My Pandora Took a Tumble

[TangentDelta]

I had my Pandora sitting in the car with earbuds plugged in (absolutely horrible idea) and my flash drive sticking out the back. As I went to get out of the car, the stupid earbuds snagged on my pants, pulling my Pandora with them, dropping it onto the ground. The fall knocked the battery, resetting the system, and messing up the desktop. I quickly picked it up and then did a damage assessment.


The only thing wrong with the case, is that there is a minor caking of dirt on the upper corner of the case. The screen hinge is looser than it was, and the screen now tilts back all the way when I put it back to a comfortable viewing angle. The front panel part of the screen is also pushed out slightly on the bottom right-hand corner.


I had a flash drive plugged into the back, transfering files. Now when I try to plug the flash drive in, it doesn't show up in the media folder or anything. I'll have to try another flash drive to see what it does.


My main question here is: Can I open up the screen and re-position it? I know it'll void the warrenty, but I don't want to wait for it to return, especially since I have a college class starting and I need it for note taking.

 

[TangentDelta]

Tried another flash drive. Doesn't work at all. Is there a way to reset the USB?

 

[milkshake]

it sounds like the usb port may have come loose from the PCB or something hense its not reading anything.

 

[FaeMinx]

Normally rebooting and popping out the battery for a few seconds would be sufficient. Make sure you test with a confirmed USB 2 device. Unfortunately it sounds like you've physically damaged the port from the fall, especially as you say the battery came out anyway meaning the USB host *was* reset the first time.

 

[TangentDelta]

it sounds like the usb port may have come loose from the PCB or something hense its not reading anything.

I'm still getting +5 on it, and the flash drive's light is blinking like it's getting read.

 

[TangentDelta]

I'm thinking of sending it in to get repaired (I'm still under warrenty). How would I go about doing that?

 

[milkshake]

warrenty only covers faults, not damage so you may need to pay for the repair.

 

[TangentDelta]

warrenty only covers faults, not damage so you may need to pay for the repair.

I ordered it through Ithic. Should I contact them and see what I can do?

 

[EvilDragon]

Probably part of the USB port got loose, yes.


While it's not covered unter warranty, it shouldn't be too hard to fix.

 

[TangentDelta]

Any thoughts on the loose screen? Could the hinge have snapped inside? It still clicks normally when it falls back into its 180 degree angle position.

 

[EvilDragon]

The screen isn't supposed to stay open in the middle, this is just the case just after you got the unit, as the paint is a bit thicker.


After it wears open, it will only stay open or closed.

 

[TangentDelta]

The screen isn't supposed to stay open in the middle, this is just the case just after you got the unit, as the paint is a bit thicker.


After it wears open, it will only stay open or closed.

I liked being able to put the screen into other positions, helps with glare. A positional screen on the Pandora 2 would be a nice touch.

 

[TangentDelta]

Should I request an RMA from Ithic?

 

[ThisIsMyUsername]

Rub some bacon on it.

 

[TangentDelta]

Opened it up to see if I could find the breakage on the USB connector. It's all completely solid on the four solder points. I don't want to flip the board over to check for damage on the other side (I'm too afraid I'll bust the ribbon cables).


I had some applications in the "desktop" folder of the "pandora" directory, and their desktop shortcuts were still on the desktop after my Pandora fell and reset. Just makes me think that the USB driver got messed up.

 

[wdt]

I wonder, does the OTG port work?


Test as mass storage, if it works then maybe a miniA master cable would work?


dave

 

[Neelix]

If you look inside the USB port from the back does the port itself look ok?


I remember when I dropped my EEE when it had a USB stick plugged into one of the ports, the plastic bit that supported the pins broke off, rendering the port unusable.


- Neelix

 

[TangentDelta]

If you look inside the USB port from the back does the port itself look ok?


I remember when I dropped my EEE when it had a USB stick plugged into one of the ports, the plastic bit that supported the pins broke off, rendering the port unusable.


- Neelix

The little white plastic part inside does look a bit bent downwards. Still sturdy as ever though, I also managed to get it to read by pushing down on the flash drive. How would I bend it back?

 

[Neelix]

uh... very carefully? honestly I'm not sure that would help.. I wouldn't expect the plastic used to be flexible so it may have snapped part way through.... I never did get the USB port on the EEE fixed I'm afraid, so I don't really have any helpful information in this case.

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

- Neelix

 

[TangentDelta]

Bent the pins up a little bit and it reads the drives just fine now. Thanks for the help!


Oh, and when I had it open last night, I saw that the soldering job on the microphone is a bit shoddy. Any cause for concern?