Editing Amstrad NC100 Troubleshooting Guide (section)

== Power faults ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Power faults'''
! Symptom !! Probable cause !! Action
|-
| Dead on batteries and on the adaptor || Lock-up, internal fuse F301, the S301/IC313A switch-on circuit || Try the reset below. Then measure the AA cells and the adaptor output, and check F301 with the case open. Tim Surtell's site gives the NC100's surface-mount fuse as 6&nbsp;V 0.8&nbsp;A and says a wrong-voltage or reversed adaptor can blow it
|-
| Works on the adaptor, dead on batteries || Flat or reversed cells, corroded contacts || Fit fresh LR6 cells the right way round; clean the contacts
|-
| Works on batteries, dead on the adaptor || Adaptor, lead, adaptor socket || Use only the supplied adaptor (6&nbsp;V DC, 300&nbsp;mA, unregulated). Measure its output and polarity and inspect the lead where it enters the plug and the connector
|-
| "battery is low, please switch off and replace battery" || Main cells low || Replace the four AA cells
|-
| "Lithium battery is low" || Backup cell low || Replace the CR2032 with good AA cells fitted or the adaptor connected
|-
| Memory lost after a battery change || Dead or missing lithium cell, or all sources removed together || Replace the CR2032; restore files from a card or another computer
|-
| Batteries run down quickly || Automatic power-off set to 0, serial port use, NiCd cells || Set the power-off delay to 1 to 5 minutes; use the adaptor for serial transfers
|}

The messages and remedies are Amstrad's;<ref name="uinc" /> the fuse rating and adaptor details come from Tim Surtell's NC users' site.<ref name="ncushw">Tim Surtell, Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site, [http://www.ncus.org.uk/qanda_hardware.htm "Questions & Answers: Hardware"]. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Community answers: the blank-screen checklist from the NC200 manual, the internal surface-mount fuse (6 V 0.8 A on the NC100), adaptor rating and polarity, mains lead repair, case cracking, the NC100 display ribbon cable, serial port reliability, memory cards up to 1 MB, and Cliff Lawson on the NC150's Ranger disk hook.</ref> NiCd cells give about 5 hours against 35 to 40 hours for alkaline cells, so a short run time on rechargeables is not a fault.<ref name="uinc" />