Seeking a universal power cord for several laptops.

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[PKCano]

Does some one have a recommendation for  a universal power cord that works with a huge range of laptops?

I found 58 laptops that someone threw out onto the street. It seems to be different brands, (Dell, IBM, Winbook, Asus, Chromebook etc). Some are 12V, some are 16V, some are 18V and some are 19V. Each seems to have a different tip need.

Most of them seem to have hard drivers but all  are missing power cords. Most of these are very old OS. Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, Xp, Vista, Chrome OS etc.

I am hoping that might be able to salvage at least 3 or 4 of the 58 to use as a backup laptop. Since not sure which might work, I am looking for a universal power cord that will work for all different laptops. Why has the laptop’s manufactures not make a standard power cord? This would make things so much easier. But it is how our world is. Change and change and throw out rather than repair and reuse.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by PKCano.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by satrow. Reason: Title typo fixed

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On a trip some years ago I realized that I had left my laptop charger at home. I had to go to Radio Shack where I bought a power brick that had 110 volt plug on one side, and then had about a dozen different tips that plugged into the end of a cable on the other side. It worked just fine.
Today if I Google “Universal laptop power supply” or “universal laptop charger”
there are many choices. They range in cost from $12-$30, and are even available from Amazon or Walmart.

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I did a search as well and found several as well but some had good reviews others had bad reviews. This is why I asked to see if someone has one that they bought and works well.

I wish there was a Radio Shack still. This was easier than trying to find a seller online that might be selling fake or unsafe product.

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https://www.amazon.com/Targus-Universal-Laptop-Charger-APA31US/dp/B0054JE64I

I’ve never had issues with Targus.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Matador

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If the laptops really do have different voltage requirements you cannot use a single power supply. The voltage must be correct. Almost all recent laptops require a 19 volts.
Current is not an issue as long as the power supply can supply enough. If not, it may only charge the battery while the machine is off, but not run it.

cheers, Paul

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Matador

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For what it is worth, I chose the IGo AC power adapter for my laptop used in the semi when the original got pinched off in a compartment door. It has both 12 vdc and 100 to 240 vac inputs with output of 5 to 24 vdc @ 70 watts. It came with about a dozen output adapter plugs, 110 vac input cord, and 240 vac input cord in a zippered carry pouch. IF I remember correctly it cost about $35.00 USD somewhere around 2001. I don’t recall where I got it, but I THINK it was Radio Shack. It is a bit beat up, but still works great when I take the laptop in the car for a road trip.

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I have one tip for when you start testing these laptops to see which ones will boot up:

For any laptop that fails to boot up, remove the battery and try to boot up with the adapter alone.  Batteries can short out so bad that they will divert all the power from the adapter to the battery and prevent the laptop from booting up giving the wrong idea that the laptop won’t boot up.   Also, old batteries that have been dead for a time tend to crack and leak electrolyte (aka: acid) when being charged, thus damaging the laptop.

HTH, Dana:))

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geekdom

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Dell adapters use center pin to send power info .

Read this for more info https://blog.project-insanity.org/2020/05/25/hardware-fix-for-dell-ac-power-adapter-could-not-be-determined/

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Susan Bradley wrote:

I’ve never had issues with Targus.

The Targus does not say what voltage it is for. Unless I am missing it on the website at Amazon. I found the manual and it has this:

All tips listed are for laptops that require 18V to 20V….If your laptop requires 16 volts, it will not work with this charger.

Paul T wrote:

If the laptops really do have different voltage requirements you cannot use a single power supply.

I was hoping that could since I found this adapter but was not sure if it would work. It has selection for the voltage need. I do not want to buy 58 different adapters and find out that none of the laptops will work.

https://www.prudentway.com/#!/showone/271

Pepsiboy wrote:

For what it is worth, I chose the IGo AC power adapter for my laptop used in the semi when the original got pinched off in a compartment door.

I will check at Best Buy if they have IGo AC.

Drcard:)) wrote:

I have one tip for when you start testing these laptops to see which ones will boot up:

Thanks for the tip.

madhatter wrote:

Dell adapters use center pin to send power info .

Might be considered if I can get one of Dells to work but seems will need time to do soldering.

 

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Paul T wrote:

If the laptops really do have different voltage requirements you cannot use a single power supply

It seems you can get adjustable output units so you will only need one power supply.

Voltage supplied to the laptop is still an issue. Make sure you know what supply voltage is required before going anywhere near the laptops. Maybe put a sticker on each?

cheers, Paul

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Paul T wrote:

It seems you can get adjustable output units so you will only need one power supply.

I found that by searching and want to see what others had thoughts before try to buy it.

Most of the laptops have a stickers that shows the voltage but few are very fade. I might have to put sticker on those once I find what voltage they need from searching online.

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annon wrote:

madhatter wrote: Dell adapters use center pin to send power info . Might be considered if I can get one of Dells to work but seems will need time to do soldering.

My 90W Kensington M01098 Laptop Power Adapter came with 11 different interchangeable tips and the one for my Dell D830 (which uses the power info madhatter referred to as a means of ensuring only Dell power adapters work with their laptops) allows the Kensington adapter to work just fine… without having to solder anything!

BTW, the tip for HP also works just fine for my HP 6910p and the one for Acer worked with my old Acer laptop until I finally disposed of it.

It also includes a switch that allows you to set it for either 14-17 VDC (blue) or 17-21 VDC (green) output.

Unfortunately, no one sells that particular model any more and the replacement for it, Kensington model K38085US (which added a USB charging port), is out of stock everywhere I could find.

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