chloe555

Originally Posted by gshanna

I was having the exact same problem with mine - to the point where I was ready to pitch it because I figured it was useless. When I did one last Google search, I found the following fix. It worked like a charm - my X5 has been perfect ever since! Hope it helps! __________________________________________________ ______________ Unfortunately what you describe is a standard fault on X5s that have been well used and can be caused by one of 3 problems. In order of ease of correction: 1) There could be a screen protector that is causing a problem, remove the protector and try again. 2) There could be dirt between the case and the screen, remove this by using a business card to push between the screen and case, run this around the screen to remove dirt. 3) The most likely. After some use, the Mail button will have rubbed away the coating on the cable between the motherboard and screen, shorting out touchscreen and giving exactly the problem you describe. Test this theory by squeezing together the sides of the Axim VERY hard and while doing so, try screen align - it will work until you release the sides. If this is the case, first do a full backup, because you will need to remove both batteries, causing data loss. The FIX: You will need the following items: small cross head screwdriver, small container to save screws etc, small clean piece of plastic, a pin, insulation tape. Remove the main battery and also the backup battery. Carefully pull off the two top rubber feet and stick them loosely down on the piece of plastic (be careful - you want them to remain sticky so you can use them again. If not, have some thin double-sided tape handy - glue will not do it). Under the feet, you will see small screws, undo and remove these, place them safely in your container. At the bottom of the Axim, you will see two screws that are normally hidden by the main battery, unscrew these and place them in the container. On either side of the main battery compartment, you will see a small black piece of rubber pushed flush to the surface - use your pin to carefully remove these and expose two more screws. Save the rubber bungs in your container and unscrew these two screws and again save them. Make sure you have removed all CF and SD cards or filling blanks. Carefully pull away the two side rubber grips, use the pin to start you at the bottom pointed end. (Take care as you need these to remain sticky.) Place them face-up on your clean plastic. Starting at the bottom of the X5, by the connectors, use a credit card or finger nail (- I use the latter), to split the case by depressing the latches that are between the top and bottom case. Take care not to break them. Use the credit card or fingernail to carefully open the case all the way around on both sides and lift away the rear case. Look at the bottom left of the exposed motherboard. You will see a very small clear plastic connector with two small wires. This is the speaker cable - carefully pull this from the motherboard. With the Axim face down, lift the motherboard up by the bottom connector to approx 20 degrees and pull backwards. It may help to hold the top of the case and pull this carefully away from the motherboard so that the speaker connection is free. You should now have the motherboard/screen assembly clear of the case. Turn the assembly over so that the screen is upwards. Now is a good time to fully clean the screen. At the bottom right/middle of the screen is a red/brown ribbon cable, which is the cause of the problem. Cut a piece of insulation tape approx 1/4 inch wide and place this so that it covers all or at least the left edge of the ribbon cable (you can wrap it under the cable also). The repair is now complete. Reassemble in the reverse order (remember the speaker cable). Enjoy your Axim!!!

Hi

Did exactly what you said and now it works a treat.....many thanks

chloe

EPellerin

I am so psyched I found this tip! Almost 2 years ago my Axim X5 was unresponsive. Called Dell, the guy checked when I made the purchase and said, "well it's out of warranty, I advise just buying a new one." Right, so I did - I bought a Palm!! But I couldn't bring myself to throwing away the X5, so I stored it in a box until this morning when I recvd the email about the updates on Aximsite.com and Mobilitysite.com. I almost just deleted the email, but something told me to just do a quick search to see if anyone ever came up with a solution. YAHOOOO!!! How awesome! It actually works! THANK YOU! :approve:

