Loose J720 Hinge

The main screen hinge on my 720 is getting a little loose. Not in the fact that it's just getting old and that's what flip tops do, but the big main middle hinge assembly is starting to come off of the rest of the body. It's only a little bit, but it disturbs me to move the screen in fear of busting it.

maybe the clips are broken inside the hinge? if that's it, and not just one of them (my j728 has one broken but fortunately its the least important bit), you need a replacement (or glue them back?? didnt work out for me ), but if you're lucky you just need to readjust it somehow

It could just be a case of loose screws (without seeing photo's it's difficult to tell). If you have T6, give them all a tweak - remembering that the hinge screws are load bearing, especially when the thing is open.. so do it carefully and spread the tension as muich as possible.

Yeah; I'll take some pics and show you what I mean.
http://www.laurasteele.net/720/
The 2nd pic shows it best, it's just raised up on the left side. The 3rd pic is on the right side, showing how it should be flush with the rest of the hinges.

Where are the screws that I'd need to tighten? Are they the inside the main battery housing?

WOW
Nevermind, I feel mega dumb. I remeber doing this once before, the two screws were loose. Tightened and now it's back in perfect order.

That's certainly a stress issue from a lose screw, part of the clip that holds the notification LED housing has risen up because it's moved. You will need a T6 and remove and reseat the screen to smooth it out - assuming that nothing has snapped.

Yeah, nothing snapped. I keep this thing either on its cradle or in a waterproof/crushproof case that happens to fit this thing PERFECTLY.

lol then only i was so unlucky... everyone else seems to solve the problems with a screwdriver

Yes, I had the same problem. All it took was using a flat glasses screwdriver to fix it. Later, when I dropped it (it flipped twice. ) all it took was borrowing the torx screwdriver that just happened to be there, and really fixing it.

-Yup, I could not use a portable computer unless if it is able to take a hit. Maybe installing some rubber bumpers around my 720 is in order.

Yeah, my 720 took a 3 or 4 foot drop to the concrete one day. I was really pissed, but the only insuing issues was a small little scratch on the very corner of the screen housing. Nothing stopped, nothing broke, picked it back up and finished off an email
Only thing I've seen tougher are the CVS camcorders which I sucessfully drop kicked down a hallway with it recording the whole "flight".

As C:Amie said, the J720 case screws are all Torx size 6 (T6). I was having screen problems for a while, followed several weeks later by the hinge guard slipping out of position. I had to use my J720 very gingerly for a while. One day I randomly disengaged the battery pack and two tiny screws came with it. I went to Sears and bought a precision Torx screwdriver for US$2.99 and I've had no problems with the display or the hinge guard. Since that time, I've seen a Torx multi-size precision screwdriver at Lowe's for US$5.97. You can also find bit sets for ¼" hex bitdrivers, though these are more difficult to find. Of these, the cheapest I've found is MCM Electronics, where a Crescent (Cooper Tools) set is only US$9.95. I hope this helps anyone who may have a screw loose. ;+)

Edited by KBoyKool 2005-12-19 12:34 PM

Well it seems I didn't have to post this topic. I have the same problem on a J720 that I got in 2001.I didn't notice the screws were missing.

I thought it was just getting old. Well my computer is hard to open up and when you do bot aload of tension is right. It buckles and cracks at the same time. I need to get some screws it is the two screws on the left side where it has the Hewlet Packard name.

The part in the middle has started to seperate badly where the button with the light is at. It still comes on and wotks and light still goes off when the alarm does.

Where do I get new screws from to fit the computer?

S/F,
CEYA!

wow happy to hear it has been solved!!! may help a friend of mine too...

The exact same thing happened with my 720. I was eating pizza, with it on my lap (ok, so it was the first wifi signal I had had in days), and when I was done, stood up. Yeah, you can guess what happened next, but I'll tell you. It flipped, and landed with a hollow smack. Picked it up, saw a nice scratch on the top cover to remind me to never do that again, and was on my way.

Luckily, it was closed when it happened.

Yeah I keep mine in something called an "Otter Box". Fits the 720 perfectly, so it'll survive in a bag or in a suitcase without being crushed. It doesn't hold anything else but the 720 (no WiFi cards or a power adaptor) but it gets the job done well.