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I am having difficulty charging a laptop from Taiwan (in UK)
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I am having difficulty charging a laptop from Taiwan (in UK)Posted:

JRT
  • Wise One
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Hi guys,

I recently came back from business abroad and while out there, I acquired a laptop. Long story short, the country this laptop came from was Taiwan, and now I am home in the UK and it wont hold charge.

    * The laptop does power on, but only when the charge is connected
    * While powered on (and off), with the charger connected, it just says "Plugged in - not charging: 0%"


I haven't purchased a full UK charger for the model yet (it's a MSI Stealth Pro) but I have tried a plug converter (Asia/US to UK) and I also purchased a same-watt 3 pin connector which goes into the power brick, and into the plugs, which had an original UK plug. No joy with either.

I don't really want to splash about 72 pounds on a full MSI Stealth Pro charger from the UK... (and even then, there's no guarantee it'll work).

Do you tech guys have any suggestions? I just don't want to fry the laptop and / or battery by doing this, if it's harmful to the machine (it costs over $4,000).

Thanks!
#2. Posted:
OMP
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Is the laptop new or used? I had a problem like this and my battery ended up being completely shot. If it is powering on with the charger connected, the charger is working as the laptop is being sustained only by the power coming from your wall.
#3. Posted:
JRT
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OMP wrote Is the laptop new or used? I had a problem like this and my battery ended up being completely shot. If it is powering on with the charger connected, the charger is working as the laptop is being sustained only by the power coming from your wall.


Used. I didn't buy it - it's a work laptop which I got to keep.


Everything operated fine, and I could use it with no charger connected for 5hrs+ until I got home and plugged it in here in the UK. Now, if I unplug it, it just hard powers off. :/
#4. Posted:
Boxty
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As far as I know Taiwan uses a 110-120v electrical system whereas we use 240-250v, so its worth checking that the laptop charger actually supports 240v input otherwise its likely been overloaded. You can find out by looking at the writing on the charger itself.
#5. Posted:
JRT
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Boxty wrote As far as I know Taiwan uses a 110-120v electrical system whereas we use 240-250v, so its worth checking that the laptop charger actually supports 240v input otherwise its likely been overloaded. You can find out by looking at the writing on the charger itself.


I see. Would this be damaging to the machine or would it automatically cut off a safety point when too much power is going on, and put it into a "safe" mode or something? Or, should I unplug it, and not touch it until I get the correct charger?

Thanks!
#6. Posted:
Boxty
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No the power "brick" is essentially a converter which would change the mains voltage down to one the laptop could handle so if you've over loaded the charger you've either blown the fuse in the plug top or the unit itself.
#7. Posted:
JRT
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Boxty wrote No the power "brick" is essentially a converter which would change the mains voltage down to one the laptop could handle so if you've over loaded the charger you've either blown the fuse in the plug top or the unit itself.


I see. So shall I just buy the new charger? If no joy, a new battery as well? Or what else would you suggest?

Thanks again for the help!
#8. Posted:
Boxty
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If the plug has a fuse then check that first, otherwise then yes it might be worth doing. You can always return it if it doesn't work.
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