Well, if it won't work with the charger cord when the battery is out, and I am assuming it wouldn't work when it was in either, then you probably have a device that must have the battery in to work.
That said, if there is a problem with the charger cord, that can seem like it is the battery, or lack there of, that is causing the problem. You may want to try a different cord on the laptop and see if it will work.