Sega Genesis/Megadrive Cart Won't Boot - FIX a faulty ROM - Fixing eBay Junk
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- A viewer sent me a Genesis cartridge which just doesn't work. It just shows a black screen. After troubleshooting, I've identified the ROM chip was faulty. Here I show you how to actually repair the faulty cartridge without re-writing the game on a new chip. This also works for Sega Megadrive cartridges too.
#Genesis #Megadrive #Sega #RetroRepairs
Want to buy me a beer? Or a broken console? Hit up the donate link (But only if you want, don't feel obligated). www.paypal.com...
Thanks for watching
I have a Sunset Riders cart that was giving me the exact same problem. I did some probing with my multimeter, soldered in the resistor this morning, and sure enough it works now. I don't totally understand the principle here, but I guess you can't argue with results.
This video helped me fix my Batman and Sonic cardridges, using this method. Never soldered anything in my life.
Many thanks and i love your channel. Keep fixing things please.
I cant believe it was so simple
Anyways like said before Happy New Year 2020 ! Remember that every year our retro stuff is becoming even more retro !
Just found your channel and love how thorough you are with these repairs. I used to repair motherboards at work through testing continuity and replacing faulty parts. You’ve inspired me to pick up some old broken cartridges/systems and see how it goes
*_(The following is just a personal theory on how this works)_*
The thing with diodes in ROMs is that they are a indeed a reliable way of gatekeeping current flow, but if they fail, they become either a true open circuit, or their gatekeeping becomes too strong.
The voltage reading you get is what is inherently a voltage drop across the diode (they absorb some of the voltage). The voltage drop is usually around 0.7 volts, meaning less voltage on exit than entry, but generally enough to trigger the transistors inside. If, however, the voltage drop increases, that means less voltage on the other side, and the transistors may fail to trigger.
The precise voltage drop is actually dependant on how much current flows through. Putting a resistor to ground will directly affect the amount of current passing through, and may reduce the voltage drop enough to allow the internal transistors to trigger again.
*_(As mentioned, this is just a theory, and may be completely inaccurate. But from theory comes a deeper understanding. From deeper understanding comes new/refined theories.)_*
except the diodes are reverse polarity... so they aren't even part of the circuit normally. Just protection from negative voltage that doesn't normally exist.
@@GigsTaggart the diodes are Anti static clamping diodes. One diode anode to GND and cathode to signal, then another anode to signal and cathode VCC. These diodes attempt to keep the signal pin between GND and VCC to try and stop any damage.
@@timballam3675 Still doesn't explain why this works. The diodes failing open should not impact operation since they aren't part of normal operation. Only thing I can think of is maybe the circuit relies on reverse leakage as a pull-up/pulldown and without the leakage the high impedance input oscillates.
I just followed your advice and fixed four (4) Mega Drive cartridges: two copies of Sonic 1, one copy of Super Monaco GP and a pirate copy of Aladdin which looks different inside but also required a pull-up resistor between two of the vias to boot properly, though it took a few seconds for it to start so at first I decided it was a dud anyway, until I waited a little longer.
Damn, I have one copy of Super Monaco GP with probably this same issue. Cart, original flyers and box. Good thing I didn't get rid of them "as is".
I just tried it out with an old Aladdin cartridge with exactly the same problem.I was thrilled to see the game work again ! Many thanks !!
I threw one away with this same issue two months ago. Regret ensues.
I was about to do the same with a sonic spinball i found, glad i kept it, i'm going to try once i get home.
The author doesn't actually know what he is doing, he just got lucky. Most often you cannot repair broken ROM chips even if you know electronics.
You can always just desolder the rom chip and put another on there if you have a programmer to program the new chips. Sega carts are very simple
I bought a cheap Model 2 Genesis off Ebay, but it was D.O.A. Got a refund. My son asked if he could smash it with a sledgehammer, I didn't care at the time, but now I wish I had kept it, if for nothing more than spare parts.
Hoarder of games here broken or not . . Got a busted Bart meets radioactive man . Just waiting for the fix for this surgery.
Thank you very much, I had a Sonic cartridge that has been damaged for a long time and has come back to life thanks to you.
Nicely done! I'mma start sending people your way.
Thanks boss!
@@RetroRepairs yeh just cleaning them and looking inside doesnt work open crap surgery lol
Excellent video, I have done this to a Sonic 1 Cartage, I think its something in common, meaning that this one spot where the cartridge gets zapped (when someone pulls the card out without shutting down the console), its at pin 8, turn the board to the back where this video is doing it so, pin 8 from top left to right, solder pin 8 to ground where his doing it also, the one where he solders at the bottom, that's a ground pin, then solder that to the top pin 8 from left to right.
