Digital cameras 101

[Katie]

I took the batteries out of my HP Photosmart 850 for charging, and since I reloaded them last night, I'm not getting any power.  The red self-timer light on the front begins to glow as soon as I snap the battery cover in place, but the camera won't turn on.  The self-timer light stays on until I remove the batteries again.

I've had my camera for a little over a year now and have had this problem a couple of times.  Usually, taking the batteries out for a second and then reloading them works.  This time, no such luck.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Deb]

Hello there Katie and Welcome!

Could the self-timer inadvertently be turned on? You mentioned the self-timer lights up when you insert the charged batteries. This indicates to me that the camera is getting power so it's not the batteries in this case. If the self-timer had been turned on, then the camera is waiting for the allotted pause time to expire before it will release the "shutter". Therefore, the camera will be inactive until that time. You might want to check that setting.

You mentioned that you've had this problem before. Was the self-timer light on then too? If not, then perhaps the charged batteries may not have been inserted properly. Your camera takes 4 batteries and inserting them in the proper configuration can sometimes be confusing. I've included a link which shows the order (positive, negative, etc.) the batteries are to be arranged. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/hp850/page3.asp

Give these suggestions a try and let us know what happens.

Cheers,
Deb

[Katie]

Thanks for the reply.  Those are excellent suggestions, but unfortunately, neither of them work for me.

I've had the camera for a while, so I definitely know how to insert the batteries correctly, and the self-timer light comes on as soon as I insert them, before I even turn the camera to the "on" position.  

When I do try to turn it on, nothing happens, but the self-timer light stays lit.  When I turn it back off, the light still stays lit.

Any more suggestions?

[Deb]

Hi Katie,
Hmmm, I'm curious ... does the self-timer light also serve as a battery indicator on your model camera by any chance?

[Deb]

Hi again Katie, here are HP's instructions for "troubleshooting power issues". It is meant to determine whether the camera, card, adapter or batteries are causing the problem.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00030297&product=75971&dlc=en&lang=en

Hope this helps,
Deb

[Katie]

Deb, you're wonderful.  That HP link was exactly what I needed.  My user manual didn't mention a thing about the reset button inside the battery compartment.  A quick press of that was all it took to get my camera running again.

Thank you so much!

[Deb]

Katie, that's dandy! I'm glad that worked for ya!  

Cheers,
Deb

[steve p]

Katie and Deb,
I have the Photosmart 850 and I have an identical problem.  Maybe I am missing it, but I cannot find the reset button.

Where is it located on the 850 model?
Thanks

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the Q&A Board.

Evidently, HP does not have a reset menu but you can reset the camera by following HP's instructions (click the link below). Make sure to take all the recommended steps. In step 2, follow the instructions for your camera model, the HP 850.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00030297&product=75971&dlc=en&lang=en

[steven p]

Thanks but no luck.  My problem seems to be exactly the same as the original poster.  I tried the HP directions over and over again.  No luck.

The camera can have pictures viewed and downloaded off the dock.  It will flash the red light and the back screen after the battery door is closed, but it WILL NOT turn on.  I tried it with new batteries, no SD card, a full SD card an empty SD card, on the dock, with the AC adapter plugged in directly, etc.  Nothing works.

Any ideas?  Has anyone had the same problem?  Has anyone solved it?

Thanks for your halp in advance.

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi Stephen,

Sorry nothing worked yet. Have you called HP tech support?

May I also suggest you post the question at dpreview, were forums are set up for specific digital cameras. There's not an HP forum there per se, but I think this one would be your best bet:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1001

Someone may come along here too that knows the solution but try dpreview in the mean time. If you do get it sorted out, we'd appreciate very much if you will come back share it here so other Q&A Board visitors can benefit.