Josh: Deduplicate the netBook datasheet reference: define it once and reuse it

2026-09-09T15:53:50Z

Deduplicate the netBook datasheet reference: define it once and reuse it

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	That drop rating is '''the same as the netBook's''' — Psion's own netBook datasheet also specifies 0.7 m onto a carpeted surface.<ref name="ds2001">Psion Teklogix, "netBook" product datasheet, February 2001, hosted at [[Psion netBook Documentation]]. ~~Gives the netBook~~'s own ~~drop rating as~~ 0.7 m onto ~~a carpeted surface~~.</ref> The widely-repeated claim that the netBook was good for 1 m onto wood comes from a community specification list rather than from Psion, and this wiki repeated it before checking.		That drop rating is '''the same as the netBook's''' — Psion's own netBook datasheet also specifies 0.7 m onto a carpeted surface.<ref name="ds2001">Psion Teklogix, "netBook" product datasheet, document code NBOOK-01/01-5K-A4-UK, February 2001, hosted at [[Psion netBook Documentation]]. Psion's own specification: 58-key keyboard, 15 V 1.5 A adapter, up to 8.5 hours battery life with a 2.5 hour recharge, CR2032 backup cell with a 55-hour lifespan, PC Card slot rated for 3.3 V and 5 V, 0.7 m drop onto carpet, IP30.</ref> The widely-repeated claim that the netBook was good for 1 m onto wood comes from a community specification list rather than from Psion, and this wiki repeated it before checking.

	== Preventive maintenance checklist ==		== Preventive maintenance checklist ==

Josh: Add the official Psion Teklogix side-view photograph

2026-09-09T15:52:53Z

Add the official Psion Teklogix side-view photograph

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			[[File:Psion netBook Pro left side.jpg\|thumb\|420px\|The sliding lid pulls the display forward as it opens. Note how close to the base the PC Card slot sits — changing a card usually means lifting the machine.]]
	Preventive maintenance for the '''[[Psion netBook Pro]]''', the Windows CE .NET 4.2 machine of 2003.		Preventive maintenance for the '''[[Psion netBook Pro]]''', the Windows CE .NET 4.2 machine of 2003.

Josh: Correct the drop-rating comparison against Psion's own netBook datasheet

2026-09-09T15:47:09Z

Correct the drop-rating comparison against Psion's own netBook datasheet

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:47, 9 September 2026
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	That drop rating ~~is worth internalising: it~~ is '''~~lower than~~ the netBook's 1 m onto ~~wood''~~'. ~~This is not~~ the ~~more rugged machine~~, ~~despite the industrial badge~~.		That drop rating is '''the same as the netBook's''' — Psion's own netBook datasheet also specifies 0.7 m onto a carpeted surface.<ref name="ds2001">Psion Teklogix, "netBook" product datasheet, February 2001, hosted at [[Psion netBook Documentation]]. Gives the netBook's own drop rating as 0.7 m onto a carpeted surface.</ref> The widely-repeated claim that the netBook was good for 1 m onto wood comes from a community specification list rather than from Psion, and this wiki repeated it before checking.

	== Preventive maintenance checklist ==		== Preventive maintenance checklist ==
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	* [[Psion netBook Pro]] · [[Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide]] · [[Psion netBook Pro Battery Service]]		* [[Psion netBook Pro]] · [[Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide]] · [[Psion netBook Pro Battery Service]]
			* [[Psion netBook Pro Documentation]] — the manuals this page draws on
	* [[Psion netBook General Maintenance]] · [[Psion Series 7 General Maintenance]]		* [[Psion netBook General Maintenance]] · [[Psion Series 7 General Maintenance]]
	* [[Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage]] · [[Recommended Tools]] · [[Battery Refurbishment]]		* [[Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage]] · [[Recommended Tools]] · [[Battery Refurbishment]]

Josh: Create general maintenance guide: preventive care, disassembly and cited manufacturer advice

2026-09-09T10:28:43Z

Create general maintenance guide: preventive care, disassembly and cited manufacturer advice

New page

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Preventive maintenance for the '''[[Psion netBook Pro]]''', the Windows CE .NET 4.2 machine of 2003.

The netBook Pro looks like the [[Psion netBook|netBook]] and is not the netBook. Different processor, different display, different operating system, different backup batteries, and a different set of things to worry about. Where the EPOC machines are kept alive by mechanical care, '''the netBook Pro is kept alive by firmware and by not opening the lid too often.'''

