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Dead Power adapter?

post #1 of 19
3/15/04 at 12:53am
Thread Starter 
I've been playing a lot of intensive 3D games on my 8890 lately, for, erm, testing purposes..anyway, suddenly in the middle of a game I get the low power beep. I figure the power cord just got knocked out somehow, but nope, it was still in. I tried plugging it into another outlet and still nothing. The computer shut down because of the lack of power while I was doing this. I keep plugging it into different outlets but no luck, I don't see the green light. I guess something got fried, bad luck. Are there any precautions I should use in the future, I believe it was on a blanket and might have heated up a little more than normal but since it doesn't have vents or anything I figured I didn't have to worry about it that much. Laptop coolers, heck, they should make power brick coolers...but really I'm pretty upset that it got fried like that because I can't imagine the heat was that bad over what it normally gets. Power adapters aren't that fickle are they?
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post #2 of 19
3/15/04 at 1:10am
Thread Starter 
Huh?? It started working again now, suddenly! I sort of thought that if it fried and stopped working that was it. Does the power adapter have something that will shut it off if certain temperatures are reached? Is there any reasonable way to keep it cool so this won't happen in the future? I'd stick it in the freezer, but you know..moisture
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post #3 of 19
3/15/04 at 2:22am
make sure when you plug it into the laptop, it's not plugged into the wall!

aussie posted that in his review, and i disregarded it until i saw a spark!

i will NEVER plug my cable into my laptop while it's hooked into the outlet again!
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post #4 of 19
3/15/04 at 7:51am
Thread Starter 
Hm, well thanks for the advice but I've done this a few times before (being careless I guess) and this was not the problem - it just stopped working randomly when I was plugged in already and had been playing a game and had it on for a couple hours
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post #5 of 19
3/15/04 at 12:31pm
violet, I am sure more knowledgable people will chime in here, but it is entirely likely that the PS overheated. That thing gets *really* hot when you are pushing the machine. Make sure that it is getting plenty of air on a nice flat surface. Don't bury it in carpet if you can avoid it.
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post #6 of 19
3/17/04 at 1:33pm
Check your cord too. Mine was getting frayed and perhaps that was the reason the power supply wasn't getting power to the laptop.

I wound up ordering a new power supply from PC Torque and that solved that particular problem for me.

Joe C.
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post #7 of 19
3/17/04 at 7:01pm
I have had the same exact thing happen with my 4780 but it hasn?t died likes yours did, just about every so weeks the charge light comes on! and its been plugged in for weeks with a fully charged battery? So it kicks out for a couple seconds and the battery recharges, its really strange but who knows.
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post #8 of 19
3/20/04 at 2:56am
find an area that has a weak spot and make a splice the components in the black box stll work but the wires are really bad so you have to replace the wires..those black nuggets are pretty tuff to cut through and the connections you make need to be solid..expect to make many more splices in the future..i was lucky it sparked my metal desk and i saw it so i knew where it was but now the short is in the cable from the outlet to the black box who knows where?? sometimes the brown light will come on then after a jiggle the green ..nother problem is if you have a crappy batery life you will not get past the windows startup....so your skrewed for the time it takes for repairs...and for 6 days mail service and 90.00 bucks...then the battery cost...then you might want the car adapter...for when the computers really hot and does not want to boot...off the weak @ss new battery...but isnt the computer such a power horse i love it so much ive used it every day since i got it plugg it in every day three to four different places..a day..i really wish it had a good battery life..but what do you expect the machine is a monster for a laptop....
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post #9 of 19
3/20/04 at 3:21am
I have an 8887. It has fans and other vents on the bottom.

I use it on a tray on my lap to provide more than adequate ventilation to keep it from overheating and shutting down.
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post #10 of 19
3/20/04 at 3:44am
i modded an old crt riser with two large fans cut to blow into the bottom intake when im connected to the dlp hd projector and use an extension cable from the usb mouse and extension on the keyboard when i play online games.the modem and router sit neatley stacked undrneath..and my lappy stays fresh and god i suggest playing games on the big screen...no wireless it will slow me down..you bet i can see you comming fro a mile away and with the 6.1 surround from the extenal sound card into my stereo out fitted with two 12" polk subs ..you bet i can hear you scream when the grenade pops...
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post #11 of 19
3/20/04 at 1:24pm
Ravage,

Use punctuation and full sentences. It took me like 10 minutes to discipher through your posts.
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post #12 of 19
4/19/04 at 1:11am
My AC Adapter seems to have S#$t the bed. Does anyone know if it is covered by the warranty? With the battery life of a 8890 this means I have a 12lb worthless brick. Dammit.
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post #13 of 19
4/19/04 at 5:05pm
This is some crazy unlucky stuff. I am experiencing the same problem right now. My power supply is practically dead, and I'm here in the library trying to figure out how I will be able to order a power supply as soon as possible with my current battery life on my 8890. This seems like a huge curse and I have very time sensitive files on this drive that I need for the next few weeks.

If someone could direct me to a solution (such as if this power supply is covered by the warranty) or an RMA tech line, please respond. I'm very desperate.

-Justin Lazaro
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post #14 of 19
4/20/04 at 8:05pm
The power adapter is covered by warranty, just get a RMA. I'm shipping mine off now. I found if I hit the adapter it will come back on for a second, so I guess it's internal short. Found this out because I was p sed off at it. Seems to be a common problem with these adapters.
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post #15 of 19
4/20/04 at 9:46pm
yep, exactly what happened to me. I had no problems with my power supply until this morning. I was using it fine last night, put it in my backpack and drove to work. Plugged it in, and no LED light.

I got pissed and thumped it on the ground, the light came on for about 10 seconds then it died. Can't get it to stay on. Very frustrating especially with no warning at all. Now i'm stuck at a client's site with no power supply.

Nothing like spending 42 bucks for overnight shipping. $122 for a power supply is just absurd. Ah well, misery loves company.
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post #16 of 19
4/21/04 at 1:52am
Looks like Sager or Clevo I guess need to look at redesigning the power adapter. It obviously has a design flaw. Found a web site selling them for $75 dollars, thinking about getting a second one, at least I'll have one during the RMA process.
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post #17 of 19
4/21/04 at 2:00pm

Update!

Update!

excellente! I just received my new power adapter that was apparently covered by Sager! The problem occured on Monday, and on Tuesday morning, I called up PCTorque's Tom and asked him for some advice/help and he helped me forward my contact info to Sager Tech.

Sager Tech called me approximately an hour and 45 minutes later and we discussed the problem. They said it was covered by the 1 year warranty and I asked them to ship it overnight just for $20 bucks. 23 Hours later, viola! it is here! excellente! Now all I have to do is clarify the $90 that is printed on the invoice but I'm sure that is only there just in case I do not ship my broken power supply within the 15 days of my RMA.

Sager rox

Edit: This new power suppy rules! It has a built-in fan!!! w00tage!
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post #18 of 19
4/21/04 at 5:25pm
Very cool, glad that worked for you.

Unfortunately I requested an RMA yesterday and ordered a 2nd power supply from pctorque (i asked for overnite on both accounts).

Unfortunately I still have yet to hear from either of them, and here I sit at a client's site with limited availabilty of my resources.

chalk that up to another learning experience... plan ahead
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post #19 of 19
5/7/04 at 5:51am
yup, adapter went bad here too. You'd think with all of the common problems they'd come up with a solution, other than replace the badly designed adapter with another. Other than the week turn around for a new adapter, I can't bi#ch. Good thing the 8890 isn't as Sh*ty as it's AC adapter.
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