Computer Troubleshooting

[Zennparadox]

My mother and I have been sharing the same computer for the past year and a half. Little over a year (purchased and received computer in December of 2011, batter stopped working in 4 weeks of use) has passed and now after our battery died, so has the charger. Let me start off by introducing myself, I am Samantha and use the computer for projects and gaming. My mum uses it for planning and projects; this computer is our lifeline.

Now after I received the computer from my dad, I had used it to download a game and finish any of my projects. I had used it rather oftain and took it to school for note taking, and would charge it when I got home/over night. Now I had made mistake one; being a bit foolish I used the computer while it was charging, and inevitably the battery gave out. I had gone about a week mopping and attempting to fix the computer I had discovered that I  can take the dead battery out and use the charger to support the computer instead. Mistake number two. It has been about a half of a year since I have had a battery and I have stopped taking it to school. My mum on the other hand uses it for meetings and planning, and now takes it wherever and whenever a meeting takes place.

Just this month I have been experiencing strange happenings within my computer. When I plug it in, I have to find a sweet spot for the charger. Meaning that I have to wiggle the port end of the charger until the little white light comes on, and then taping it to that particular spot. Big mistake number three. Today I attempted to use it and when the light didn't come on regardless of endless wiggling I sort of gave up and panicked.

So here I am, looking for help because my warranty ran out last year, and I have an essay that needs printing. Should I;

-Purchase new battery + charger

-Purchase new charger and go without battery for a while

-Go to a repair shop

-Attempt to jury rig the charger and buy new battery tonight

Please keep in mind I have a limited budget, and please help me. I am so lost right now.

Thank you for your time

-Samantha (Sam)

EDIT: The computer is a Satellite L650

[drev9]

it sounds like the AC jack in your computer is shot.  It is a relatively cheap part to pick up, but if you are not technical, you would want a repair center to service it.  Not sure why your battery does not work off hand.  A repair center could also troubleshoot that issue.

[Zennparadox]

it sounds like the AC jack in your computer is shot.  It is a relatively cheap part to pick up, but if you are not technical, you would want a repair center to service it.  Not sure why your battery does not work off hand.  A repair center could also troubleshoot that issue.

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Thank you so much! And as for the battery not working, I left it plugged in during a power surge.

Do you know a cheap but effective repair center?

EDIT: It appears that the battery pack isn't even warm, I kept it plugged in while I made that post, its been about an hour and it should be hot.

[drev9]

When you have the battery in, does the charging light come on?  If not, then the fuse on the motherboard is probably blown, which is an easy fix for someone that knows how to do solder rework. 

I do all of my own repairs, so I have never dealt with any of the repair centers.  You may want to call for support.  Here are the phone numbers for the different countries:

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/navShell.jsp?cf=su_contact

And here is the link for finding a service center:

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/gaspLocator.jsp?subs=tais

[Zennparadox]

I got the battery in once and was able to turn the computer on, I checked the battery/charger symbol, and it said "No charge" or something like that.

And thanks for the links! We are getting the computer checked at our local computer repair center.