Psion Teklogix published a proper user manual for it, which makes this the best-documented machine in the family — and most of the advice below is theirs.<ref name="manual">Psion Teklogix, ''NETBOOK PRO Win CE 4.2 User Manual'', P/N 8100012 Rev C, 27 May 2004. Source for the battery and backup-battery procedures, the power schemes and runtime advice, the flash folder, the reset procedures and the environmental specifications. Mirrored at [http://www.vigay.com/psion/files/NBProUserManual.pdf vigay.com] and on ManualsLib.</ref>

== ⚠️ Safety ==

* '''Always switch the machine off before removing the main battery.'''<ref name="manual" />
* '''If both the main pack and the backup AAA cells go flat, everything in internal memory is lost.''' Only the flash folder survives.<ref name="manual" />
* There are no mains voltages inside the machine. The '''lithium-ion pack''' is the hazard — see [[Battery Refurbishment]].
* Anti-static precautions throughout.

== Update the firmware ==

'''This is the highest-value maintenance action on a netBook Pro, and it is free.'''

Four public ROM images were released after launch, and they progressively fixed the defects that got in the way of daily use: IrDA configuration broken out of the box, sluggish redraw, truncated German dialogue strings, and a battery warning that fired at 50 % remaining. An owner who used one daily described updating as '''urgently advisable'''.<ref name="roth">Jürgen Rothberger, [http://www.rothberger.net/pages/reviews/psion_netbook_pro.shtml "Psion netBook Pro"] (in German), July 2007. Source for the ROM update history and the launch defects, the two hardware revisions and their identification, the flash memory behaviour, Total Recall, and the rubberised covering and port caps.</ref>

The last released Windows CE 4.20 ROM image is still hosted, along with the BooSt supervisor-mode document and the manual, by Paul Vigay's Psion archive.<ref name="vigay">[http://www.vigay.com/psion/ "Psion, NetBook, NetBook Pro and EPOC Support"], vigay.com. Hosts the last released netBook Pro Windows CE 4.20 ROM image, the BooSt supervisor-mode document, the user manual and the technical brochure.</ref>

'''Back up before you flash anything''' — see below.

== Know which machine you have ==

'''Check the moulding on the rubber cap over the Honda-connector port.'''<ref name="roth" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Identifying the revision'''<ref name="roth" />
! Cap reads !! Revision !! What it has
|-
| '''"RS232"''' || Earlier || Serial only over that connector. Serial sync cable. '''No built-in modem.'''
|-
| '''"RS232 - USB"''' || Later || USB as well as serial over the same connector. USB sync cable. '''Built-in landline modem.'''
|}

Worth recording before the cap goes missing — see below.

== Back up: use the flash folder ==

The netBook Pro has something the EPOC machines lack. Of its 32 MB of internal Flash, about '''10 MB is non-volatile storage whose contents survive a hard reset and the complete depletion of both the main and backup batteries'''.<ref name="manual" /><ref name="roth" />

'''Put anything you would hate to lose in the flash folder.''' It is the only storage in the machine that does not depend on a battery.

A later ROM added '''Total Recall''', a backup utility that can restore automatically after a hard reset. Its one limitation is that individual files cannot be extracted from a backup set — restoring is all or nothing.<ref name="roth" />

Beyond that, ActiveSync to a PC over the serial or USB connection is the supported route.

== Batteries ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:80%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Power'''<ref name="manual" />
! Item !! Specification
|-
| Main || '''2200 mAh, 12.6 V''' Li-ion pack. 8–11 hours
|-
| Backup || '''Two alkaline AAA cells''', user-replaceable
|-
| Charge time || 3–4 hours, constant rate
|}

* '''Calibrate a new or rebuilt pack:''' charge it fully on first use, then discharge it fully before charging again. Do not plug or unplug the adapter mid-cycle — that aborts calibration.<ref name="manual" />
* '''Change the AAA cells on a schedule''', not on failure. They are what stands between a flat pack and an empty machine.
* '''Use alkaline cells as specified''', and '''take them out if the machine is going into storage'''. A leaked alkaline cell in the compartment above the keyboard is a serious repair — see [[Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage]].
* '''Every original pack is past its manufacturer-defined end of life on age alone.''' Psion Teklogix defined end of life as 50 % of initial capacity and expected it after about 1000 cycles, but noted that capacity also declines with age in storage.<ref name="manual" />

The AAA compartment is '''above the keyboard on the left'''; tilt the display slightly forward, press down on the centre of the cover and slide it towards the front.<ref name="manual" />

Full detail, including the calibration behaviour and rebuild, is on [[Psion netBook Pro Battery Service]].

== The hinges: open it less ==

'''Treat the hinges as the machine's weak point and act accordingly.''' netBook Pros turn up with a hinge broken or missing, characteristically the left one, and the problem is not purely age — the hinges were breaking when the machines were new.<ref name="hinge">[https://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=21108&start=1 "How bad is the 'hinge defect' on the Psion Teklogix Pro Netbook?"], HPC:Factor forums, September–October 2023. Source for the batch of machines missing the left hinge, the observation that they broke when new, and the preventive advice quoted here.</ref>

The preventive strategy, from collectors who manage machines with weak hinges:<ref name="hinge" />

* '''Open and close it as little as you can.'''
* '''Do not keep adjusting the screen angle.'''
* '''Store and carry it in a hard case''', so it is not compressed in a bag.

