Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Carlsbad, CA
Posts: 2

Half of the screen is black

I recently dropped my visor deluxe. The screen is not cracked & it seems to be structurally sound, but the lower half of my screen is entirely black (pixelated). The upper half is still visible & both respond to the stylus, but I cannot see the lower half. I have tried all three kinds of resets & to no avail. Do I really have to replace the whole screen, or is there anything more I can do? Thanks in advance...

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

Well, I don't know for sure how the Visor sends info to the screen, but if it's anything like the LCD's I've busted in the past, it's one of two options, both of them bad for you:

1)All the info goes through the top: So you have a crack halfway through the screen. No data gets through that, the bottom half of your screen is nothing more than black glass
2)Half of the info goes through the top, the other half through the bottom: Which means the bottom leads are shot. Again, you're pretty much screwed.

But, I'm no expert and I haven't examined the screen in detail. Is it exactly half, or is a jagged cut bewteen screen & black?

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Carlsbad, CA
Posts: 2

Clarification

Thanks for the reply.

The screen is responding to taps on both halves of the screen. By guessing where the icons used to be, I can maneuver throughout the os. The screen is exactly half black. It is a straight, perfectly horizontal cutoff point. It looks like I will probably need to replace the whole screen, unless anybody with curcuit-board knowledge knows of any other possibilities. I found new screens from gethightech.com for 75.00. Handspring will replace the whole unit for 85.00. Is it worth it to try & fix it yourself. Anyone?

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: SW Virginia
Posts: 290

There is another possibility, which is not a bad as dietrichbohn's prognosis. There could be a loose (or broken) connector. If the control lines associated with the lower horizontal scan lines are now disconnected, but upper lines are still connected, you could see what you describe.

My only question would be, is there any warranty left on your DLX? If so, then technically speaking, repairing the DLX yourself would void the warranty. If there is no warranty left, then since you were considering repairing it yourself anyways, go ahead and open her up, at least to check to see if it is just a loose connector. If it is not a loose connector then it becomes a close trade off. Do it yourself for $75 or have someone else do for $85 with 30 to 90 day warranty on their work (I do not remember how big) with the risk of getting a bum DLX. See other threads for examples, but remember only those with bad luck complain. Just reading these would make one think the chance of this is rather high.

Hmm, if there is no visible crack in the screen and there is still warranty left on the DLX, the Handspring might repair this under warranty for free. Just a thought.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

I agree w/ potter. If you've got warranty, just have HS overnight you a new one, problem solved.

If it is cut off exactly at the halfway mark and it responds to taps on the lower screen, it is defintely the lower half leads, and may in fact be a loose connector. If it's out of warranty, back it up, and, hey what they heck, open'er up and jiggle the wires.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 38

No one's going to agree with me on this, but technically, the
warranty is to cover defects in the product, not damage as a result
of dropping it, running over it, etc. Your scheme would probably
work, of course, since no physical damage is evident.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

quote:

---

Originally posted by autocode1
No one's going to agree with me on this, but technically, the
warranty is to cover defects in the product, not damage as a result
of dropping it, running over it, etc. Your scheme would probably
work, of course, since no physical damage is evident.

---

Well, yaas... then again, I once had a laptop go flying off the top of a car & managed to get that replaced under warranty! This is peanuts.

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