2 ltrs went on my old presario,,which was covered with currys 'whatever happens' policy,2 ltrs coke and a cracked screen on a 6 year old laptop and they repaired it,new screen an'all..
That does actually help, she needs a new laptop, if you can't beat em join em, "Benefits Britain" and dodgy claims.... I'm even "liking" your post.
Save yourself the bother and buy one off Ebay for next to nowt. My charger broke so I went straight down to PC World who had one for "only £74.99". I went up to Maplins for a bargain and was told that they would be 60 odd quid if they had any on stock. I decided to type the model number into ebay and got one for £5.99 with free postage. Thought id be replacing them every two minutes but its working fine 2 years on.
I have bought them off ebay before. though if its just the adapter bit that plugs into the laptop thats gone. you can buy one for a few pence from maplin and solder it on
£7.50 ebay, link.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19V-1-58A...Accessories_PowerSupplies&hash=item2a1435679a