A sad fate

[Paul Dale]

I got out my 32k 42S last night and it didn't turn on.
New batteries in and it still didn't work.

I feel like I've lost a friend

- Pauli

[TASP]

[grasping at straws]

any little speck of corrosion on contacts?

batteries double checked and installed correct polarity ?

[Dwight Sturrock]

I've burned through quite a few 42S through the years. If I had realized their long term reliability was not that great, I would purchased another 5-10 when they were still making them (lifetime supply).

I was under the misapprehension that HPs next machine would always be better, so in the 90's I didn't worry about it...

[d b]

Pauli;
On the bright side though; you still have your WP34s - and so do we.

[PANAMATIK]

If I could be able to offer a HP-42S arithmetic chip repair kit, I would have sent it immediately to you.

Don't yet give up. It could be a reset problem?

Bernhard

[rprosperi]

(09-08-2015 09:18 PM)Paul Dale Wrote:  I got out my 32k 42S last night and it didn't turn on.

I've had luck and restored more than 1 Pioneer from similar conditions by shorting the 2 terminals together; some came right back to life upon adding batteries, in other cases, I had to let it sit overnight after shorting. Note that none of these had the extra RAM, so no idea if this solution is relevant. Hope it works, loss of a good friend is always sad....

[striegel]

Have you tried pressing on the area below the screen above the top row of keys while pressing the On key? If this works, you can fix it pretty well yourself.

This is a common area of fatigue when the foam that's meant to press the keyboard contacts against the printed circuit board starts to give up.

Refer to http://h20331.www2.hp.com/hpsub/download...e_2010.pdf on page 9 or 10.

[Dave Britten]

Do any of the key domes feel like they're stuck down? The 32S at least will appear to be dead if you try to power it on while any other key is held down. I got a cheap one via ebay, and that was the only thing wrong with it. I fixed the key dome, and now it works just fine. The 1 key feels slightly softer than the rest now, but the response is good.

[Paul Dale]

Shorting the battery terminals and putting new batteries has restored it! I'm very happy now. Recovering from a memory lost is nothing compared to a lost friend.


Pauli

[rprosperi]

(09-09-2015 07:53 AM)Paul Dale Wrote:  Shorting the battery terminals and putting new batteries has restored it! I'm very happy now. Recovering from a memory lost is nothing compared to a lost friend.


Pauli

Great news, thanks for confirming Pauli. When I first read this solution many years ago, I initially dismissed it as silly, but then tried it since I had nothing to lose, and it worked, much to my surprise. Glad your friend is well again.

[Ángel Martin]

(09-09-2015 01:26 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  Great news, thanks for confirming Pauli. When I first read this solution many years ago, I initially dismissed it as silly, but then tried it since I had nothing to lose, and it worked, much to my surprise. Glad your friend is well again.

I have a 16C with the same problem. I tried shortening the terminals but didn't bring it back to life, but based on what you say I'll leave it overnight and put a candle on the window sill...

ÁM

[aurelio]

(09-09-2015 07:53 AM)Paul Dale Wrote:  Shorting the battery terminals and putting new batteries has restored it! I'm very happy now. Recovering from a memory lost is nothing compared to a lost friend.


Pauli

Congratulations Pauli, happy with you for your HP42, a "Lazarus effect"