Psion netBook Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting for the Psion netBook. The netBook and the Psion Series 7 share their main boards, case, screen and batteries, so the screen cable, battery catch, PC Card and reset procedures on Psion Series 7 Troubleshooting Guide apply to both.[1] The main difference in diagnosis is that the netBook has no operating system in ROM. It loads EPOC into RAM from an OS.img file on a CompactFlash card, so a healthy netBook without its card does not boot.[2]
Preliminary checks
[edit | edit source]- Back up first. The internal C: drive is RAM, and on a netBook the operating system is in RAM too. See Backing up.
- Remove all batteries, main pack and backup cell, before changing the personality module.[2]
- Watch the screen when releasing the battery catch; a microswitch fault on some machines wipes RAM when the pack comes out. See Removing the battery can wipe the machine.
- There are no mains voltages inside. The adapter supplies 15 V 1.5 A (datasheet) or 15.5 V ± 10 %, 1.5 A (user guide).[3][4] The Li-ion pack is the hazard; see Battery Refurbishment.
- Use anti-static precautions.
| Symptom | Probable cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Does not seem to switch on | Screen contrast set too low | Check the contrast. |
| Does not switch on after heavy use | Main battery exhausted | Connect the mains adapter and recharge. The netBook will not switch on again until it has been recharged. |
| Does not switch off automatically | Auto switch-off setting, or an OPL program that neither pauses nor waits for a key | Check the switch on/off setting in the Control panel. |
| Alarm sounds as beeps | Battery too low to play the chosen sound | Charge the battery. |
| Numbers appear when typing letters | Numlock is on | Press Shift+Menu. |
| Serial cable will not go in | Connector upside down | Insert it with the "RS232" motif facing up; it should not need force. |
Boot and operating system faults
[edit | edit source]At power-on the netBook looks on drive D: for a CompactFlash card holding OS.img, loads it into a reserved area of RAM and runs it. If no card is found it displays a message saying so.[2] A netBook showing that message is working as designed.
| Symptom | Probable cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Message that no CompactFlash card is present; boot stops | No card, or no OS.img on it | Fit a card holding a valid OS.img. Psion supplied the operating system and applications on CD so customers could build their own image.[2] |
| Card with OS.img present, but not loaded | Partition not marked bootable | The DOS partition holding OS.img must be set bootable.[6] |
| Standard EPOC upgrades will not install | OneEd "Malaysian" netBook with boot loader version 12 (ordinary netBooks have version 11) | The hardware is the same as an ordinary netBook. The boot loader is on the personality module, and fitting an ordinary netBook module should make the machine behave normally.[6][1] |
| Wrong amount of memory reported, or will not start after a memory change | Unsupported configuration | Only 16, 32 and 64 MB work; 48 MB does not, and the Series 7 memory upgrade does not work in a netBook.[1] |
| Series 7 fitted with a netBook module is unreliable | Some Series 7 processors failed the test for the higher speed | Convert netBook to Series 7, not the reverse.[1] |
Identifying the machine
[edit | edit source]| Clue | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Boot loader version | 11 = netBook; 12 = OneEd "Malaysian" netBook.[6] |
| Serial number slip inside the CompactFlash slot | After the four letters, the first digit is the year (8 = 2000, 0 = 2002, 1 = 2003) and the next two digits are the week of manufacture.[1] |
| Made in or after week 35 of 2002 | Revision 10 main board, which supplies more current to the PC Card slot than revision 7.[1] |
| Identifies as a Series 7 but runs at 191.692 MHz | A Series 7 fitted with a netBook personality module.[2] |
Display faults
[edit | edit source]The screen cable fault is common to the Series 7 and netBook. A Psion support answer described it as "quite a common problem with Psion Series 7s and netBooks": pressing firmly on the logo above the keyboard often reseats the cable for a while, and the semi-permanent repair is a wedge of cardboard between the cable and the base.[7] The full procedure, including the clamp that must not be broken, is under Screen cable and Screen cable repair.
