the ac adapter checks out fine, battery will still hold a charge (but it's dead now bc it's not getting recharged ). I've read some places that the soldering on the motherboard messes up, does that sound right?

6/9/2008 1:45:29 PM

You need to find someone to re-solder the power jack to the motherboard. This problem is too fucking common. I'm waiting for a class action lawsuit.

6/9/2008 1:51:46 PM

any local recommendations?

6/9/2008 9:50:41 PM

Are you sure the power adapter is fine?

I have an 8600 that I thought the power jack was screwed up so I replaced it. It is a bitch and alot of pain because the solder points are so fine. After I replaced it, it didn't fix my problem. I bought a $20 adapter off ebay and it's been working since.

On a side note, my girlfriends 5150 did have a bad jack. We bought a new adapter for it and it did not fix. She used it as an excuse to buy a mac.

6/9/2008 10:53:07 PM

I just had the same problem with my e1705 last week. I thought it was either the power jack, power brick, or the battery itself fubar. I checked with my engineering department and found out that the power jack and power brick was pulling the correct amount of amp and voltage, but the battery was bad.

So this morning, I pulled out the battery and have them check it, and it seemed fine. When I put the battery back on, the damn thing works again... I have no idea wtf happened.

6/9/2008 11:01:42 PM

Inspirons are terrible. I have the same power jack problem on mine along with keyboard keys coming loose, lcd frame coming off, screen hinge loose, etc....

[Edited on June 10, 2008 at 12:29 AM. Reason : grammar]

6/10/2008 12:29:27 AM

I donno, I've been pretty impressed of how robust the laptop has been for being 2 years old specially since I use it every day, throw it around like a rag doll and still works.

6/10/2008 1:15:41 AM