Can only dialup while on battery power (dell inspiron 8600)
Now this is a strange problem…
Someone emails me, saying his laptop will dial up his internet connection, but only if he is running on battery power. If it is plugged into the AC adaptor, he cannot dial his ISP.
I think of the usual suspects: malware/virus, windows power settings, a faulty power supply.
After some testing, I also found that if I connect to the internet (whilst on battery power), and then connect the AC power, the modem hangs up. At that point, I pickup the phone, and a hear a buzzing noise (probably 50Hz)…
I get the feeling that the AC ripple from the power supply rectifier, is not being filtered properly and is making its way to the modem (or the power supply has a faulty rectifier or capacitor… unlikely, as I measured the voltages, and it is DC, with very little AC component).
Anyway, I dismantle most of the laptop, looking for something obvious (like an exposed wire touching somewhere it shouldn’t)… but no such luck.
I’ve never liked laptops much, and my experience over the last few days has reinforced my bad feelings.
This looks like a job for Acer technical support (who will most likely just replace the motherboard).
the likley problem is in the power adaptor if its shorting and sending the wrong volts and amps or the regulator is not regulating, did you try a generic power adaptor? the battery runs through the same circut as power on most laptops.
The volts and amps seemed ok. So it could have been the regulator… But I didn’t have a generic adaptor to try it with… I’m still new enough, that I’m not fully stocked with all the equipment I’d like to have.
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