Screen Problems

[Elkronz]

Hi all,

I just managed to get hold of a 6000 and i'm very happy with it so far, except for a few niggles. I know you probably get tons of newbie questions but i wondered if any of you knew about any of the following...? Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Is there any way to alter the screen orientation? Mine seems to be at an angle (slightly lower on the left side than the right) and much as its not really a problem, its kind of annoying since its a new device (got it from Amazon for $379 just before the scam(s) started - i hope people are getting their money back from this). I suspect there's no way you can alter it like you would a standard CRT screen but maybe someone knows differently?

Is there a threshold for the number of dead pixels before you can send the device back to Sharp for a replacement? Mine was perfect when i got it a couple of weeks ago but i've got four dead ones since then - one right in the centre of the screen *grr!*. Also, does anyone know if Sharp are honouring the warranties, since they seem to have stopped making the 6000 for the US markets?

I don't know a great deal about linux yet but having a Z is certainly going to force me to learn, which was part of the idea of buying one ;) I'm just glad this place exists as you all seem a very helpful lot :)

Thank you for any thoughts!

Elkronz

[omega]

Interesting... if the screen orientation is really off, then that could possibly get you a replacement - getting rid of your dead pixel problem. I have no dead pixels, but it must be really maddening!  I believe that sharp honour their warranties, they have to.

[GuruGeek2002]

What was the Amazon scam?  I missed that one.

[saakmotu]

I have 1 dead pixel in my z6k.. grrrr

I called Sharp IMMEDIATELY.

Dead pixel tolerance is 3.

They said I could send it in and they would replace the screen but that they could not guarantee that the replacement would not have any dead pixels either. (Plus I think that it would have cost me, since it hadn't yet qualified for repair under warranty).

They are supposed to still be honoring the warranty.

Fortunately, it's just one red pixel, not the green and blue, so I ALMOST never notice it.... but deep down, I know it's there....

I figured I would save sending it in for warranty work for when something really goes wrong.

[Tehas]

What was the Amazon scam? I missed that one.

Been away from the forum for a while?  It wasn't Amazon per say, there was a third-party seller that screwed a bunch of people.  The last time that I looked the discussion topic was close to 30 pages!  
First Thread
Second thread


My screen has a similar problem but mine is rotated clockwise just a little (bottom-left is slighly higher than the bottom-right.)

[GuruGeek2002]

I've had my zaurus a little over a month.  I've heard talk of buying them on Amazon and how the price changes, but I didn't realize there was an actual "scam".

Thank you for the links.

[Elkronz]

Thank you for the thoughts and info!

Unfortunately, my dead pixels are white and blue, with two red ones sometimes appear as well. I can't see them in normal use but yes, they get really annoying with dark screens. I might give Sharp a call tonight and see what they say (thanks saakmotu!)

Just so you know: With the two that sometimes appear in mind, i thought i'd try a complete battery removal and switched the backup battery to off as well, to see if this "cleared" them all. Of course, i really knew it wouldn't but i wasn't prepared for my Z not coming back on! Eek! Panic really starts to set in at that stage ;) Fortunately, if you look in the troubleshooting section of the manual, it says to remove the battery for 5 seconds (i did it for 15s) and do the restart sequence (pwr+rec+reset) and that brought it back to life. There were a few scary minutes there, though, where i thought i'd killed it!

@Tehas - Have you done anything about the rotation of your screen or just left it as it is? Not that i know if its user-adjustable, except maybe with a screwdriver and a steady hand.

Thanks again :)

[Tehas]

Have not done anything.  I did notice it when I first got it but after a while I don't see it unless I look for it.   If these machines were readily available I might consider returning it but I don't want to risk not having one.