What happened? used wrong adapter

[Retirednhappy]

Boy did I screw up. My daughter is visiting and brought her Thinkpad T42 with her. The problem was that she left her wall adapter at home. I have a ton of adapters so I looked for one she could use. Unfortunately I failed to notice that the voltage output on the adapter which most closely fit her needs was AC.:(
Her battery was nearly dead so we plugged in the adapter for a couple of hours to recharge it. The computer won't start. I don't know if the battery is dead or if the computer is fried. The wall adapter is fried. It has a faint burned smell. what damage have I done?

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif
A "Wall Wart" that has an AC output? :confused: Not common, most are DC as needed.

Was the notebook working prior to trying to recharge it? My thoughts are, you won't be able to tell if it is OK until you try a known working power supply (her original).

But don't fret about her data, it can be recovered, just post back any progress and if none, we'll help with the recovery and possible repair.

[Retirednhappy]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, the notebook was working before we tried to recharge it. My only hope is that whatever happened caused her battery to discharge the final little bit while it sat. I fear the worst but hope for the better. I'm hoping that the wall wart failed before damaging the notebook. I was wondering if any electronics people could explain some possibilities resulting from applying AC current to a DC circuit. Are there failsafe components built into computers that would minimize the risk of damage?

[Fruss Tray Ted]

What, specifically was the PSU you tried? Possibly just polarised wrong?

How many volts output?

Homemade? :p