From: Elizabeth Price (newton_at_rainbowapple.com)
Date: Wed Feb 05 2003 - 16:10:19 PST
Hi, everyone.
I was recently referred to this list for some help! I'm thrilled to
find a Newton group that is actually active! Yay! :-)
Anyway, I have a Newton 130. It has never worked perfectly, even when
it was brand new out of the box, but it's gotten so it's barely usable
anymore. When I first got it, the clock would occasionally just stop.
But it worked fine most of the time, so I knew if I sent it back to
Apple for warranty repair, they would just say they couldn't see a
problem with it. If I'd realized the problem would get worse over the
years, then I would have sent it in anyway. :-(
The problem has degenerated slowly but steadily over the years, and now
the clock barely runs at all. I can set the time and date and put the
Newt in my desk drawer untouched, and if a week goes by, the Newt may
have only budged a minute or two. I've tried changing all the batteries
(I don't have rechargeable) including the backup one but that hasn't
helped. The other thing the Newt does is it turns itself on randomly.
It sits on my desk, and every once in a while I just hear the little
"bling" sound it makes when it turns on. If I open the cover at that
point, I can watch it boot up. It will idle itself off after a while
like it should, or I can just turn it off manually if I notice it.
To top it all off, the backlight has gone *poof* and no longer lights
up anymore. But I can live with that.
I've tried removing all batteries (including the backup) and letting
the Newt just sit in my drawer for a couple months. That didn't help
(but at least I didn't have to hear it turn itself on all the time!!).
About an hour ago, I backed it up to my old Mac, and then did a hard
reset to erase all the data. I then set the time (3:15) and set the
Newt aside for half an hour or so. When I turned it back on, the clock
said it was 3:16. :-( So that obviously hasn't helped, either. I
haven't restored the data yet... I don't see the point if I can't get
the poor thing to work.
Does anybody have any clue what might be wrong with it? The only thing
that I can think of is the possibility that maybe I accidentally pushed
the reset button too hard once or something and maybe it's "stuck" and
is doing random soft-resets on itself? That's just a guess, though. I
can't imagine ever having pushed the reset button too hard but I guess
it is pretty fragile from what I hear. And since I was its original
owner, I don't think anybody else has ever pushed it, either. Also,
although that would account for some time loss on the clock, I don't
think it would account for all of it. But I could be wrong.
I am not shy about taking the thing apart if I know what I'm looking
for or know what I should be replacing. I have no experience with the
technical side of the Newton world, but I've been a Mac tech for
several years and have taken old powerbooks apart down to their bare
pieces and put them back together successfully (and better than when I
started)... so I imagine the same thing is possible for a Newton?
If I can't get this thing fixed, then I'm just going to invest in a
2000 or 2100, I think. But even then, I'd like to know what's wrong
with it, so I can accurately describe the defect if I were to sell it
for parts. (It has a flawless screen and case and stylus and I still
have the original box & most of its original contents in mint or
near-mint condition! So it must be good for something, right?)
-Elizabeth
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