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

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

Post by razorleafattack » Sun Mar 08, 2020 6:38 pm

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

Post by emu_kidid » Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:49 am

Do you have a spare powerboard to swap out and check with? (The little board that lives under the mainboard in a DOL-001)
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razorleafattack
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Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Post by razorleafattack » Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:53 am

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

Post by emu_kidid » Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:14 am

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

Post by razorleafattack » Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:39 am

Which basically means get a new main board, right?
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Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Post by emu_kidid » Wed Mar 11, 2020 2:26 am

Yeah, or look for any trace damage around the MX IC that you could repair
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razorleafattack
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Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Post by razorleafattack » Wed Mar 11, 2020 2:29 am

If the suspect is the MX chip, would it be possible to desolder one from a DOL-101 board and swap it out?
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Extrems
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Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Post by Extrems » Wed Mar 11, 2020 3:17 am

I think bad RAM is a more likely culprit, but who knows.
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razorleafattack
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Re: GameCube tuns on, but no video, and drive doesn’t spin.

Post by razorleafattack » Sun Mar 15, 2020 12:07 am

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
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