A sticking or misaligned hinge is worse than an obviously broken one, because it loads the whole assembly — and a catastrophic hinge failure can take the screen, the case and the board with it.<ref name="hinge" />

== Case and port caps ==

Two known cosmetic weaknesses, both present from new on many machines:

* '''The rubberised lid covering''' replaced the [[Psion Series 7|Series 7]]'s leather and was "quite sloppily glued" on a good many units, not seated flush in the lid recess and standing proud on one edge.<ref name="roth" /> If yours is lifting, re-adhering it is straightforward cosmetic work; if it never sat right, it probably never will.
* '''The rubber port caps stand proud at their corners''', are easily pulled out of their sockets and "sooner or later tear off".<ref name="roth" /> '''Keep them if you still have them''' — they are not replaceable, and the one over the Honda connector is how you identify the hardware revision.

Clean the case with a barely damp cloth. Nothing solvent-based near the rubberised covering.

== Screen and slots ==

* '''Clean the touchscreen with a barely damp lint-free cloth.''' No solvents.
* '''Run the brightness down.''' Psion Teklogix list it first among their runtime measures.<ref name="manual" />
* '''Lift the machine to change cards.''' The PC Card and CompactFlash slots sit close to the base, which makes card changes awkward and easy to do clumsily.<ref name="roth" />
* '''Remove communications cards when not in use''' — Psion Teklogix's own advice, both for runtime and to avoid leaving a card protruding.<ref name="manual" />
* '''Work from internal storage rather than a memory card''' where you can; writing to cards costs noticeably more power.<ref name="manual" />

== Power schemes ==

Setting these sensibly is maintenance, not configuration. The three timeouts — '''Switch to Dim''', '''Switch to Stand-By''' and '''Switch to Suspend''' — are '''cumulative''', so the machine sleeps only after all three have elapsed in sequence. Psion Teklogix recommended '''a total of about 10 minutes''', and specifically a 10-minute Switch to Suspend on the Battery Power scheme.<ref name="manual" />

Setting all three to '''Never''' leaves the machine running indefinitely. Because it wakes from Dim and Stand-By almost instantaneously, generous timeouts cost nothing in responsiveness and save a great deal of battery.<ref name="manual" />

== Environment ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:80%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Manufacturer ratings'''<ref name="manual" />
! Item !! Rating
|-
| Operating temperature || 0 to +50 °C
|-
| Storage temperature || −10 to +60 °C
|-
| Relative humidity || 0–93 %, non-condensing at 40 °C
|-
| Dust and water || IP30
|-
| Shock || '''0.7 m drop onto carpet'''
|}

That drop rating is worth internalising: it is '''lower than the netBook's 1 m onto wood'''. This is not the more rugged machine, despite the industrial badge.

== Preventive maintenance checklist ==

# Copy anything irreplaceable into the '''flash folder'''; ActiveSync the rest to a PC.
# Check the ROM version and update if it is not the last release.
# Charge the main pack fully; if the gauge reads "Not calibrated", run a full discharge and charge cycle.
# Replace the two AAA backup cells if you do not know their age; check the compartment for corrosion.
# Record the hardware revision from the Honda port cap, before the cap disappears.
# Check both hinges for movement, cracking or a sticking action.
# Check the lid covering for lifting edges.
# Clean the card slots and confirm cards are recognised.
# Review the power scheme timeouts.
# Store closed, in a hard case, with the backup cells out if it will be a long time.

== Recommended tools ==

* Cross-head and jeweller's screwdrivers, plastic spudgers.
* Anti-static strap.
* Isopropyl alcohol and lint-free and foam swabs — '''keep it off the rubberised covering'''.
* Fresh alkaline AAA cells.
* A known-good CompactFlash or SD card for testing.
* A PC with ActiveSync, and the last ROM image downloaded and kept.<ref name="vigay" />

See [[Recommended Tools]] for the general workshop kit.

== Related pages ==

* [[Psion netBook Pro]] · [[Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide]] · [[Psion netBook Pro Battery Service]]
* [[Psion netBook General Maintenance]] · [[Psion Series 7 General Maintenance]]
* [[Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage]] · [[Recommended Tools]] · [[Battery Refurbishment]]

== References ==

<references />

{{Navbox-Psion}}

[[Category:Psion]]
[[Category:Maintenance Guides]]

Psion netBook Pro General Maintenance - Revision history

Josh: Deduplicate the netBook datasheet reference: define it once and reuse it

Josh: Add the official Psion Teklogix side-view photograph

Josh: Correct the drop-rating comparison against Psion's own netBook datasheet

Josh: Create general maintenance guide: preventive care, disassembly and cited manufacturer advice