My posting today is a total departure from the usual subjects and issues on which I comment. I have been beset with a problem on my laptop – a Dell Inspiron 1764 – which Google searches have shown to be a relatively common problem affecting laptops irrespective of the manufacturer – and therefore not confined to Dell. I use Windows 7 but the problem also affects other operating systems such as Vista and XP. What happens is that when one tries to charge the battery a message appears that an incompatible adapter is being used and therefore the battery is not charging. However, power is being transmitted to the laptop…