Author Topic: 2 cubes in less then 6 months? why me?  (Read 23435 times)

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Offline KingDave1682

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #50 on: November 09, 2004, 04:19:17 AM »
Laser, thanks for the advice.  I'm having massive trouble with my GC at the moment, the problem only started yesterday with FIFA 2005 with the game stopping all the time saying "Game disc could not be read" or something along those lines.  It's so frustrating as I only got the game a few days ago and am just getting into it!!!

I've tried doing what you've suggested by cleaning the lens, but still the problem persists.  It was ok this morning for 20mins or so, but then the problem began again.  Is it possible the laser warps or bends as the GC gets hotter?

Offline Syl

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #51 on: November 11, 2004, 03:59:53 AM »
Random Comment that applied to me recently:
Check to see if its the power cord thats messed up.  I just had to buy a new cord instead an entire new cube cause of that.  
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Offline joeski19

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #52 on: December 02, 2004, 04:23:47 AM »
I have the same problem disc not spinning.  Seems this is a problem with the GC.  I've had it since the release, so I figure the motor is burnt out or a fuse might have blown.

Offline MZero

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #53 on: January 04, 2005, 11:42:03 PM »
did you know with almost all DVD Roms (yes gamecube is a Mini DVD rom) they have laser voltages, take the PS2, the old modles seem to have a main problem, disc read error, an issue that sony knows about, but a really simple fix, inside the drive there is a voltage screw this controls the laser voltage, turn up the voltage and problem solved, i don't know if there is a voltage adjust on gamecibe since i haven't had any problems with mine, but it's worth look, i'll post a new message when and if i find out (planing on opening my cube to swap the orange led for a blue one, i'll let you guys know what i find)
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Offline MZero

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #54 on: January 05, 2005, 12:05:24 AM »
there is a voltage adjust screw on gamecube, i payed for this big long repair book, it shows you how to do everything, i can almost fix every problem with a gamecube now. email me at MZeroEW2@hotmail.com if you want to know more
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Offline MZero

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #55 on: January 19, 2005, 09:54:06 PM »
If you are having problems reading your games the first course of action is to always clean the laser. If you have already cleaned the laser and are still having problems the next step would be to try to tweak the laser. After time the laser may loser intensity and it will not focus on the disk information, this tweak will kick it up a notch, remember this it a temporary fix, it means your laser is dying if you have to do this

Step 1 remove the gamecube case, the fan and CD assembly

Step 2 remove the screws from the underside of the CD assembly that hold the metal shielding

Step 3 locate the tiny screw on the circuit board. There is only 1, you’ll see it when you look. Take a small Phillips head screwdriver and carefully turn the screw just a couple degrees counter-clockwise

Step 4 reassemble the gamecube without inserting any of the screws. You should be able to power on the system and check to see if it has improved. You will have to temporally hold down the lid switch so it will spin the disc it’s in the back right corner.

Step 5 did it improve? If not, adjust the screw we talked about again, if you adjusted the screw more then 30% of one full turn then your laser cannot be helped and it’s time for a new laser or gamecube.

If it did work great reinsert all of your screws and put your gamecube back together
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Offline pinoy bassist

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #56 on: February 20, 2005, 04:43:58 PM »
well i have a problem with my gamecube. it seems when i play my nfl street 2 for awhile sometimes it freezes and makes a beeping noise. i'm not sure whats the problem but may have to do with the all the dust inside of the gamecube. any suggestions on what to do or whats wrong with my gamecube.


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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #58 on: October 05, 2005, 07:33:45 PM »
It's funny how I never knew any of the people in this thread even existed, other than TYP.
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Offline KnowsNothing

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #59 on: October 06, 2005, 02:15:48 AM »
and yet they're all cooler than you.

How odd.
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Offline wandering

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #60 on: October 24, 2005, 12:39:50 AM »
OMG my gamecube is broke.....no wait, sanity effect.
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Offline noabody

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #61 on: February 03, 2006, 10:09:47 PM »
I have a used Gamecube that started making a loud whining noise while playing games.  It was clearly coming from the spindle motor.  Eventually the 'cube stopped reading discs.  It would spin and the laser was on and moving back and forth but the disc wouldn't read.  One day I realized that if the Gamecube was left on for between 15 and 20 minutes I could put a disc in and it would play fine.  I'd get an occasional read error.

Because of the indication I am fairly certain that the spindle motor is old.  I'm guessing it has a packed lubricant inside that has dried so there's more resistance in the motor.  I can see nothing is wrong with the spindle hub, the laser, laser sled, or servo motor.  I've read that the laser output changes slightly after being on for about 10 minutes so I tore the Gamecube apart and tweaked the laser power.  Less power is definitely worse but more power has no effect.  This reinforces the idea that the laser is working and the spindle motor isn't.

I'm guessing that as the Gamecube heats up some of that heat is transferred into the base of the spindle motor which softens it's lubricant enough to allow the motor to reach the proper sustained RPM.  If anyone has a similar experience or can shed some light on this than please do.  

