screen brightness resets to minimum

mallets1 · 02-21-03, 05:36 PM

Hi all, just got my Axim and its great only whenever I switch it off and leave it for a few seconds then power it back up. The light setting on battery power and mains is at minimum and makes the screen almost unreadable. I change the settings to midway and click OK and the setting resets every time its off. Anyone help please?

Mike C · 02-21-03, 06:06 PM

When you hit the power button to shut it off, just use a quick press-release ... don't hold it down. If you do hold it down, it adjusts the brightness instead of turning off the unit.
Why? I can't tell you that.

Harley · 02-21-03, 09:40 PM

Had the exact same problem - Even a Hard reset did not fix the problem. In a last ditch effort I eventually took both batteries out, pressed the D-Pad to remove any remaining capacitive charge, reinstalled the batteries -- and viola problem fixed.

of course I now had to restore everything.

This thing is still just a toy, so not too upset - but if I actually had to DEPEND on this thing it would be going back to DELL in small pieces.

mallets1 · 02-22-03, 05:10 PM

Thank you for your replies. I have tried to hard reset fix it as described but it has not worked for me. The suggestion about fast switching seems to work. I hope this can be fixed properly in time as it is a nusance.

On the whole though I did not expect a Dell product to be faultless especialy one so new on the market. It is proving usefull and still represents good value I would say. Hoping nothing worse happens.

Many Thanks

Mike C · 02-22-03, 05:32 PM

The brightness thing with the power button is a design feature ... however misguided it might appear.
(It's in the manual)

02-22-03, 05:43 PM

Download a utility like "Shutdown", which allows you to shut down your Ax via software instead of a hardware button.

http://www.freewareppc.com/utilities...sxpstyle.shtml

Chris...

mallets1 · 02-22-03, 05:45 PM

Thanks, I should have read the manual but I did not think this was a designed function. This Forum is very usefull.

02-25-03, 06:43 PM

Chrissss,
Thank you for the suggestion for the nifty shutting down program, hopefully this will resolve the problems that I have been having with the screen brightness going to nothing, for no apparent reason. (Always causes me to panic.) Also the shutting down program just seems like a more proper and civilized manner to turn off my Axim.

Still wonder why they would think it is a good idea to make an on/off switch multi-functional!

Again, Thanks!

Mike C · 02-25-03, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Still wonder why they would think it is a good idea to make an on/off switch multi-functional!

Especially when you consider that the brightness can be controlled by depressing the side scroll toggle and using the D-pad up/down.

02-25-03, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Also the shutting down program just seems like a more proper and civilized manner to turn off my Axim.

Yup..it's nice and clean and also saves wear on the hardware On/Off button. Mechanical contacts wear quicker than software and are harder to replace... :D

Quote:

Especially when you consider that the brightness can be controlled by depressing the side scroll toggle and using the D-pad up/down.

Really :exc: :exc: What kind of goofy control is that :crooked:
Never mind the fact that depressing the scroll dial to the point of it making contact takes alien-jointed fingers. :D

Thankfully I dropped the Brightness Control Icon onto the Today screen with RhinoLaunch.

Chris...

02-25-03, 08:59 PM

So there are what 3 or 4 different ways to control (or inadvertently mess up) the screen brightness? Would it be possible to pick the best option and then disable the lesser options somehow?

Mike C · 02-25-03, 09:19 PM

The power button feature sounds like a software routine, so theoretically, Dell could write a patch to disable it.
Don't hold your breath though.

I actually like the scroll tab/ D-pad method best.