Originally Posted by gshanna

I was having the exact same problem with mine - to the point where I was ready to pitch it because I figured it was useless. When I did one last Google search, I found the following fix. It worked like a charm - my X5 has been perfect ever since! Hope it helps! __________________________________________________ ______________ Unfortunately what you describe is a standard fault on X5s that have been well used and can be caused by one of 3 problems. In order of ease of correction: 1) There could be a screen protector that is causing a problem, remove the protector and try again. 2) There could be dirt between the case and the screen, remove this by using a business card to push between the screen and case, run this around the screen to remove dirt. 3) The most likely. After some use, the Mail button will have rubbed away the coating on the cable between the motherboard and screen, shorting out touchscreen and giving exactly the problem you describe. Test this theory by squeezing together the sides of the Axim VERY hard and while doing so, try screen align - it will work until you release the sides. If this is the case, first do a full backup, because you will need to remove both batteries, causing data loss. The FIX: You will need the following items: small cross head screwdriver, small container to save screws etc, small clean piece of plastic, a pin, insulation tape. Remove the main battery and also the backup battery. Carefully pull off the two top rubber feet and stick them loosely down on the piece of plastic (be careful - you want them to remain sticky so you can use them again. If not, have some thin double-sided tape handy - glue will not do it). Under the feet, you will see small screws, undo and remove these, place them safely in your container. At the bottom of the Axim, you will see two screws that are normally hidden by the main battery, unscrew these and place them in the container. On either side of the main battery compartment, you will see a small black piece of rubber pushed flush to the surface - use your pin to carefully remove these and expose two more screws. Save the rubber bungs in your container and unscrew these two screws and again save them. Make sure you have removed all CF and SD cards or filling blanks. Carefully pull away the two side rubber grips, use the pin to start you at the bottom pointed end. (Take care as you need these to remain sticky.) Place them face-up on your clean plastic. Starting at the bottom of the X5, by the connectors, use a credit card or finger nail (- I use the latter), to split the case by depressing the latches that are between the top and bottom case. Take care not to break them. Use the credit card or fingernail to carefully open the case all the way around on both sides and lift away the rear case. Look at the bottom left of the exposed motherboard. You will see a very small clear plastic connector with two small wires. This is the speaker cable - carefully pull this from the motherboard. With the Axim face down, lift the motherboard up by the bottom connector to approx 20 degrees and pull backwards. It may help to hold the top of the case and pull this carefully away from the motherboard so that the speaker connection is free. You should now have the motherboard/screen assembly clear of the case. Turn the assembly over so that the screen is upwards. Now is a good time to fully clean the screen. At the bottom right/middle of the screen is a red/brown ribbon cable, which is the cause of the problem. Cut a piece of insulation tape approx 1/4 inch wide and place this so that it covers all or at least the left edge of the ribbon cable (you can wrap it under the cable also). The repair is now complete. Reassemble in the reverse order (remember the speaker cable). Enjoy your Axim!!!

EPellerin

I am so psyched I found this tip! Almost 2 years ago my Axim X5 was unresponsive. Called Dell, the guy checked when I made the purchase and said, "well it's out of warranty, I advise just buying a new one." Right, so I did - I bought a Palm!! But I couldn't bring myself to throwing away the X5, so I stored it in a box until this morning when I recvd the email about the updates on Aximsite.com and Mobilitysite.com. I almost just deleted the email, but something told me to just do a quick search to see if anyone ever came up with a solution. YAHOOOO!!! How awesome! It actually works! THANK YOU! :approve: EP

