Hi everyone,
My axim will not respond to any of my taps, and I think I know why. I sprayed some windex on the screen and wiped it off to clean the screen, well, I think maybe some of the windex got in it. I have set the axim in front of a dehumidifier all night and it is not helping at all. Any suggestions on how I can make it work again???

spike

Sounds like you have a huge problem. You could try and open the case and dry it out by hand.

Later,
James

  

Yikes... Windex.

I'd try what Cagey suggested, but if it's anything like what happened to my Palm Vx (with just a few drops of water) you might not be able to recover from this.

Not to sound like a nag, or a broken record, but you should never use anything directly on the screen, and never anything as potent as Windex. Something tells me it got through the screen and did some major damage to the internal connections.

If you have to use anything, once your Axim either gets back working or you replace it, just use a soft (stress on the soft) dry cloth.

Again, sorry to sound like a nag - but these babies are just so sensitive to damage, I don't want anyone else to run into the same problem

Nick

AximSite.com Moderator and all around good guy
http://andsoitgoes.no-ip.com/

Quote:

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick

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Thanks for your replies. I will keep that in mind. I hope I can get it fixed. Could somebody tell me how I could go about opening it up and drying it out by hand? The Axim still turns on, but I can see where the windex has &quot;spread&quot; (I think maybe it moved around due to the dehumidifier). How could I open it up, and if there is no other option how much do you think it would cost for me to send it back to Dell for them to possibly fix it if I cannot do it?

spike

OK, here's my first suggestion. Don't post this on the Dell support boards!! Don't call Dell and tell them what you did to it..

The Axim's warranty covers it if it breaks, but not if you break it, and there's no repair option currently...

If you've tried a Hard Reset, and the screen doesn't respond, sounds like the recognizer (digitizer, but I watched alot of TRON) is toast..

Good news, if you can call it that, is that this isn't unheard of for the Axim. I've read several posts about it on the Dell boards, and they called and had them replaced...

desiv

This guy posted some hints on opening the axim at the bottom of this page...

http://www.iit.edu/~parrlaw/axim.html

Later,
James

  

Don't open the case! You'll void the warranty!

Of course, applying Windex probably already did that, but if you're hoping for an exchange - DON&quot;T OPEN THE CASE!

My Favorite Toys: Dell Axim 5, Tivo, Grado SR325 and SR80 headphones, Danger Sidekick, 15GB iPod, Sony D66 "Eggo" Headphones, Altiods Headphone Amp, MuVo MP3 player, Canon Digital Elph S100, Battlefield 1942, Twins 14 oz boxing gloves and my 3yo son.

I didn't open the case. I wanted to though, but I think I'm just going to give it a couple more days in front of the dehumidifier standing up instead of lying down..... Hopefully that will solve my problems!

spike

Oooooooook, dont turn the unit back on. Leave it off and remove the batteries. Now sit it on a shelf for a few days and give the Windex time to completely evaporate. It shouldnt take more than 3 days. After this, put in the batteries and turn it back on. If it still doesnt work, theres nothing left to do. I work on PC's for a living and I've had systems with almost any liquid you can imagine spilled in and on them and this is the routine I always follow and for the most part it works. I had a very similar incident with a new laptop someone brought in, he cleaned his screen with 409 then it was lights out. You've got nothing to lose at this point anyway.



shane

Time is our greatest teacher, however it kills all its students!

The warrenty is dead at this point. Its only $300. &lt;_&lt;

Later,
James

  

Ok, it's been 2 days, and I can still see some of the liquid inside the screen, I don't know why it's still there. It's been setting upright in front of the dehumidifier. Should I set it on a chair in front of a heater, maybe??


spike

It might not be able to evaporate out of the case. If you need to use it, I'd either open the thing and dry it out or just ignore the Windex and hope it will go away eventually.

Later,
James

  

WINDEX??????

My your Axim R.I.P

Come on Phoenix, you of all people should believe that the Axim can be reborn!!!!

:-)

p.s. Maybe setting the Axim in from of a fan.. Have some air forced in to evaporate the evil fluid... But leave it there for a while, since the air will initially just force it IN to the Axim, you need to let it circulate.. (This is of course after just letting it sit has failed... )

I've got some lines missing from an old gameboy.. I was told that to fix it, all I had to do was open it up, clamp it tightly, and then put it in the oven.. (Serious!! I don't remember the temp and time suggested..) Needless to say, I still have an old gameboy with some lines in it.. :-) Never tried it...

desiv

How could liquid get &quot;under&quot; the screen anyway? I thought the screen assembly was sealed around the edges. Do you think you'll never get a few drops of rain on it?
Do you have a screen protector on there?

You should be able to rinse these things out with distilled water and dry it, and it'd be good as new. It's just metal and plastic. As long as both batteries are removed while it's wet.

Persistence can pass for brilliance
FFR Roadster on order for 04/3/04.
Mike