Batteries and Power

[#1]

To Whom It May Concern:

I have a Satellite A105-4384 laptop.  A couple days ago my power cord has been giving me problems.  The computer just shuts off without any warning.  I figured out that the power cord light turns off and that's why my battery doesn't fully charge.  When the cord moves around the light on the laptop goes on and off.

Someone mentioned to me that I should use the reboot disc that came with the laptop, but then I would have to install all of my programs all over again. 

Please advise as to what I should do.  Thank you in advance.

[#2]

I doubt that the recovery disk will do you any good.  It sounds like a hardware problem but it's hard to tell from your description what's going on.  You may have a failing power cable.  That is the wire that goes from the wall to the power brick.  You may have a failure in the brick itself.  You may have a failure in the connection from the brick to the notebook.  Or, most commonly, you will have a failure in the DC power connector where the brick plugs into the notebook.  It is not uncommon for those connectors to fail by breaking loose from the system board.  When that happens, the power will be intermittent and if you wiggle the connector on the back of the notebook the power will go on and off.  If that is the problem, depending on what type of notebook you have, the fix is a replacement system board.  For a system out of warranty, this is quite expensive.  I have heard of users who have technical skills resoldering the connector to the board but that is often a temporary fix.  Your best best would probably be to take it in to a Premier Authorized Service Provider and have it diagnosed.  A replacement brick runs around $100.  A replacement system board could go for $400-$800.