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I just bought a Karma and...
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jourdy288 #1
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Subject: I just bought a Karma and...
I just bought a Karma for 3$ (Good deal!) but I don't know if it works...I'm brand new to these, it has all components, and the screen is glowing slightly, a slight blue, and that's it, one of the buttons also, it's bright red, on the upper right, it seems that even though it moves around a bit it gets stuck, can anyone please help?
jourdy288 #2
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Oi, and the scroll wheels broken too...
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Peregrine #3
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Member since Jul 2006 · 825 posts · Location: Cleveland
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No text on the screen?
[Image: http://pfalcon.org/sigs/Siggy.jpg]
jourdy288 #4
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No text, no nothing.
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M0tah #5
Member since Dec 2007 · 58 posts
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Can you get into recovery mode?  Hold down the menu button (to the left of the red stick) and press the power button.  If you can, there should be a model after the "hdd:", but if there isn't the hard drive is likely dead.  If you can't get into recovery mode, I think the mainboard is likely dead.

One more thing: can you hear sounds of a hard drive spinning up when you try to turn it on?  If so, the hard drive might be okay.
peter #6
User title: Former Rio Developer
Member since Jul 2006 · 206 posts · Location: Formerly of Sigmatel UK, Cambridge
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In reply to post #1
If the backlight comes on but there's no text, my first suspicion would be that the screen, or the data connection to the screen, is broken. The backlight coming on probably means that the firmware is OK. What do you get when you connect it to a PC? Even without installing all the drivers, you should at least get a question-mark icon among your USB devices in Device Manager.

Peter
jourdy288 #7
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I get nothing, I tried to go into recovery mode, nothing. The screen just stays blank. I connected it to my PC, nothing at all.
jourdy288 #8
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Subject: Please help!
I can't hear a hard drive spinning, I don't see anything but a blank blue screen. Any idea what's going on? I really would like to have a Karma (I like to be different) so is there anyone who could help?
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Peregrine #9
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I'm thinking it's dead and you'd be better off looking for another one. There are 3 on Ebay right now.
[Image: http://pfalcon.org/sigs/Siggy.jpg]
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obscure co-star #10
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Member since Apr 2007 · 70 posts · Location: Iowa
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It sounds like you probably have a good hard drive, at least. 

(My busted drive just makes a terrible clicking noise...   <_< )

Sorry to hear it's not all working for you, though.  There really are quite a few broken ones around, which can be harvested to get a full working unit.
Dude!  There's no WAY that's your daughter's favorite song!
oh, uh-oh --wait, wait... Is she in a coma???
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M0tah #11
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Based on the fact that it isn't working at all (aside from the backlight lighting up), I think the mainboard is dead.  You might be able to fix it by replacing the mainboard, but there's no way to tell beforehand what the condition of all the other components are, so you might replace the mainboard only to find out that the HDD is dead and the battery is shot.

Quote by obscure co-star:
It sounds like you probably have a good hard drive, at least. 
Not necessarily.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but if it isn't spinning up, you can't really tell if it's working, can you?
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obscure co-star #12
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Ahh!  Sorry, I mis-read. 

First time through, I thought he'd said "I can hear the hard drive spinning..."  :rolleyes:

(I really need a head-smacking emoticon)


So then, unless you are really committed, or happen to find a Karma that's an easy fix, you may be better off going with another player...

The guys who've got the TrekStor seem to like it & it's based on the same hardware designs.
Dude!  There's no WAY that's your daughter's favorite song!
oh, uh-oh --wait, wait... Is she in a coma???
jourdy288 #13
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Subject: What about the other option...
I heard about KarmaLimbo, do you think it's a good try? The reason I ask is because I got mine for so cheap, it may be worth finding someone who repairs them. Also, I don't quite know how to open mine if I can find parts...
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M0tah #14
Member since Dec 2007 · 58 posts
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Actually, the guy who ran Karma Limbo isn't repairing Karmas anymore (see here).  The site's a great resource though - it has excellent guides on taking apart and repairing them yourself.
John30_06 #15
Member since Nov 2006 · 347 posts · Location: Heartland U.S.
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In reply to post #13
Quote by jourdy288:
I heard about KarmaLimbo, do you think it's a good try? The reason I ask is because I got mine for so cheap, it may be worth finding someone who repairs them. Also, I don't quite know how to open mine if I can find parts...

I have to agree with M0tah that it sounds like your mainboard, although I've seen defective daughter-boards also cause it to not power up. John Briggs does repairs and refurbs on them. Or you could sell it on ebay as is and pick up a different one there.
 Or you could pick up a mainboard on ebay, but there's no guarantee that that's the only issue.
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