Could a faulty power adapter cause a crash?

Power is always a suspect when it comes to sudden crashes, freezes or reboots so on a PC, one of my first troubleshooting steps is to swap in a known good PSU. But with notebooks, that is not so easy. However with notebooks, you already have two power sources, the power supply/charger and the battery.

Another common problem with notebooks is the power connector breaks. In those cases, the typical symptom is the battery does not charge, or wiggling the connector causes problems.

My guess is one of the programs you uninstalled was either corrupt or corrupted something during first install, or it touches a bad memory address.

What you need to do now is not install those unless needed. And if needed, install one at a time, then fully update that program. Then thoroughly test before installing the next program. And if an alternative browser is not needed, I would stick with IE9.

I was running it on battery for the last two hours and then plugged in the external power supply. Instant crash!!

Well, that's not good. If on my bench, I would open the notebook and inspect the connector to make sure it is not cracked or otherwise damaged, and any wires connected to it are still attached properly. I would also measure the voltage while under load. Unfortunately, you cannot simply stick meter probes in the power supply's connector and measure voltage. A power supply (including batteries) must be tested while under a realistic load.

At this point, you don't know if the power supply is bad, if the charging/regulator circuit in the notebook is bad, or if the battery is bad and drawing too much current. And since it is not likely you have a spare battery or a spare power supply (with proper voltage, current, and connector configuration) laying around, about the only option is to take it to a shop. There, they can properly test the battery and the supply, and they surely have supplies they can test with.

That's all beyond my capabilities at the moment but have a local guy that I can take it to and he'll show me the process.

That's what I don't like about notebooks. Because they are so proprietary, they are much more difficult for normal users to troubleshoot and repair on their own.

It's a laptop, not a notebook??

Today, that's the same thing. Actually, since you should NEVER operate a "laptop" on your lap, they never should have called them laptops in the first place. And, as noted in my sig, since I have a thing about heat, I have made it my mission to rid the world of the word "laptop".

Long ago when "laptops" first came out, they were like 2.5 to 3.5 inches thick and weighed 10 pounds or more. Then as technologies advanced, "laptops" became thinner and thinner, to the thickness of a "notebook". But now they all are thin. But because they are all such powerful computers crammed into a tiny space, all notebooks are highly susceptible to heat related problems. As such, they should never be operated on your lap, or bed, or carpet or anywhere where air cannot circulation underneath. If you must use it on your lap, use a Notebook Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply.

I hear you!

I do use a 'laptop' in my bed that sits on a pillow and hasn't failed yet. Good for catching up on TV shows I have missed. It does get a blast of my airbrush compressor every now and then though.

I'm looking forward as to how tablets perform with larger (quad core) processors and more powerful batteries.

Then again I might read a book!! (remember them)

Doug
43
Glasgow
Scotland
Geek