# Why has my Palm touch screen stopped working? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2008, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209 "2008-06-08T07:47:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/1 "2008-06-08T07:47:09Z")
I’ve got a little [Palm Z22](http://www.palm.com/ca/products/handhelds/z22/) - the bottom of the line, and I like it - no internet connection, no phone, no music, no photos. Just names, addresses, and schedule. Just perfect for my techno-peasant needs. Until recently, when the touchscreen just stopped working. Tap with stylus - nothing. Try to turn it to keyboard mode - zilch. But the data is all still there. Using the big button, I can navigate the data and pull up telephone numbers and so on. I just can’t add or modify any of the data. I’ve tried charging it to the max, re-booting it a few times, but nothing seems to work. Is it just a dead parrot and time to move on? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/2 "2008-06-08T07:57:55Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] I’ve got a little [Palm Z22](http://www.palm.com/ca/products/handhelds/z22/) - the bottom of the line, and I like it - no internet connection, no phone, no music, no photos. Just names, addresses, and schedule. Just perfect for my techno-peasant needs. Until recently, when the touchscreen just stopped working. Tap with stylus - nothing. Try to turn it to keyboard mode - zilch. But the data is all still there. Using the big button, I can navigate the data and pull up telephone numbers and so on. I just can’t add or modify any of the data. I’ve tried charging it to the max, re-booting it a few times, but nothing seems to work. Is it just a dead parrot and time to move on? [/QUOTE] That’s very strange. Can’t say for sure, but it sounds like a hardware failure of some sort - maybe at the point where information for the whole touchscreen is delivered to the other components. There’s no software reason why that input should be ‘turned off’ since it’s so critical to palm functions. Might be worth taking it to somebody who does PDA repairs if there’s one locally. Otherwise - yeah, sounds like time to move on to me. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/3 "2008-06-08T09:56:44Z")
Try these options: 1. Try to get to Prefs/Digitizer and recalibrate the digitizer 2. Backup your data first. Then try a “warm reset”. Hold down the Up button, then insert a pin into the reset hole at the back of the device. Release the pin, but keep the Up button pressed for another 5 seconds or so. Then release the Up button. 3. Backup your data. Then do a hard reset. Hold down the Power button, then insert a pin into the reset hole at the back of the device. Release the pin, but keep the Power button pressed for another 5 seconds or so. Then release the Power button. Warning: This will erase all data on the device. HotSync to restore data. If the hard reset does not fix the issue, then it is most likely a hardware issue. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/4 "2008-06-08T10:04:21Z")
thanks, **xash**. when it first started acting up, I re-calibrated the stylus a couple of times, and it fixed the problem temporarily. I’ve not had much luck trying to get to prefs, but I’ll give it another try, as well as your other suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/5 "2008-06-08T10:14:45Z")
[QUOTE=chrisk] Might be worth taking it to somebody who does PDA repairs if there’s one locally. Otherwise - yeah, sounds like time to move on to me. [/QUOTE] Since the Z22 is selling for a bit over $100, i doubt it’s worth my while to ask someone to take it apart - but thanks for the comment that its likely a hardware issue - that’s what I was starting to think, but I don’t know enough about these things to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/6 "2008-06-08T10:18:36Z")
If recalibrating fixes your problem only temporarily, then your device probably has the “mad digitizer syndrome” bug. You can try installing this application if Option 2 in my previous post doesn’t work: [http://xvisionnow.tripod.com/cgi-bin/autodigi.pl](http://xvisionnow.tripod.com/cgi-bin/autodigi.pl) (download AutoDigi5) ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-my-palm-touch-screen-stopped-working/452209/7 "2008-06-08T10:24:15Z")
More on the mad digitizer syndrome (a common issue with older Palm models): > **[Mad digitizer syndrome - Everything2.com](https://everything2.com/e2node/Mad%2520digitizer%2520syndrome)** > > A problem that afflicts certain models of Palm PDAs, most notably the Palm V series. These devices use a capacitive digitizer and due to the metal case,... > **[TechnologyGuide](https://www.techtarget.com/technologyguide/?t=247225)** > > Thank you for visiting the TechnologyGuide network. Unfortunately, these forums are no longer active. We extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire community for their steadfast support—it is really you, our readers, that drove