, as time passes, the supply of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) batteries dries up, and you're left with aftermarket (aka third-party, or also mistakenly called "OEM") parts. Most battery/cord parts come directly from Asia, or an Asian importer. I often find myself buying laptop parts directly from China or Hong Kong, especially if I shopped on eBay. Yes, I do repair my own laptops. (In fact, forum member JMP is supposed to come here and share his story on how he fixed his laptop by literally cooking it in the kitchen oven for about 8 minutes. That's even more ballsy than something I'd do!)

I did a quick look-around, and I see some Dell 1750 parts on Amazon.
- Battery for $53 shipped: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B003TPLWQO
- Power cable for $10 shipped: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...reative=390957

Batteries often cost far more than $50, and I see models available at other stores for $75+ (plus shipping), so I think that's a fair price. It's probably an after-market battery, since it says it's "compatible" to the OEM produce. That's fine. I use aftermarket batteries for my UPS units after they blow, and in the case of those batteries (Zeus), the replacement is better than the original. That's one of the few benefits of aftermarket batteries -- they may be longer-life. (Note that this generally does NOT hold true for camera batteries!)

You can also type "dell 1750 battery" into eBay, and I see some batteries for $25 Buy It Now, with free shipping -- and shipped from within the USA (one of the California importers, no doubt). I would look to buy it from eBay, but I'm also more of a risk-taker when it comes to buying online, from random stores/people.

The power cords are more expensive on eBay. Your best price is at Amazon for the power brick.

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  #2  
08-16-2011, 02:08 AM
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thanks for the great help!
i guess the battery did charge, because when i put it in and looked at the battery meter, it said i need a new battery and gave me a link to the dell store for it, they wanted $200 for it! anyways, i charged it for a few hours, and it says it's now fully charged. however, when i unplug the power cord, the screen gets a lot dimmer with just the battery in it. is that normal?
the dell store wanted $60 for that cord! thanks for the link, i just ordered it for $10, i hope it's 90w though, that's what i have now. i couldn't find if it is or not.
thanks again!
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08-16-2011, 02:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Superstar View Post
when i unplug the power cord, the screen gets a lot dimmer with just the battery in it. is that normal?
Yes, that's normal for any laptop -- HP, Dell, Sony, Apple, etc. The LED or CCFL backlighting is a primary point of power loss, along with the CPU and graphics chipset (GPU). Many laptops will slip into a more energy efficient mode when powered by the battery alone, scaling back the output to conserve energy. It's a good thing, really.

The "problem" with our large 17" laptops is they don't hold a long battery life (maybe 2 hours max?). These laptops are more like portable desktops than a small little 13" or 15" system (3-6 hours?). The larger systems tend to have more inputs (PCI express, Firewire, multiple USB2, full-sized 104 keyboard, etc) and outputs (s-video, HDMI, etc). The small systems are bare bones, minimal inputs/outputs, squished keyboard and mouse area. Each item on the computer requires power, so there's more power drain on the 17" models. Mine is plugged in 99.99% of the time anyway. Even Panera Bread and Starbucks have sockets by most tables, for this very reason.

If I want long-life and portable, I have an iPad for that.

Dell sells "original" Dell-branded items, and at a steep price. I generally have nothing against aftermarket power cords, as you're getting them for just a couple of dollars above cost in most cases. Dell is making probably $55 profit on a $60 brick, which is ridiculous. Companies should provide replacement parts as a service to their existing customers, not use it as a tool for financial rape.

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08-16-2011, 02:29 AM
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Also, if you think you'll own this laptop for several years, take my advice -- buy one of those $25 batteries off eBay now, while you have the chance. In fact, you can swap it with your current battery, and have two in play at all times. That's what I would do, if I ran off the battery a lot. In later years, it may be harder to find, and more costly, to buy a replacement. Consider it a $25 insurance plan.

If you don't plan to use the battery much, then it's maybe not essential.

While you're at it, go to the Dell site (or any site found via Google) and download the laptop's service/repair manual PDF. Not the near-worthless user/instruction manual that you got with the unit, but the manual used by repairmen. Information is vital when trying to self-repair a laptop. Contrary to the silly public notion that "once it's on the Internet, it's there forever", things disappears and go offline permanently. And it happens daily -- things are always lost. (Just think of all the software we've archived here in the forums!) Go hunt down the manual you need, save it aside. Heck, come post it here if you want -- this site isn't going anywhere, so even if you lose your local copy, you can always come back here and download it.

There's no need to just "buy a new one" when a laptop develops a simple issue. The worst part of laptop repair is it often takes a minimum of about 4 hours to do, and there are probably 100 small screws (and often with hex shaped heads). But without a manual, repair is basically impossible.

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