White Screen on 30gb ZVM

[kiesha]

Sigh, If I didn't know any better, I'd say my boyfriend had the worst luck with players. I'm thinking he must drop this thing a lot. Anyhow, He has a white screen. It's recognized by the PC, music will play and even allowed me to do a firmware update. I've heard about this white screen before but not sure if I've heard of a solution? Help! On the flip side, a couple of months ago, we switched out the hard drives because this one went out. We have not had any problems since then. I still have the other player that has a perfectly good lcd screen (I think), is replacing an option? If so, how do I go about doing it? Or is it possible a connector was shifted when he dropped it?

Thanks in advance

Edit: I tried the MP3 recovery tool, upgraded the firmware. When I did that I just unplugged it and hit play to see if it would work. The screen was still white but played music. I turned it off, and plugged it back up to the pc and viola, it came back on. I was skeptical so I unplugged it, turned it off and back on and the screen was still working properly. It is currently charging. I have to go to work so I suppose I won't be able to update the status until later today. Any ideas are still welcome.

[CrowdAds]

[GuybrushThreepwood]

By what's my (limited) experience, I can say that the white screen (if it's completely white, not if it has white stripes on it) could be a symptom of a broken lcd ribbon cable (or a badly connected one, perhaps due to the fall).
By what you say, instead, I think it could be also a power issue. Let us know if it works as expected when fed up by a fully charged battery and remember: never let the battery discharge completely; a fully discharged LI-ION battery could cause strange behaviours like the one that you're experiencing. Have a good day!

p.s. Here:

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archi...n-vision-m.php

and here:

http://img.photobucket.com/player.sw...e/OYZ_0001.flv

you can find two very well done disassembly guides (thanks to BobbyRS who suggested them to me in the past).

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by kiesha

Edit: I tried the MP3 recovery tool, upgraded the firmware. When I did that I just unplugged it and hit play to see if it would work. The screen was still white but played music. I turned it off, and plugged it back up to the pc and viola, it came back on. I was skeptical so I unplugged it, turned it off and back on and the screen was still working properly. It is currently charging. I have to go to work so I suppose I won't be able to update the status until later today. Any ideas are still welcome.

Sounds like you may have worked it out, but you may still want to consider opening the ZVM up and checking or even reseating the connections anyway. Just in case it is an intermittent issue.

[kiesha]

Hello!!!

GuybrushThreepwood, thanks so much for that info!!! His battery was @ 45% so it wasn't totally dead.


Bobby,

He did say that the volume doesn't appear to be as loud when connected to his radio in the car. I told him to check the volume with his earbuds tonight. I'm just not sure I would connect the white screen issue to decreased volume w/ his radio. Anyway, I'm thinking it's time to upgrade him. I would like to sale both zvm players in the next month or so. I'm not sure what works or doesn't work on the old one and this one is just as shaky. I'm thinking to sale it for parts? What are your thoughts Bobby?

[GuybrushThreepwood]

If the battery is ok (though I would prefer to give it a good charge), then you have to check the lcd ribbon cable. I think that selling a possibly working ZVM for parts is a pity, especially considering that it's still a wonderful player, way better than the various Ipods. That's only my thought...

p.s. As you've already guessed, the decreased volume has nothing to do with the white screen... Maybe they are both related to a failing battery but I wouldn't bet on this.

[kiesha]

I have to agree, it's a wonderful player. When I first upgraded to the Zen 32gb, I was miserable! I missed my zvm--I had the player for 2 years and didn't have a single part. Well, I don't want to sell it for parts but I also don't want to sale it to someone without knowing what works or does not work. I suppose I could sell the "functioning" one as is? I'm almost starting to wonder about the battery. This morning when I was finally able to get the screen working, I right clicked on properties in my computer and it showed 49% up until the time I left for work (up 4 notches as it was orignally @ 45). My bf says that it was fulled charged a couple of hours later.

[GuybrushThreepwood]

If the screen is definitively back in order, then it could really be the battery. If you have a wall charger, try to charge the battery by it: charging by a pc USB port involves many unpredictable factors (I don't explain them here: there are many threads on the subject).
A replacement battery is very easy to find and replace and cheap too: maybe you could buy a replacement battery and have a fully working ZVM again but, BEFORE, you have to be sure that it's the battery that is failing.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by kiesha

Bobby,

He did say that the volume doesn't appear to be as loud when connected to his radio in the car. I told him to check the volume with his earbuds tonight. I'm just not sure I would connect the white screen issue to decreased volume w/ his radio.

Volume level issues can be tricky and dependent on how the ZVM is connected. How is the ZVM connected in the car?

Originally Posted by kiesha

Anyway, I'm thinking it's time to upgrade him. I would like to sale both zvm players in the next month or so. I'm not sure what works or doesn't work on the old one and this one is just as shaky. I'm thinking to sale it for parts? What are your thoughts Bobby?

I have to agree, the ZVM is most definitely worth fixing. To this day is it still a very capable player, especially in the video playback category. If you do decide to sell them, keep ABI in mind. We have a Classified section here to help ensure that they go to a good home.