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GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 6:38 pm
by razorleafattack
Got a GameCube (001) recently and it doesn’t start up. The light and fan come on but the disc never spins and the system menu doesn’t start.
I’ve checked that the fuse on the power board is still good. Everything is well seated, and I’ve made sure the optical drive works in another system. The issue seems to be with the main board but I don’t know where to begin with troubleshooting. Any help in resuscitating this cube would be greatly appreciated.

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:49 am
by emu_kidid
Do you have a spare powerboard to swap out and check with? (The little board that lives under the mainboard in a DOL-001)

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:53 am
by razorleafattack
Yep, I had dismissed the idea of it being the power board since the fuse is good and other components are getting power. I'll swap and check.

If it makes any difference, I can tell power is getting to the main board as the heatsink starts to warm up after a few minutes.

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:14 am
by emu_kidid
Seems like it might be an issue with the mask ROM chip, e.g. CPU is executing no-ops instead of the IPL. This is based on the fact you have no video output and no DVD reset but have a warm CPU.

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:39 am
by razorleafattack
Which basically means get a new main board, right?

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 2:26 am
by emu_kidid
Yeah, or look for any trace damage around the MX IC that you could repair

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 2:29 am
by razorleafattack
If the suspect is the MX chip, would it be possible to desolder one from a DOL-101 board and swap it out?

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 3:17 am
by Extrems
I think bad RAM is a more likely culprit, but who knows.

Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 12:07 am
by razorleafattack
Swapped the main board into a working GC and it no longer worked. Removed the heatsink and inspected the entire board closely and couldn't find any issues. Looks like a dead end. Thanks Extrems and emu_kidid