Originally Posted by gshanna

I was having the exact same problem with mine - to the point where I was ready to pitch it because I figured it was useless. When I did one last Google search, I found the following fix. It worked like a charm - my X5 has been perfect ever since! Hope it helps! __________________________________________________ ______________ Unfortunately what you describe is a standard fault on X5s that have been well used and can be caused by one of 3 problems. In order of ease of correction: 1) There could be a screen protector that is causing a problem, remove the protector and try again. 2) There could be dirt between the case and the screen, remove this by using a business card to push between the screen and case, run this around the screen to remove dirt. 3) The most likely. After some use, the Mail button will have rubbed away the coating on the cable between the motherboard and screen, shorting out touchscreen and giving exactly the problem you describe. Test this theory by squeezing together the sides of the Axim VERY hard and while doing so, try screen align - it will work until you release the sides. If this is the case, first do a full backup, because you will need to remove both batteries, causing data loss. The FIX: You will need the following items: small cross head screwdriver, small container to save screws etc, small clean piece of plastic, a pin, insulation tape. Remove the main battery and also the backup battery. Carefully pull off the two top rubber feet and stick them loosely down on the piece of plastic (be careful - you want them to remain sticky so you can use them again. If not, have some thin double-sided tape handy - glue will not do it). Under the feet, you will see small screws, undo and remove these, place them safely in your container. At the bottom of the Axim, you will see two screws that are normally hidden by the main battery, unscrew these and place them in the container. On either side of the main battery compartment, you will see a small black piece of rubber pushed flush to the surface - use your pin to carefully remove these and expose two more screws. Save the rubber bungs in your container and unscrew these two screws and again save them. Make sure you have removed all CF and SD cards or filling blanks. Carefully pull away the two side rubber grips, use the pin to start you at the bottom pointed end. (Take care as you need these to remain sticky.) Place them face-up on your clean plastic. Starting at the bottom of the X5, by the connectors, use a credit card or finger nail (- I use the latter), to split the case by depressing the latches that are between the top and bottom case. Take care not to break them. Use the credit card or fingernail to carefully open the case all the way around on both sides and lift away the rear case. Look at the bottom left of the exposed motherboard. You will see a very small clear plastic connector with two small wires. This is the speaker cable - carefully pull this from the motherboard. With the Axim face down, lift the motherboard up by the bottom connector to approx 20 degrees and pull backwards. It may help to hold the top of the case and pull this carefully away from the motherboard so that the speaker connection is free. You should now have the motherboard/screen assembly clear of the case. Turn the assembly over so that the screen is upwards. Now is a good time to fully clean the screen. At the bottom right/middle of the screen is a red/brown ribbon cable, which is the cause of the problem. Cut a piece of insulation tape approx 1/4 inch wide and place this so that it covers all or at least the left edge of the ribbon cable (you can wrap it under the cable also). The repair is now complete. Reassemble in the reverse order (remember the speaker cable). Enjoy your Axim!!!

dikh

I have been fighting this problem for ages. I never noticed the "ding" in the cable, I thought the connection was bad and would unplug and reset the cable. Many, many thanks for the final (I hope ) solution...:)

petersig

Originally Posted by sssv

I know, just don't drop it! I was heading to bed for the night, (my Axim is my alarm clock!) and it slid out of its case and hit the floor. This has happened other times with no trouble, but this might have been the last time. The unit still powers up, but the screen won't respond. I've tried a reset, taking the battery out, etc, with no luck. Any new suggestions? Thanks, this site is great!

This is quite belated -- original post in 2006; I just faced a similar situation, after dropping my Axim X5 for the last time. There was no picture after the fall, no picture after a hard reset, no picture after putting it in the cradle and connecting to the laptop. Just the light in the little eye at the top -- the only sign of life. Note: my bad practice -- I had run down the main battery to nothing just before dropping it when I tried to change batteries. I then put the X5 in its cradle, with the dead battery, in hopes it would recharge and come back up. It didn't.

I was ready to go the ebay route, when I read a nonspecific reply on the Dell site to the note that the cradle / Active Sync connection didn't work. So WTH, I'll try it. This is what I did, after taking the X5 out of the cradle.

1. Disconnected the cradle from the laptop -- the USB cable.
2. Disconnected the cradle from the surge suppressor/outlet bar -- pulled the electrical plug.
3. Waited 15 seconds.
4. Connected the electrical plug to a known good wall outlet.
5. Connected the cradle USB cable to the laptop.
6. Put the X5 into the cradle (with the originally dead battery).

Left it alone for a couple of hours.

Then I tried viewing the screen information with the X5 still in the cradle. It worked! Checking the main battery, it had been charging (slowly). I was able to call up everything.

I waited another hour, until the battery had a 50% charge, reset, and had my X5 back up and running.