Use a 1K ohms capacitor, like he says, I used a 2k ohms since that's what I had around, works fine with 2k ohms but the caps legs on the 2k its thicker so you might want to stay with 1k for easier soldering.
Make sure the two other capacitors on the board are working before doing this. Also use Vinegar to clean the connection pads, you will get a better result then alco.
So;
1. clean the pins with Vinegar+plus wipe clean with cloth. ( if it works enjoy you game, if not next).
2. check the caps on the board, if needed replace one or both. ( if it works enjoy you game, if not next).
3. then do the soldering of the 1k capacitor. ( if it don't work call Sega at 1800 Sega Help Me, you will find an old guy at the end of the line, have patients with him...his been sitting there for a long time, his actually monitoring A bulletin board system aka BBS.)
Thanks for the amazing info! Found an old resistor from some scrap and saved a PAL copy of Castle of Illusion I found at my Value Village!
Thank you. Repaired my Talespin cartridge. At first I tried using an actual diode, but it didn't work. Worked with a resistor.
I hope you keep uploading these kind of works.
Thank you so much. I had the exact same problem. And now my game is fixed. And to think that I was seconds away from throwing the game in the garbage. Thank you so much.
I can't believe this worked! Oddly enough, it was the same pin on my Sonic 1 cartridge that needed bridged...
Thank you for making this video ! First time soldering and was able to save a rare genesis game . Much appreciated !!!
🤔 Will try this on my broken 'MJ Moonwalker' cart. Its been dead for over 30+ years. Thx for the fantastic walkthrough 👌🏼👍🏼
Thanks for the video. Looks like this specific pin is the main focus as I saw a lot of people talking about it. The 8th top from the left
Hope you're still out there Adam! I just used this method and brought back a copy of Alien 3!! Thanks my dude!!!
Thank you, RetroRepairs, much appreciated Sega Genesis cartridge repair.
Interesting enough but I just found a cartridge of Megaman 2 nes, and it wasn't working, so I took it apart and cleaned it with a soft eraser and IPA as soon as I turned my top loader on it worked I couldn't be more happy. Now I can use my nes max controller which I became skilled at using back in the day.
Always loved your vids had a thunderforce 3 that would show the sega logo than give a black screen. This brough it back to life thankyou and keep up the good work!
Oh man!! You've given me new hope. I've been trying and trying to fix my copy of golden axe with just a miniscule amount of luck. Got it to boot once but it died again on me while playing. I thought the caps was at fault but after switching components from another cart I ruled that out. This seems to maybe be the fix!! I'll try it! 👍
Awesome. I have an Insector X cartridge that does not boot up and the cartridge looks flawless and mint so I was worried it may be dead forever. I am definitely going to try this so thank you very much for this video. I cannot wait to try this and hope this kickass game comes back to life!!
Thanks a lot! Just fixed a cartridge with the same issue! First time using soldering iron and was success!
This is really interesting. I would have assumed that the pin had become internally disconnected, and that you wouldn't be able to access the data at that address. I wonder if this also happens on Sega's arcade ROMS, or other mask ROMS in general? It would be cool to see an internal schematic of the chip.
Always loved your vids has a thunderforce 3 that would show the sega logo than give a black screen. This brough it back to life thankyou and keep up the good work!
Love your videos! I wanted to fix some Sega carts so this is a great Christmas gift for me. Keep up the good work!
Why not using a diode instead of a resistor? i guess both achieve the .6 ish volts drop but i would assume using a diode would be better to avoid as you said any kind of issues they tried to prevent in the first place (DISCLAIMER: im by no means an expert... i just happen to know just a little bit about electronics)
Another great video man. Keep up the great work extending the life of these old games!
I just fixed a Genesis cartridge using your tip. It was even the exact same pin, believe it or not. Thank you!
I tried this over the weekend with two games that refused to work. Both fixed! Thank you!
It’s awesome that you got that game to play again, kudos! But I don’t understand how adding a 1kOhm resistor to an already infinite [“OL”] resistance, ends up now allowing for current to finally pass. I mean, infinite resistance plus 1KOhm of more resistance… no current should pass at all - am I not right? Please explain the logic, if you can. Thank you
THANK YOU! The voice of reason... 500 points awarded!
Looking forward to giving this a try. I like how you use an old toothbrush for cleaning. I like to do the same! Great video! Bonus points for the tower of power!
