Hi,
Hopefully this is a quickie (oh er!)

A friend has a Samsung A10 laptop and it keeps switching off randomly, I said to buy a new power supply, hard to find but not impossible and can get it delivered for around £30. She wanted a second opinion so took it into PC World who said she needed a new transformer and would charge her £100.

Now am I being stupid but the transformer is the power supply cable isn't it?

I think they are trying to baffle her money out of her and she doesn't trust my opinion because she can't afford for me to be wrong, but then again she can't afford the £100 PC World are trying to prise out of her hands, so if someone can reply so I can show her what I was saying and PC World are saying are the same and save her £70,

Thanks guys

Now am I being stupid but the transformer is the power supply cable isn't it?

A replacement battery and an AC Adapter are different animals;
Samsung A10 XTC Battery - Samsung A10 XTC Laptop Battery products from AtBatt.com

(SKU: ATB-UN340 is a battery, and SKU: NAC-25 is an adapter, of which there is a considerable difference in price.)

Strictly speaking, a transformer (in this instance/application) would be a power pack, or AC Adapter; (similar to above and below)
Samsung A10, P, T, V,X series 19V 4.74A AC Adaptor for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

Hi Dan Penny and thanks for the reply,

Whoops I did make myself sound stupid with the wording of that question, talk about putting your foot in it!

What I meant by cable was what you posted in the second link, (the box thingy and cable!) last time I had a look at her laptop I noticed a break just before the plug that inserts into the laptop and with as much as a breath near the cable the machine shut down. I told her this but she took it to PC World regardless.

Thanks for the links and sorry PC World I hope your info will save her £70