Re: psu or firmware?
On 21/07/2020 04:35, David Wright wrote: However, this laptop, the lenovo, no longer has a functioning power regulation. The battery shows full at all times, but if the AC is interrupted, it's dead. It doesn't help that the connector (a USB-A look-alike) is loose fitting, so the laptop now has to be a static desktop, with its power cord twisted and trapped underneath in such a manner that it can't move around. It's not worth spending any money on because, after a hard life, . the touchpad doesn't click any more, . the screen is coming away from the casing at the hinge, so closing or opening it is a delicate operation, . the USB sockets are about as loose as the power one with some sticks, . I've had to strap a straightened coathook to the PSU because the cable's strain relief has broken, leaving the wires exposed and vulnerable. (It's a replacement PSU.) Wow. That puts mine to shame: I have replaced a dying fan, a dead hard drive, and a dead power adaptor so far. But apart from holes in the plastic case where the fan grid has given way it's currently all intact apart from the faulty regulator or whatever it is. Speed has been a problem - I ran gentoo on it for years but switched to debian when the hdd died, because compile times were getting too long. I suppose if push came to shove, and Vostros were common enough, you might be able get another machine to charge the battery pack for you. I'm not going to buy another dodgy antique just for that! But its not a bad idea in principle: maybe I can find something just as a recharger. My wife has a Packard bell bought on the very same day - but unfortunately her power regulator has died too. Must be a common fault, wonder if it was a particular component problem at the time (you'd think there would be more stress on the CPU Cheers Graham Cheers, David.
Re: psu or firmware?
On Mon 20 Jul 2020 at 17:58:46 (+0100), Graham Seaman wrote: > > So the new battery came, precharged to 75%. Left the power in for 30 > minutes, stayed at 75%. Took the power out, dropped to 72% pretty > quickly. Put the power back in and it stays at 72%. So the motherboard > is reading the battery power ok but not charging it, although it > thinks it is, and I have a motherboard fault. > > I do use it as a laptop not a server, mainly for browsing and text > editing, and at home cos its too heavy to lug around. I can carry on > using it like that just plugged into the adaptor, although the power > plug is a bit loose and tends to fall out unexpectedly which may well > eventually leave me with a corrupted hard drive. I either invest in > some sticky tape to hold it in place or try to peer at the mother > board and hope I find a popped capacitor or something I have a hope of > fixing. Sticky tape it is then. My laptops run a background job in X that sets the backgound colour of the root window according to the state of the battery and, with higher priority, the temperature of the CPU. So my ranking is brown toast, < 15°C below critical red frying, < 20°C below critical DarkVioletdischarging, < 10% left DeepPink discharging, < 25% left yellowdischarging green full linen not charging, but not full DarkTurquoise charging a little DarkGreen charging blue charging a lot linen was a later addition: when AC is restored but the battery is over ~95%, one doesn't charge, but just runs on the AC. The green/yellow transition makes it very obvious when the AC power gets disconnected for any reason. However, this laptop, the lenovo, no longer has a functioning power regulation. The battery shows full at all times, but if the AC is interrupted, it's dead. It doesn't help that the connector (a USB-A look-alike) is loose fitting, so the laptop now has to be a static desktop, with its power cord twisted and trapped underneath in such a manner that it can't move around. It's not worth spending any money on because, after a hard life, . the touchpad doesn't click any more, . the screen is coming away from the casing at the hinge, so closing or opening it is a delicate operation, . the USB sockets are about as loose as the power one with some sticks, . I've had to strap a straightened coathook to the PSU because the cable's strain relief has broken, leaving the wires exposed and vulnerable. (It's a replacement PSU.) I suppose if push came to shove, and Vostros were common enough, you might be able get another machine to charge the battery pack for you. Cheers, David.
Re: psu or firmware?