Offline IceCold

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #62 on: February 07, 2006, 04:23:17 PM »
Wow, I'm very impressed. As a new user of the forums (right?), not only did you find the right board to write your query in (Tech. Discussion), but you didn't even make a new thread and your English was commendable.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to help you, but I really wish I could..  
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Offline ljoe1969

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #63 on: February 23, 2006, 05:23:31 AM »
My gamecube will turn itself off after a few seconds. the fan still works though.

it is definately out of warranty i have had it about 5 years now.

i will take it apart this evening and look for a fuse. if it is a fuse wouldn't it not come on at all?


Offline Pale

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #64 on: February 23, 2006, 12:50:20 PM »
Does it turn itself off after the same amount of time each time?  Or does it sometimes run for 5 minutes, and sometimes for 5 seconds?
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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #65 on: February 26, 2006, 09:52:48 AM »
dont plug in the controller....see what happens... my  cubewas doing that when my nyko air flow malfunctioned
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Offline modchipman

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #66 on: March 04, 2006, 01:20:02 PM »
have you had a chance to try a replacement gamecube lens? I've had this problem in the past sometimes, and usually whats happening is the motor is still spinning properly, but the laser will conk out and give a DRE. I've had lasers that struggle to read right off the bat, read, and then die after 20-30 minutes of use. Try doing the pot tweak as outlined in this thread somewhere (url to a text file). I've had success with readings between 160-250 myself, in ohms.

see if that helps, it might. If not, then let us know

Quote

Originally posted by: noabody
I have a used Gamecube that started making a loud whining noise while playing games.  It was clearly coming from the spindle motor.  Eventually the 'cube stopped reading discs.  It would spin and the laser was on and moving back and forth but the disc wouldn't read.  One day I realized that if the Gamecube was left on for between 15 and 20 minutes I could put a disc in and it would play fine.  I'd get an occasional read error.

Because of the indication I am fairly certain that the spindle motor is old.  I'm guessing it has a packed lubricant inside that has dried so there's more resistance in the motor.  I can see nothing is wrong with the spindle hub, the laser, laser sled, or servo motor.  I've read that the laser output changes slightly after being on for about 10 minutes so I tore the Gamecube apart and tweaked the laser power.  Less power is definitely worse but more power has no effect.  This reinforces the idea that the laser is working and the spindle motor isn't.

I'm guessing that as the Gamecube heats up some of that heat is transferred into the base of the spindle motor which softens it's lubricant enough to allow the motor to reach the proper sustained RPM.  If anyone has a similar experience or can shed some light on this than please do.


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Offline Ceric

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #67 on: March 15, 2006, 03:14:17 PM »
My cube is not dead but it is broken.  When Playing Megaman X it freezes on the last level or so.  I'll give that to being an annoying glitch in the game.  Ok.  Now heres the kicker.  When Playing MP2 it will randomly go to vertices.  Hmm...  When playing Battalion Wars it will blow up to Vertices to with everything in the wrong place and that's it.  So I though maybe it was the disc.  Call Nintendo and they don't have any record of someone with the same problem and suggested I try it on someone elses machine.  So I did and played Battalion Wars for a good hour, problem normally manifested in 30 minutes or less.  So that's my problem.  Any suggestions?
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Offline gleckert

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #68 on: June 04, 2006, 01:22:34 PM »
I have had my 'cube for about 4 years.  I recently moved and when I got around to setting it back up a problem has occured that is frustrating me.  I turn it on and it plays for about 5 minutes, then I start getting read errors.  If I leave it off for awhile and restart it work ok for about 5 m inutes, then repeats.  Anyone have a potential solution?  Schematics?  Any usual thing that causes this?  Thanks!

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Offline DJ_Isher

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #69 on: August 17, 2006, 02:37:07 PM »
I think I'm having the same problem as some of the other users. My gamecube has recently started 'acting up' on me. It's like it has a 'mind of it's own' so to speak. Some days it works perfectly fine. Other days it just doesn't work at all. This bugs me because I just got resident evil 4, and I'm running through my first time one professional mode. I love that game.

Anyway. Down to the point. When I turn it on the fan works, but the power light doesn't come on. The fan sometimes works while this goes on. I'm thinking that this is either a fuse as mentioned by other users, or there's just too much dust inside the system.

Before I take it apart and look at it. I just want a recommendation as to what is going on.

Thanks to whomever helps me.

Offline DJ_Isher

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #70 on: August 21, 2006, 09:42:40 AM »
Me again. I'm having the same problems yet again. This time around though, I might have figured something out.
My newest 'cube I cleaned with compressed air and a vacuum with a soft brush attachment. It worked fine for about two days. No power problems. Then one night my friend came over and tripped over the controller wires.
My cube ended up falling only a foot onto the ground. Right onto the memory card port. The card was in there while it hit.

