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Question

Plugged In, Not Charging

May 6, 2017 12:50AM PDT

The laptop I bought has served me for about 5 years. Now, Its at 9% and not charging. Whenever I unplug my laptop, it immediately shuts down. I went through many videos trying to fix this but nothing works for me. I can't even turn on my laptop without charging. My laptop is a Samsung R420. Its running Windows 10. Please answer as soon as possible as I have a project soon. Thank You.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: plugged in, not charging
May 6, 2017 1:07AM PDT

I hope you can do your project while connected to the mains with an adapter, so you don't need the battery.

If it's hardware, it's either the battery or the motherboard. Replacing the motherboard probably is to expensive, replacing the battery is worth a try, especially if you can return it if it doesn't work.

To check if it's something else than hardware, you can do three things:
1. Reset the BIOS to defaults.
2. Boot from a Linux disc or stick (free to make) and see if it works then
3. Reinstall Windows from the recovery media that came with the laptop ("back to factory conditions").

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Answer
Bear in mind there are thousands of priors to this issue.
May 6, 2017 6:53AM PDT

So I won't write it all here but work with what you have.

This issue is common with old laptops that have a worn battery or failure in charger or main board. 5 years is way over the expected battery lifespan so my first part to replace is the battery then the charger. If that doesn't cure it along with an OS reload from factory restore media then it's the mainboard and rarely worth fixing.

There are thousands of priors but most don't apply due to the machine and battery age. Only those new to this will balk at the battery replacement at 5 years old.