Topic: 2 cubes in less then 6 months? why me?

[HexicDASH]

I have a rather strange problem, or at least I havn't heard of any others similar to it.

A while ago my brother had his friends over and they were playing the GameCube.  I suppose one of them got a little too into the game and pulled his controller too far, pulling the GameCube off the small shelf it was rested on, a fall of about 3 1/2 feet.  The system supposedly landed on it's front end (I was not there to witness the actual event, so I'm going on what my brother told me happened).  The system works fine, it still runs games, there's not even any cosmetic damage (Good 'ole sturdy Nintendo products), however for some reason the 1st Controller Port doesn't read at all.  I've tried using different controllers, and even one that was purchased later after the incident, and none of them worked.  It's like the 1st port simply died.  None of the other ports are effected (I had a nice 3-way SSBMelee match with some friends not too long ago) as well both memory card slots are fine.

At first I didn't think it was too big a deal, seeing as I could just control with the other ports.  However, I soon realised that most games I really liked playing (Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX, WindWaker, etc) only read from the 1st port, essentially rendering these games unplayable on my system.

I do not believe that it is under warenty, since the system is 2 or 3 years old, and so I was wondering if maybe anyone here has heard of or experienced a similar problem, and if I need to just go buy a new GameCube, or try and get it fixed.

[Ocarina Blue]

Well, I'm guessing that when the Cube fell on its front end, the most pressure was applied to controller port 1, and the pins were either damaged or shifted. I'd look closely in the port, and try poking the pins around with a screwdriver or a pair of tweezers a bit (while the power is off, of course .)

As a last resort if you think you'll have to buy a new one, you could take apart the Cube for a closer inspection... maybe try to replace port 1 with port 4 or something, but I doubt it would work and the Cube would look ugly afterwards.

If that doesn't work, call Nintendo, I doubt there's much else you could do, sorry.  

[Spork024]

Well benjamin1254 you are not alone.  My friend let me borrow his Cube for a while as like 2 days after I had it it started to not read the disks, even when i was already playing.  At first it would not read Metroid Prime (which was like the only game that i really wanted to play which really sucks), then when i actually did get it working after like 10 minutes of messing around it would just say "an error has occured".  Now if it actually does read the game when i turn it on i will be lucky to get to the "Press Start" screen.  It would be great to find a simple solution to the problem and not have to send it in, which i will probably not do because i don't even own it in the first place.  Any input would be great.

[princessdiana75]

I've read every single post on this topic and i'm assuming my only choice is to send in my cube for repairs. I hadn't played my gamecube for a LOOOONG time. Then i started to around last christmas. i finally beat Eternal darknes (i so loved that game) and i left the everything on (the tv, the cube, etc.) when the game was over, walked across the room to go on the internet for about 20 minutes and when i came back...my tv screen was blank. No matter what i did the nothing would happen when i tried to play the game, the screen would stay blank. (i'm assuming it's the same problem as the person with the broken fuse or whatever) The power light comes on, the fan runs, but i think the disc doesn't spin, leaving a blank screen. The problem is i'm going to have to send it in to who knows where for probably an outrageous amount of money, which is why it's now June and still haven't gotten fixed since January when it broke. I know i definitly am not on warranty...But i do so want to get it fixed! That's what brought me here!

[Duo]

I have the exact same problem. I've tried fixing it, it seemed one of the connectors had been burnt out. It had no effect. I'm going to look in there again though, and see if  the cable is loose on one side. I've heard of many other people having this problem too though, and it is ALWAYS the first port. I will see why. I will be going into my gamecube, and if I fix it, I will post my conclusions. If I don't fix it, I will post my WTF statement.

[evil intentions]

I've never had any problems with my systems.  I'm not sure if I'm lucky, or you guys just take really bad care of them.

I would sugguest just buying a new gamecube.  But that's just me because I like to take the easier way out of things.

[Duo]

My brother's friends treat them awfully. They've broken a total of SIX, yes SIX Gamecube controllers, gotten the reset button stuck, AND broken the first controller port. I just fixed the first controller port and the reset button, but I had to throw out all the bad controllers.

