Screen Problems and the WSOD (White Screen of Death)

[BobbyRS]

Welcome bbrooker. The white screen is commonly referred to as the WSOD (White Screen of Death). It indicates a defective display. You should look into replacing/returning your Zen asap.

Thread merged with WSOD thread. You may want to have a look from the beginning.

[CrowdAds]

[Stig]

Hello there,
i have i very annoying problem with my zen... the thing is that every time i start it up the player a white screen appers and don't disapears until i press the play button and the song goes on (the screen is still all white) and then i put it in lock and when the screen turns off ( i have adjusted it to that) then i put it in normal mode and everything is O.K , but now domething went wrong and that trick is useless I went to the shop i bought it but it's closed for now ... do you know how to fix that problem if it's possible
P.S. I am with the latest firmware ( that bug was before i updated the firmware but wasn't that often...)

[BobbyRS]

Welcome Stig. You should check out this thread. It is all about you issue. I would either return your Zen for a replacement or contact Creative for warranty service. Good luck.

Thread merged with main WSOD thread.

[Apprentice57]

First if this problem has already occured (not a WSOD) in this thread I'm sorry I don't have time to look through 11 pages....

So over the past two weeks, a line of green then later light blue pixels has appeared on my zens screen. Its not that annoying and I ignored it until two fainter lines appeared. I'm worried that the problem would get worse and I'll have to get a whole new player.

I really don't know what the problem is, so any help is greatly appreciated

Pictures: http://i44.tinypic.com/j0h5qv.jpg http://i43.tinypic.com/f2vmls.jpg

[BobbyRS]

It's not the WSOD, but it does look like you are in need of a new LCD. Is your Zen still under the 1 year warranty for parts? If so, then you should contact Creative for warranty repair.

[Apprentice57]

I severely doubt it, I got it for Christmas last year (so unless the gift giver buys presents at the last minute, I'm out of luck).

I'll go ahead and send creative an email to see what getting an lcd replaced costs.

[BobbyRS]

If your up for trying to replace yourself, you can do a Google search for "zen parts" to find a place that sells LCD's for the Zen. I have to warn you though, the Zen seems to suffer from contrast problems after replacing, going off of what others have said.

[crackrabbit]

I came across this thread today after trying to get my zen out of the white screen for like the past 3 months..out of warranty..I stuck it in the freezer for a few hours and it works now lmao..I'll reply back in the thread as to how long it works for but the screen WORKS..finally

I love the player but my god that white screen problem annoyed the hell outa me and the worst part was it happened after my warranty ran out..it had started by just going blank at random times and if I had put it on hold and turned it back it worked..that started taking longer and longer to do..would have to stay in hold forever then put it back and it would work..then it just stopped entirely

[ZenChick]

If freezing the thing worked, then that confirms that the WSoD issue is an electrical problem caused by faulty or broken contacts within the player. Bringing the temperature of the metal conduits and wires in the player down to freezing causes the metal to contract, possibly re-establishing broken connections. It will work until the player warms back up to room temperature.

So you have two choices, basically. You can either send your player off for repair, or you can invest in a walk-in freezer and a really heavy coat.

One more point about placing Zens (and other sensitive electronics) in the freezer: It is a bad idea. Unless you live in an area that has absolutely zero humidity (Reno, NV, in the dead of winter comes to mind), the act of placing your player in the freezer can cause a thin layer of frost to form inside the case and on the electronics. When this frost layer thaws, it could potentially wreak electrical havoc on your player.

[crackrabbit]

Originally Posted by ZenChick

If freezing the thing worked, then that confirms that the WSoD issue is an electrical problem caused by faulty or broken contacts within the player. Bringing the temperature of the metal conduits and wires in the player down to freezing causes the metal to contract, possibly re-establishing broken connections. It will work until the player warms back up to room temperature.

So you have two choices, basically. You can either send your player off for repair, or you can invest in a walk-in freezer and a really heavy coat.

