A friend had a mid-range price laptop by a major manufacturer and
needed a replacement A/C adapter. Friend went to major computer-theme
national retailer (the store was in Virginia, where the retailer's
headquarters is also located) and asked for help from a clerk. Friend
asked for help because a visit to Radio Shack, to a knowledgeable
middle aged salesman, turned up a warning that universal A/C adapters
often do not work. (Radio Shack employee attempted to find a laptop
"tip" that would fit the D/C jack; and even though a tip was found, it
did not charge the unit.)

At this other, larger, computer-intensive retailer, a clerk used an
"open-box" universal charger to show that the charger would work with
the laptop. Clerk demonstrated which tip to use, and the sale was
finalized.

A month and a half later, the laptop began to have freeze.
Diagnostics all came up normal, but in under two months, the laptop
was dead.

The computer technician who did the diagnostics asked, first, if the
universal A/C adapter was "set" to the right voltage. Technician said
Hand's down, the problem is the universal adapter, the most common
cause of laptop failure. My friend did not know the answer to his
question, because the retail clerk never explained that the "brick"
part of the adapter has a variety of voltages to set the charger to.
In this case, however, the brick *was* set to the correct voltage:
14-17 Volts.

This weekend, friend was starting to part-out the disassembled laptop
to sell perfectly usable parts. When disassembling the universal
adapter, the discovery was made that the little baggy the actual D/C
tip should have come from--labeled "14--17 Volts" was vacuum-sealed.
Another little baggy, containing other tips, labeled "17--21 Volts"
was the one the clerk at the major retailer instructed friend to use.

The fact that the baggy with the correct voltage tips is vacuum sealed
led friend to ask whether corporation should be liable for the failure
of the laptop ($1200. in 2004). Brunch with a lawyer friend who
refuses to give legal advice elicited a terse nod. Hence, this
post.

The manager of the particular store where the adapter was bought
offered the non-response: "We sell an awful lot of K_______________
brand of A/C adapters. They're used for Hewlett Packards, Toshibas,
Lenovos, all kind of laptops. I can't be held responsible for the
actions of a clerk who no longer works here. Call the manufacturer of
the adapter."

But the manufacturer didn't demonstrate the application of a wrong
voltage tip. So who, if anyone, can be "implicated" in the failure of
a laptop that had not been malfunctioning before the universal adapter
was purchased?