iPaq3715 Dead??

[webpheret]

i've had this ipaq for a while now but i haven't used it in about a month and a half due to lack of reason (long story). today i got it out of its case and expected the battery to be totally dead. i lost the wall charger in hurricane katrina (along with my car/house, etc) so i thought i'd use the usb cradle. i plugged it into my laptop and then set the pda on the cradle and nothing happened. no familiar blue light or anything. any ideas? could it be i need a new battery? or is it just totally dead and i'm screwed?

thanks!
pico

[AnswerDude]

Is it this cradle?
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/product_detail.do?product_code=FA260A%23AC3
If it is, it needs AC adapter to charge the battery.

[webpheret]

that is indeed the cradle. it even says on there that it charges while its on the cradle. maybe its just past that point though, haha. anyway, i've got another ac charger on the way that i bought, so it should work then.

thanks a lot!

[AnswerDude]

I agree it is a little confusing, but it does say "Charge your battery every time your iPAQ sits in the cradle When using it with the AC adapter (sold separately)." There are sync and charge cables from HP and 3rd party that will let you sync and charge from usb port at the same time.

[webpheret]

i ordered a charger for it (this one on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5817748880&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT) and plugged it into the wall. first it came on and went through the screen like it had reset, but halfway through the little loading bar, the screen went dark and it looked like it froze. i pushed the power button and it did it again, so i unplugged it, and the image stayed on the screen for a few minutes.

did i get the wrong charger? is my battery fried? is my poor iPaq dead?