This worked for me! Did this for my Sonic 1 "Not for resale".
Thank you!
Don’t usually leave comments on videos but had to stop and say such a big thank you!!
I’ve got a handful of games from my childhood that sadly either never worked when bought or have broken over time.. tested this method on my copy of Batman and what do you know, works perfectly fine!!
Just performed this fix on a Sonic 1 Cart and it worked, exact same spot as well. Thanks for the tip
As it turns out, this fixed my broken copy of Landstalker. Thanks!
My Moonwalker cart had the same issue and the 1k resistor fix did the trick!
Cheers for the tutorial mate
Awesome. I just happened to stumble across this fix as I've had a couple like this that i just assumed were unrepairable
@@RetroRepairs I am having the same problems with my Sonic 2 copy and it doesn't want to work with the lock on feature with Sonic and Knuckles. I am using this on a model 2 Genesis and even though this copy of Sonic 2 plays fine by itself but it won't work with the lock on feature and S&K works fine by itself too and with Sonic 3. Is my copy of Sonic 2 having the same problem or is it my S&K cartridge?
Thanks man, picked up a copy of Last battle with this issue. Resistor brought it back from the dead.
thx lot man, I was able to fix my street of rage with this video.
Greetings from Venezuela.
Just fixed a musha cart with this!!! Thank you you are so awesome for sharing this fix!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This cute tip saved my night and I was able to bring back to life one of my favorite game GENERATIONS LOST
I just did this for the first time and it worked. It only took about 10 minutes. It was the exact same pin too, number 8...every video I've seen on this is always pin 8
Man dis just fixed my comic zone can't believe it worked so happy that's a win it wouldn't boot put in 1k rister it worked thanks for great video
Thanks for a great video! All my diods are working, the cartridge is in great condition as far as I can see, what else do you think it could be? The game is Alien 3 PAL. Thanks again!
Just fixed a Power Drive cart thanks to this video. Thank you.
This is very informative. Awesome one, man! Makes me want to pull out the old Genesis collection and see if I can come across one of these myself. It also makes me wonder about a Super Mario All-Stars + World cartridge I pretty much destroyed by heating my desoldering pump too high with the stock nozzle being too large in the first place and ruining some leads when I first got it. I'm still ashamed of that whole ordeal a year or two later. I avoid even opening the box I know it's in because I can't bare the thought of seeing what I've done again.
I JUST fixed my dead megadrive SONIC cartridge with this method!! you are awesome!
I thought I had tried everything to save my sonic game - I have even ordered on in Ebaybecause I found absolutely nothing wrong with the cartridge - until I tried this! Genious!! It now works, So I'll be able to sell the one that arrives from Ebay...... :-)
Thanks! Got seven dead carts to start working again.
This is what makes youtube so awesome...love it! Thank you!
Fascinating. I have three dead MD carts to try this on ASAP
Hi. I've the same problem with a Street of Rage cartridge. One of the parts of the chip is making ground (shows 0 on multimeter). I checked with a working SOR, and there's a resistance at this point. The trick with the resistor doesn't work. Do you have an idea for fix that issue please?
I have a couple Sega Genesis carts that don't work even after cleaning the contacts. Some folk suggest it's bad capacitors. Did you try that first before testing the connections from the ROM chip?
I am so glad i hoarded my old games, i fixed my michael jacksons moon walker with this, thank you for the info.
Hmmm. I have a couple of "dead" Atari 2600 carts. I wonder if this would work.
hmm cant seem to get my decap attack cart working at all. I changed the capacitor, continuity checked all the connections, i get a good reading on all of the pins except for the pin that you had a problem with so i put the 1k resistor on there hoping it would fix it for me as well.. nothing :( I get a reading of 0.050 with the resistor soldered. not sure what else to do or what it could be
Just followed your advice to repair a faulty Altered Beast cart that I had, exact same pin with the exact same problem!
Good news - it worked! I fixed it!
Bad news - the inside of the cart was actually World Cup Italia '90. What in the actual fuck was that. Still! Good advice!
I have a Sonic and Knuckles cart that's giving me issues and the insides has multiple chips and doesn't look like just 1 ROM chip. How do I go about figuring out what's wrong with it?
Just did this procedure and it worked. Thanks!
The shortest video on this dudes channel, but love your vids
Was sent this video on twitter due to a Columns cartridge that's having the same issue. I'll have to look into it!
