smps vs linear

ok,

yesterday we had a brown out for a couple of seconds and my digital photoframe reset

now when I put it on the screen went very faint, then it's flickering.

so I'm trying to prove if the frame has blown something or the psu adaptor box

I noticed the box says 12v switched mode power supply and the 3.5mm jack has like a little red ring, where the black insulator would be on another one

I have a tosh laptop, with what looks like the same size jack and it fits the hole BUT the jack wont go over the inside pin, I'm assuming this is for compatability.

I don't wanna go and buy an SMPS never having heard of them before today

but can I use my laptop PSU to see if the digital frame works, I'm assuming it is otherways compatible

or do I have to use an SMPS with SMPS and a linear with a linear

txs !