'Power' Laptop

[palmer_eldritch]

I have looked at the 'similar threads' (nice feature) but I think my particular nugget is new...

 

I have a laptop which really likes my office. So much so, that it won't accept mains power from anywhere else. Outside my office, it'll only boot up if you're on battery. Plug the mains in and it just constantly restarts. In my office, though, it's fine. The only way I've found to get it to accept mains power outside my office is to do the following;

 

1) Boot up on battery power.

2) Insert DVD

3) Launch Windows Media Player or whatever

4) Play the DVD

5) Insert mains power plug

6) Minimise DVD window

7) Laptop now accepts mains power

 

Stop the DVD and it immediately shuts down and restarts continuously. And yet it's fine in my office. Elsewhere in the College it won't have mains. Outside the College it won't have mains.

 

Is it haunted? Seriously, though, I've never come across this sort of behaviour - has anyone else?

[rhyds]

Hmmm, have you tried another power supply? Or another battery? Or a Priest?

 

It could be that the plug/AC lead is "iffy" and that the way it's plugged in in your office is ok, whereas other places aren't. Have you tried it at home/another building?

[Joanne]

is it still under waranty? Send it back!!

[elsiegee40]

I like rhyds suggestion.

 

Looking at my office/cupboard it is possible the lead is trailed over books or whatever at a particular angle that means you have a good connection.

 

Unfortunately, the fault may not be the lead, but the socket

[SYNACK]

Dodgy power supply or internal power components. Your office may have a slightly higher or lower voltage due to how it is wired or what is running in there causing it to be stable there but not elsewhere.

 

I had a pc that would not boot up unless you ejected the DVD-writer just as it was running post to that it balanced the load on the PSU just right, otherwise it just kept rebooting.

 

If you have another laptop with the same power adapter I would check it with that and if it still misbehaves then I would suspect the power management and charging stuff inside the laptop.

[m2d2]

Looking at my office/cupboard it is possible the lead is trailed over books or whatever at a particular angle that means you have a good connection.

 

Does electricity only flow downhill:D

[elsiegee40]

Does electricity only flow downhill:D

 

Like the idea - don't remember that from when I did Physics A Level, but the syllabus has probably changed now.