#GBC won't load games

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

floral flume
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This unmodded Game Boy Color will power on, but it won't progress past the boot screen even when the Nintendo logo is ungarbled. I've tested multiple cartridges (which work on my other Game Boys), so I'm confident the issue is the console.

I inspected the board and, to my (amateur) eye, I see no obvious damages. I gave the console a thorough cleaning, including the battery contacts, the cartridge reader, and inside the power switch. None of this seemed to do the trick 😕

At this point, I figure I'll need some sort of replacement part(s)? Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated 🙏

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alpine waveBOT
# floral flume This unmodded Game Boy Color will power on, but it won't progress past the boot ...

Please remember to provide as much information as possible including all troubleshooting steps you have already taken. If this is a hardware issue, please provide clear in-focus images of the issue, PCB (circuit board), installation, and any soldering you have done. Help us help you, posts with insufficient information will be deleted

Because this post has the "Game Boy Color" tag, we recommend checking out this wiki page https://gbwiki.org/en/consoles/color

Once your issue has been resolved, please click the "Solved" button

Game Boy Wiki
Game Boy Color
hidden thunder
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Heyo Layna
Just to be sure, this is a way to clean your cartridge slot : #1343391636415316089 message

Confirm that the slot is clean and we'll proceed with a diagnostic 🙂

floral flume
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Paper/slot is clean 🫡

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hidden thunder
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Wrap it around the PCB, this is too loose
And adjust the paper size, you don't want it to fold over and possibly catch a pin or something 🙂

floral flume
hidden thunder
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Yep looks clean

snow hatch
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Are all the RAM pins connected? And you’re getting 3.3V out of U7?

hidden thunder
floral flume
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The RAM is parallel to the power switch (on the GBC), correct? None of those pins seem disconnected/loose.
I might need a bit of coaching about U7 though. I have a multimeter, but I've never used it, not sure how to get the requested reading

hidden thunder
floral flume
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I'm not finding any loose pins, here's the clearest phone pic I can manage

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hidden thunder
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But did you test them like shown on the gif ?

floral flume
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I took some tweezers and tried to budge each of the pins, didn't see any movement.

hidden thunder
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Did you use any visual enhancements ?
If not, you can prop up your phone and use the zoom to have a good look while you do the things

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I don't know your skill and gear so I prefer to cover the basics 🙂
Pins can appear unmoving to the naked eye, as it is quite small

floral flume
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By all means, treat me like a beginner. Pride in my expertise will only lead to mistakes 🙏

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I passed over all the pins again, this time looking through my phone zoom, still no loose pins detected

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(FYI it's about 11pm in Austin, I'll probably be off to bed soon)

hollow quarry
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I had this issue on a GBA SP. swapping the ram chip fixed it.

floral flume
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Is the only option an OEM chip? I suppose I'll need to look for a scrap Game Boy 😅

Also, I'm still struggling with measuring voltage. I watched some videos, and to my understanding, I can't measure the voltage when the system is unpowered, is that right? How can I power the system when I have the casing open?

snow hatch
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Yes, you need to have the system powered to measure voltage. https://retrogamerepairshop.com/products/aa-aaa-size-battery-holder-leads-clip-with-2-slots-for-game-boy-gbp-gbc-gba-ngpc-test-the-use-of-mainboard-and-backlight-1?srsltid=AfmBOoobQus6v-7jKkrRJJtGIcdzLn9SBsXKL6j2ts18dJl-1GZA5XID can be used to test the motherboard outside of the case

Retro Game Repair Shop
AA AAA Size Battery Holder Leads Clip With 2 Slots For Game Boy GBP...

Use this for troubleshooting or to test your backlight kits before installation!It can be used to test the main board and LCD of GBP GBL GBC GBA NGPC.Console not included!

hidden thunder
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My next course of action was to test out CPU <-> RAM lanes, but I wanted to give you a handy lane cheat sheet
I don't see any damage on the lanes but a bad RAM chip is rare

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You can sit the board inside the bottom shell along with some battery cells to do your voltage measurements, that is, if you don't need to turn the board over

hidden thunder
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There you go

floral flume
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I'm not sure how I should "test" the lanes. Should I look for continuity across the matched endpoints in the diagram?

hidden thunder
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yep from one chip to another

floral flume
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I compulsively tested the Game Boy again this morning and the issue seems to have been resolved. Not sure what did it 😅

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Before I Solve this out, I'd love to clarify next steps, in case it randomly stops working again:

  • If U7 voltage is off, replace U7
  • If the lanes fail continuity, PCB is scrap
  • If both the PCB lanes and U7 are fine, then it's probably a faulty RAM chip

Is all that correct?

hidden thunder
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  • If some lanes fail you can find the broken area and repair them with a bodge #1343823021063929856 message
    If it's a dead via you can also bodge it through the hole
  • The RAM could be on the brink of death and not be reliable I suppose

I'm wondering if you could have a cold solder joint on the cart slot's pins
Try the wiggle test on those 🙂