Storage and expansion faults
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Probable cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Large CompactFlash card not recognised | Usually formatting or partitioning; OpenPsion found no size limit in the hardware and verified 4 GB cards | Reformat and check the partition table.[8] |
| Battery runs down faster with a Microdrive | Normal; a Microdrive draws more power than CompactFlash | Use CompactFlash unless the Microdrive is needed.[8] |
| GPRS or other high-current PC Card does not work | Slot current limit: 800 mA on netBooks made after a September 2002 main board change, 300 mA before it | Check the date in the serial number; revision 10 boards from week 35 of 2002 have the higher limit.[9][1] The FAQ prints "prior to September 2003" in one sentence.[9] |
| Modem or combined modem/Ethernet card unreliable under Linux | OpenPsion list these as the most problematic cards, including Psion's own Dacom 56K/Ethernet card | Use a single-function card.[6] |
| Modem card not recognised under EPOC | Modem type not set | Set the type in the Modems entry of the Control Panel.[10] |
| Side serial port does nothing while docked | Normal; in the docking station, communications go through the station's own port | Use the port on the back of the docking station.[11] |
Resets
[edit | edit source]| Reset | Procedure | What survives |
|---|---|---|
| Close a program | On the System screen select List open files from the File menu, select the program and press Close file. | Everything. |
| Soft reset | Press an unfolded paperclip gently into the reset hole above the backup battery. | Changes to open Word or Sheet files and OPL programs are lost; other files on the internal disk "will almost always be safe". |
| Hard reset | Remove all power: the mains adapter, the main battery and the backup battery. | Nothing on the internal disk. On a netBook the operating system must then be reloaded from the CompactFlash card.[2] |
Try a soft reset if the keys do not respond, or if the netBook seems to switch on with good batteries but the screen stays blank. A program failure can occasionally make a soft reset lose the internal disk, or stop the reset working, in which case a hard reset is needed. A forgotten machine password also needs a hard reset.[5]
Linux
[edit | edit source]OpenPsion (formerly PsiLinux) ported a 2.4 Linux kernel to the netBook. ArLo starts Linux from a running EPOC system; bookboot builds a Linux OS.img that the boot loader loads directly.[6] The following are limitations of the port, not faults:
- No power management. To switch off, reboot and switch off at the startup screen.[6]
- No reading of the main or backup battery level.[6]
- No sound, and no infrared.[6]
- Separate kernels are needed for 32 and 64 MB machines; a Series 7 kernel sees only 16 MB.[8]
- Copying 10-15 MB into a ramdisk gradually uses up all memory and freezes the machine. Use ramfs or tmpfs instead.[8]
Repairability
[edit | edit source]| Part | Repairable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OS image and CompactFlash card | Yes | Replace the card or reload the image. Keep a spare copy.[2] |
| Personality module | By replacement | Carries the RAM and boot loader. Only 16, 32 and 64 MB configurations work.[6][1] |
| Screen cable seating | Yes | Psion documented the fix.[7] |
| Screen cable clamp | Not practically | Part of the main board; see Screen cable repair. |
| Battery pack | Yes | Rebuildable with new 18650 cells. See Psion netBook Battery Service. |
| Keyboard | Yes | New Series 7/netBook keyboards are sold in UK, US, German, French, Spanish and Norwegian layouts.[12] The keyboard is a sealed unit and should not be dismantled.[1] |
| Microphone | Yes | Its connection is a press fit that tends to fail; pressing hard on the case above it often restores it for a while.[1] |
| RAM (board level) | With SMD skills | The main board has two unfitted DRAM sites. Ralph Barrett fitted Hitachi HM5165165LTT-6 parts; low-power DRAM is needed because a Psion keeps its DRAM powered all the time.[1] |
| PC Card current limit | No | Set by the board revision.[9][1] |
| NEC ASIC, Philips CPLD | No | Custom parts; a failure means a donor board.[13] |
Capacitors
[edit | edit source]No capacitor failure is recorded for the Series 7 or netBook in the Series 7 FAQ's known-issues list.[14] Replace capacitors only on evidence from the board, such as corrosion from a leaked cell. See Capacitors on the Series 7 page and Capacitor Failure Symptoms.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Psion netBook
- Psion netBook General Maintenance
- Psion netBook Battery Service
- Psion netBook Documentation
- Psion Series 7 Troubleshooting Guide
- Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide
- Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage
- Recommended Tools
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Eric Lindsay, "Psion 7 and NetBook Portable Computers". Includes material posted to comp.sys.psion.misc by Ralph Barrett. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Psion Series 7 FAQ: General & hardware information", oocities.org/epoc_32, February 2000. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ Psion Teklogix, "netBook" product datasheet, NBOOK-01/01-5K-A4-UK, February 2001. Hosted on this wiki: File:Psion netBook Datasheet (2001).pdf.
- ↑ Psion Computers PLC, netBook User Guide (December 1999), p. 205 (specification). Hosted on this wiki: File:Psion netBook User Guide (December 1999).pdf.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Psion Computers PLC, netBook User Guide (December 1999), pp. 199-202 (Troubleshooting). Hosted on this wiki: File:Psion netBook User Guide (December 1999).pdf.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 OpenPsion, "Linux on the Psion netBook HOWTO", section 3 (Introduction). Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Psion support answer, quoted in the HPC:Factor thread "Psion Netbook Pro - unresponsive touchscreen", post of 28 October 2011. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 OpenPsion, "Linux on the Psion netBook HOWTO", section 21 (FAQs). Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Psion Teklogix, netBook customer FAQ. Hosted on this wiki: File:Psion netBook FAQ (Psion Teklogix).pdf.
- ↑ Psion Computers PLC, netBook User Guide (December 1999), pp. 189-191 (Expanding your netBook). Hosted on this wiki: File:Psion netBook User Guide (December 1999).pdf.
- ↑ Psion PLC, netBook Hardware v2.0 (docking station and PC Cards). Hosted on this wiki: File:Psion netBook Hardware - Docking Station and PC Cards.pdf.
- ↑ Psionex, "Spare Parts - Netbook & Series 7". Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ Craig Newell, "Disassembling the NetBook", 14 December 1999. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ "Psion Series 7 FAQ: Known issues & bugs", oocities.org/epoc_32. Retrieved 2026-09-30.