OK, my turn: Camera Problem, FZ-18

It's a rainy week so I decided to play with my FZ-18 which just sits in a drawer month by month because it's too "Big" for my use.

I charged up the battery and turned it on: some sort of message, white text in a black rectangle and before I could read it, the camera gave a LOUD "Beep-beep-beep" and shut off, dead. I've had the battery out for over an hour, still dead.

Any Ideas? I sort of thought that there might be a "RESET" button somewhere - say, one of those things you stick an unfolded paper clip in, or such.

-Erik

--
'He who hesitates is not only lost - he's miles from the next Exit.'
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