On the issue with th ebattery on the 1521 inspiron. Took battery out and plugged in still will not power up. Could it be the adapter as well?

Remove the battery from its compartment on the side of your Dell Inspiron laptop computer.

Remove the power adapter from its plug on the side of the Dell Inspiron (if your laptop is currently plugged into a wall outlet).

Press down and hold the "Power" button on the laptop for one to two minutes. This will dispel the excess electrical current that is built up inside the laptop.

Put the battery back inside the compartment of your Dell Inspiron.

Plug your power adapter back into the side of the Dell Inspiron. Press "Power." Your laptop computer will now turn on.

hope this helps

Joanne, remove the battery and unplug the power adapter. Now replug the power adapter and start the laptop without the battery. If all is well then you've determined the fault is the battery. Which is very common on those laptops. -Ravi Shanghavi

Turn the computer off.
Disconnect the AC power.
Flip it over.
Remove the battery.
Look at the various "covers" that are screwed shut.
Use a small screwdriver to open one of those "bays".
The BlueTooth adapter may become visible.
Or, if you open the "wrong" one, you'll see your computer's RAM memory.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 and had the same exact problem. I finally called Dell and they sent a tech out. They replaced my power cord and all the software. The reason for this is because Dell Inspirons has a default in the AC cords. Sounds like the AC power cord is the problem. You could find someone who has this cord and test your Inspiron with it or try calling Dell! It worked for me.

I see possible failure as the following:

1. The power control strip on the Palmrest Assembly (The actual button under the hinge cover)
2. The motherboard, even though the system partially functions under the DMD button, that is a very limited function of the system

first of all check different battery, different Ac adapter, try to update bios. If none will fix issue then its Motherboard problem

get a new power supply..be prepared for half baked answers..india calling.
only from Dell

When you received the system as out of the box and you get this message "The AC power adapter wattage and type cannot be determind" let the Dell tech service know that they sent you a wrong or incorrect type of AC Adapter.
If this message not was not appearing before it just happened recently try to download and install the latest BIOS version from the support site.
If all fails remove the batt and check if laptop can work with AC adapter alone, because issues like AC not determine may not charge the battery and laptop may not work with AC as well, maybe laptop is already running on battery power.

There are different types of Dell power adapters, some of them put out different amounts of power. While it is possible that the battery is faulty, it is more likely, given your error message that the adaptor is wrong. If you got it from Dell, you can call them and they will exchange it.
Cheers
Dave

just remove and start with out battery by plugging in........