Anyway, I have the solution. To fix it, all you will need is a soldering iron, solder, tape, and a 4.5mm gamebit screwdriver to open the Gamecube. The tape can just be scotch tape, the soldering should have a fine tip (you can buy one at Radioshack), the solder you can get at Radioshack, and the gamebit here: http://www.jandaman.com/games.mvc?p=gamebit45&Category_code=GC. You can also do a google search for gamebit 4.5mm if you want to try for a better price. Some tool shops even have it. NOTE: Check inside the Gamecube to see which problems you have BEFORE buying supplies, as you might not need all of the supplies. The only tool I assure you that you will need is the Gamebit screwdrier. Right, so using the gamebit screwdriver, you unscrew the four corner screws on the Gamecube (look on the bottom, each corner should have a hole. The screws are at the bottom of a hole). Then flip over the Gamecube (BE SURE TO HOLD BOTH THE TOP AND THE BOTTOM OR IT WILL FALL APART). Then, take the top off. Be sure not to lose any of the screws, or the top. Then, unclip the grey front panel. Near the center, there should be a number of metal lines which go off into a cable. Now, there will be between 1 and 3 things wrong here. The first is that one of the metal connectors hooked up to the cable will be burnt, and broken. This is where the soldering iron and solder comes in. Now, this is the difficult part. Your goal is to solder the broken connector back together. Plug in the soldering iron, and wait for it to heat up. Then, bridge the gap in the connector with solder (melt the solder with the iron at the gap). DO NOT BRIDGE THIS CONNECTOR WITH ANY OTHER CONNECTOR. IF ANY CONNECTORS ARE BRIDGED YOUR GAMECUBE WILL BECOME SERIOUSLY DAMAGED WHEN POWERED UP. BE SURE THE GAP IN THE CONNECTOR IS THE ONLY THING BRIDGED, AND THAT NO TWO CONNECTORS ARE BRIDGED. Then, hold the soldering iron to the solder for about 10-30 seconds, until the solder starts to "flow" (which is when it is really liquidy). Then, stop. Remove the soldering iron from the place you are soldering, and unplug it. The solder will dry. REMEMBER TO MAKE SURE ONLY THE GAP IN THE CONNECTOR IS BRIDGED! IF ANY CONNECTORS ARE BRIDGED, IT WILL SEVERLY DAMAGE YOUR GAMECUBE. Now, that was the hard fix. The next fix is far simpler. This is the fix where you need the scotch tape. Ok, look to where on the board the cable is going. Right where the actual cable (the cable itself, not the plastic connector on the end) meets the plastic cable, the cable might be pulled out. Push the cable into the plastic connector. There should be a good place along the cable to push from. It will crease the cable, but it doesn't matter. Now tape the cable into the plastic connector. The final thing is to check whether the plastic connector is plugged in all the way. If it isn't, plug it in all the way.

After all of that, close up your gamecube in the manner you opened it. Stick the top back on, and check to see that all the buttons of the Gamecube are in the proper position. Also make sure they work properly. Then, flip over the Gamecube with a hand on either side of it (so it doesn't fall apart), and replace the screws in the holes, and screw them in. Now, test your Gamecube for an EXTENDED period of time. One of four things should happen. If your Gamecube boots, and you find that the first controller port works, then congratulate yourself. You've fixed it. If the first controller port still doesn't work, or cuts out after a while, try opening up your Gamecube again, and firming the plastic connector and/or the cable, and/or holding the soldering iron on the solder a while longer (10-20 seconds). Be sure not to burn the board with the iron. Keep trying until it works. If the cube doesn't boot, you are SCREWED. Check to make sure no connectors are bridged, and that everything is in order. Hopefully, its jsut the top on wrong, but you could've just burnt out your cube. Ok, the last possibility is that the first controller cuts out after a very long time. If this is so, try unplugging it and replugging it. If you are worried, carry out the operation until it works.

Anyway, that's the best I can do. If none of that works, that you are out of luck. I give no guarentees, as I have only found this to work on one system. I also don't guarantee you won't damage your Gamecube more, or break it. I tried to reduce that with warnings, but hey, people are people and we make mistakes.

Good luck!  

[deus_ex_machina]

Mine has been sort of broken for about 3 weeks now and I'm just now getting round to finding out why.  I say sort of because it works when I sit around messing with it and talking nice to it(i.e., screaming curses while restraining the urge to shake and kick sense into it) for a bit.  Even then, loading times are very slow, I've noticed that sometimes the audio begins playing a few seconds before the accompanying video, when trying to view the cinematics audio sometimes skips and the video freezes/framerate slows considerably.  The longest I've gotten it to run is a little over an hour.  I've been getting both the 'cannot read gamedisc' and the general 'there has been an error' messages.

If I wouldn't have gotten it to actually play a game, I would have happily dropped it off the roof onto the sidewalk to watch it get smashed.

Any possible suggestions, aside from sending it to Nintendo for repair or buying a new one?  I'm no longer under warranty so paying $70+ for repairs is really pointless when I can have a new one to break on me for about the same price.

