french plug adapter

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french plug adapter

I am currently in France for a summer program with my university and will be here for the next 6 weeks. I have a problem, I can't seem to get my computer to charge. I have 2 different adapters - one I have used in the past with other electronics with no problems, and the other I bought before leaving.

Well, originally I plugged it into the adapter and then to the plug and nothing happened. Then a few hours later I tried again and it seemed to have worked - the charger light turned on and it said it was charging, after a while I checked it and it said it still needed 2 hours to charge the battery full - so I realized it wasn't ACTUALLY charging. I went to bed after that. Then I woke up later and the light had gone off and my computer was asleep & couldn't wake up - so dead battery...I tried to get the plug to work again and it wouldn't.

I read that all you need is just an adapter so I don't know what to do! I need to my computer to write papers, do homework, and of course, socialize!

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on May 14, 2008 8:44 AM

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Answer 1

May 15, 2008 6:13 AM in response to sylviarr

All you need is _the AC power adapter that came with your MacBook_ (which operates from 100-240V) and a _plug adapter_ like one of these:

http://z.about.com/d/goeurope/1/0/c/l/1/plug-adapter.jpg (ungrounded, for the short plug on the brick)

http://www.110220volts.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/badp_plugss409.jpg (grounded, for the longer cord)

Don't use a voltage converter, transformer, anything like that.

Hope this helps...

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Answer 2

sylviarr Author

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May 15, 2008 7:32 AM in response to neuroanatomist

i have basically the same one shown in the first picture, and that's the one that's being weird.

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Answer 3

dobes918

Level 4

1,446 points

May 15, 2008 7:40 AM in response to sylviarr

How old is your macbook? You could just be having a battery issue, not a plug/adaptor issue. One of the symptoms of a bad battery was a refusal to charge. If you have AppleCare, why not take it to an Apple store or repair place and see what they say.

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Answer 4

sylviarr Author

Level 1

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May 16, 2008 4:51 AM in response to dobes918

It's not yet a year old, it will be in June. I've never had a problem with the battery before this.

The problem seems to have changed though - now the power works and everything and it charges about 85%, seemingly empties itself and then starts charging again.

I don't think there's an Apple Store around here, I'm in a little town in the French Alps...

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Answer 5

dobes918

Level 4

1,446 points

May 21, 2008 8:51 AM in response to sylviarr

It sounds like a defective battery to me, or at least I would look into that if I were you. We also don't have an Apple Store in Slovakia or anywhere within a couple of countries of here. What we do have - and you might, too - is an Apple Authorized Repair Provider. I think it's better than an Apple Store, because there are so few Apple products here that I always get excellent, immediate service! Somewhere on this website is a list of international service providers - you might check if there is one somewhere near you.

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