AC will not charge battery or run the computer

The battery will not charge. If I hold the start switch down with the charger attached, the battery light will flash orange. I tested the charging unit and it is putting out 18+Volts. The connection at the computer feels loose. Not a good fit. I bought it in Sept 09 but have not used it very much. I used it most of the time with the battery and would charge it as necessary. Someone told me to use the AC with the battery disconnected. Is this true?? I have a feeling the on/off switch is bad. I bought it from Costco in Portland OR>.

 

* Have you tried running off AC without the battery in place?
* Did you check your AC lead to ensure it's putting out at LEAST 19 volts DC?

Sounds to me like your AC lead is dead. If it's not outputting at least 19v DC and a good connection is not being made between the adapter and the netbook, then chances are you're not putting enough power in to charge the battery at all. Same thing happened to my old 150 charger, used it for a while on my 250 and it soon carked it.