Dell Inspiron 910 (Mini 9) problem.

Ken C.

Ken C.

Jack of all trades, master of none.
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I was given a Dell Inspiron 910 last year and left it int he box unopened until today. I really had no need for it until my little one asked for a laptop like her big sister. I figured whattheheck...

Opened the box. Plugged it in. Nothing.

Zip.

Zilch.

Nada.

No LED light indicating it was charging. No response when hitting power button.

Called Dell. Unit is out of warranty by 5 months. Read reports online that the battery may be the issue as well as it needing a BIOS flash to the newer version which resolves the battery issue. Funny...I need to actually power it up to flash the BIOS.

Dell will sell me a new battery for a boat load of cash and there is no guarantee it will resolve the issue. I may buy an aftermarket.

Does anyone out there on BFC have an Inspiron 910 and have you had the same problems?
 
I don't have an Inspiron but do have a suggestion that may be worth trying out. My cousin had an older Dell notebook for which Dell and every online retailer we could find wanted $150+ for a replacement battery. When he was in town, we called around to all the local electronic supply places and eventually found a replacement for around $50, iirc.

Of course, since you did mention aftermarket it seems like you probably have already had this thought yourself. :o
 
Aftermarket batteries are usually better than OEM as well as cheaper. An extra battery is always going to be useful.
 
How is the AC adapter? It should fire up running off AC unless that is bad, which of course would preclude it from charging the battery.
 
The issue that I've read is that the BIOS update fixes the charging issue. The adapter is fine and works on other units that use the same one. This was verified on several Dell Mini's. The unit is not designed to run off the AC adapter only. The battery must be in place.
 
I have a mini 9 and I dont need a battery to be in place when i run the little machine. I just plug in the ac and it starts up fine.

I can take pics if you want.
 
Do you have a Mini 9 or the 910? There is a slight difference.
 
That sucks...I would see if I could "borrow" a battery until I could get the bios flashed to fix the charging issue ( if this is a "fix" )

Otherwise, I would pester the Dell to make it right. Perhaps letting them know that you use this for travel purposes and have not had to use it for awhile so it sat, now it is no longer operable. If the person that you talk to cannot help you, ask for their manager and keep escalating the issue.

HTH
 
Besides, you can't tell them anything unless you survive the hold period.
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Hi Ken...

FWIW, I'm posting this from a 910 w/o battery - it seems to run fine on just the wall-wart.

I haven't had your battery issue, but mine did come from the factory with a bum keyboard (that caused boot problems).

Have you been to MyDellMini - Mini 9 Forums ?

Good luck!

Cheers,
--
Terry McG
 
Sounds sucky :( I've had the mini9 since it came out and it runs fine for me.

Hope you can get it working, but I wouldn't spend a lot of cash on it.
 
Terry,

Can you post a pic and the specs of the AC adapter you have for your 910? I have a feeling I may have the wrong adapter.
 
Ken C. said:
Terry,

Can you post a pic and the specs of the AC adapter you have for your 910? I have a feeling I may have the wrong adapter.
Click to expand...

Hey Ken, another idea is to go to Dell's website and punch in your Service tag number and get the specs on your physical unit. It also gives you a list of factory replacement parts. That will tell you if you have the correct unit.

Heber
 
wildmanh said:
Hey Ken, another idea is to go to Dell's website and punch in your Service tag number and get the specs on your physical unit. It also gives you a list of factory replacement parts. That will tell you if you have the correct unit.

Heber
Click to expand...

I've done all that and it requires me to contact Dell for replacement parts. They do not have anything listed on the site.
 
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