Fried laptop?

August 28, 2008 11:05 PM

Did I fry my laptop? (I was really stupid)

My power supplied somehow died in a way that made it difficult to fix. Hence I just bought another power supply with multiple voltages.
You guess, the switch moved while on the road and instead of 16 V, I turned it on with 15 V (1 V lower). Realizing this after a second or so, I immediately turned the switch to 16V while the power supply was still plugged (it states that you must not do this). Now my laptop seems dead but not funny smell or anything. Even the van does not turn on.
The power supply makes some low volume but hearable high frequency noise when it is plugged in position 15V or 16V (not not in the others that are available). Maybe a blown capacitor?
Since I don't have access to a Voltmeter before Tuesday:

Did I fry my new power supply, my laptop or both?

(My poor 10" subnote, has served me well many years. May have to bury it somewhere if it died).

posted by yoyo_nyc to computers & internet (4 comments total)

It sounds more like you blew the power supply than the laptop.
posted by rokusan at 11:36 PM on August 28, 2008

With most laptops all that happens with the 16v or whatever input it is feeds into a bunch of different voltage converters that produce the variety of different voltages the laptop needs. Usually giving 15v instead of 16v would not cause permanent damage.

What we don't know is the effect of switching the power supply's output voltage with it turned on.

I agree with rokusan; I would guess the power supply is broken, not the laptop (though it's possible the laptop is broken). So you're on the right route getting a volt meter.
posted by Mike1024 at 12:51 AM on August 29, 2008

Feeding a laptop 15V when it's expecting 16V isn't going to do it any harm - it's designed to cope with some variation. Switching the input with it turned on however... Depending on how the switch works, you may have fed a large voltage spike into the laptop, or you may have just burnt out a component in the supply.

I wouldn't use the supply again until you've tested it; finding an alternative one to test the laptop with is probably a good idea.
posted by ArkhanJG at 2:25 AM on August 29, 2008

What was the current rating of the power supply you purchased? And was it regulated?

Everything you describe sounds like what would happen if you tried to use a power supply with a much lower current capacity than what the laptop needs.
posted by standbythree at 5:05 AM on August 29, 2008