Can I use an HP charger on my Dell Inspiron N4010?

Question

My laptop has 19.5V 3.34A/ 4.62A (what does this mean?)

The HP Charger had

Input : 100-240V 1.6A 50-60Hz

Output: 18.5V 3.5A

Can I use this charger on my laptop without damaging the laptop or the charger? Is it safe To use without messing up my moms charger?

Answer 1

Although it would probably work I do not recommend it. 1 V is not a big difference, but I don't know what to tell about amperage.

You should look for a charger with:

• exactly the same voltage: 19.5 V in your case
  • higher will sure damage the notebook
  • lower has a very small probability of destroying your notebook but it may not start
• the same or higher maximum current: I assume it is 4.62 A
  • lower will overload the charger and lower the voltage. However the charger will try hard to rise the voltage to the correct value so sooner or later it will get broken due to overheating
  • higher - no problem as the notebook draws as much current as it needs

And last but not least: look carefully at the polarity of the charger's output and notebook's connector!