Laptop says "critical battery error"

Hi, my computer did the same thing. I have an Inspiron 1300 laptop. I broke my cord, and had to wait a month to buy a new one. I plugged in the laptop with the battery it came on with a black screen that said, "CRITICAL BATTERY PRESS F1 TO CONTINUE." When I pressed F! it acted like it was booting XP. Suddenly my screen went blank, and my entire computer shut down. I removed the battery that didn't work. I tried ac power only that didn't work. I can't get anything, even after leaving it in to charge. Is this my cmos battery perhaps? If so where is the cmos on an Inspiron 1300? Very appreciative, thanks.

I had same problem, disconnect the battery and wait for 30-60 seconds then connect the mains and the laptop should power up. Sound like you need to replace the battery.