A2 not turning on!!

[tjpark1111]

I've had this happen to me b4 and its been about 5 months now and i guess its happening again. I press the power button, the red light turns on for a sec, turns off, nothing happens. I try multiple times, just the red light turning on and off for a sec once, nothing else. I try charging it, leave it plugged in for a full day, unplug it, try to turn it on, no luck. I try to turn it on plugged in, no luck. Connect it to computer and I can access the files and the USB connected screen pops up. I put in the files for the most stable(firmware 1.77 final) disconnect, try to turn it on, no luck. any help? I'm gonna try the reset button as soon as i find something that small that could fit in that hole(suggestions? cant find a needle anywhere). question: can I format the A2 then try to install the firmware or would the A2 be screwed and it wouldn't have any of its system files? I would think a format would fix it but worried that it might just mess it up, I don't think it's as simple as formatting my U2 and would be well again.

[T.p.M]

Yes you can try formatting it and then put the firmware again
try it then tell us what happaning

[Kasey]

I have seen this reported here before, and in some cases it was a bad charger.

[doniago]

Have you tried charging through USB?

[tjpark1111]

i havent tried charging through USB, I'll try that now. the reset button didn't work. I'm gonna try the format too before i think the charger is the problem. i have a car charger too so if it doesn't charge by USB ill let it sit in the car all day, although I need to put it in a place where there isn't direct sunlight so it doesn't get damaged. I'm scared - I paid $420 for this awesome gadget and expect it to last a good few years of abuse and it's broken on me twice already in the last 6 months. I dunno if it's the charger yet, but still, this is a new charger I bought about 3 months ago. I hope cowon's quality control gets better, I didn't expect so many dead A2's in this forum that were all made in korea.
EDIT: some weird thing discovered. when i connect it to the computer in LCD mode, just the red light lights up(stays lit) and nothing happens, computer doesn't recognize it. In AV OUT mode, it recognizes it perfectly.... wtf...

[Kasey]

Your last results are consistent with a dead battery. In AV OUT mode, the A2 gets most of its power from the USB. In LCD, it does not draw any power from the USB. I'm still thinking charger, or maybe a bad battery.

[tjpark1111]

tried charging by USB, nothing happens(my USB port is powered since I used to charge my U2 through it). I'll try again though. While I was formatting my A2, all of a sudden it turned off. Then all of a sudden it turns back on. It keeps repeating this process as long as I have it connected on AV OUT and I can't do anything about it, or format the player correctly. This started when I tried to format the player. Maybe it's a bad battery/charger, i dunno, but there's nothing I can do now. I'll keep trying the solutions that you guys suggested. thx for all the help. I probably have to get yet another A2, are there any extended warranties for this thing? Because SURE over the years this thing's gonna break after my 1-year warranty period is gone.

[Kasey]

Sorry if this is something you already know, but to charge by USB the switch on the A2 has to be in the Hold position. It seems to take about 25 hours or so to charge it that way.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[doniago]

I believe the A2 does also charge in the AV-Out position.

[Kasey]

Really? Is that a new feature? On page 10 of the PDF manual from the Cowon site, it says:

"If the HOLD switch is at AV OUT, the player is recognized as a portable storage device and will be charged. Battery will be slightly consumed but the recognition delay will be slow."

Admittedly, that is not a great translation, but I took it to mean it is drawing power from the USB (will be charged), but that it cannot draw enough to avoid draining the battery just a little (will be slightly consumed).

The manual then goes on to say:

"If the HOLD switch is at HOLD, the computer will not be able to recognize the player and will only charge it through the USB port. Fully charging the player will take about 15 hours."

Do you read it differently?

[doniago]

Hm. I read it as it would charge, just not as quickly as it would charge if the A2 was turned off while connected. I admit I rather skimmed it though.

I guess what we'd need to do is leave the A2 on AV-Out while connected by USB and see whether the battery level went up or down.

[tjpark1111]

well the HOLD thing I already knew about, but no need to be sorry. I haven't tried the car charger thing yet but I'll try. I hope I didn't mess it up by trying to format it and all of a sudden it turned off.