Here’s a tip from someone who has bought her share of laptop computers for the home office through the years:
On the very day that you buy your laptop computer, also buy an extra laptop power cord for it at the same time!
The reason? Because you’ll be up a creek on the day you realize that your power cord has gone bad.
There’s no way to charge a laptop other than using the official power cord that works with your specific make and model of laptop computer.
It happened to me.
But it gets worse…
I use my laptop a lot — in addition to my desktop computer.
The day the power cord stopped charging was quite frustrating, because it meant no more “working at my convenience” wherever and whenever I wanted.
Instead, I was now tied to my desktop computer if I wanted to get any work done (…which wasn’t fun at all).
Worse yet… it took over a week to receive the replacement power cord that I ordered online. Ugh.
And even worse yet… even though the manufacturer of the replacement laptop power cord said this one was compatible with the make and model of laptop I have, it turned out to have some limitations. The biggest one: if you left the power cord plugged in after the laptop battery itself had become recharged, all sorts of weird and wacky things would start happening.
Things like:
- the cursor moving without me touching it
- the computer got really hot to the touch
- the power cord itself got really hot
- and the mouse became extra sensitive, so a minor touch would open up all sorts of windows and browsers at once
It was a royal pain in the butt! My original laptop power cord never did these things — no matter how long I left it plugged in.
I wish so badly that I had just ordered a backup AC power cord for the laptop when I bought it. And if/when the new one should ever stop working, I will make a point to order another one from the same place where I bought my laptop. But that’s just me.
Word to the wise!
I like to help people find unique ways to do things in order to save time & money — so I write about “outside the box” ideas that most wouldn’t think of. As a lifelong dog owner, I often share my best tips for living with and training dogs. I worked in Higher Ed over 10 years before switching gears to pursue activities that I’m truly passionate about. I’ve worked at a vet, in a photo lab, and at a zoo — to name a few. I enjoy the outdoors via bicycle, motorcycle, Jeep, or RV. You can always find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
