PSA: I keep seeing techs skip the basic power check on laptops.

They go straight to swapping parts or re-imaging, but half the time it's just a bad AC adapter or a dead wall outlet. I wasted 2 hours on a ThinkPad last week before I found the customer's charger was only putting out 5 volts. What's your first step when a laptop won't turn on?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan9522d ago

Honestly, I just assume the charger is dead until proven otherwise.

paulk422d ago

Gotta disagree with that "assume the charger is dead" take, ryan952. My first move is always to check the cable, those things fail way more often than the brick itself. I've got a box full of busted cables but only one dead charger. The outlet is the next suspect, then the device port. The actual power adapter is usually the last thing to blame in my experience.

ryanf662d ago

Wait, you found a charger putting out only 5 volts? That's wild, I've never seen one fail that way. Most just stop working completely, not become a weird low-power zombie. Makes me want to check my own meter more often.