One more point about placing Zens (and other sensitive electronics) in the freezer: It is a bad idea. Unless you live in an area that has absolutely zero humidity (Reno, NV, in the dead of winter comes to mind), the act of placing your player in the freezer can cause a thin layer of frost to form inside the case and on the electronics. When this frost layer thaws, it could potentially wreak electrical havoc on your player.

yup pretty much as soon as I turned it off by then it started warming up and back on it went back to the white screen. I froze it again and the same thing happened worked and haven't shut it off yet. Ya realised placing it in there is a bad idea but thought I'd try it and see had no idea what else to do tried everything. One other thing is there a tutorial on how to open the zen? I'm out of warranty anyway

[crackrabbit]

put it back on hold for about 5 mins it warmed up and its stuck on the white screen again..it was working while cold when I put it on hold

[werezenwolf]

my daughter has a Sony Ericsson flip phone which has the exact same symptoms as the WSOD. As soon as I can find a torx driver small enough, I'm going to give fixing it a whack. If there is something wrong with the flex connector, and I can fix the WSOD on the phone, I'll report back.

Maybe in that way we can at least know where to start on repairing the Zen WSOD.

[crackrabbit]

is there a tutorial on how to open this zen?

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by crackrabbit

I stuck it in the freezer for a few hours and it works now lmao..I'll reply back in the thread as to how long it works for but the screen WORKS..finally

Interesting.... Usually it is the other way around. Cold temperatures can wreak havoc on the analog portion of the electronics. Unless temperature compensation is designed into the circuits, freezing temperatures can cause drift and changes in inductance, resistance, capacitance, etc. So who knows really what the actual cause may be.

In addition to ZenChick's warning on "condensation", this temperature cycling of placing the Zen in the freezer and then removing and warming up can really take its toll (especially when the temperature and humidity changes are rapid). Stress fractures in the PCB and solder joints can eventually occur and end up causing you more issues (if you even care at this point).

Originally Posted by crackrabbit

is there a tutorial on how to open this zen?

There sure is. Here you go.

[crackrabbit]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Interesting.... Usually it is the other way around. Cold temperatures can wreak havoc on the analog portion of the electronics. Unless temperature compensation is designed into the circuits, freezing temperatures can cause drift and changes in inductance, resistance, capacitance, etc. So who knows really what the actual cause may be.

In addition to ZenChick's warning on "condensation", this temperature cycling of placing the Zen in the freezer and then removing and warming up can really take its toll (especially when the temperature and humidity changes are rapid). Stress fractures in the PCB and solder joints can eventually occur and end up causing you more issues (if you even care at this point).



There sure is. Here you go.

awesome thx for the guide gonna open it up and ya don't really care anymore lmao I tried absolutely everything to see if I could fix it nothing worked..and I'm out of warranty so doesn't really matter.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by crackrabbit

awesome thx for the guide gonna open it up

No problem. Have fun. Let us know if you find anything of interest. Maybe take pics and post them if you do.

Originally Posted by crackrabbit

and ya don't really care anymore lmao I tried absolutely everything to see if I could fix it nothing worked..and I'm out of warranty so doesn't really matter.

Yeah, that's what I thought. You can also sell it as an as-is Zen for parts. We have a Classified section.

[ColinN]

Ok, so I got a Zen the other day from Amazon which I'm very happy with; however, a problem I noticed the other day (whcih I assume is this) is that whenever I 'resume' from being in Hold, I just get a white screen. Music continues playing etc.

Also, when I resume from the Zen being in idle mode, the screen's brightness appears to be at 100%.

So I'll need to send it back then?

[BobbyRS]

Do you see anything else on the screen or is it all white? Sounds like the WSOD.

[ColinN]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Do you see anything else on the screen or is it all white? Sounds like the WSOD.

When it's all white, it's all white, however it still dims etc and I can still hear music, change the volume and select a new track. Normal symptoms of the WSOD?

It's rather sporadic, sometimes it happens, others it doesn't but as I'm actually yet to give the Zen a proper test (I'm at home so would rather use my headphones etc) I'm unsure as to how often it happens. Once I managed to get myself back out from it by returning to hold and then coming back.

[BobbyRS]

Yes, that is the WSOD. It sounds like return time again; sorry.