I have a Sonic Spinball cart that is exhibiting the same no-load behavior so I took it apart and tested the connections exactly as specified in your video but I am not finding any pins that are showing 1. I am getting readings mostly between .774 and .809. One of the end pins shows as low as .509 but all except the ground pins (which show 0) come back with a reading. I went through the test several times and got the same result. Any ideas?
Do you know what would be the cause of a NES game Super C booting but once you pass the start screen it scrambles / goes to a grey screen and crashes? Can't seem to find repairs on NES carts to shed light on the cause.
Just fixed the wife's Mickey mouse castle of illusion, cheers! She was quite upset when the kids roughhoused it and it broke, it was a recent Christmas present too. (Exactly the same pins as in the video too.)
Very cool! Thanks for sharing and explaining in detail.
Great tip, this video saved my copy of Batman. Thanks!
Thank you for this info. I currently have two carts that won't boot up. The pins have been cleaned properly on both the carts and the system itself. The 20 other games i got in the lot fire up just fine. I'll have to do this test to see if its the same problem. Would be a tragic waste to see an Aladdin game cart end up in a landfill..Lol.
i remember draging out my games from the console without turning it off. As a kid. Since then a few of them are broken .
Is this metod can work with crapy fake cart? Its using the cheapest technology (one small chip under black resin)
Nice! I have a dead Sonic cartridge that I'm going to try that on!
I have an Atari Jaguar game that WILL NOT read no matter how hard I try. What should I do to fix it?
Is there a way to fix the black and white screen in the Animaniacs video game cartridge that I bought? (Yes, it's also a video game, if you didn't know)
Wow thanks for that trick mate! Great video as always. Is that a 1/4 watt resistor or a 1/2 watt you used?
no matter, the pull-down resistor only prevents the data line from floating.
@@petergerkman244 Is this fact? I have a BAG full of 1k 1/4th watt resistors and was afriad maybe too much current would past through and get hot etc.. 1/4watt will work perfect long time no issues or anything?? Thanks for your reply!
thank you for sharing, I am looking to repair 2 cartridges as well. by watching the video could you give me the value of the resistance that you added thank you.
Totally worked on my Sonic cart first time, Thanks!!!
Now I may soon have a working copy of Landstalker. Thanks.
I got 3 Sega mega drive games that don't seem to work 2 of them is a black screen after the licence part and the other is freezing on the Sega Logo 😔🥺 I only recently bought a Sega megadrive II and haven't been able to play it 😟
That was actually a pretty clean job, impressive👍👌 ❤
I have a copy of Mad Stalker for Genesis could this fix it?
What if u don't get reading from 2 legs on the chip?do u solder 2 resistors from the ground to the pins?
If a game only shows the 'licensed by sega' screen but black-screens after that, can this method still possibly fix the cartridge? Or does that indicate that there's a different problem?
Might be worth noting that initially the game only black-screened but after cleaning with iso, I got the licensed by sega screen. Tried an eraser after that, no progress.
Great practical vid, keep up the good work 👍
You are checking output driver transistor in these pins (protection diodes connect pins to Vcc). So output is fried but input might still work. Can you tell to what cartridge pin this leg is connected?
protection diodes are often in pairs to vcc and ground, to prevent both positive and negative spikes.
Hi. My FAT PS2 disc tray is stuck, Wont open it. I tried to push is, but wont work. You have an idea what need to do with it?
Also, I should share an experience with a (at one time) barely working cart: I had a copy of a game that wouldn't work after cleaning with Rubbing Alcohol, so I cleaned the contacts with Quick Glow Metal Polish. This did work, but the first time I booted the game, the audio sounded scratchy and glitchy. It eventually got better. Why did it mess up like that before it "spat out the cobwebs," got any ideas?
Wonder if this works with nes carts. I have a copy of burger time that won’t boot
If they use ROMs (and I’m almost 100% certain they do), this method will very likely work.
However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work. The ROM itself may be toast, in which case it’s as pointless as this sentence
I've seen other repair videos where it was just broken tracks caused by wear between the circuit board & casing. Always worth a look.
I’ve checked every trace and changed out the electrolytic capacitor. It’s in one of the chips that holds my fault
Is this some kind of black magic? Got my Castle of Illusion, Sub-Terrania and Altered Beast to rise from their respective graves thanks to this video.
I wonder if there’s anything similar to try on bad SNES roms. My beloved Turtles in Time have been dead for a while now and it’s not the board that’s faulty..
I’m curious if this is the problem with my 32X cartridge for NBA Jam TE. It’s never worked for me.
