Screen problem with NX-73V

[mailrail]

When I open my Clie to "clamshell mode", my screen sometimes goes white with vertical lines running through it. If I twist it around and fold it to meet with the back, it usually always works fine. Anyone know what is causing this and what I can do to fix it? It obviously has some sort of short or is making a bad connection but I'm a little reluctant to mess around with it for fear I'll make it worse. Any help or suggestions appreciated.

[dragonsgames]

It sounds like a hardware problem, but just in case, do a hard reset (backup first!)

[mailrail]

I've done that but have had no luck. It's been a problem since I bought the unit a couple of years ago (used - on Ebay). I suspect it's a hinge issue. Like I said, it works perfectly in tablet format but I can rarely, if ever, keep it going in clamshell mode. Is it possible to clean the hinge and, if so, what do I use and how do I do it?

[dragonsgames]

Have you ever heard of Chris Short?

[mailrail]

No...should I?

[dragonsgames]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28522

He is amazing... ;)

[oyakodon]

Hi! Your issue sounds like one I had that came up every once in a while (though I didn't have the black lines; just a blank white screen). When in tablet mode the screen works fine, but opened up (say, to use the keyboard) it woud go blank just at the moment when it's fully open.

My problem was (is) loose wiring leading from the screen into the the camera area of the clie. I don't have the equipment to go in and solder anything, but I was able to unscrew the clie to access the wiring. After some gentle wiggling, I found that the screen returned to normal in open clamshell mode when the wiring was pushed in slightly, so my fix involved taking a small wad of paper and jamming the wiring in. Not high tech by any means, but it's worked fine since. . . with one caveat: If I bang it a bit too much, sometimes the problem will come back because the wiring has been dislodged again. But each time I've just opened her up again and reset the paper/wires and it comes back.

The only thing I can really emphasize is to be gentle. Again, not having any way to restore it if, say, I were to giggle wires hard enough that something really breaks (vs. just coming loose) I'd be screwed. But I've found that it doesn't take much force to make the connection again, so I may be just lucky.

I did live w/ using the clie in only tablet mode for a while before, so maybe that's another altermative. I also found that I could use it in a slightly-open clamshell mode (since it was only at the fully open position that the screen blanked).

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Kevin

Oh, and to access the screen wiring you'd only need a small philips screwdriver to undo the two small silver screws you can see when you twist the screen slightly.

[mailrail]

oyakodon: That sounds exactly like what's going on with mine. I'm not afraid of trying the fix you mentioned however, I'm really not sure what screws to take out - the ones for the screen or the actual body of the Clie?

[oyakodon]

I've attached a couple of pics to illustrate where the screws and pertinent wires are likely.

The screws are visible at the base of the hinge when you turn the screen about 90 degrees (they're the two outer ones). The second picture shows the wiring; after popping off the plastic housing put your clie into clamshell mode and gently push the wiring leading into the camera housing further into towards the camera. If your screen was initially blank and your problem is the same as mine was, you should see your screen blink back on. Releasing pressure may cause it to revert back. At this point I took a small wad of paper and carefully wedged it in as to put the same pressure on the wiring. If the screen stays on after you've inserted the paper then you're done.

Keep in mind that this is not a permanent fix : ( . If the Clie is jolted it may dislodge the paper and you'll be back to square one. The good news is that it's not too hard to redo the process.

Now for my one side effect (and if you can figure out what I did I'd be grateful to hear a solution). After I did this, the light the green power light no longer blinks on while charging. It comes on when operating the unit, and it *is* charging when in the cradle. . . the light just doesn't come on. And it's not like it's fully charged and the light goes out--i'd be at a quarter power and pop the unit into the cradle and the light is off. This happened only after doing my screen fix. It's more of an annoyance at this point (I just can't tell when it's fully charged vs. waiting the normal charge time), but I'd rather deal w/ this than a blank screen.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Kevin

[mailrail]

Kevin:

I did it!!! Thank you thank you thank you! What threw me originally was that you said to remove the small silver screws that were visible when you twisted the screen. On my NX73, the two inner screws are silver and the outer ones are black. I removed the inner (silver) screws but I couldn't remove anything but the little copper strips there. I should've known that luck was on my side last night because not once, but TWICE, I dropped those little screws - once they fell on the carpet, once into the keyboard of my computer, and I found them both times! Anyway, when I finally removed the correct screws, and got to the wiring, I rearranged everything and put it back together and PRESTO! it worked like a charm. There's only one little spot as I'm opening it up where the screen goes white. If it gets worse, at least I'll know how to take it back apart to work on it some more. For now, I'm leaving well enough alone.

As far as your problem goes, my NX73 doesn't have the blinking green light when charging. The power light turns an orange-red during the charging phase. When it's in the cradle, try squeezing the unit at each side of that removable plastic part and see if you ever see the light come on. That's how I figured out where my 'short' was. I actually worked on mine before I got your detailed instructions. When I pressed on the right side of the unit at the plastic piece, the screen would come on in clamshell mode. So I took the part off and gently pushed the wiring back into the "tunnel" a little further. When I snapped the part back into place, the screen worked perfectly. You may have shorted a different wire out when you corrected your other problem. Just a hunch. Keep me posted on how it goes and thanks again for your suggestions and help.

Rick