Not charging - power cable or battery?

Yesterday I got what I thought was the standard battery not charging problem on my Acer Aspire One (AOA150 model/Windows XP). The computer works, but the battery is draining and will not charge while plugged in. I have tried both updating the BIOS and resetting the battery (remove + press power for 2 minutes + replace) and neither solved my problem.

I also noticed that when the battery is removed, the computer will not start even when the AC is plugged in. I've never tried running it on AC alone, is this supposed to work? If this is the case I know that I need a new AC cable. If not, what's the next step? A new battery? My computer is not under warranty.

Thanks!

 

Please search, this has been covered before.

The AAO's are meant to run with or without battery when the A/C lead is plugged in.
Unless there's a serious fault inside the AAO, the charging cable is the problem.

Try a friends AAO power cable first before buying a replacement just to double check the fault.

 

I did search but only found results asking about the not charging problem, not with the additional power cable issue. Sorry about that.

Thanks for your help, it sounds like the power cable is the issue then.