Have to hold it sideways?

[Prophet]

I think it's pretty clear something is broken, but perhaps one of you fine folks might know what...


The symptoms:


1) My pandora generally sits in a 'frozen' state with the leftmost 2 green LED lights lit


2) To get it out of this state I have to pop the battery off and on a few times. Eventually this seems to get the pandora to boot again


3) I get frequent crashes :/


4) If I hit the 'pandora button' in the center of the keyboard my system reboots as if I was hitting RShoulder+pandora button+reset


Now the strangest part (to me, and the part that seems to indicate something loose inside?) is that if I hold the pandora sideways (i.e. with the right shoulder button to the ground and the left toward the sky or vice versa) it seems to behave more normally. The pandora button works as expected and the system seems to start on the first try after putting the battery back in.


I can upload all manner of videos and pictures if that would help debug, but I suspect that someone here will think 'oh yeah, that's a [sUCKY THING] it needs repair if it's going to work again' and I can save some space on the server here.


So, seen this before? Anyone? Beuller?

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Something metallic stuck inside the case ?

 

[mcobit]

Opened the case already and shaked a bit? Do you hear something, if you shake it?

 

[mindlord]

I'd also try wedging some paper between the battery and the battery door to make the battery contact more secure.

 

[craigix]

It sounds like it might have a screw stuck under the keymat.

 

[Mr_Loon]

Was your Pandora like this when you received it? If not, when did it start happening?

 

[Nintendo]

lol, for some reason this thread reminded me of the good 'ol N-Gage.

 

[Prophet]

I will try all of these things! I don't notice anything audible when shaking the device, but something coming loose seems likely. It has been with me daily for many months now (as an offical member of the bag of crap I have to carry to work everyday) the idea that something jostled loose is completely reasonable. I'll start with wedging paper under the battery (though it's a pretty tight fit currently) and I'll work up to popping open the case to look for loose debris.


Conversationally, while I'm in there is there a fix I can do for a slipping video cable? If the screen is at particular angles I get purple/green tinting etc. I believe this is a symptom of the video cable coming off of the board somehow?

 

[gruso]

It can be a sign of the cable not sitting properly in the PCB connector, that's worth checking. It can also be a sign of a damaged cable though, for which the only fix is an RMA unfortunately (unless you're skilled enough to do it, but 99% of people shouldn't).


FYI, and this is just a tip, not actually helpful to your issues, the usual way to reboot is Pandora button + power switch - no R shoulder button required. You only need to hold the shoulder on boot if you wish to access the boot menu.

 

[Tensuke]

lol, for some reason this thread reminded me of the good 'ol N-Gage.

 

[Prophet]

It can be a sign of the cable not sitting properly in the PCB connector, that's worth checking. It can also be a sign of a damaged cable though, for which the only fix is an RMA unfortunately (unless you're skilled enough to do it, but 99% of people shouldn't).


FYI, and this is just a tip, not actually helpful to your issues, the usual way to reboot is Pandora button + power switch - no R shoulder button required. You only need to hold the shoulder on boot if you wish to access the boot menu.

So dumb question, if the only hope is RMA what's harm in trying to fix it solo?

 

[gruso]

It's an extremely fiddly task which involves disassembling the hinge & lid. The cable needs to be rolled and fed through the hinge correctly, and it's very easy to break. There are some helpful vids and threads around if you're up to the task, and AFAIK the cables are very cheap. I think you'd be wise to get a few of the cables just in case, should you decide to try it.