On 18/07/2020 21:36, Stefan Monnier wrote: often for the price of a new battery you are already a large part of the way towards just getting a newer system (a raspberry pi might work for some people and be much better instead). New batteries for a Dell Vostro 1520 seem to run around $30 (according to a quick search for "battery dell vostro 1520"). If the machine is used as a kind of server then a small SBC (like an EspressoBin, or Pi) might indeed be a good option, but a new battery is not a large investment. And while old, a Core 2 Duo is still pretty competitive against those small boxes. Stefan "doing most of his work on a Thinkpad T61" So the new battery came, precharged to 75%. Left the power in for 30 minutes, stayed at 75%. Took the power out, dropped to 72% pretty quickly. Put the power back in and it stays at 72%. So the motherboard is reading the battery power ok but not charging it, although it thinks it is, and I have a motherboard fault. I do use it as a laptop not a server, mainly for browsing and text editing, and at home cos its too heavy to lug around. I can carry on using it like that just plugged into the adaptor, although the power plug is a bit loose and tends to fall out unexpectedly which may well eventually leave me with a corrupted hard drive. I either invest in some sticky tape to hold it in place or try to peer at the mother board and hope I find a popped capacitor or something I have a hope of fixing. Sticky tape it is then. Graham
Re: psu or firmware?
On Saturday, July 18, 2020 05:00:57 PM Graham Seaman wrote: > On 18/07/2020 21:42, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: > > On Saturday, July 18, 2020 04:21:31 PM Graham Seaman wrote: > >> Where did you find them? All I can find on ebay or elsewhere is AC > >> adapters (I'm searching on 'dell vostro 1520 psu' or 'dell vostro 1520 > >> power supply', but all the results returned are for adapters, not power > >> supplies - even when the description says 'power supply' the photo shows > >> an adapter). > > > > Google for Dell vostro 1520 battery > > Of course, don't know why I was being so dumb. Somehow I seem to have > imagined my laptop was a desktop... I wondered why you referred to a PSU -- I thought maybe it was a (King's / Queen's) "Englishcism" or something along those lines. Now I understand. (Oh, and don't feel dumb, or so it with tongue in cheek, the older I get, the dumber I am ;-) (I guess there's a trajectory in a parabola shaped curve for "dumbness"-- when you're young, you're dumb from lack of knowledge, but smart in terms of having a good memory for what you learn. When you get older, you have plenty of knowledge, but are dumb due to forgetting it. ;-)
Re: psu or firmware?
On Saturday, July 18, 2020 04:47:40 PM Stefan Monnier wrote: > > New batteries for a Dell Vostro 1520 seem to run around $30 (according > > to a quick search for "battery dell vostro 1520"). > > Adding "site:co.uk" to the query seems to indicate prices are more in > the £40-50 range in the UK. I don't know what shipping from the US and VAT would add to the US cost, but if I lived in the UK I'd look into that. You might find some free shipping deals. I'd particularly check Amazon and eBay, and I am not averse to buying from the far east -- shipping can take a while, and shipments occasionally get lost, but in almost all cases, the supplier makes good, and, if not, ebay and then PayPal can step in. (I think eBay limits recoveries to 60 (or 30?) days after the scheduled delivery, PayPal does 6 months (not sure if that is from order date or promised delivery date.
Re: psu or firmware?
On Saturday, 18 July 2020 17:11:22 -04 Graham Seaman wrote: > On 18/07/2020 21:47, Stefan Monnier wrote: > >> New batteries for a Dell Vostro 1520 seem to run around $30 > >> (according to a quick search for "battery dell vostro 1520"). > > > > Adding "site:co.uk" to the query seems to indicate prices are more > > in > > the £40-50 range in the UK. > > Most of the ones on Amazon are less than that. I've just bought one > for £21.99 - a Chinese clone of the original, I imagine. I shall see > if that does it or it turns out to be an onboard regulator or > similar, in which case I guess I give up on it. > > Graham The chinese clones (or from Chechia for that matter) are usually better than the original ones. Reason: The clones are really new but the original ones came together with the notebook in the same container. That means that they are original but as old as the computer and not good anymore. -- Eike Lantzsch ZP6CGE
Re: psu or firmware?
Graham Seaman wrote: > > Maybe the CMOS battery empty? > > Why would the CMOS battery affect the main battery? (not being sarcastic - I > really don't know enough about this to know whether it would or not) That old machine has stored most settings in the BIOS. It's not unlikely, that a new CMOS battery might help, but surely depends on vendor/model and BIOS itself. Look here: https://www.laptop-junction.com/toast/content/battery-not-charging-bios-setup Another way to check state of CMOS battery: unplug and replug AC (and battery at same time - to be sure) for a few seconds. Check afterwards if machine keeps time and date. Best regards, Klaus. -- Klaus Singvogel GnuPG-Key-ID: 1024R/5068792D 1994-06-27
Re: psu or firmware?
