[NTLK] Newton 2100 won't power on

[Forrest]

Hi Christian,

Examining a circuit board without knowledge of those things is a lot like trying to read a foreign language like Spanish with no knowledge of the vocabulary. You might recognize a few words that resemble their English counterparts, but overall it is a lost cause. Applying this analogy to the Newton, you might be lucky enough to spot obviously burned or damaged components (which would ultimately be UNlucky), but other than that it probably won’t tell you much. I know because I have studied circuit boards over the years and spent quite a bit of time trying to find whatever issue is causing the problem. Even seasoned professionals (which I am not) might have a hard time deciphering it. That’s why there’s test equipment.

Much digital ink has been written over the years on NewtonTalk over reviving a dead Newton. Much of that involves resuscitating one that worked before and now somehow does not, which is not your present issue. The fix is to remove all power—batteries and AC adapter—from it and let it sit for several hours, then connect power and it often will now power up. In your case, try plugging in the adapter for say 15-30 minutes, then removing the battery and adapter and trying that method. Likely it will not work, it is seems there is another more serious issue, but it is a free fix and what do you to have to lose by trying it?

Mahalo,
Forrest

Sent from my T-Mobile iPhone 11

> On Oct 2, 2023, at 12:59 PM, Christian Burk <omahane at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> I got a 2100 from eBay (untested, a risk I realize), and it doesn't power
> on with the AC adapter.
> 
> I went through all the reset steps from
> https://www.pda-soft.de/2x00_disassemble.html without any success.
> 
> I have now partially disassembled my 2100 but I don't know what I should be
> looking for. Nothing seems awry to me, but I don't know where and how to
> check the motherboard to see what is wrong.
> 
> Here's what the board looks like:
> https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ngu4xa9zn9dpyb0ee5t2j/IMG_6571.jpeg?rlkey=pawdbkvfzlxujq3idtmkor9zj&dl=0
> 
> I don't have an oscilloscope and am not sure if I need one. I have a Klein
> MM500 Auto Ranging Multimeter, but I'm not even sure where to put the
> probes to begin testing this.
> 
> Does anyone have any advice?
> Yours,
> Christian
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