You're kidding, I'm literally here as I'm trying to fix a NBA Jam Tournament Edition for 32x as well 😆
@@lemonyjams5478 wow, well an update I guess. My cartridge was fine, I tried my 32X in a different Genesis and NBA Jam worked instantly. What’s strange is it was the only game that wouldn’t work with that Genesis, all my other 32X games worked fine. So apparently NBA Jam doesn’t like certain console combos???
@@GMdieselman Huh, interesting! I have a Model 1 myself, and do happen to have a Model 2 I can get my hands on; I'll have to give it a shot! I'm in the same boat here, all my other 32x games work perfect, just can't get NBA Jam past the 'Licensed By Sega' text. I'll have to let you know how it turns out!
@@lemonyjams5478 good luck! Hope you can get it working
@@GMdieselman I tried it out in a Model 2, and it worked perfect! That's so bizarre, I'm not aware of any major difference between the Model 1 and 2 that could result in that, it just blows my mind XD. Thanks for the tip!
I have a Sonic cart with 20 pins that don't read at all, tried adding a 1k to ground for each one but nothing happened. I guess it's too forgone to fix.
I've had a few games where it's was the 8th pin from the upper left that was bad. Sometimes it's open, sometimes it's off compared to the others. I had a copy of streets of rage today that wouldn't start. That 8th pin was a little higher like .6 something compared to .5 something.not much off but It was enough that it wouldn't boot until I put the resistor in there. I've had one that was the 9th pin from the lower left also. Sometimes I get a good reading the first time but then checking again it'll read zero. Not sure if the tester charges up or if it's the chip's diode flaking out.
I have a cart of Golden Axe 2 with a 0.089 reading on the same pin as the one in this video. Starts to "Presented by Sega" and then goes to blackscreen. As soon as the resistors arrive in the mail I'll put one in and see if it fixes it. The pins themselves are clean and shiny, so it's definitely not dirt or anything else.
I seem to have the same problem with my Sonic 2 however, it works perfectly fine by its self and loads the game on a model 2 Genesis. Now, when I try to boot the game up on a Sonic and Knuckle cart with the lock on feature it doesn't bother to boot at all aside a black screen. Its not the S&K cart as it loads with Sonic 3 and even works with Sonic 1 with the Blue Sphere game but this copy doesn't want to work. Can someone tell if its the same problem as in the video or it is just a faulty Sonic 2 cart?
One of my gbc games (Championship Motocross 2001) seems to have a faulty/corrupted rom, i think. It boots fine but then has many weird glitching effects and then when the game starts it glitches out and acts as if the cartridge was removed from the console while still playing. Also, some of the glitching effects are different every time. Is it the rom chip, or something else? I think the game is gone at this point. Atleast its not pokemon or a game like that.
Edit: Is there any way i could send it to you to fix?
I've got a few videos where ive fixed GB carts, it could be worth trying to reflow everything and see how it goes.
Feel free to email me at retrorepairsca@gmail.com if you want to chat about it.
Hmm... there are a few things that could cause that...
Address pins (if one is perpertually low, it would lock out half of the ROM. A perpetually low A0, for example, would lock out every other dataline, and if the final address pin is perpetually low, it would lock out the final half of the data). Could be either a broken trace or (as seen in this video) a broken diode in the ROM.
Data pins (they’re outputs that changes based on the precise address pins’ states. If one is perpetually low, the data will be correct half the time (when the actual data is a 0, or an active low) and corrupt the other half of the time (when the actual data should be a 1, or an active high). This could cause either a complete failure to boot, or a ton of glitching). Again, could be a broken trace or a broken diode in the ROM.
Corrupt data, which means that the data inside the ROM has gotten corrupt. In that case, there’s no hope. But it’s gonna take a lot to corrupt the data in a ROM. ROM stands for “Read-Only Memory”, and don’t have (or rarely have) any proper write pins.
This looks like a great idea but would it be safer to use a diode rather than a resistor since the original circuit is set up so the data only flows one way?
Do you tink this method can be usefull for a game gear cartridge? This tutorial is awsome, for me 2 games returned from the dead Air Buster and smash TV.
Hey bro how much you charge to fix my mk3 sega cart it has black screen wont boot
I have a non-working cart, where one of the chips is way higher than the others.... all of them are around 500, this one point is 1200... could that be a problem?
It it's the 8th pin from the left side on the upper row then yes. I just had a game that was doing that and fixed it with the resistor. Fixed one before that was reading nothing on the same pin.
Is there something like this that you can do for master system games?