[rrfranczak3]

read this thread I found for ya:

Battery won't charge, and BIOS pblm

also here are the results of a search..you can check these threads also:

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/sear...earchid=751200

PS. removing and reinserting the battery sometimes fixes the charging issue but the not recognized issue is a result of the BIOS update..any BIOS over A04 will do this

[Heraclitus]

After two and a half years of random use my Dell Mini 9 got in the same problem.
Airplane mode method doesn't work.
Fn+B method doesn't work (it behaves differently: it beeps continuously until the power cord is disconnected).
My BIOS is A05 flashed in April 2009.
I'll try the twelve-hour recharging and keep you informed.

[Heraclitus]

It was sufficient a 2-hours recharging with the Mini off for having the led off and a "laptop battery 100%" indication.
Very curious phenomenon.

[jules]

I bought my dell min in Jan 2009 and love love loved it until it decided it wouldnt charge the battery. I bought a new battery but it just kept telling me it didnt recognise it - i managed to figure out thats cos it was a non dell battery

I got fed up of lugging the power cord around with me and as it was 2 days over warrenty when I rang dell they didnt want to know so I shelved it

Missing it - thought id surf the web for some good advice and managed to brick it trying to flash the bios using the USB way

So I bought a CD drive thinking I could simply reinstall the software and realised it was a DVD lol

So i shelved it again way at the back of the cupboard!

Im leading up to confessing that im a IT dunce with no knowledge on these things other than turning it on - typing and emailing lol

BUT Ive just this minute fixed it so I thought id share

Last month I was searching again and came across a thread about how to fix a bricked mini - thinking i had nothing to loose i spent £20 on ebay shops and bought an external floppy drive and an external dvd drive - got myself a floppy disk ( remember what they look like lol!)

Followed the instructions below that came off the other forum and got it back working HURRAH took me about 5 minutes - but alas the battery still wouldnt charge - not to be put off ......

I tried everything suggested here from pulling in and out the mains lead to jump start the obviously depelted battery after a year - nothing at all

Put in my non dell battery and got same message " not recognised wont charge"

Put the dell in hoping for a miracle - if ony the orange light would stop blinking kind of miracle !

In sheer desperation or was it temper - I pulled out the dell battery slung it in the bin and slapped the non dell battery in -within seconds up popped a screen telling me it was charging - its now on 8%

The only other thing ive done is to go into power options and move it from max battery to laptop

So if you wanna give it a whirl !

These are the orignal notes from the forum

Supplies
1. you NEED an external floppy drive
2. 1-formatted floppy disk
3. Rawwrite for Windows
4. A05.DD

Ive had to remove the links cos im a newbie - if anyone wants them perhaps you can email me or tell me how to add them

Here it is, simple must be I did it !

1. Unzip the A05.zip file which contains the A05.DD image.
2. Write the A05.DD to floppy using Rawwrite. (select ALL FILE TYPES when searching for and selecting the file, don't worry that the A05.DD is not a ".img" file type but it works)
3. After completing the file writing, plug the USB floppy drive with the disk into the USB slot on the LEFT side closest to the power light.
4. With the battery unplugged and the power cord plugged in AND the power off, hold Fn+B and turn on the power.
5. If you hear 1 Long + 2 Short beeps, you missed something...My many unsuccessful attempts as noted above, all gave me either 1 short beep OR 1 Long + 2 Short beeps.
6. The process takes a couple of minutes and you will HEAR RANDOM BEEPING THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS.
7. Don't touch anything....the Mini 9 WILL REBOOT ON ITS OWN.

Im slightly miffed that this seems to be a commom problem with these minis so why do they keep selling them? Why havent they been recalled? If you look on ebay most are selling them cos of the battery problem so its got to be the machine !! They are meant to be portable !!! Not very protable without a battery that charges

Mine cost me £250 way back then - Ive had to buy an extra batteyr and the cubbings to sort this out - so not a cheap buy - but bought based on previous experience of dealing with Dell and their reputation - after the way I was treated when i rang to ask about this problem to be told i was two days over the warrenty was pants

I now have my baby dell back and im chuffed to bits xx

[holmes4]

Dell hasn't sold the Mini 9 for a long time now. As for recall - that is only done for flaws that put the user in danger (electrical fires, etc.)

It's hard to know how common this problem is - you tend to see only complaints. Dell sold many thousands of these netbooks and perhaps most of them have not had an issue. (Mine, bought in 2008, has been fine.)

[jules]

Hiya

Mines the vostro - I call it my mini 9

I love the machine - its very me and great for my work as I travel around but was gutted that it stopped charging and frustrated that I couldnt find help anywhere

Now its working Im thrilled - its like getting a new machine - still brand spanking new as it hasnt been used due to having no battery

But alls well that ends well

Just hope my contribution can help others

[Zash]

Originally Posted by jasonpit

if you have not used your mini in a while the battery may be to depleated to start the charging process. if your unit works fine on AC but won't charge at all and stays at 0% then check the battery by single clicking. if the battery status is less than 0.5 wh then the battery is too depleated to start charging.
turn off the unit and unconnect the cord from the unit. quickly reconnect the cord to the unit for a second until the power light comes on and then disconnect again. do this several times (at least ten) then turn the unit back on and recheck the battery status. once you get over 0.7wh the battery will have enough juice to start charging again.

Just wanted to quote this and say that it fixed my problem. I had shelved my mini 9 for several months due to the dreaded "battery won't charge" problem. I finally pulled it out tonight, tried this out, and it worked like a charm. I maybe unplugged/reconnected the power 5-10 times and it's working beautifully now.