Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide: Difference between revisions

Add the standard What is realistically repairable section; link Capacitor Failure Symptoms
Identify the display as a CCFL-backlit transmissive TFT from Psion's specification sheet; explain the buzz
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| '''Cards are awkward to change without lifting the machine''' || Not a fault. The PCMCIA and CompactFlash slots sit close to the base by design<ref name="roth" /> || —
| '''Cards are awkward to change without lifting the machine''' || Not a fault. The PCMCIA and CompactFlash slots sit close to the base by design<ref name="roth" /> || —
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| '''A quiet buzz from the display''' || Reported on some machines as-new at particular brightness settings, and described as barely perceptible || Documented as an as-new characteristic rather than a failure. No inverter failure has ever been reported on these machines.<ref name="roth" />
| '''A quiet buzz from the display''' || '''The CCFL backlight inverter.''' Psion's specification sheet identifies the panel as an SVGA TFT transmissive display '''with a CCFL backlight'''<ref name="specsheet">Psion Teklogix, "NETBOOK PRO Hand-Held Computer" specification sheet, document code NBPRO 05/05, hosted at [[Psion netBook Pro Documentation]]. Identifies the display as an SVGA TFT transmissive panel with a CCFL backlight.</ref>, so there is an inverter, and a faint whine at some brightness settings is characteristic of one || Reported on machines when new and described as barely perceptible, so treat it as normal rather than as a fault. No inverter failure has ever been reported on these machines.<ref name="roth" />
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| '''Everything in internal memory lost''' || Both the main pack and the backup AAA cells were allowed to go flat || Not recoverable. Use the '''flash folder''' — about 10 MB of non-volatile storage whose contents survive a hard reset or the complete depletion of both batteries.<ref name="manual" /><ref name="roth" />
| '''Everything in internal memory lost''' || Both the main pack and the backup AAA cells were allowed to go flat || Not recoverable. Use the '''flash folder''' — about 10 MB of non-volatile storage whose contents survive a hard reset or the complete depletion of both batteries.<ref name="manual" /><ref name="roth" />
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| '''Internal Flash and RAM''' || '''No''' || Soldered. A failure means a donor board.
| '''Internal Flash and RAM''' || '''No''' || Soldered. A failure means a donor board.
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| '''CCFL backlight tube''' || '''In principle''' || The panel is a transmissive TFT with a '''CCFL backlight'''<ref name="specsheet">Psion Teklogix, "NETBOOK PRO Hand-Held Computer" specification sheet, document code NBPRO 05/05, hosted at [[Psion netBook Pro Documentation]]. Identifies the display as an SVGA TFT transmissive panel with a CCFL backlight.</ref>, so a dimming screen is a tube or inverter question rather than a panel one. No replacement source is known, and no failure has yet been reported.
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