pruss

The information is mainly there in another thread, but I wanted to summarize it here for convenience. This may not work for you. Use the information at your own risk.

If your TX is under warranty, don't do this--just send it to Palm for repairs.

Issues to be fixed: The Palm TX's power button may require more and more pressure as the device ages and eventually will fail. The 5-way buttons may likewise start to fail, especially the down button.

Stuff needed:
- Small screwdriver that fits the star-screws on the back of the TX. (This does not have to be a star-screwdriver. A small slot screwdriver will do the job just fine.)
- WD-40
- Q-tips or other things for cleaning contacts and applying WD-40

Time needed:
- 20 minutes

Skill needed:
- Not that much.

Steps:
1. Unscrewing the four screws at the back.
2. Gently unhook the back of the TX, by prying and working your way around. I did the prying with a small slot screwdriver (somewhat bigger than the one I used for unscrewing the screws). BE CAREFUL, however: there are two wires going from the motherboard to the back plate. You don't want to break those. The back will continue to be attached by these.
3. To fix the power switch problem (the following may also be a good preventative):
3a. Remove the plastic strip that covers the top of the TX. This strip contains the outer power switch assembly. BE CAREFUL that the power switch assembly not fall out of the strip (or if it does, that you put it back as it should be).
3b. You will see that the plastic power button that is on the outside of the case presses down on a little switchbox. The switchbox is metal and has a small plastic button.
3c. Blow air at the plastic button on the switchbox, to dislodge dirt inside the switchbox which is blocking the contacts. I did this just by putting my mouth there and blowing, but a much better way would be to use canned air (I didn't have any at home). The plastic button is not airtight, so air will enter into the switchbox.
3d. Put a small drop of WD-40 all around the plastic button on the switchbox, and press the button a number of times to work the WD-40 into the inside the of the switchbox.
3e. Wipe off excess WD-40. Wash hands so as not to smudge TX.
3f. (Optional--I didn't do it myself but it was suggested.) Add a bit of epoxy to the bump on the plastic button on the black top piece of the case so that less pressure is needed to trigger the switch. File down so that the switch is not being pressed down immediately.
3g. Replace the plastic piece of the top of the case. This is a bit tricky--notice the thingies sticking downward from it with holes that fit over posts in the TX.
4. To fix the 5way button issue:
4a. Unscrew the two screws at the bottom of the TX which hold down a small board that connects to the rest of the TX with a ribbon connector.
4b. If you flip this board up, you will see metal nine metal domes corresponding to the four hard buttons, the center button and the four directions of the 5-way. These domes are under a sticky transparent plastic layer.
4c. Peel the plastic and the dome(s) so as to expose the malfunctioning switches. Under the metal domes you will find two concentric golden circles.
4d. Clean the underside (the convex side) of the dome, e.g., with alcohol or just by rubbing with fingertip. Do the same with the golden circles. Dry it.
4e. Apply a tiny amount of WD-40 to the dome and the circles, being careful not to get any on the sticky plastic, as WD-40 is likely to dissolve the adhesive. I did this by spraying WD-40 onto a cotton swab, then wiping the cotton swab on a clean piece of paper, so it would have just a tiny bit of oil (no visible drops), and then wiping the dome and the circles with this greasy swab.
4f. Stick the plastic back down.
4g. Replace the button board and screw it back down.
5. Carefully replace the back cover of the TX and screw it closed.

__________________
Alex Pruss

For my shareware (FontSmoother, myKbd, mySkin, Accenter, FastLaunch and AtomClock) and freeware PalmOS software, go here: http://pruss.mobi

pruss

Update: Five days later, it works better than right after the fix. The WD-40 must have spread itself even better where it was needed. Hurrah! So the dreaded power switch problem is easily fixable.

__________________
Alex Pruss

For my shareware (FontSmoother, myKbd, mySkin, Accenter, FastLaunch and AtomClock) and freeware PalmOS software, go here: http://pruss.mobi

brandon-wan

any chance of getting some pics of the dissection uploaded for those of us not possessing mad engineering skills? thanks for the guide!

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join us on the treonauts forum !

Gregte

A suggestion on taking the back off the TX is to remove the four screws then use a common table knife (butter knife) to pry between the back case half and the silo area on the silo side of the TX.

The smooth, broad, flat surfaced, dull edged knife will not mar the plastic at all if done with care.

And remember, the battery is glued to the back case half and its short wires go to the motherboard which is mounted in the front case half, so don't jerk the two halves apart from each other once the little plastic catches are freed. Be slow and gentle and you should have no problem.

C.P.

Could u post photos?

joe002

pruss – thanks for the post. My TX is a couple of years old, and the switch just degraded rapidly. Per you instructions, I removed the screws but only opened the back enough so that I could remove the plastic strip on top. Instead of WD-40 I have a can of tuner cleaner/lubricant, so I’m giving it a shot. So far there’s a remarkable difference – maybe it will get even better over the next few days. Thanks again for you instructions!

pruss

Over two weeks later, my TX's power switch continues to work flawlessly after the treatment.

__________________
Alex Pruss

For my shareware (FontSmoother, myKbd, mySkin, Accenter, FastLaunch and AtomClock) and freeware PalmOS software, go here: http://pruss.mobi

joe002

Same here. It's as good or better than new.

Church Punk

just to add some info here, maybe this helps someone else:

About the power button. I saw that the little connection between the switch and the "motherboard" was broken. Yes, broken at one end (one connection). It was still in its original position, but i noticed that when i pressed the button, the whole little switch went down and thus making no contact with the rest of the board. I managed to paste a little piece of plastic that will fill the empty space between the switch and the LCD (in a way that the switch will not come down any mm). I know it sounds crazy but after pasting it, the power button was 10 times better than before. I never had problems with it, none until i felt that i needed to apply more pressure or more time to press when turning my TX on.

So maybe if some1 has the same problem and a possible solution would be this.

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yeah sorry jjf:)

palmTE

Say there -- maybe this thread is a good place to repost how to turn off a Palm without the using the power button? I understand there is software to do that, but I do not know what it's called/where to find it.

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Palm TX

cms

If your powerbutton is broken, you can either use software to do it, or you can just take the palm appart, (easy, just unscrew the screws on the back), and then:

1) see if your powerbutton button (the button under the button you see ) got bent back or somthing, just bend it back

2) spray the button with air in a can

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I have bought an Asus EEE 1000he. My palm TX is no longer needed. See my Replacer
You can now find me on the EEEuser.com forums :)

cyberdude

If you use software - try Audodo it's free and does a beautiful job.

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Tom
TX,A-Data 16GB SDHC
Reviews:Propel, Agendus, Screen Capture Utilities, IDGuard vs SplashID, TealScan
Tom's TX pages

pruss

I had the page-down button problem again, and I repeated the solution. This time, it didn't work--the problem remains, and now my center button has to be pressed hard. One difference is that this time I had to use tape myself to hold the button parts down, because the adhesive went bad. I guess I'll have to try again.
What is tuner cleaner?

__________________
Alex Pruss

For my shareware (FontSmoother, myKbd, mySkin, Accenter, FastLaunch and AtomClock) and freeware PalmOS software, go here: http://pruss.mobi

pruss

Just did it again, but instead of using WD40, I used Radio Shack tuner/contact cleaner ($10.99 per bottle). Only trick is that the spray is overpressurized, and makes a mess. So I sprayed into a container (while wearing safety goggles) and then applied it with Q-Tips. Worked great.

__________________
Alex Pruss

For my shareware (FontSmoother, myKbd, mySkin, Accenter, FastLaunch and AtomClock) and freeware PalmOS software, go here: http://pruss.mobi