Netgear MA701, Dead...or DEAD?

Bagelsnbrew · 05-17-03, 12:03 AM

Sadly, I think I already know the answer, but maybe there's something I'm missing. My MA701 worked fine for ~2 months, until this morning. I inserted the card and the link light lit up steady for ~10-15 sec. My Axim was unresponsive during this time, when the light went out, I was able to access the pda. The card refuses to connect or search (blinking light). I cannot access the MA701 utility at all, when the icon is taped, nothing happens. I soft reset the AX, no effect. I uninstalled the drivers and reinstalled, no effect. I haven't done a hard reset yet because I doubt it will be effective and hard resets and restore from backups are a bit unsettling. Anything else I should try, or is it time to contact Netgear and get a RMA?

windigo · 05-17-03, 03:52 AM

I bet a hard reset will fix it.

ikehiker · 05-17-03, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bagelsnbrew
... Anything else I should try, ...

It's probably a long shot but if you've installed any new programs recently, you might try uninstalling. I'd probably go back a couple of programs. If you think you might try the hard reset anyway, this would be an easier thing to try first.

P.S. If you decide to reset, you should backup both from the Dell utility to a memory card and via ActiveSync on your PC. Sometimes one version doesn't work on restore but the other will.

Bagelsnbrew · 05-17-03, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by windigo
I bet a hard reset will fix it.

How much? :p

Handy · 05-18-03, 03:23 PM

I've had problems with 2 different Wi-Fi cards. I think there's a physical problem with the CF card slot in my Axim. I used the MA701 Wi-Fi card without problems for a couple of months, then it started being flaky.

When I plug it in, it will work for a while, but it stops working sometimes. I can get it working again if I jiggle the card around in the slot in a certain way. Looks like there's some problem with a bad connection between the card and the pins in the CF slot.

I had a similar problem with a Linksys Wi-Fi card earlier, but the problem was fixed when I changed to the Netgear card. Now the Netgear card is doing it, too.

Oddly, I have no problems with a CF storage card. There may be some difference in the pins used by the Wi-Fi card vs. the storage card.

I'm thinking about swapping the Axim for a new one to see if that will take care of the problem.

05-18-03, 03:42 PM

I too have had issues with the Netgear MA701 Wifi card in my Axim. I thought it was the Wifi card as it seemed to do the same in a PCCard adaptor.

I found applying a small amount of forward pressure on the card (ie put a finger behind it and push it towards you) made the card work. I now jam a piece of card in along side the wifi card which seems to keep it working indefinetly.

If any find a better solution let me know!!

Handy · 05-18-03, 04:00 PM

In my case, it seems that I have to push the card in the other direction! Either way, it's not a good thing. It worked perfectly for a couple of months without a problem.

In your case, I think it's suspicious that the card doesn't work in an adaptor. I've been thinking about trying that, just to make sure it's the Axim and not the card. I'm pretty sure the problem is with the Axim, though.

05-18-03, 04:04 PM

Sorry my bad, I do pull on the card not push, put a finger over pull back on it. I don't know whats up with them, I bought mine off ebay, so it was second hand, the guy i got it from wasn't aware of the problem. He was very good and we came to an arrangment on a reduced price for it. Just a pain in the ringer having to have a bit of card stuck in there. Real cool gadget.

enob · 05-18-03, 04:28 PM

I had the same problem after I upgraded the Rom and activesync
after the hard reset and reinstalling mine works fine now.

Bagelsnbrew · 05-19-03, 10:32 PM

Thx for the responses! The problem does indeed appear to be the cf slot, not the card. If I push the card towards the front of the Ax it connects. The card works fine in my old Casio too. I'm going to give Dell a ring and see about swapping this one out. I also had a problem with database corruption. I got strange " the unit failed to respond while synchronizing out of date appointment" errors that became more frequent till eventually, it just degraded to " synchronization error" with no explanation. A recent back up also didn't work, I ended up reinstalling everything. I wonder if the 2 incident are connected? I wonder how long before another corruption issue? I wonder if I'll get a pxa255 in the swap?

BTW, a hard boot didn't work. windigo, what was that bet for? :D