Hardware Weird Screen Problem

[Alperoot]

Sometimes I really feel like the Pandora is testing my patience. So here's one of the countless things I just encountered :

It is just like EV3 Programmer software, always comes up with creative problems. So you ask how it happened? I was just playing it normally. I turned it back off and my brother came. He took off the battery and then placed it back in. It automatically powered on (as expected) but this is the screen I see. I already tried it without the battery (getting the power from the charger) but no luck. That is especially bad because I was going to sell it.

That is weird. I never use my Pandora that rough. I would send it to ED but I don't want to deal with the warehouse again. (When I bought the Pandora, I did.)

So, is there anything I can do here without buying or sending anything?

 

[sulu]

If this were a desktop computer or normal laptop I'd say the GPU is fried.
It's a desperate act, but you could try to remove battery and charger for a while (10 minutes, an hour? - no idea) and try again.

 

[Alperoot]

If this were a desktop computer or normal laptop I'd say the GPU is fried.
It's a desperate act, but you could try to remove battery and charger for a while (10 minutes, an hour? - no idea) and try again.

Thanks, I will try that.

 

[Alperoot]

Yeah, no luck on that one. Anyone?

 

[TrashyMG]

LCD cables have always been problematic on the Pandora, however this isn't the typical symptom of that, but I've seen some atypical things too.

 

[PowerGod]

If it's the LCD cable you should see some different patterns while opening/closing the lid, or pushing it... but I have never seen something like this before

 

[Alperoot]

If it's the LCD cable you should see some different patterns while opening/closing the lid, or pushing it... but I have never seen something like this before

When I type things and press enter, colors differ.

Ps: In fact, sometimes colors change when I reboot. @EvilDragon , I know you are very busy, but can you help please?

 

[mamemaniac]

@Alpibrine28: maybe this old thread can help you (the user reported a bar code looking screen issue like you):

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/fast-lcd-cable-failure.62381/

 

[Alperoot]

@Alpibrine28: maybe this old thread can help you (the user reported a bar code looking screen issue like you):

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/fast-lcd-cable-failure.62381/

Yeah, a bit more complicated than I expected. I still don't understand why this happened. As I said, I never use my Pandora THAT rough.

 

[mamemaniac]

Yeah, a bit more complicated than I expected. I still don't understand why this happened. As I said, I never use my Pandora THAT rough.

So, did you check then your LCD cable? If not properly inserted into the connector (see the pic in that old thread) it might cause the screen issue your Pandora suffer or maybe you just need a new LCD cable.

 

[sulu]

I'm not familiar with the Pandora, but if you can manage to get a proper image on an external monitor you could at least rule out the GPU/SoC as a reason for the problem.

 

[Alperoot]

So, did you check then your LCD cable? If not properly inserted into the connector (see the pic in that old thread) it might cause the screen issue your Pandora suffer or maybe you just need a new LCD cable.

I will try to unscrew it (and probably fail.)

I'm not familiar with the Pandora, but if you can manage to get a proper image on an external monitor you could at least rule out the GPU/SoC as a reason for the problem.

How can I get an external image? No ability to set up a VNC server, and I also do not own a TV-Out cable. Help me please?

 

[sulu]

I also do not own a TV-Out cable.

I implicitely expected it came with every Pandora - probably because every N900 came with one, with which I always compare the Pandora due to the similar SoC.

 

[Alperoot]

Any news on this? Tried to unscrew it, and the screws were stuck there. I also couldn't get any response from the screen except the same image I've been seeing. I thought Pandora would be a lot fixable, it's open (and pretty expensive) afterall. Please help me Maybe @EvilDragon could help? The attached photo is (presumably) how it looks like on the recovery menu.

 

[EvilDragon]

Probably a broken LCD. I guess the driver chip died.

 

[Alperoot]

Probably a broken LCD. I guess the driver chip died.

Hmm. Can I buy anything similar to a TV-out cable near here? Is it an ordinary micro-hdmi cable?

 

[TrashyMG]

Hmm. Can I buy anything similar to a TV-out cable near here? Is it an ordinary micro-hdmi cable?

The Pandora doesn't have HDMI only Analog output through the EXT connector. TV out cables are available at the Dragonbox shop. You could try and get the LCD replaced.