My GC can't read any disks...can help me?

Hi folks. all started after a few weeks i've bought my GC. It started freezing in the middle of the game. months have passed since then, and i've already changed the laser unit, the game, and it still act the same way. first time it freezed, i was in the cozo ruins in metroid prime, and when i shot a door, the game freezed. since then, it is freezing sooner an sooner of when you turn it on. detail: in metroid prime, if you let the demo mode, it never freezes, it only freezes when you start a new game. now, it is freezing in the very beginning of the game when you start a new game. and, if you let the cube on in the demonstration mode, if you look with attention, you notice small freezes in the scenes of the game. i'm pretty sure that these small freezes in the demo mode are related with the freezes in the loading times. and i am pretty sure that the game isn't the problem.

I wanna tell you guys, i'm not a novice in electronics or videogames. i'm used on fixing ps2 lens, installing mod chips and even changing the driver ic on ps2. i've fixed a lot of videogames with serious problems. i'm used to general electronics, too.

so, the final statement is: i'm sure that the problem isn't the laser nor anything related with the ohm value in the laser pot, i'm sure that the game disc isn't the problem. bu i was thinking....may the problem be the spindle motor?? i thing that if it is unstable or spinning in the wrong speed it may cause problems related to the symptoms described...or may it be related to an driver ic...? in this case, i'm with a REALLY big problem, 'cause i think that there are no replacement driver ic or spindle motor for the GC.......man, i really don't now.......my dear GC is giving me a big headache.......I'm sure that something is causing my gamecube to read corrupted data, and since i've already changed the laser unit, i think that may it be the spindle motor or something in the driver PCB (i think that the nickname for this PCB is Mobo...). I've checked for overheating, but i din't find any sign of overheating.

i've already checked foruns worldwide, searched for any clues, but i can't even find reports of this problem! seems that i'm the only one GC owner facing this problem.....all problems i find are related to the lens, and if you change the lens unit, it gets to fine work again.....

More details: my GC is a JetBlack US model (I believe it is the B revision), and i've bought it brand new. I don't have any kind of modchip installed on it, it have always been unmoded. All games i use are originals, and, of course, all are freezing. Since Nintendo isn't officially represented here in BRAZIL, this means i have no warranty.....
In this exact moment, my cute GC is in my room's shelf, beside my lcd tv, and I CAN'T PLAY IT!!!!!!

CAN ANYONE PLZ HELP ME?? If anyone have a clue or something about my GC, i urge you, plz, let me know. anything will help. if there is a experienced technician that have already seen this problem and can help me, plz, help me. if you can help me bring my GC back to work, PLZ HELP ME!!!

Well, that all for now. Humm.....and sorry for my broken english.......hehehe......at least i think you guys can understand me.....hehe!!!
Again, any help will be apreciated. Thanks to everyone.

Samuel, BRAZIL.

 

i got a good idea, go buy a new gc it's only $100

 

yeeh you youst had some bad luck

 

If 100$ is such a small amount of money for you up there.. Why don't u send this "samuel" some money??

 

That i remember, you have asked this same before, a time ago...

But to the point, you have changed the laser unit? what part of it, only laser, and no electronics with it, or what? It could be that original went broken, and you have fucked up the replacement too.
That your problem seems that laser cant move far, because game tilts when laser gets nearer to the edge of disc. check that it can move freely and there is nothing that causes laser to jerk when moving.

And i dont think it's motor's speed the problem, it's all right because it can read the disc.

 

well, thanks everyone for the help, but i'm not that poor (of course, i don't mind if anyone there wants to send me some money, hehehe...!!). I the kinda guy that likes to see broken things coming back to work. yes, i can easily buy a new GC, but i wanted at least to try fixing mine. i'm thinking in buying a used one to change parts...

Quezacotl, thanks for the help. i changed only the laser, no electronics. the laser is moving freely and there's no blocking, and there is no signs of any kind of malfunction related to the laser movement. i've mentioned something about the spindle motor and speed, but to be honest, i don't realy believed that this was the problem.
and i don't think i've broke the new laser before i install it, because, like i've said, i'm used with this kind of electronics, i know the care i need to take with it. when i changed the laser, the laser pot was in 215 ohm value. to put the new laser, first of all, i raised the resistence to 600+ (more the resistence, less the power) and started testing the new laser with original media. when i found a ohm value that the laser focused the media quickly and that laser "whistle" sounded cool (not too short, not too long or noisy), i stoped raising the power. now the laser pot is in a value about 280 ohm. but the game is working exactly the same way it where before, with the old laser unit.
but......now that you've mentioned it.......the game freezes when the laser is near the edge of the disc....just a coincidence? i'll take a little more investigation to find out.

again, thanks for the help. comments are aprecciated.
see ya (and again, sorry for my broken english...!)

samuel

 

Damn Dude! I'm having this exact same problem! Model GCN and everything! I think in order to fix this problem we need to replace the whole Mini-DVD assembly.

