Power Adapters for laptops / notebooks can actually do more harm than good

The Dell 6400 Power Adapters for laptops / notebooks can actually do more harm than good. Almost everything in a laptop / notebook is proprietary and there are only a handful of standardized parts in laptops. Laptop ac Adapters not being one of them.

To reduce reduce inventory costs and save money big box retail stores only carry Dell laptop ac adapters. While they are easier to sell they can often do more harm than good.

The Dell 6400 power adapters have a floating voltage, meaning that there is a sensor in them that detects which voltage they ought to be outputting. If that sensor is damaged or for any reason miss-detects the correct setting, the universal power adapter can cause damage to your laptops / notebooks motherboard.