The power problems were back. Not only with one cube but my other defunked 'cube. The other had disc reading problems. I tried hooking both of my 'cubes up one at a time with either of the power cords. Both of them had the same problem they'd shut off after about an hour or sometime they would'nt turn on at all. I hadn't done the 'plug one accessory in at a time' method to finding out what the problem was. I made sure that both gamcubes were clean and working fine. Except the one, the one that had the disc read problem.

I kept playing with my memory card out, for fear of it going corrupt if it had shut off while I was saving something. I can't remember clearely if the power problems occured during the time the memory card was in there. But I do remember the 'cube shutting off everytime I though it was safe to plug the memory card in and save.

But today my girlfriend is bringing hers over. If I have power problems with that one then I'm going to test out my controllers and the cards to see if it is my memory card that is causing this. I'm not sure that a memory card can cause power problems though. By the way I forgot to mention what memory card I have. It's a black nintendo one it has 251 blocks of space on it. If I didn't describe it well enough PM me and I'll send you a pic.

Please don't tell me I have two broken 'cubes on my hands with the same problem. But if it is the memory card I'm going to have to buy a new one and then transfer all of my files to the new one without my gamecube shutting off.

I'm going to look for some answers on the official website.

Offline stevey

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RE: Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #71 on: August 23, 2006, 02:15:26 PM »
If it both of them having power problems it might be your power outlet...
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Offline austingaz

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RE:Official "My GameCube is broke thread"
« Reply #72 on: September 18, 2006, 10:56:57 PM »
hey ive had a problem with my console it makes tht noise when it stops read the disc i have no clue wht done this my freind does something to it to fix it but i dunt kno wht cause i never seen him do it my disc say no disc when i try playin them even the game my mum bought when it first came out day of reckoning 2 dnt work is there something up with my disc or my console cause if theres eny way of me not havin to pay for gettin it fixed tell me



plz help

Offline PhrProfess

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Re: 2 cubes in less then 6 months? why me?
« Reply #73 on: January 24, 2011, 04:02:52 AM »

This post presumes that all have gone through GreyRainCloud's Lens Calibration guide (link). If you haven't and are getting DREs, then I highly recommend that you do because a simple recalibration is probably all that it'll take to get your system up and running again! (Okay, maybe it's not so simple.)


To those with DREs whose discs won't spin: a solution—


I've just discovered personally, through trial and error, that if one tweaks the potensiometer even just a little bit too far then the disc will stop spinning. If your disc doesn't spin anymore, it might just be that your laser is out of range and that your motor is actually fine.


My situation was that I had a working console, but was just starting to get DREs again, mid-game. From this I reasoned that the time to make another potensiometer adjustment was nearing. I opened up the box, made an adjustment, and closed 'er all up again (sans screws) to test. I'd forgotten that I could simply hold down the two little prongs in the back-right corner to fool the console into thinking it had its top on, and that I didn't need to replace any of the panels or the cover—and so that's how I was testing for adjustments at first.


After about four tries, I noticed that I wasn't getting anywhere. I also noticed that my discs weren't even spinning anymore, no matter which one I used. At first I thought that I'd gone and fubar'd my console, and made a big mistake of some sort—but then I discovered that I'd just fallen into a trap that I'd set for myself. The trap was this: If one adjusts the potensiometer, still gets a DRE, and tries to turn it again a little further (thinking that this is the solution)—it just might be that the potentiometer's  been tweaked too far already the first time. To continue turning it might be pushing it even further away from where it needs to be. This is an easy trap to fall into if one replaces the cover in between each test-run, because in doing so one wouldn't even notice that the disc has stopped spinning altogether (provided that it did to begin with, of course).


Anyway, I eventually boiled the process down to an efficient science that allowed me to complete a casual adjust-and-test cycle every forty-five seconds or so (by not replacing anything in between test-runs—no screws, front/back/side panels, or even the cover), and came to learn that I had the potensio' turned about 180° too far. T minus two hours in, I finally got it right and saw the disc spin with the cover open (and my fingers on the two-pronged cover-sensor). My insides lit-up and I got all of my energy back! After all was said and done, I'd performed about 15-20 guess-and-checks.


I am just here to pass along my notes to those with DREs, because if your disc isn't spinning then it might not be a motor problem but rather one to do with that pesky laser. I suggest that you follow the guide on GameFaqs (link), and make a series of positive and negative adjustments until you get it right. Ideally, you'll crank it slowly and hit the mark after just one or two attempts. To be sure, don't make any negative (clockwise) adjustments if you've never made any adjustments before! There'll be no need to turn the laser down from the get-go.


This topic has been bumped because it was a top-result in Google that helped me solve my problem tonight by getting me to think along the right track. Cheers

Offline BranDonk Kong

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Re: 2 cubes in less then 6 months? why me?
« Reply #74 on: January 24, 2011, 10:10:10 AM »
Coincidentally I just replaced the laser on a GameCube a couple of weeks ago. I've done a bunch of Wii drives (sometimes just the laser or motor, sometimes the whole drive is out of whack), but that's the first GameCube I've had to repair for someone.
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