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New Power cord with old Mac Book Pro

I have a MacBookPro from 2006. Recently had to get a new power cord. If I run the computer on the battery

and then plug the cord into the computer, the battery does not charge. The computer will shut down as

the battery dies and then the cord will start charging. Quite irritating as I have to shut down the computer to get the

computer to recognize the power cord.


Has anyone else had this happen and what can I do to remedy the situation?

Thanks.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 1, 2012 4:56 PM

Reply
18 replies

Mar 1, 2012 4:59 PM in response to Catie

Try an SMC reset. Jusifications for resetting the SMC are many, and include the following:


Power
The computer doesn't respond to the power button when pressed.
A portable Mac doesn't appear to respond properly when you close or open the lid.
The computer sleeps or shuts down unexpectedly.
The battery does not appear to be charging properly.
The MagSafe power adaptor LED doesn't appear to indicate the correct activity.

Mar 2, 2012 4:01 AM in response to John Galt

Reset SMC by removing battery, etc., last night. Thought it might have worked.

This morning, started up the computer, unplugged the power cord, left it out for a few minutes so it was running off the battery,

then plugged it back in. The green light on the cord did not go back on and it was running off the battery with the power cord plugged in.

I shut the computer down and then the power (green light on) started working.



Am I misunderstanding the way the power and battery work, do I need to reset SMC again, or do I just learn to live with this quirkiness?


Thanks.

Mar 3, 2012 3:58 AM in response to JoeyR

My MBP is a 17" 2.16Ghz Intel Core Duo purchased in 2006 and the old and new chargers are both 85 watts.

I no longer have the old one since it was useless. I have had my new cord for about 2 1/2 months.


Seems to me that the problem was inconsistent at first, meaning sometimes it would charge after being unplugged (without) shutting it down, but now it won't. But maybe I wasn't paying all that close attention to it since it was new I just assumed it would all work well.

Mar 5, 2012 4:08 AM in response to John Galt

Yes, I did check the charging socket. It all seems to be fine.


I know this is strange, but I have unplugged the power cord at the power source a few times rather than from the

computer, and then plugged it back in. It seems to work then!


Thank you for all your help. I think I may just have to live with the quirkiness.

Mar 5, 2012 8:55 AM in response to Catie

Do you actually have to shut down your MBP? I have the same problem but all I do is close the lid before plugging the magsafe into the MBP you can then hear it power down and the magsafe light will illuminate. Once this has happened I open the lid and carry on from the screen or application I left - I have never needed to shut down the computer to solve the problem as I only need to let it go to sleep. Hope this is of some help

Mar 5, 2012 9:28 AM in response to Catie

In case it helps, here's the master support document for all stuff MagSafe related:


http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1713


BTW, as a side note and trivia, if you remove the charger's built-in plug (which Apple calls the "duck head") and don't have the AC cord extension at hand cause it was lost or misplaced, in a pinch you can use any standard computer power cord that ends it what's called a "figure-8 plug":


User uploaded file User uploaded file

New Power cord with old Mac Book Pro

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