How to Test If Laptop AC Charger Is Charging

Laptops are great because of their portability. The size of a laptop is one of its main advantages, but the most important is that your laptop has a battery that can be charged and let you compute unplugged for hours. The power is stored in your laptop's battery but laptop batteries often wear out and stop charging. It's important know if your laptop is charging or it may shut down and cause you to loose your work.

Instructions

1. Look at the battery icon in the lower right side of the task bar. This icon can look like a thin battery or a power plug if it is plugged in and charging. If you move your mouse over the icon it should tell you if the battery is charging and how much capacity has been charged.

2. Look at the place where the laptop power cord plugs into the laptop. There should be a light next to this connection that turns on when the laptop is charging.

3. Save everything you are working on in the laptop. Leave your laptop on and unplugged until it runs out of battery charge and shuts down. Plug in your laptop's power cord and start the computer. Wait a few minutes and then unplug the cord. If the laptop shuts down immediately then it is not charging. If the laptop won't power up, then the charger may be bad.

References

• Henry Amon; Information Systems Specialist; Salisbury, Maryland