Vertical white stripes fading into white


smilnovi

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2008
Messages
68
Hi,


I have the 512 MB model, currently using zaxxon 1.52


I have an strange issue for about an month now, which manifests itself as vertical white stripes which eventually fade entire screen into white. It happens using xfce, I haven't tried something else.


When I start pandora, it doesn't show right away. I can work normally, use everything, type on the terminal, but after about 10-15 minutes, the white stripes would appear, starting from the bottom of the screen up. Usually it would start if I use some kind of scrolling of the terminal (for example, output of ps, cat, less...). The stripes aren't uniformly aligned while they climb up, but look more like stuff from matrix, or some kind of audio player equalizer or something. When the stripes fill out the screen, then everything on screen goes white, except the letters, whose go to a shade of gray, then everything turns first to gray and then to white. While it does this, the mouse pointer stutters and then stops.


But, if I switch to another desktop, suddenly everything is ok (especially if it is an empty desktop - no windows). If I switch back to the problematic one, for a couple of seconds everything looks normal, I can move mouse and type, then the stripes appear and everything again is back to white.


First it happens to one open terminal, then to all of them that I have open (or other apps), and then even the empty desktop goes to white. If I go to suspend before this happens, I can resume pandora, but if I go to suspend when the stripes start on any of the desktops, then sometimes I have to reset pandora (switch + pandora key).


I thought that this is perhaps an hardware problem, because unfortunattely I have dropped pandora on the floor a couple of times. But I'm not sure, because it acts funny for an just hardware problem. I don't know.


I have tried updating to zaxxon 1.52, and it happens the same, but it seems to me that it happens even faster, because I have selected 800 MHz overclock, just to see if there is a change about it.
 
Sounds like a software problem if the mouse arrow stutters onscreen unless it was a problem with the nubs. When you updated the firmware did you use the updater pnd or use the full re-flash pnp. A full re-flash may solve this problem. I think if the screen was damaged then the behaviour would be somewhat erratic but I could be wrong.
 
I did full reflash both with zaxxon 1.5 and 1.52. First I thought that .next is the problem, which I used on SD, but when I saw that 1.5 on nand is also problematic, I have tried both flashing to 1.52 and putting 1.52 on SD, but the result is the same.


Also, I have forgot to mention that most of the time I can see screen fluttering a bit before the stripes start appearing. As if the background light has a bad contact. It doesn't flutter to black, but to different light strenghts. But I don't think it is the background light, it wouldn't cause the stripes and inversion of the colours and then the whiteness.
 
does it act strange when you tilt the lid? wanna make sure its not a hardware problem...
 
No, I have tried with screen tilting, opening entire case, moving the LCD cable, closing it, removing the battery, putting another battery in, pressing the lid, squeezing the battery lid, case, screen... It is the same. When the problem starts, the only two solutions that work are either closing the lid and leaving the pandora to rest for at least 5 minutes (that is why I'm thinking if something is overheating), or to switch it off and leave it for at least 5 minutes too. Yes, it sounds like overheating, but, when the problem manifests itself, if I close the terminal window, so that the desktop is empty, then suddenly everything is fine. But, when I open another terminal window, then it takes less time for the problem to manifest itself than for the first terminal window. So I really cannot say if it is HW, SW or both.


Although I have noted that pandora seems more stable if run from nand, in a sense that it takes longer for it to start manifesting the problem, but I'm not 100% sure that is so.
 
The heat has an effect on the LCD cable, so you may get a new one, and change it.
 
I don't see how the heat can affect one terminal window and not another on the same or on the other desktop? Please read everything that I have written so far.
 
When I open two terminals over the entire screen, and on one I had the problems, and when I switch with ctrl+alt to another terminal, the problem disappears. When I again switch to the problematic terminal, the problem reappears. And you still think that it is heat related, and is affecting LCD cable? Shouldn't it then affect everything, not selectively affect one terminal window and not the other one on the same virtual desktop?
 
I'm not 100% affirmative. Changing the lcd cable may solve this, therefore avoiding you a RMA.


I build/repair PC since 1995, so i've seen so much strange things i'm used to try all simple solutions first ^^.
 
Do you get this effect only inside the faulty terminal window, or is it on the entire screen (covering the taskbar etc.)?


(first Pandora Virus? :blink: :D )
 
I've seen something like this before and it was a power issue which was never solved. It used to do it randomly though, usually once the unit had 'warmed up'.
 
I'm not 100% affirmative. Changing the lcd cable may solve this, therefore avoiding you a RMA.


I build/repair PC since 1995, so i've seen so much strange things i'm used to try all simple solutions first ^^.

Well, the effect covers entire screen, but when everything goes white, you can still see the scrollbar on the right. And because I can still switch alt-tab to other window which is fine, it is something I haven't seen yet. And it's very very annoying.

Do you get this effect only inside the faulty terminal window, or is it on the entire screen (covering the taskbar etc.)?


(first Pandora Virus? :blink: :D )

Beeing an sysadmin, I've seen a few trojan horses on linux, and they usually stay covert, so, no, I don't think I've picked up one. :D

I've seen something like this before and it was a power issue which was never solved. It used to do it randomly though, usually once the unit had 'warmed up'.

When pandora fell down, it fell on the right shoulder button which became pushed deep into the case. When I have oppened it, the right "raised switch" (I'm not sure how is that small part with the button called) was very slightly loosened (guestimated 1/2 mm freedom of movement) and I could see that the tin connection is a bit broken. So, perhaps this influences this behavior? Because before that I had no such problems.


Well, whatever the cause, it is very depressing, after such a long wait, I have damaged it. :( :wacko: :(


I wonder if cooling would help...? <_<
 
After some additional testing, I can confirm that as the environment temperature goes up, so the pandora behaves more and more erratically. Over the weekend I will dissasemble it entirely, and try to see if there is something else loose or broken too.


About those nubs - is it a smart idea to try to fix it by myself by resoldering it and fixating it that way, or I would need the machine precision soldering skills (which I don't have) to do that? If of course the loose nub is the problem.
 
Removing a nub is tricky. You need time and patience.


You must not lever it while desoldering all 6 solder points with an iron and a cutter, otherwise you'll remove the traces.


In doubt, don't do it.
 
I have just realized that I have perhaps used the wrong names. I'm talking about right shoulder button, not these nice analog nubs. ^_^ But still, my soldering skills are rather poor, so I'll reconsider doing it only if I'm 100% sure that I won't make things worse.


In the meantime I'll see what would be better costwise, send for repairs, or simply send for upgrade to 1 GHz version, if I can get an upgrade for this one...
 
If you're into coding, get a 1GHz unit, i'd really enjoy to have this extra speed right now with all my compiling stuff.
 
Right. I am, and I have gotten the appropriate response from the DragonBox shop about it, so it seems that for Christmass I will be upgrading my pandora.


And I'm thinking about glueing rubber strips onto it, for better gripp. When my hands are very dry, case plastics becomes very slippery, and that's why I have dropped it.
 
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