HP 360LX SCREEN PROBLEM

Hi

Help required please.

I have a HP 360LX that has developed a horizontal line across the entire screen. Is this a screen ribbon cable problem.? Is it fixable? If so, how? If it requires a new ribbon cable I have a 320LX, is the screen cable the same? Is the Hp 300 series prone to this? What is the prognosis for my machine and how long?

I hope someone can help me. If I have to disassemble the 360lx I'll need instruction on how to do it.

Robert

Actually, that seems to be an HP problem in general - my mother's nx9600 laptop (huuuge desktop replacement beast with a wide screen and numeric keypad built in) started doing the same thing.

More to the point, though, I went through two HP 300LXs over this same problem - the first time, HP sent me out a refurb (mine was still under warranty), and the second time, they sent me out the 360LX I mention in my .sig, which has been working fine for a decade.

I'm not sure if this is just an issue with the LCD screen itself, or an issue with the motherboard. In the case of that new laptop, the motherboard was fried (well, the video card, but it was integrated).

I've never tried taking mine apart: there's extra layers of stuff in there, which has generally had me deathly afraid of trying. If it does come to that, a Google search turned up these guys for parts:

http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/HP,Palmtop,Laptop,System-Boards.aspx

A line across the screen is usually a disconnected screen driver on the panel side. That sort of thing can't be fixed by anything short of a new screen.

Very useful link, SirThoreth - thanx for sharing it with us.

Thankyou all for your replys.

I checked the warehouse and they don't have any 360LX motherboards but it is a good place to know about. Concerning the 'disconnected screen driver on the panel side' suggestion, what does that mean? The machine is ten years old, is the problem likely to continue get worse? If it is it would be a great pity.

I have two Windows CE machines. The360Lx and a Jornada 820 which is now battery problems and I can't seems I can't get new ones for. I'll be reduced to my old 8mg Psion REVOS. I have two working them and one with a broken screen. These have battery problems also. What I don't like about the Revos is that they don't have any onbaord storage like the 360LX. No CF Card storage. A great pity. The storage make the 360Lx and 820 semi stand alone.I could look for aPsion Revo 16mg motherboard. Still no external storage however. Another problem with the Revo also the the very small size of the keyboard. It is more suitable for women with their smaller hands.

Thanks again

Robert

D'oh! That kind of sucks.



It means the actual connectors/transistors/dohickeys on that part of the screen have stopped working. The good news? You don't need a new mobo. The bad news? You need a new screen to fix it, and, yes, it could continue to get worse.

It's possible, by the way, that a screen from a 320 LX would work in your 360 - I believe they're pretty much the same.



Never played around with the Psion, but the lack of an external storage device is the big frustration on my Samsung i500, a small flip phone that's also a Palm OS 4 device. With only 16 MB on-board, it runs out fast.

By comparison, these days my 360LX is using a 256 MB card, and I'm planning to swap to either a spare 512 MB or 2 GB card. My MobilePro 880, which is comparable to your Jornada 820, uses a 4 GB CF card.

yeah except the backlight is not that cool white one

Really? It's green?

I did not know that - my 300LX didn't have a backlight.

yes, greenish. very strong one though. that's nice.

ah, i also have a 300lx.

I actually don't have mine anymore - HP swapped it for a 360LX after I sent my second 300LX in for screen problems.

Strangely, my 360LX has never had screen issues.

Thank you all again. I am sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. I am not the sole user of the internet in my house so have to wait till I can get on.

To summarise then, I seem to have four options. Tell me if I am wrong.

1/ Repair it using the 320LX screen; or

2/ Obtain another 360LX screen from somewhere; but where? or

3/ In time buy and other 360LX at an auction site, but that would probably leave me exposed to a similar poblem occuring again. What ever I bought is going to be about the same age and possibly suffer the same problems. This I learnt painfully with my Jornada 820. Having bought an 820 without cracks in the case but with a case broken hinge which I was able to fix with some glue I suddenly discovered that most 820s suffer from the same case and hinge faults. I wish I had known that before I had bought one. However, todate aside from these problems the 820 is running well except for the deteriating battery situation and the inability to obatain new ones. Its great pity. I really like the Jornada 820. Now it is basically a desk machine which defeats the orginal purpose of the machine. If any one can help with batteries please let me know. Ah well - that was somthing the 360LX was never going to suffer from.

4/ Make the best of my Psion Revos. Whilst I have most of what is needed in the way of accessories; eg. a Psion Travel Moden, a Travel Docking Station, Manuals etc. which I got all very cheaply when they were being thrown out (remembering also that the Psion has far better onboard software than most Windows CE computers), the machine is limited by the small keyboard and a lack of a removable memory medium such as a Compact Flash port either in the machine or worked through the serial port on the docking station. You can run a serial modem or printer through the port if you like, but that's about it. I wonder why no-one has written a driver for the REVO so the serial port with one of those niffty serial to USB cables couldn't be connected to a Flash Card Reader. You can't a USB Flash Drive because it needs 5 vols. The Revo is only 3 volts. The one bright spot in all this, is that the Psion 5MX has a in built CF card reader so some one interested in all this wouldn't have to start completely from scratch. There must be a driver of some sort on 5MX. Unfortunately, my programing skills are nil. Well, wishful thinking and or something to dream about I suppose.

Thank you again for all your input. If you have any further suggests or advice feel free to leave it.

Robert

Yup. As mentioned, though, the 320LX uses a different backlight, so it'll look different.



That's going to be true of any used device that's out of production, though, be it a Handheld PC, one of the Psions, etc. Any time they develop issues, you're in this boat.

At the same time, obviously not every single 360Lx has developed this problem - my own 10 year old machine, which has been dropped from 6 feet multiple times, is still in good working order.

Of course, after I say that, I develop problems with the screen on my 360LX.

I (somewhat foolishly) temporarily affixed a sticker to the back of my 360LX while at Comic Con Wednesday night. Everythign was fine until I went to remove it, and had a lot of glue residue on in. So, while scrubbing it off, I started having the same thing.

After the immediate wave of panic and anger subsided, I pressed on back edges of the upper half of the 360LX, behind where the screen is. At first, two extra lines appeared. Moved my thumbs around a little bit, and all the lines disappeared.

Obviously, it's not for the faint of heart, 'cause it can make a bad problem worse, but it worked in my case. Either way, though, I'm planning to buy a backup unit (actually, a 620LX that'll relegate the 360LX to being the backup unit) just in case, you know?

I am gl;ad your machine was so easily fixed. I pressed the back of mine but unfortunately the line did not disappear. My problem seems to be a little more serious. Thank you for all your help

Robert

Yeah, you're looking at a replacement, then, be it the screen, or a new computer (another 360LX or otherwise).