 

I figured out how to fix this; your assumption was right; you have to fix the spindle motor. Pop off the outer spindle, then pop it back into place, and make sure that it goes in even this time, and you're set! Take a look at this for more details: http://www.planetgamecube.com/forum...9&threadid=5591&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=&STARTPAGE=1

 

you dont need to buy a new Game Cube the lens is probably dirty have u ever clean it out and try it to begin with... or if that doesnt work just get a new lens for the Cube

 

Man, you really shouldn't be posting stupid comments like that...we already talked about cleaning the laser lense.

 

I found that the problem is in fact on the MOTHERBOARD, and not in the driver boar, as i though. In fact, i found that my driver board and disc reader is working perfectly. A friend that is much more used to videogame electronic than me is helping me to try to fix my GC. Now we'll borrow another gamecube to compare resistor values etc and try to figure out the problem of my GC's motherboard. Again i'll sey this: we're doing this just for fun. I know that a GC is really cheap, but we're trying to fix mine just for fun and to get more used to it. If you have any information that may help, plz tell me. If we suceed to fix my GC i'll post a new thread with a link to this thread and informing everyone about the problem and how we fixed it.

 

Have you messed around with the spindle motor? That's what I did, and it started working again. Another thing to check would be overheating and dead components, but I'm sure you've already done that.

 

like i've just said, i've already found that the problem is in the motherboard. Nothing with the driver board, the disc reader or the spindle motor. I've put my gc's whole minidvd assembly in another gamecube, and it worked PERFECTLY for hours. i've put another gamecube's whole minidvd assembly on my GC, and it still gave me the same problems. so, theres no doubt left: my gamecube's problem is on the mother board.

 

one more thing: there ins't any sign of overheating, and, like i've already said on one of my posts, i will check for dead componets as soon as i get another borrowed gamecube to disassemble and compare resistor values etc...

 

Hmm...sounds like you might need to just replace the motherboard, or if you have lots of tme isolate the component, which is what you're doing, right? I'd suggest investing in a capacitor checker, because I'm thinking that one of the capacitors (smd) probably doesn't function anymore.

Also, try running the GCN with the cover off, and when the game is running feel around for any parts that may be overheating; you usually can't tell a part has overheated unless you actually feel it overheating (assuming that the part hasn't heated so much that it melts )

Does the GCN read disks temporarily then stop, or it just doesn't work altogether?

 

thanks for the tip, i'll surelly check capacitors and others smd components. i know that i might need to replace the entire motherboard, but, like i've said, i want to have some fun seriously trying to fix my GC. So, i'll try it out. I've alredy checked for overheating, but can't find any clue. And if there is a resistor malfunction, in such precise devices like GCN, resistors doens't normally overheat if they are not operating properly. this is the reason i want to borrow another working GCN to disassemble and compare resistor and other components values. But i'll take your advice and check it some more times for overheating.
If you read my older posts on this thread, you'll find that my GCN is reading games. but, when it comes to do a "massive" data loading time, it seems to lose some commands and freeze. For example, in metroid prime, when you click new game, the game starts showing some text in the screen about samus' mission on planet tallon IV. while the text is being showed is the time when the gc loads the game data. but it freezes while still loading the data, while the text is still appearing.

Again, thanks for the help, and sorry for my broken english!

 

:-} Hmm...try messing around with the laser pot again.What setting works on one mobo may not work on another. Even a 1 ohm difference can mean everything. I'm thinking maybe one of the smd devices are damaged, like you said. Just be sure to get the right version motherboard to compare yours against. Do you know what type of motherboard you have? Also, in what country do you live? I think I might be able to find an electronics dealer that can sell you the tiny parts needed, if need be.

 

Hum...i will check for motherboard version when comparing to mine. I´m not sure, but i think that i have a revision B mobo. I live in Brazil. In the town i live is a bit hard to find videogame parts, but i know people that can get me parts, if i need, in nearby states, and in other countries too. some of these peoples go to Paraguay to buy electronics, and there is easy to find videogame parts. In this moment, i´m not near my gamecube to check the mobo version but, how can i be sure about the mobo version? is there some writing in the mobo or something? i´ve never paid attention to that...
hey, thanks a lot for your interest and help, i´ll tell you if i need. and again, sorry for my broken english.....hehe!

 

Well, i've given up. I'll just buy another used GC and try to replace parts. Now i'm pretty sure that i have a problem in my GC's mobo. I just can't find out the problem without another gamecube to try. So i'll buy another one and i'm sure that i'll be able to get one of then to work. I would like to thanks Nohbdy for the help, even if we haven't been able to fix my GC. Thanxs a lot, guy. And the other guys too. I also hope that no one misundertood me due to my lack of a good english, hehehe! Thanks again, and see ya!

 

You're welcome I hope you get yourGC working with the new mobo!