OK - it's another "screwed via eBay" story....
I recently bought an Acer Travelmate 223X laptop from eBay - it had a dodgy screen and a missing hard drive, which I have replaced, all well and good. In total it cost me £350 (so far).
Specs:
Intel Celeron-M 1.13GHz
256MB PC133 SDRAM
Integrated Intel graphics
Integrated sound
4GB hard drive ( :( )
24x CDROM drive
14.1" TFT
Integrated LAN, USB, etc
Windows XP Pro license
Not a bad deal for £350 - the HD could be bigger but it suffices for what I'm using it for (uni work and a second home PC); I can always upgrade the HD later if necessary.
Here comes the but.
The battery doesn't work. Running on AC power, it runs like a dream - but will that battery work? Nope. And can I get anything done about it by the seller? Nope - we made a deal over the screen replacement and the matter is now concluded.
So basically I am left with a laptop that only works if I can get access to a plug socket, which is OK for most uses but does rather limit its usefulness for university work - I can't use it in lectures, etc.
I'd like to get it fixed but the problem is I don't know whether it is the battery or the battery interface that is dead. If it's the battery then that's fine - I can get a new one. Expensive, but probably worth it. If it's the interface then there's no way it can be repaired.
When I plug the battery into the laptop along with the AC adapter, the "battery charging" LED lights up but no charge seems to be transferred to the battery. Windows detects no battery, and the machine won't boot without the AC supply. The battery isn't visibly damaged; nor is the interface.
Does anyone know of any way that I can tell where the problem lies?
