HP 200LX does not work after changing batteries

[ram...@kc-primary.net]

Hello
I wonder if anyone has experienced this problem with their 200LX after
changing the batteries. Thisdoesn't happen all the time. when I change the
batteries after getting a battery low sometimes the screen remains blank and
the machine won't boot up. Usually I have to pull the memory backup battery
then put in the fresh batteries put the memory backup battery back in then
the machine comes back on. Of course I loose my info on the ram disk. Has
anyone had this problem? Do I need to send my computer back to HP? Thanks in
advance for the help.
John
Net-Tamer V 1.08.1 - Test Drive

[Marshall Jose]

ram...@kc-primary.net wrote:

>....when I change the

> batteries after getting a battery low sometimes the screen remains blank and
> the machine won't boot up.

OK, so don't change the batteries -- get NiCds! 8-)

Seriously, this came up recently. The LX's will sometimes get scrambled
when you change batteries. It is surmised that this occurs if a battery
is disconnected and reconnected inadvertently (as when you go to remove
it, don't get a good enough grip on it, and let go, then try again).

It was agreed that batteries should be changed only while the AC adapter
is plugged in. Hop this helps.
--
Marshall Jose, WA3VPZ
Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab. 301-953-5000 X4367

[Tim Spracklen]

ram...@kc-primary.net wrote:
>
> Hello
> I wonder if anyone has experienced this problem with their 200LX after

> changing the batteries. Thisdoesn't happen all the time. when I change the

> batteries after getting a battery low sometimes the screen remains blank and

> the machine won't boot up. Usually I have to pull the memory backup battery
> then put in the fresh batteries put the memory backup battery back in then
> the machine comes back on. Of course I loose my info on the ram disk. Has
> anyone had this problem? Do I need to send my computer back to HP? Thanks in
> advance for the help.
> John
> Net-Tamer V 1.08.1 - Test Drive

If you are using rechargeable batteries, this is a 'known' problem.
Several people
on this Newsgroup have reported it and I have experienced it myself. The
solution
is to switch the 200LX mode to 'alkaline' before changing the batteries,
then switch
back to 'NiCd' after the batteries have been changed. Even if the 200LX
does 'lock up'
it is not necessary (or desirable) to pull out the back up batteries. A
'hard boot'
(see handbook for details - Cntrl Shift On) will almost always bring the
machine back
and offers you the option of reinitialising the RAM disc or not as you
choose
(usually not!). Everything else is left as before - except the clock is
reset and
the battery mode is returned to alkaline.

Tim
Aberdeen
Scotland

[HANK KESSLER]

I remove the batteries regularly from the HP and don't have reset or
powerloss problems.

Something else must be wrong with that unit. I have used alkaline,
litiums and nickel metal hydrides. I run the unit till I get a low
battery warning. I turn off the HP, remove the old batteries and
replace with new ones. No loss of data. Maybe the coin cell was not
good or not in contact.

In addition, one should never pull all the batteries. A hard reset is
the method to restore the HP - press all at once - Ctrl-left shift-ON
and answer NO to the question on initialization.