Model: AN515-55-57C4
***installed all updates and drivers, tried battery resets, ordered replacement battery***
ISSUE 1: - The laptop can't charge up the battery when plugged in.
ISSUE 2: - The laptop can't run graphically intensive games with charger plugged in.
I've had this laptop for just over a year and is out of the warranty window, so trying to troubleshoot issue on my own...
CONTEXT: A few weeks ago, I was using my laptop to browse the web - nothing intensive. I hear an audible click, and my screen goes dead and won't turn on again. With the charger plugged in, there is no charging light or anything. A few days later, I try plugging in the charger and the orange charging light comes on and powers on, but instantly dies when the charger is pulled and the battery doesn't charge. Everything seems to work fine at this point other than the battery problem and so I order a replacement. Another few days later and the laptop runs on the old battery, but the battery still isn't charging, only draining it.
The main problem becomes apparent when trying to run graphically intensive games. I recently bought COD: Modern Warfare 2 and I play with the charger plugged into the wall as the manufacturer recommends. I'm able to boot the game and load into a match, but once the graphics begin rendering and I look around, the battery light and charging light blink in unison. Once this happens, in less than a minute the laptop dies and I'm left with a blinking orange charging light. I've read online that this is because the charger is "not supplying enough power". I hold the power button for 30 seconds until the blinking light turns off, and I'm able to start my machine again normally.
Through experimentation, I've found that if I remove the charging cable once the lights begin to blink in-game, everything works fine but at lower graphics quality. As I've mentioned before, the charger doesn't charge the battery, so once I run out of charge, I wont be able to do this anymore.
I suspect that the issue lies with the motherboard power distribution. I've noticed that when playing games in the past, the fans run faster when booting into games (and this likely indicates that the laptop is running on charger power), but when this happens now, my laptop freaks out and dies. Please help me, as I've been working on this for about a week now and don't want to give up on gaming on my laptop (the reason why I bought it!)
[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]