Getting the Correct Wattage

The most important thing is that the power cord you get for your laptop is rated for the correct wattage for your laptop. Most laptops these days work on 90 w power adapters, which means you’ll want to make sure your cord or adapter is 90w. With that said, there are exceptions to this rule and it’s impossible to list all the possible models and wattage variations here, the best place to find this information is on the back of your current laptop power cord or adapter. Well, if you’re here because you need a replacement and you lost yours, well, then you should check your owner’s manual. If you can’t do that, there are some pretty good tools online for finding the correct wattage. One cool page, which will tell you what adapter you actually need, is this page. Just select your brand and them model and it will list up the power cords you need for your specific laptop.

We talk a lot about universal supplies on this site, why? Because they’re cheap and really handy as you can use them for all sort of mobile devices not just as your laptop power cord. So that’s always an option as well.

Can I replace JUST the laptop power cord and not the entire adapter?

If you’ve lost or damaged just the power cord, meaning probably the part that has smart two pin connection or even the cord itself attached to the adapter is damaged; yes you can. The best places to start are searching online for refurbished power supplies and see if they have just the cord itself. This is probably not your best option since most places won’t want to separate the adapter from the cord as then they don’t have a complete unit to sell. Now, that’s not to say they won’t do it or that they don’t have some bad adapters but good cords. The problem here is, you’re more likely to pay about the same amount as you would if you just purchased the entire power cord. So you’ll have to weigh your options. Again, another great resource is your local computer store and see if they happen to have any lying around that will work for your adapter and cord combination. You may even get lucky and they’ll give it to you.

You may be able to repair the cord yourself. I have done this on a few occasions with other power cords but never with a laptop power cord. I’m sure it can’t be any different you just have to make sure you use the right gauged wire. Although personally, I probably wouldn’t attempt this; it’s not a big deal if you burn up a lamp but to damage a laptop is a little more… well, bad.

One option is to use an external laptop battery as your laptop power supply. Since the connection and wattage is not contingent on the type of laptop for these external batteries, they work for any laptop. Meaning, they are universal and work for most major brands such as Dell, Lenovo, IBM, HP, Gateway, Acer, Sony, etc.

Sorting products by Store Name

	Lenmar PowerPort Laptop - Portable Battery and Charger for Notebook Computers (PPU916) Lenmar PPU916 General Purpose Battery - 5500 mAh PPU916 General Purpose Batteries more...		$71.45
	Lenmar PPU1619 Universal Laptop Battery (External) for All 16V - 20V Models, with Usb Powerport 5V 16V & 19V DC OUTPUT 4400 MAH LI-ION POWERS MOST LAPTOP COMPUTERS FOR UP more...		$129.95
	Hi-Capacity External Laptop Battery for Compaq Dell HP Toshiba, Twinhead & Winbook BatteryValues.com is your one-stop-shop online for replacement batteries, home and car chargers, home and car more...		$379.00
	Portable universal external laptop battery 5500mah for acer sony dell gateway toshiba hp ibm samsung asus compaq epson fujitsu Super thin design. Powerful with long operation time. Can discharge while being charged. Portable and more...		$79.22 Free Shipping!

Searching the web for the best product deals...

A good external laptop battery or laptop charger can extend the life of your laptop to as many as 10 hours in some cases (depending on the batter you chose and the amount of juice your particular laptop requires).

Another positive aspect of the external batteries to provide laptop power supply is they are comparatively lightweight. Usually weighing between 1.6 up to 3.3 pounds. Although light in weight, they can be fairly expensive ranging from $150 to $500. One thing to remember however, that is these external sources of laptop power can provide power to many different devices such as mp3 players, mobile phones, PDA, or many other hand-held devices. Therefore, even though the price may be high, you are really getting several external power sources for your money.

Being lightweight, these external batteries can be carried in you laptop or touchscreen tablet bag ready to provide extra power for those long business flights. There is nothing more frustrating then running out of power when you’re right in the middle of important work. External laptop batteries do not need drivers or software to be loaded on your laptop and can use your current laptops AC plug (using different tips usually provided with the battery).

Using external battery power as your laptop power supply can help you get the most use out of your laptop. After all, isn’t that why you purchased a laptop, to be mobile? To be able to use it anywhere? Don’t worry about running out of power in the middle of important work, get an extra backup with an external laptop power supply and battery to keep in your laptop bag.  Whether you use your notebook exclusively on the go or you have it setup with a docking station or  laptop computer stand, having an extra source of power such as an external batter keeps you covered in case of a power outage.

Obviously you do have to charge these batteries. Charging time is usually quicker than re-charging your laptops internal battery which is another nice feature.