Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Dell C400 - what could problem be?

Dell C400 - what could problem be?

5 months ago I bought a refurbished Dell C400 notebook. I was very impressed with it, worked like a charm.

The past week I've noticed the following problem. When the notebook is connected to the AC adapter power thingy, it SHOULD be running on AC power -- but if the notebook is sitting just a certain way, it will switch to Battery - you can see this because the little Battery Icon will show up at the bottom. It won't seem to stay running on AC power. Now I'm really screwed because the battery totally drained and I'm not able to charge it up by plugging it into the AC adapter.

It doesn't appear that there's anything wrong with the AC Adapter - when it's plugged in, the little green light is turn on, on it...so it's getting power.

At present, I'm using an old laptap to write this. The battery in my Dell is totally drained and I can't power up. I removed the battery and tried turning it on, but no lights light up on the Dell - it's obviously not getting any power.

I doubt Dell Tech Support is going to be able to help me because there would obviously be no warranty left on it.

What do you think this could be caused by? Is some kind of "switch" inside blown?

Thanks for any info/suggestions you can provide. If you need more info, please let me know.

Lisa