Can bad power supply make notebook computer seem dead?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Yes, it's possible that a bad power supply could do this. It's not
certain that this is what IS doing it, but it's possible.


tossit@optonline.net wrote:

> My son's Dell Inspiron 1100 showed the following symptoms:
> 1) Totally dead. Wouldn't show signs of life on AC or battery.
> 2) At my instruction, he reseated the memory and checked
> connections. Same problem.
>
> He sent me the laptop and now
> 1) It started okay on battery power.
> 2) The ac power supply kept getting deader and deaderer. First,
> the green light would come on for a while, then go off (before boot
> finished). Now it doesn't come on at all.
> 3) The power cord isn't the problem - tested against another
> power supply.
> 4) The notebook has been rebooting happily through about half a
> dozen tests.
>
> Dell is sending a replacement power supply (barely under warranty).
>
> My question: Would a bad power supply (definitely the case) cause the
> symptom of not being able to boot on battery along (battery not dead).
> Is there some capacitor or something that caused the machine to refuse
> to turn on with battery but then would work later?
> Or perhaps there are two problems: bad power supply and something
> loose that reconnected during shipping.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Dave