On 18/07/2020 21:47, Stefan Monnier wrote: New batteries for a Dell Vostro 1520 seem to run around $30 (according to a quick search for "battery dell vostro 1520"). Adding "site:co.uk" to the query seems to indicate prices are more in the £40-50 range in the UK. Most of the ones on Amazon are less than that. I've just bought one for £21.99 - a Chinese clone of the original, I imagine. I shall see if that does it or it turns out to be an onboard regulator or similar, in which case I guess I give up on it. Graham
Re: psu or firmware?
On 18/07/2020 21:42, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: On Saturday, July 18, 2020 04:21:31 PM Graham Seaman wrote: Where did you find them? All I can find on ebay or elsewhere is AC adapters (I'm searching on 'dell vostro 1520 psu' or 'dell vostro 1520 power supply', but all the results returned are for adapters, not power supplies - even when the description says 'power supply' the photo shows an adapter). Google for Dell vostro 1520 battery Of course, don't know why I was being so dumb. Somehow I seem to have imagined my laptop was a desktop... Thanks Graham
Re: psu or firmware?
> New batteries for a Dell Vostro 1520 seem to run around $30 (according > to a quick search for "battery dell vostro 1520"). Adding "site:co.uk" to the query seems to indicate prices are more in the £40-50 range in the UK. Stefan
Re: psu or firmware?
On Saturday, July 18, 2020 04:21:31 PM Graham Seaman wrote: > Where did you find them? All I can find on ebay or elsewhere is AC > adapters (I'm searching on 'dell vostro 1520 psu' or 'dell vostro 1520 > power supply', but all the results returned are for adapters, not power > supplies - even when the description says 'power supply' the photo shows > an adapter). Google for Dell vostro 1520 battery
Re: psu or firmware?
> often for the price of a new battery you are already > a large part of the way towards just getting a newer > system (a raspberry pi might work for some people and > be much better instead). New batteries for a Dell Vostro 1520 seem to run around $30 (according to a quick search for "battery dell vostro 1520"). If the machine is used as a kind of server then a small SBC (like an EspressoBin, or Pi) might indeed be a good option, but a new battery is not a large investment. And while old, a Core 2 Duo is still pretty competitive against those small boxes. Stefan "doing most of his work on a Thinkpad T61"
Re: psu or firmware?
On 18/07/2020 13:47, Klaus Singvogel wrote: Graham Seaman wrote: I'm running Debian on an old Dell Vostro 1520 - old and slow, but has been working fine. Recently the PSU has stopped charging. It is genuinely empty; if I power down and then try to boot with no power cable attached the laptop is completely dead. Maybe the CMOS battery empty? Why would the CMOS battery affect the main battery? (not being sarcastic - I really don't know enough about this to know whether it would or not) Thanks Graham Try to measure the voltage, if you're eligible with this. If low and depending on price for replacement, I would give it a chance. https://www.parts-people.com/blog/2015/11/05/dell-inspiron-1520-cmos-battery-removal-installation/ Best regards, Klaus.
Re: psu or firmware?
On 18/07/2020 13:39, Dan Ritter wrote: Graham Seaman wrote: I'm running Debian on an old Dell Vostro 1520 - old and slow, but has been working fine. Recently the PSU has stopped charging. It is genuinely empty; if I power down and then try to boot with no power cable attached the laptop is completely dead. I guess it's most likely this is a hardware failure, but since I'm unlikely to find a viable replacement for the battery I'm hoping there might be some firmware or other software change that could account for it. A quick search shows lots of people selling replacement batteries from $12 to $60 US, most in the $20-25 range. Where did you find them? All I can find on ebay or elsewhere is AC adapters (I'm searching on 'dell vostro 1520 psu' or 'dell vostro 1520 power supply', but all the results returned are for adapters, not power supplies - even when the description says 'power supply' the photo shows an adapter). I'm in the UK, so looking for UK suppliers - don't know if that makes a difference. Thanks Graham A secret of many laptop batteries, including this one, is that the battery is largely a container to hold 18650 lithium battery cells, which can be purchased separately. Now, if the motherboard charging circuitry is toast, this won't work, and you should consider a new machine. -dsr-
Re: psu or firmware?