[Modder on fodder]

I have had my camecube stop reading disc. A vrm code problem I belive{ or was that my PS1 } After two nights of no sleep I {silly me } found a way to fix it. When I fixed it I made it faster. Sometimes my gamecube would slow down if too many people were on screen. this was back when I first got it. Now with Madden 04 and Metal Arms would slow down. and I have  no clue how to mode it to the next level. Do you know.

i need to go back to gbs

[StartropicsNSSB]

My Gamecube finally died yesterday afternoon just randomly, and I was kinda odded out by it. I've been busy for the past week doing stuff before I head off for college, so my Cube hasn't been getting as much play as it used to. I've actually been playing a lot of Paper Mario on the N64 when I had the time to play games. So maybe the Cube got jealous?

But yesterday, my sister wanted to play a game, and so I set it all up for her, and when I turned the system on, nothing happened. The light never came on, and there was no image or sound from the TV; nothing. I messed around with the cables, checking them kinda compulsively, and turned it on again. The fan went on, so it WAS getting power, and it wasn't the AV Cables. So, while it was on, I popped the top, and I could see the laser fine, but the disc was not spinning. I searched around online, and figured it needed to be cleaned, so I got a vacuum and some q-tips and went mad cleaning the fan and the vent on the side. Still won't work. I peeked inside the rightside vent, and saw that there was still a lot of dust clogging the little holes inside. I can't open it, however, because I don't have the little screwdrive bitpiece with the six sides. I've found one online for 6 bucks, but the shipping is around 30 bucks more!!

I'm still looking to see if I can get one from a friend (since a lot of PCs use similar screws), or maybe Gamestop has one. But, otherwise, my Cube is out of comission for a while. My warranty ran out years ago (I got the Cube the day after Christmas in '01), and I really don't want to shell out 70 bucks for Nintendo to fix it, or send it to some company I've never dealt business with before (like these NCS guys). If it's something I can do myself, I really really wanna do it myself, and not have to spend cash having someone else do it. I'm cheap, and I need my GCN back in working condition as soon as possible.

So, do you guys have any insight? help? suggestions? I'd really appreciate your assistance. Thanks in advance, for me AND my little purple cube

[Munntendo]

I seem to be having a similair problem to PrincessDiana75 and Startropics NSSB.

My gamecube seems to have just died today.  After pushing the power button the light turns on and the fan runs but I don't get any audio or video output and the disc does not seem to be spinning.  If anyone has successfluy fixed a similair problem I'd very much like to hear about it.

[jon_roffel]

My Gamecube's discs no longer spin, ive checked it out and to the best of my knowledge this is the problem. its about 3 years old and im wondering if there is a certain type of motor or if i could use a motor from say a ps1 or something.

I just noticed that the sound ive been hearing isnt the laser but the motor trying to turn, im going to try to clean teh motor, if i can find a gamebit screwdriver, and check that out... any suggestions for gamebit alternatives other than a bic pen, (Strips to easy) PLease let me know asap

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

Jon  

[StartropicsNSSB]

Well, I found a friend who had the bitpiece I needed, and opened the Cube up, and it was pretty clean for the most part. So it wasn't dust... I read that the Cube will shut itself off automatically if there's too much dust clogging the system, so that may be the case for the rest of you, but not for myself. We put it back together, and it still does the same thing: just the fan runs. I don't want to pay shipping and the like to have it sent out and fixed. However, Gamestop, I found out, can take your old (even broken) Gamecube, and sell you another used one for 65. The guy wouldn't answer me on whether it was refurbished or not.. but still. I also heard from an online friend that the Toys R Us near him is selling the Zelda bundle for 50 bucks, though it doesn't say anything like that on the toysrus.com site.

Bleh... I'm leaving for school in 6 days,  3 states away, and I still don't have my Gamecube back

[Munntendo]

Alright, I'll be the first to admit, I'm not too big on the idea of cracking open the case of my cube, even if it isn't under warranty any more.  So I wound up trading it in at EB for $25 and I picked up a used one.  This one works, but for some reason when I play metroid prime now the screen is off center.  It can be fixed in the options menu but still, struck me as a bit odd.  It has also occured to me that my problem could quite probably have been due to the cube overheating because I happen to keep it in a closed cabinet with all my other TV related entertainment devices.

[MinnesotaGM]

My Gamecube wont work(of course)I have no idea how it broke it just stopped playing ALL of my discs. I have messed with every thing and it wont play. then after an hour of turning it on and off it works, then it says and error has accured and junk like that on my screen after i play for about a min or 2 the fan runs but i dont think the Cd turner is turning, I cant buy a new one or get it fixed cause i dont have enough money. but i want it to work please help me.  

