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Laptop is flashing at me?

irrelevant, on Nov 24, 2008 11:01:04 pm GMT
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Hello,
(Just to clarify right away, I'm using a Dell Inspiron B130 PC Notebook.)
Yesterday when I booted up my computer, one of the four normally green lights at the bottom of my computer (below the keyboard) started flashing red/orange at me. Since the computer didn't give me any error messages, I figured it was something I did shutting down or starting up, so I re-started and the problem seemed to go away, as the light went back to green.

However, today, I've been using the computer and surfing the internet for over an hour and the light started up again a few minutes ago, seemingly out of nowhere. I haven't done anything differently and it still won't give me error messages, so I have no idea what kind of problem the light could be indicating or even if it's just the light on it's own. Obviously I'm concerned about it, but since I don't know what it is I thought it might be something I want to be aware of, and I don't want to just re-start my computer every time I see this if it is something important.

Hopefully this is in the right place -- Honestly, I have no idea, because this site just came up when I typed the problem into google, so I'm just trying.

Configuration: Windows XP
Internet Explorer 6.0

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1

xpcman, on Nov 25, 2008 5:35:07 pm GMT
  • +1

From left to right the lights are Power - Hard Drive - Battery - Wireless


This is directly from the User Manual:
If the computer is connected to an electrical outlet, the Battery light operates as follows:
• Solid green: The battery is charging.
• Flashing green: The battery is almost fully charged.
If the computer is running on a battery, the light operates as follows:
• Off: The battery is adequately charged (or the computer is turned off).
• Flashing orange: The battery charge is low.
• Solid orange: The battery charge is critically low.

   

10

tamarin50, on Jun 17, 2009 7:43:33 pm BST
  • +1

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 6400. While using outlet power the battery light flashes red, continuously. This started suddenly, not like the battery gradually discharged over time. I don't know if the battery is bad (a relatively new dell compatible) or if the charger is bad. do you know? Thanks

   

2

bradda19, on Jan 1, 2009 12:30:06 pm GMT
  • +3

Hi! I have had a similar problem with my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. I think it overheated as I left it on the bed still on while I went away and did somehting else. The lights were 3 or four amber flashes followed by a green one. It drove me crazy. In the end I fully discahrged the battery and put it in the fridge overnight. I then charged it up and hey presto problem fixed. I hope this helps you as I'm not sure what type of computer you have.

   

3

Piney, on Jan 24, 2009 12:40:10 am GMT
  • +1

OMG as if you put it in the fridge, that could cause moisture damage and destroy your laptop.
oh and moisture damage is not covered under warranty so if it did happen you'd be up for big bucks.

   

14

blahwhatever, on Aug 3, 2009 11:56:14 am BST

Not the whole laptop - just the battery. That's fine.

   

4

myverse, on Feb 5, 2009 4:07:16 pm GMT

I experienced the same Orange Flashing this morning, but I had just purchased a third party "compatible" 12 cell battery. The orange flashing indicated a low charge, however, when I booted the machine it showed a fully charged battery. When I drained the battery slightly and recharged.... it reported "charging" in by power management, but there was no green LED indicator.

Everything else is functioning fine with the new battery. Is this a simply circuit problem between the indicator and the battery, or do I have a compatibility issue that will cause further damage to my computer?

   

6

Winnie, on Feb 23, 2009 10:14:07 pm GMT
  • +6

Did you find out what was causing the flashing. I put a new battery in my Dell B130, not a dell battery, but a compatible one, and after several hours of being on AC power the battery light was blinking red. then after I turn off laptop the battery light blinks green. I returned that battery got another one, put it in, charged it and again after several hours it was doing the same. I am wondering now if it is the laptop and will it cause damage to it. thanks

   

7

Mr. Bishop, on Apr 6, 2009 10:56:35 pm BST

What that means is according to the amount of energy being used your battery is about to die in a few minutes

   

8

agg26, on Apr 27, 2009 11:45:50 pm BST
  • +1

HEY I have an inspiron 1525, the hardware light start flashing today and it was so much that it actually makes a sound, what could that be

   

9

Nicola, on May 25, 2009 12:45:21 pm BST
  • +11

Hi i let laptop battery get too low and went to turn it on but the orange light keeps flashing and wont let my start up pc. what can i do to recharge battery to use it as its not my pc hopefully i can get it going discreetly.
thanks
Nicola

   

5

parker, on Feb 11, 2009 2:37:39 pm GMT
  • +2

Seriously?
He didn't put the laptop in the fridge, just a battery.

   

11

Isabel, on Jul 1, 2009 11:08:32 am BST

My power light is also flashing orange. It's normally white, but now it flashes orange four times and then white. This happens for the entire duration that the laptop is turned on.

Funny thing is, it only started happening yesterday after my inspiron laptop was returned back to me from Dell. The battery has been acting up for a while now, the computer will only function if the power supply is plugged in; so Dell took it back for repair, but they didn't fix it, so there is no difference to it; now this light is constantly flashing. I know it's nothing to do with the battery, because the laptop thinks it's 86% charged...but when you take out the power supply, the entire computer shuts down. Dell said they'd send out an engineer tomorrow. If it's not fixed I'm going to demand a new laptop because this is crazy. The whole thing is worse off than before I gave it to them. Windows has also become very slow as well :(

   

12

Emmy, on Jul 2, 2009 1:45:09 pm BST
  • +6

I hate to break it to everyone who is having this problem, but when you light is flashing orange/red three times and then white/green once, it means your battery is dying. Not in the sense that you need to recharge it, but in the sense that you need to replace it. Eventally, the battery will stop working entirely, and your computer will only function when it is plugged in. This does not mean you need a new laptop, just a new battery. I have never gotten more than two years out of a dell battery, and sometimes they've only lasted a year (though admittedly, I'm a heavy computer user for my job). If you want confirmation, go to the Dell website. There is information on it about exactly this issue.

   

16

Peter, on Oct 13, 2009 3:34:18 pm BST

Isabel,

Did the Dell tech fix it? What did she/he do?

Peter Guild

   

13

Kaylee, on Jul 8, 2009 1:34:37 am BST

My computer just started the same flashing last night. Today I took it to Staples and they told me that it was the battery and it was going dead. As long as I keep it pluged in, which I do, it should be okay until I can afford to get a new one. Just thought I would throw this out to everyone.

   

15

kanabeatya, on Aug 27, 2009 3:41:53 am BST

Same problem. I am aware that I need to get a new battery. But for the moment everything is slow on my computer especially internet explorer. Is there anything I can do to make my IE faster as I wait to buy a new battery?

   

17

 wires and plugs, on Oct 13, 2009 3:44:22 pm BST

Sounds like you guys need to invest in some new batteries, as for IE you should run the disc clean up utility delete all your temp files and cookies run a registry cleaner, adware remover then defrag, Spy bot is a good trojan/adware remover google spy bot downloads cnet and it will pop up.

www.highoptional.com / support@highoptional.com

   
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