# Dell Inspiron 6000 Battery Charging/BIOS Issues



## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

Last week, it became apparent that the battery in my Dell Inspiron 6000 was not charging: The battery light flashes yellow intermittently while the computer is plugged in (both while it is on and while it is off), and flashes orange if I unplug the AC Adapter. Here is what I've done:

1. Checked the Dell Quickset Battery Metter -- all the fields (total battery charge, primary, and secondary) were grayed out)
2. Checked my Power Management settings. It's set to activate a low battery "text only" alarm at 10% and to go into hybernation at the critical battery charge of 3%.
3. Checked the Power Meter -- The total power remaining is "Unknown." Under the batteries available, it says "not present."
4. Pressed the status button on the battery -- all lights lit up.
5. Ran Dell Diagnostic Express Test -- got the "Error Code 0F00:136C - IDE device failed. Blank media or no media is present in optical drive."
6. Ran Dell Diagnostic Symptom Tree and chose the symptom "System will not run off battery" -- All tests passed.
7. Ran the Dell Diagnostic Custom Test for the battery and the sensors -- All tests passed. 
8. Downloaded the Inspiron 6000 BIOSFlash A09 and tried to run it -- Got the message "AC Adapter and battery must be plugged in before the system BIOS can be flashed" over and over again.

I have removed the battery, replaced it, etc. I don't want to buy another battery if it's not necessary. And I don't want to buy another battery and then still have this problem.

Any ideas?


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## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

Bump!


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## Lurker1 (Jan 30, 2001)

Its probably the battery. Dell only warrinties them for a year. The only other thing it might be is the Motherboard which might not be charging the battery. If you dont have another system to test that battery out in then I would buy a new battery. Its cheaper than a system board and you will probably need a new battery sooner or later anyway.

From Dell:

CHECK THE BATTERY STATUS LIGHT &#8212; If the battery status light flashes orange or is a steady orange,
the battery charge is low or depleted. Connect the computer to an electrical outlet.
If the battery status light flashes green and orange, the battery is too hot to charge. Shut down the
computer, disconnect the computer from the electrical outlet, and then let the battery and computer
cool to room temperature.
If the battery status light rapidly flashes orange, the battery may be defective. Contact Dell.


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## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

Thanks, Lurker. I think I'll take the battery in to be tested, because the status button on the battery seems to think it's totally charged. If the battery is charged and my computer just isn't recognizing that, then there's no reason to get a new battery. And, even if I do have to get a new battery, if the computer won't charge it, then I probably won't be able to use a battery again anyway, right?


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## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

Well, the battery tested fine. Also, I went into the BIOS, and in the "Battery Information" screen, it says that there is no battery in the computer -- even though it IS in the computer.

Any other suggestions?


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## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

More info:

The computer *does* boot on the battery alone -- although it still says that it's on AC Power in the taskbar. (The battery indicator does not appear in the taskbar.)


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## Lurker1 (Jan 30, 2001)

Well thats not good. If the battery tests fine then its either the connections between the battery and the system board or the system board itself causing the problem. You might try cleaning the connections to the battery and see if that helps.  
Is the system under warranty?


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## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

Nope, not under warranty. I'll try cleaning the connections. Is it unsafe to continue to use the computer on AC Power, or do I need to have the system board repaired/replaced?


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## dell6000_xp (Aug 11, 2008)

Hello, 

Was wondering if you've ever fix your battery problem?
I'm having a very similar issue. 

Please response.


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## lilutz (May 26, 2008)

No, I didn't resolve it. More pressing issues came up in my life. The weirdest thing about this whole battery thing is that, even though my computer doesn't seem to recognize the battery, it runs fine on it. For that reason, I kind of just let it go until I can get around to worrying about it again. If you do find a solution, please do post it here. Sorry I'm not more help.....


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