Graham Seaman wrote: > I guess it's most likely this is a hardware failure, but since I'm > unlikely to find a viable replacement for the battery I'm hoping there > might be some firmware or other software change that could account for it. I have replaced batteries after 5y or so. Recently one on a Dell Latitude D520. The led for the battery charging started blinking in a funny way and of course it was not charging. regards
Re: psu or firmware?
Graham Seaman wrote: > I'm running Debian on an old Dell Vostro 1520 - old and slow, but has > been working fine. Recently the PSU has stopped charging. It is > genuinely empty; if I power down and then try to boot with no power > cable attached the laptop is completely dead. > > I guess it's most likely this is a hardware failure, but since I'm > unlikely to find a viable replacement for the battery I'm hoping there > might be some firmware or other software change that could account for it. my guess is that the battery pack is done for before i would suspect the PSU - especially on an old laptop. often for the price of a new battery you are already a large part of the way towards just getting a newer system (a raspberry pi might work for some people and be much better instead). what has been discussed recently in another thread about old hardware often costing more in the long run anyways (more power consumption and eventually perhaps not having very good support by software). songbird
Re: psu or firmware?
Graham Seaman wrote: > I'm running Debian on an old Dell Vostro 1520 - old and slow, but has been > working fine. Recently the PSU has stopped charging. It is genuinely empty; > if I power down and then try to boot with no power cable attached the laptop > is completely dead. Maybe the CMOS battery empty? Try to measure the voltage, if you're eligible with this. If low and depending on price for replacement, I would give it a chance. https://www.parts-people.com/blog/2015/11/05/dell-inspiron-1520-cmos-battery-removal-installation/ Best regards, Klaus. -- Klaus Singvogel GnuPG-Key-ID: 1024R/5068792D 1994-06-27
Re: psu or firmware?
Graham Seaman wrote: > I'm running Debian on an old Dell Vostro 1520 - old and slow, but has been > working fine. Recently the PSU has stopped charging. It is genuinely empty; > if I power down and then try to boot with no power cable attached the laptop > is completely dead. > > I guess it's most likely this is a hardware failure, but since I'm unlikely > to find a viable replacement for the battery I'm hoping there might be some > firmware or other software change that could account for it. A quick search shows lots of people selling replacement batteries from $12 to $60 US, most in the $20-25 range. A secret of many laptop batteries, including this one, is that the battery is largely a container to hold 18650 lithium battery cells, which can be purchased separately. Now, if the motherboard charging circuitry is toast, this won't work, and you should consider a new machine. -dsr-
psu or firmware?
I'm running Debian on an old Dell Vostro 1520 - old and slow, but has been working fine. Recently the PSU has stopped charging. It is genuinely empty; if I power down and then try to boot with no power cable attached the laptop is completely dead. I guess it's most likely this is a hardware failure, but since I'm unlikely to find a viable replacement for the battery I'm hoping there might be some firmware or other software change that could account for it. upower -i /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT1 native-path: BAT1 vendor: Dell serial: 11 power supply: yes updated: Sat 18 Jul 2020 12:34:19 BST (39 seconds ago) has history: yes has statistics: yes battery present: yes rechargeable: yes state: charging warning-level: none energy: 0 Wh energy-empty: 0 Wh energy-full: 37.81 Wh energy-full-design: 48.84 Wh energy-rate: 0 W voltage: 9.306 V percentage: 0% capacity: 77.4161% technology: lithium-ion icon-name: 'battery-caution-charging-symbolic' /var/log/messages says: Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 21.858825] iTCO_vendor_support: vendor-support=0 Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 21.868799] iTCO_wdt: Intel TCO WatchDog Timer Driver v1.11 Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 21.869780] iTCO_wdt: Found a ICH9M TCO device (Version=2, TCOBASE=0x0460) Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 21.869983] iTCO_wdt: initialized. heartbeat=30 sec (nowayout=0) Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 22.114275] dcdbas dcdbas: Dell Systems Management Base Driver (version 5.6.0-3.2) Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 22.227213] battery: ACPI: Battery Slot [BAT1] (battery present) Jul 17 14:53:50 argos kernel: [ 22.665955] intel_powerclamp: No package C-state available Is any of that helpful for working out what might be wrong? Thanks for any advice Graham
