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Can my NES be saved?

post #1 of 10
4/9/12 at 10:45am
Thread Starter 
So, I have my vife's old NES, that used to work. I know it worked, 'cause I played, but it was like 10yrs ago, and we have since moved several times.

I found http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/Vie....Detail&id=256 while looking around, but it did not work.

Here's the deal.

Old NES, with the blinking grey screen of death(GSoD).
I followed the instrux on the url(above).

The only problem with the instrux is that the 72pin connector did not actually come off of the board. I tried everything, short of banging the unit up and down. So I cleaned it as best I could, straightened out the pins, and put it back together. Should it detach from the board?

Still, I have the GSoD.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Also, I assume that it is best using the RCA video cord, as opposed to the RF convertor, correct? I got the GSoD with the video cord, and nada with the RF converter.

Lastly, I assume that the power transformer is the correct one, but it is not labeled, other than, "Danger, to avoid electric shock...blah, blah, blah" No, Nintendo logo or anything.

Suggestions?

I would like to get this thing up and running if possible.
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post #2 of 10
4/9/12 at 11:12am
Might be better off buying a new NES. The patents expired a while back and there are tons of third party systems made without the flaws that the old grey box had.
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post #3 of 10
4/9/12 at 11:22am
Jam a cd between the cart and the silver brace on top of the cart.
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post #4 of 10
4/9/12 at 11:26am
Stupid question, but you did take the screws out, right? Connector should slide right off of the back of the PCB. Maybe try lightly spraying some WD-40 followed by a touch of contact cleaner, after covering everything else you can around the PCB (WD-40 has a bad habit of overspraying).

Word of warning: We tore apart an old NES in college... that thing came apart 100% in minutes. It, however, never returned to working service.



Quote:
Originally Posted by PENDRAG0ON View Post

Might be better off buying a new NES. The patents expired a while back and there are tons of third party systems made without the flaws that the old grey box had.

If that's the case, I'm afraid P-drag is right, amigo.
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post #5 of 10
4/9/12 at 11:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by voodoozen View Post

Stupid question, but you did take the screws out, right? Connector should slide right off of the back of the PCB. Maybe try lightly spraying some WD-40 followed by a touch of contact cleaner, after covering everything else you can around the PCB (WD-40 has a bad habit of overspraying).

Word of warning: We tore apart an old NES in college... that thing came apart 100% in minutes. It, however, never returned to working service...

Yeah, I took it apart.

A)Six screws for cover.
B)Two screws for controller connection(realized after the fact,that these did not need to come off)
C)eight or ten screws for silver brace(I can't remember the exact #)
D) Six screws for 72 pin connector(two brass, four silver)

The connector would not move, without the board moving with it. It felt like the board was going to break, before the pin connector world move.

Did I miss something, should the board come out, then take the pin connector off?

Also, since I am not sure that I am using the right power X-former, could that cause the problem?

And lastly, we have about 30 games or so, but I only went through the ones, that i remember playing(and therefore remember working), but should I go through all of the games, or just use this sampling as the whole?


By the by, thanx for everyone's quick input.
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post #6 of 10
4/9/12 at 12:08pm
Just from memory (which is as poor as it probably sounds if you've read any of my other posts around here), the connector thingy didn't give us any trouble. I recall having a pile of screws and literally nothing left attached at the end.

My only other layman's suggestion, if it won't come loose try a little contact cleaner under the connections to at least give it a quick clean. Stuff's done wonders for me in the past.

*advice contained herein carries no guarantees of success and, in fact might cause more harm than good. Potential side effects include but are not limited to total destruction of your NES, unnecessary cursing in front of the elderly and very young, and/or brain hemorrhaging.
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post #7 of 10
4/13/12 at 7:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PENDRAG0ON View Post

Might be better off buying a new NES. The patents expired a while back and there are tons of third party systems made without the flaws that the old grey box had.

They all use the same chipsets. As such, all these clones share similar problems. Extremely poor audio reproduction, poor compatibility, graphical anomalies, etc. And to top it off, they often have a range of other serious issues. Pin connections that have a deathgrip on the cartridge are common, most are of low quality construction, s-video connections that don't work correctly for NES games, and almost always, poor quality controllers and the inability to utilize original NES controllers on it.

And toss in compatibility with a different system on to it and you often will face another problem, poor button mapping. Many of these clones that include SuperNes compatibility (Which is actually very close to the real deal, unlike NES clones) will map the NES controls so the lettering of the action buttons match the SuperNes layout.

Good luck running and jumping at the same time in SMB for instance when you're stuck using A & B on a SuperNes style layout (Idealy, you'd want to use Y and B for NES games).
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post #8 of 10
4/16/12 at 5:17am
Thread Starter 
Thanx for everyone's replies.

I am not sure if I want to go the clone route at this moment.

I am going to try to dismantle the whole box and put it back together.

...and like "vdz" said, taking it apart is the easy part. Getting it working is a whole 'nother story.
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post #9 of 10
4/16/12 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by underminded999 View Post

Thanx for everyone's replies.

I am not sure if I want to go the clone route at this moment.

I am going to try to dismantle the whole box and put it back together.

...and like VD said, taking it apart is the easy part. Getting it working is a whole 'nother story.

Good luck, man. We're all here if you need any help. I think a couple minutes with the NES and a good flashlight might help you get free up the issue- and potentially get it back to working order. My NES and SNES have never died, and they were both used when I got 'em... things are built like tanks, and they deserve the reputation they earned for longevity.



Sidebar, just because it's Monday: let's just put a new rule in place... I think I like "vdz" over "VD".

No offense intended, of course. Just, um... I'd prefer if I didn't come up when someone Googles "Nintendo" and "VD".

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post #10 of 10
4/16/12 at 11:38am
Thread Starter 
vdz, Done.
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