[andthehercules]

munntendo - my display is off to the left slightly too. Because my tv decides 60htz should be off by about 10 pixels (same with 60htz from my xbox too). most 60htz games have a screen adjust for this very reason. could this be your problem?

I've broken two official pads in a week . my own fault i admit, through rage at endless deaths on eternal darkness, and the stupidly difficult first boss on metroid prime.

On one both triggers are now R (mad huh?).
On the other the left analogue stick is completely detached and has ceased to work.
Although i doupt it, can either of these be repaired?

[mantidor]

this thread scares me to death... >_<

*tries his gamecube*

CRAP! Its not working!... wait... I have the av/out connected to my N64, silly me... jeez, I almost had a heart attack ^_^;;

This is the first time ever Ive heard of people having trouble with a Nintendo system, I hope all of you can fix the problem, (well, the thread is old, most of this people arent even around...)

[andthehercules]

i'm still around!  i did fix one of my pads, opened it up and found the left stick had snapped under the circular 'hood' bit. I superglued a metal pin into the stick and then into the pad, and viola!  its not 100%, sometimes the spring doesn't reutnr the stick to the middle, but it works fine for most stuff.

[NiteSaiya]

These forums are great so far... [/sarcasm]

My Cube has been having power problems ever since my gf's nephew opened it in the middle of her playing Viewtiful Joe. When he first did it, it wouldn't turn on until you tried for a minute or two, but now, you click the power button, and the little Orange Light on the top either stays off or comes on for a few seconds before turning off a gain. Generally it just halfway comes on then fades off again. My gf got it to work a few times by messing with the box on the power cord, is that the converter? I got it to work a few times just by smacking the actual Cube. We got 2 hours of 1080: Snowboarding out of smacking the Cube itself, but that was just once and now we can't get it to work anymore. Any clue what the problem is?

(edit: I also started hearing a high-pitched whine comeing from my 'Cube. )

Also, my controller does that annoying right-tilt thing. I fix it by re-plugging it like I would if I activated the system with the joystick tilted.

Btw, I've had the system since the Christmas following launch.

[NiteSaiya]

Lot of good moving my post out of its topic into this thread. It lessened my chances of actually getting help by 90% seeing as how so few people will actually be reading through these posts. People browse topics, they know what they'll find in this one so they won't look in it or try to help.

[ruby_onix]

That's not really how it works at PGC. Sure, you can get more attention by posting a new attention-grabbing topic, but it's usually the bad kind of attention. And the little "blue folder" icons tell us when there's a new post in an old thread.

As for your problem, I don't think that opening your Cube in mid-game can damage your system, as long as nobody accidentally fed it cookies while it was open, or anything crazy like that.

It sounds like a power problem. Like, if you unplug one of your systems, then turn it on, a power light will sometimes turn on for a bit, then fade, like you described. Because there's still just a tiny bit of juice left in the system (or maybe in the power brick), but it's not enough to run anything.

And yes, the brick on the power cable is the power converter. If your girlfriend got things working for a while by fiddling with the brick, then the brick might be the problem. Sometimes cords get stiff and the wires start to crack inside, so the connection gets a bit "iffy". Shifting the cables around can sometimes get the seperated pieces to push back up against each other for a while, but it's only a temporary fix.

Bonking your Cube could theoretically vibrate those wires into a good position, but there are easier and less-harmful ways to do that. Like just poking at the wire (especially if you can isolate exactly which section of wire is the best area to poke).

Another possible theory is that the connection point on your Cube where you plug in the power cable has become somewhat loose from it's circuit board. That sometimes happens to various systems. Usually if you connect and disconnect your systems somewhat frequently.

AFAIK, the only moving part that should be able to make a steady whine is the fan. It might be gunked up with dust or something. If that's it, then it's not really a problem, because the Cube doesn't even make enough heat to really "need" the fan.

I have heard really high-pitched sound coming from bad power packs before though, if you don't think it's a "fan" kind of sound. Can you hear exactly if the sound's coming from your Cube, or the brick in the power cable?

If it's coming from the brick in your cable, then I'd say that your power cable is definitely your problem, and you need to chuck it out the window (make sure there are no people outside first) and get a new one.

If the sound's coming from your Cube, and it's not the fan, then there might be something wrong with something on your Cube's motherboard, at which point your only hope is to get it "repaired" by Nintendo. If your warranty's expired, it'll cost you $70 (but it will absolutely fix every problem, because they'll just give you another Cube), so you might be better off just buying an new GameCube at that point.

[NiteSaiya]

Thanks a ton for the response! x3 Sorry for bein' a bit evil in my first few posts, It was just I was expecting all of that and when it actually happened it somehow made me feel worse.

