laptop problem

[Tx Ram 98]

i have a dell laptop that i got around christmas time. i havent used it all that much, but recently i have been using it more. i have 2 problems with it. one is that about every 20 seconds the screen "blinks". the screen gets dark for about a second and then goes back to the normal way. i know this isnt normal, but also dont have any idea what would cause it. also my battery isnt charging. its been plugged in for a few days now, sometimes on and sometimes off, but the battery continues to stay at 3% charged. any idea what may be causing these problems or any way to fix them? TIA

[n2ocoupe]

If it is that new call dell. Complain and get them to send out a tech w/parts.
I hope you have warranty on it :)

[BigBlue]

If you take the battery out there is a button on the front of it push it and if it has less than 3 lights that light up the battery is toast. The monitor problem sounds like the ribbion cable that connects the monitor to the board is either loose or bad. Hope this helps

[DarkWolf]

Actually, the dark/light with the monitor, sounds more like it's switching on and off of battery power. Which would indicate to me that it's a problem with the a/c connection, which could also be why it's not charging more than 3% since it's constantly switching on and off, it doesn't have time to charge.

You definitely should call it in, whether it's a bad battery, mobo, or whatever, it needs to be replaced.

[ceyko]

Most of the possible problems listed above are probably accurate. A little hard to troubleshoot with the vague symptoms you provided. Either way, Dell is who you should call with it being so new.

Take care,