My Zaurus 5500 is suddenly acting strangely. I have only had it a few days --- it's a recent ebay purchase. It seems to flash okay with OZ (I have flashed a few times over the last few days trying different things out) ---- the lights come on etc. Then I reset it and press [on/off] and nothing happens. Nothing. I am "plugged in" to power and the battery light is orange but the power switch produces no result. I don't understand.

I am starting to suspect the battery as the main culprit for my problems : I assume that I have to have a working battery in place to start the Z even when using the AC? The battery light was on but nothing happened on power up. I reflashed and that failed. I removed the battery for 20 minutes and then refitted it. The battery light stopped lighting up when connected to AC. Hmmmmmmmm.

I just reflashed again and the process seems to be working ie the battery and the mail have lit up. I will wait until it finished this time before finishing this post...........
-----minutes pass------------
the reflash cycle seemed to work and suddenly the battery light is back on but it still fails to power up.

I have already tried removing the keyboard cover and cleaning all of the contacts.

????

Curious. It's obviously not dead because a "random" press on D + R (the R was chosen for its proximity to D and nothing else) and reset brings up a screen saying "READY REMOTE CHECK" ...... so the power is working somehow ( ! ). A quick Google has just led me to D+P+reset and I am now at a setup screen......what next?

Welcome to my crazy world! I got angry and decided to punish my battery so I wrapped it in plastic and stuck it in the freezer for two hours. I let it defrost, dried it and pushed it back into the Z ---- it booted when connected to the AC. It got to the crosshair calibration stage before powering down. There is hope. Does anybody have any ideas before I employ the microwave?

edit: the battery is back in the freezer. Let's see how it enjoys that!!!

Okay. The battery in the freezer trick did not work again so I suspect that my Z problem is either the battery or the battery charging circuit. I need to work out a way of charging the battery away from the Z. I also have a multimeter << but I don't understand the readings.... but when it is on V at the 200 mark I get a reading of 2.3. When I touch the Z (golly. I really don't understand what I am doing here!!) the reading is 2.1 (no changing any settings on the multimeter). Does anyone have any guidance on this? I want to know whether the problem is the battery, the charging circuit or my power supply. Thanks.

edit : I have just taken some more readings. the battery has been on charge in the Z for an hour and it reads 2.65 .......the ac on the Z reads 4.1. I am charging via USB. I do not have a Z charger. Could it be that the battery is not getting enough of a charge??

I found some great instructions here http://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php...&hl=multimeter
(thanks Aussie!!) and charged my battery externally using the bare wire method with my multimeter attached. Once I had a good charge, I reset the battery voltage on my Z using D+P+reset and I no longer own a brick but a working Zaurus. I am very pleased with myself.

Oh dear. My back slapping was wasted. My Z died quite quickly.....the battery "seemed" to have a charge of 60% when I threw it (carefully) into my bag and set off for home. When I got home, it was off. And I was unable to turn it on again. This is starting to indicate that the battery will not hold a charge --- but why it won't charge from my USB is a mystery. Hmmm. ATM it is recharging using the bare wire method to have one last try. What do you think? Is it the battery, the charging circuit or something else (eg bad magic) ??

If I were you I would buy a standard power adapter fot the z, it might need something other than the usb charger. I am not sure though because I have never tried a usb charger on mine.



Mike

I bought a new battery and that certainly holds a charge. The Z boots when using AC but once the AC is disconnected the Z only stays alive for about 2 minutes and then switches off. It boots happily once the AC is back. The charge on the battery does not seem to be the issue now. Any ideas before I get my hammer out?

I have a Zaurus SL-5500. IT does not charge through the USB. You must use the charger though the cradle, or plugged into the PDA. As for your problem, it is the battery. Just buy a new one. That or sell the Zaurus, and get another PDA, which I do not recommend. Its a great companion to have with you.