Hi all, I have a dell laptop that is malfunctioning. the latitude begin to shut off unexpectedly recently. first thing I noticed was that the battery life had shortened. In my attempt to troubleshoot I removed the battery to run the computer off of the ac power with the battery disconnected. I reasoned that if the system booted and operated properly I had a battery problem. The system didn't work with the battery removed. Therefore, I conclude I need an ac adapter. Is my deduction correct, or, am I missing something? Before I spend $60-$100 for the replacement adapter I thought I would get a second opinion, smile! I am not sure if a dead battery can be charged? On the other hand, I'm not sure that the puter will operate without the battery attached? Thanks, Rob