[joshmini]

Hello all,

My mini9 was previously a gift to my sister for school use. After a short while, she accidentally broke the screen and thus shipped it back to me so that I could have dell support fix it, and they did. However, in the time it took Dell to fix this mini, little sister talked dad into getting her a macbook. Thats fine with me, I'll keep this mini that I purchased.

Here's the problem: Little Sister sent it back without the battery charger, and now reports the charger is lost.

I've been using chargers from other devices with the same voltage to charge my mini battery, but I worry because I have to constantly adjust the position of the male-end of chargers in the female-slot of the mini to keep a constant charge.

I've tried buying a 20$ charger from ebay that was documented as dell mini9 compatible. It burned out my battery and my motherboard and once again I sent my mini in to dell to be fixed.

Should I:
A) Continue using a charger that gets the job done but requires constant fiddling?
B) Bite the bullet and spend 40$+ on the official Dell replacement charger?
C) Search the interwebs for another cheap replacement charger?
D) Plea to the users of this forum to find me an official charger for a good price?

Any help is appreciated

[rrfranczak3]

Personally, I would just get one from Dell, but its not my money, but at least you know what you are getting, its got a guarantee and it wont hurt your mini..your call..

[joshmini]

Originally Posted by rrfranczak3

Personally, I would just get one from Dell, but its not my money, but at least you know what you are getting, its got a guarantee and it wont hurt your mini..your call..

Yeah, i'm thinking thats the way to go as well, tho i was hoping to find the charger for cheaper. do you know of a place in these forums where used mini parts are sold?

[w7ox]

Originally Posted by joshmini

B) Bite the bullet and spend 40$+ on the official Dell replacement charger?

Yes. Sounds like you'll save that much in shipping charges for sending the Mini to Dell and back for service

Phil

[joshmini]

Originally Posted by w7ox

Yes. Sounds like you'll save that much in shipping charges for sending the Mini to Dell and back for service

Phil

haha, yeah. thankfully the last 2 times i sent it back it was completely free of charge. Now that my warranty is expired I don't want to take the risk of another faulty third-party charger.

[danmanx]

I concur, buy an official charger from Dell or find one on ebay. But beware of ebay! Very suspicious characters on ebay.

[dirtymoney]

May be cheaper to buy an dc powercord on ebay (about $8 total including shipping) and then a cheap ac to dc adaptor plug so you can use it at home.

like this... DC Car Charger Adapter for Dell Inspiron Mini 9 10 12 - eBay (item 250499426110 end time Feb-12-10 17:51:01 PST)
and this... AC to DC Car Charger Socket Adapter | Overstock.com

(total for both is about $13)

Note: A side benefit in purchasing the ac to dc car charger socket adapter is that you could use it with other dc powered electronics/powercords.

I bought the linked dc power cord on ebay for $8 and used it every day (for 3-5 hours) for about 3 months (before winter came) & had no problem with it. However the powercord's power supply gets very hot, but it and my mini are still working strong.

I cant vouch for the AC to DC adapter in the overstock.com link. I have an old heavy radioshack brand non-portable one (bench unit) I bought many years ago that I can use.

I am a person who is very frugal, so I am always looking for ways (sometimes unconventional) to save money.