I used to have a Dell laptop - pop the cell out and it had a row of LEDs to show charge levels.
Also - have you tried running it up without the cell in, but hooked up to the adaptor?
Thirdly - it could be the monitor that died - hook it up to an external CRT.
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Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
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