Power Supply Terminology

[TechieTony]

Maybe I am just ill-informed or maybe im just stupid but I cannot figure out for the life of me what to call the power supply of a laptop.

Apparently "zv6000" does not do the trick via a google search, I only get AC Adapters.....

Here my problem's' "Ive been given this laptop by a friend that has a working AC unit but is non-responsive. My assumption would be to replace the PSU in this laptop barring it is not integrated into the mobo.....

any thoughts??

 

[SimonDavies]

What is non responsive, the laptop or the power supply?

Usually the laptop itself uses a battery which is charged by a powersupply, generally speaking the battery is the first thing to go (I can only use my Vaio on mains only now due to that) but occasionally the connector on the lead to the laptop will also fail.#

First thing I would do is remove the battery completely and plug in the power lead, does it light up anything on the laptop at all?

Failing that there should be some sort of part number on the PSU somewhere.

Simon

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[Lemon13]

the PSU in this laptop"
there is no psu in the laptop, the ac adapter is the psu, it provides the dc power to run the laptop and charges the battery.
usally there is one led that signals ac is connected, if its not lit while connected with a known working ac adapter (without battery) theres something wrong with the mainboard

 

[wahnula]

Try the universal laptop repair Step One: remove the battery and AC adapter, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds, release, then plug in a know working AC adapter and hit the power switch.

Check the adapter with a DC Voltmeter. Usually, if the adapter shows the correct voltage (+- a few volts) it will at least boot up.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[BFOJ]

Biggest problem with laptops, the DC Power Jack has a broken solder connection on the motherboard, hence the AC Power Adapter doesn't work, usually a little jiggling of the plug may create a temporary power connection.

Typically on the motherboard, there is a DC power circuit.

 

[wahnula]

As is the rule with most electronics, AC is just a cheap way to get DC to your device. Almost all electronics run off DC, and Edison, in the first "format war", lobbied for DC as the default power source. I think AC won because of its long-distance-without-significant-loss characteristic, but I'm flying on old memory cells here and could be wrong. I wasn't there like edfair bas...

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[BadBigBen]

I think AC won because of its long-distance-without-significant-loss characteristic, but I'm flying on old memory cells here and could be wrong.

quite correct...

I wasn't there like edfair bas...

I remember seeing a picture, I believe dated 1889, where it clearly showed EdFair, Edison and Tony having tea and talking about copper prices or similar (a news paper with the Stock Exchange was laying on the table next to Edison)...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[edfair]

Thank you, but I'm not quite that old.

Ac won because it could be transformed to a higher voltage and lower current for transmission, with the resulting difference in efficiency.

I will admit to being of the age when there were still operators on the other end of the telephone wire and they would connect you to the number you wished to be connected to. (mostly).

And at the time I was doing my early electrical design work the standard for overcurrent protection was screw-in fuses.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[wahnula]

And at the time I was doing my early electrical design work the standard for overcurrent protection was screw-in fuses.

...ah yes...Buss and/or Fustat. Fustat's "new design" with the mica window made it harder to bypass whilst I believe the Buss glass fuses needed a penny or nickel to bypass.

And my house was on a "party line" where two short rings meant it was for us, one long ring belonged to a neighbor.

As much as I kid edfair about his age I'm probably closer to his age than I am to other members...although that was not TEA we were drinking in the picture - god-awful stuff that it is, we're Americans and drink COFFEE with or without a shot...

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[BadBigBen]

Ed & Tony - LOL... I'm catching up, trust me on that, I remember growing up in the time of Capt. Crunch (70's) and phreaking out Ma-Bell...

Tony, I mentioned Tea due to it being, at that time, still the preferred concoction of the upper class... but honestly, I gotta say this about American Coffee, it is usually to weak for my taste, I am used to the "stick in spoon and watch it disolve" type coffee (German Coffee)...



Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[edfair]

My choice is tea, but not in a cup. With ice. And it used to have lots of sugar. But no longer.

Now I troll 7 bags through a gallon of near boiling water. Then store at room temp or lower. Pour over ice.

Good old southern drink.

BigBadBen,
Understand that he did something really wild with the phone system. Well, know more than that. I still can dial by making and breaking the connection. If I am forced to touchtone I'll have to buy new phones. This is more a matter of being unhappy with the local provider and cheap, since they charge for TT for a line the was originally leased when rotary was the standard.


Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[BadBigBen]

Good old southern drink.

Hmmm, Southern Comfort or Texas Ice Tea (ToKillYa eh Tequila, Coke and crushed ice)...

When we lived in Texas (El Paso), my mom used to get an old jar (gallon size or more) drop in some tea bags, filled up with water, and set it in the sun... now flavor that with a bit of peach juice and I am honky-dory...

Yep, Capt. Crunch is now in his 60's, and he developed the Blue Box, which created tones at frequencies that fooled the underlying computer hardware that money was dropped in pay phones, thus allowing free long distance calls...



Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.