Will My Laptop Survive Until I Get Home - Blog Challenge Day 1 of 7
Living on the road in South Carolina for a few more days and my laptop is limping along with a charging problem and I am limping along with a sciatic nerve issue.
I normally drive when possible but flew for this trip so I accept responsibility for my sciatic nerve but what did I do to deserve a charging issue on my laptop?
My laptop charges when it is shut off but if I try to charge it when turned on, it cycles between "plugged in but not charging" to "on battery".
Battery Health Report
The issue started on Friday night when a major Windows 10 upgrade started so I thought the issue may be upgrade related. Once the upgrade was complete, I let the laptop run.
On Saturday night. I thought I was in the clear. Guess what, my tablet started acting up again so an 11 PM run to Walmart to get a new power supply since it made sense and I was not going to find a battery.
It has been many years since I made a late-night trip to Walmart and not only was I exposed to some strange individuals but Walmart did not sell me on customer satisfaction. What a shocker.
There was one (1) universal laptop power supply at Walmart and when I looked it up on my smartphone, the power supply was compatible.
My Power Supply
Having my universal power supply in hand, I returned to the motel and the plug was the wrong plug. UGH....
The Plug I Need
I had to go to work today at 10:30 to meet with the owner of the company I work for and I needed an operational laptop, so I was the first customer in the door at Staples.
I purchased the power supply with the right plug and went to work. I quickly plugged in my new power supply and I was up and operational. Priceless.
After five (5) hours of work I returned to the motel to catch up on WA and work on projects for the 9 to 5 job. I fired up my laptop and the "plugged in but not charging" to "on battery". messages started cycling along with the beep, beep, beep as it transitioned.
Now, I am down to a battery issue, a charging circuit issue, and/or a motherboard issue and I have two (2) new power supplies that I can hopefully return.
The events of the last two (2) days triggers my memory of the comic strip "The Born Loser" by Art and Chip Sansom.
No matter what "The Born Loser" did, the odds were against him and things just went wrong. This sounds familiar doesn't it.
I could be disgruntled and throw my hands up in the air but I will not let this beat me.
- My battery is at 70% and I am glad I bought an SSD hard drive to extend my operations when on battery.
- I will shut down my laptop and charge it whenever possible with a goal of making it through the week.
- Progress at catching up on WA notifications and 9 to 5 work will continue as long as my laptop has a trickle of charge left in the battery.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend and this is installment 1 of 7 for the blog challenge I am involved in.
- What challenges do you work for through to complete a blog?
- Do you think my problem is the battery, charging circuit, and/or motherboard?
Jay Patterson
Recent Comments
52
If it's a battery issue, you can still work even if not charging but you have to always be plugged. If the system doesn't open it may be the system you have to format if it doesn't work on the restore point. If you open your laptop and the screen just blink with the cursor and doesn't say anything you might be having a problem with the motherboard.
Thanks, the laptop only charges when turned off. When on, it attempts to charge but continues to discharge.jay
Try to check your charger it might not be compatible. However, you said it charges when off and discharges when on. For as long as you can work while it is on and plugged you can tolerate it. If plugged and it shuts down I think you have to replace the battery.
Haa...let me help you out Jay!
A-P-P-L-E......a well know fruit that keeps the doctor away! ;-)
Seriously, be more worried about that sciatic nerve! Get some power ice and heat supply on that pronto! Ibuprofren and rest when you can!
Yoga is def in order!
Cindy, Thanks and now I need to learn how to spell apple. I am nursing myself and will hit the chiropractor when I get home. Jay
Hi! Jay,
Hang there; a better change is in its making - that is what I pray for you. Did you restart (reboot) the laptop after window 10 updating? This is stupidly easy but could be forgotten at times.
I hope tomorrow brings something better for you. Take a good care of yourself with God blessing.
Best,
Chin
It's great that you got through, not only the survival of your laptop but also the first day of your blogging challenge. That's a great start, Jay. I wish you success in the remaining six days of your challenge. I also have an Acer, so that power cord was a familiar site.
All the best,
Sue
Jay, I can understand how you feel. Computed are as much dress as they are a convenience. I hope your nerve gets better .
Trevor
Trevor, Thanks, I can live with the sciatic nerve issue but the laptop issue could be a killer. Jay
Wow auto fill and spelling errors. I meant to say computers are as much stress as they are a convenience. I would bet that this isn’t the greatest obstacle you have had to overcome in your life.
You are a survivor. All the best.
Trevor
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My sciatic nerve would have been bothered more by driving than by flying. It is also one of the issues I worked through when I first started. I could only sit for so long before my lower back and my sciatic nerve started screaming at me. That's why I asked for (and got, thanks to my wonderful husband) a new laptop. I can now work when in a reclined position.
I will be working through another issue in the next few days. I have my infusion coming up tomorrow. I have it every 4 weeks. I cannot take my laptop with me because there is no Wifi for patients. I will be asking if they could create Wifi for patients or allow one of the nurses to sign me in. That won't solve all my problems though.
The infusion itself kicks my but, sometimes for days. I will come home and soon have to go to bed. not only does it give me an unavoidable migraine, I go through symptoms similar to those a transplant patient with rejection syndrome encounters. I'm going to ask tomorrow if they can give me anything to help with that.
(They just increased how much I get by 40% last month and it put me in bed for a couple of days, and then I could only work for a few hours a day for a week. After that, I had to go lie down again.)
As far as your laptop is concerned, my daughter had the same problem with hers (same issues, same messages). It ended up being her battery. We have Amazon Prime, so we ordered her battery and paid the small shipping fee added on to have it delivered the next day. Problem solved! (Or at least it was for her.)
Wal Mart and Staples are generally good about refunding a return as long as you have the receipt, by the way.
If I don't talk to you before you leave SC, have a good flight home! I hope your sciatica gets better before you have to make that trip.
Anita
Anita, Thanks and will be ordering a battery... Batteries Plus did not have one. Hope all goes well for you. Jay
Thank you, Jay! I hope a new battery will help. I told my husband (who works with loads of computer equipment in his job), and he said he would replace the battery.