Remove the Battery and Take it to Autozone or auto parts store that will test it and have it tested (usually free service at most places), If it will charge they will find that out. if not then they will also know that. either way you will know the results after testing.

In numerous cases, Dell in particular, if you flip over the laptop there is a pushbutton on the battery and a series of LEDs that light up to indicate the level of charge when you push the button (assumes the charge circuit is operational and that the battery can hold a charge). I would start by checking Dell's website to see if the battery is part of any recall, many were. If you rarely use it on battery I wouldn't spend any extra on a larger capacity one. Third party ones should be used with caution, quality is often lacking. Personally I have used Lenmar replacements, for laptops and camcorders, when competitively priced. So far I have been lucky, some reviewers seem to diss them. I would definitely factor in the cost of a new battery vs purchase of a new warrantied unit also.

The important item here is: What kind of batteries/cells are we discusing? Many camera use Ni-MH, size AA rechargeable batteries. This is a 1.2 V cell and can be used in any camera that accepts this type of battery. Its nominal voltage is 1.2 V and may get as high as 1.5 volts while recharging. Do not confuse with a lithium cell of the same size. The lithium cell is 3 volts. Although the words cell and battery are used interchangeable, in a strict sense they are not the same. A cell refers to a single cell and a battery is collection of cells. A 12 V, lead-acid car BATTERY is a collection of 6, 2 V CELLS connected in series. A 9 volt transistor radio BATTERY is a collection of 6, 1.5 V CELLS stacked in series inside the shell. However, I wouldn't belabor this point too much. If you go to a store, you'll find single cells under the battery sign.

Mark, Overseas I've seen special outlets that are like power boards in themselves, or you can get those adapters that plug into a double outlet and give you six outlets, designed for low-drain appliances just like you propose. This would be a way perhaps of avoiding code violations since I doubt you could just hang an extra 8 outlets off what's probably supposed to be a dedicated circuit, or you could just provide an extra, dedicated circuit. I like your idea in principle, anyway. In order to calculate the load, which will mostly be small except the computer. printer and coffee maker. The first two will probably be small but the printer might draw a bit if it's a laser. In order to calculate your total load, it's ampsxvolts=watts, but in your case you don't want to use the output voltages you've quoted me, as that doesn't really tell us how much current the adaptors will use. Most will say "120v 150ma" or something similar - a ma is a millampere. I suspect none of the plug packs will add up to very much. If the outlet's in a cabinet - again, check if this is legal, it may be easier and again more legal, to nicely mount a plug-in power board in the cupboard, plugged into the outlet you put in there - that way you can get 8 or 2x4 outlets, without wiring in all those outlets- when you say 6 to 8 do you mean 3 or 4 doubles, or do you really mean 6 to 8 doubles? That's a lot. Make sure heat's not going to be a problem, perhaps if there's going to be an airspace over the cupboard, you could cut a nice ventilation hole at the top and cover it with a grille.