Anyways, I vacuumed my 'Cube with a soft attachment, so dust isn't much of a factor, at least in the regions nearest the side vents.

The whine sounds high-pitched in an electronic sort of way, and comes right out of the 'Cube, so bleh.

I got the 'Cube to work almost 80% of the time I did it by smacking it while holding it by its handle, so the controler ports were facing down, but not straight down, like at an angle (like this angle, but a little steeper: /. Then just leaving it on something to keep it at that steep angle while I played.

But then my controller went out, it had the right-tilt tendancies and now it's totally gone, thus multiplayer got removed.

I read Nintendo.com's troubleshooting page on the GC and tomorrow I'll try resetting the AC Adapater (brick?). But most likelly I'll need to drive 22.4 miles (nifty map service on that site) to a store in OKC to get it repaired. But I heard you got $ off by trading in a 'Cube, no matter the condition. If so, I need to find out where, and it'd be really sweet to trade my busted 'Cube in, and then only pay 65$ for a new 'Cube and get the free game, like the Zelda package with it. Dunno if that's possible, but it'd be cool.

Thanks again for that response!

[NiteSaiya]

An update: I tried the method suggested one nintendo.com on how to reset the AC Adapter, and then plugging in one and only one peice at a time. So there are never 2 parts plugged in at once. I found my gimpy controller that just failed me was the only thing that caused the problem, so I put it away. I then set everything up but now my good controller is doing the same thing, even though it was fine during the test, it shuts down power when everything else is hooked up I guess. I might mess with the controller ports. But chances are I'll get my 'Cube repaired or store it for memories and focus on a shiny Nintendo DS.  

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Your GC problem sounds somewhat like the power problem I had with my GC (posted earlier in this thread).  It cuts in and out, which I think is worse than constantly off like my system's blown fuse...I recommend you purchase a new GameCube.

[laser]

I just fixed two broken gamecubes, both would not play any disks.  One of them did not spin the disk at all and the other would spin the disk for a few seconds and stop.  Both of them just had dirty lenses and they are fine now.  If you want to clean the lens yourself, you'd have to be very careful.  I work as a technologist for a graphic arts equipment manufacturer and I work on optics.  Here is a quick instruction on what I did.  

Warning: if you follow these instructions and make a small mistake, you could ruin your gamecube!  Remember that the gamecube uses a laser so it is best to unplug the power before inspecting the lens.  It has a safety interlock so the laser will be off, but unplug the power anyway.  Finally, if your gamecube works, don't mess with it.  (in case you want to clean the lens just for the heck of it)

The lens is mounted on a delicate spring.  It actually makes small movements during gameplay to keep it in focus on the game disk.  If you bend or push that spring too much then it will not be able to focus the laser on the disk and it will never work again.  You will have to take it in to Nintendo and pay the flat-rate repair charge.  

Disconnect the gamecube and take it to a well-lit table.  Open the top cover, the lens is that small round disc just on the other side of the spindle.  It is mounted in a square plastic housing that moves back and forth in that slot.  It is a plastic lens.

Use a flashlight and magnifying glass and see if you can see anything on the surface of the lens.  It may look cloudy like a buildup of air pollution, cigarette smoke, or whatever else deposits on the lens over time.  It may also have fingerprints, they will look like irregular lines.  Dust will look like sparkles.  

If you have an air duster, use that first.  Set the spray on low or medium and see if spraying gets the cube working again.  The air duster will get rid of dust but not the cloudy buildup or fingerprints.

I used a q-tip and I sprayed a couple of drops of windex on the tip.  Shake off any excess windex from the q-tip.  This is important because you don't want to drip anything into the lens area.    Brush it across the lens carefully and rotate the q-tip as you brush.  Rotating the q-tip will lift off any contaminants from the lens so that you don't drag a bit of dust or something across the lens.   You will see the lens move, remember that delicate spring!  Use very light pressure or you will bend the spring.

I made 4 passes, one on the left side of the lens, left of center, right of center and the right side.  Quickly dry it with a dry q-tip, rotating the dry q-tip as you brush.  Inspect the lens with a magnifying glass.  It should look crystal clear with smooth reflections on the surface of the lens.

I've heard of some people using alcohol to clean the lens but a glass cleaner is better.  It dissolves fingerprints & oils better than isopropyl alcohol.  You have to dry it quickly so that you don't get streaks, same as a window.  Use a good quality q-tip (cotton swab) that does not have fuzz which could get into the lens area.  Avoid cotton swabs that have wood sticks.  Cellulose dust from the wood can end up on the cotton swab during manufacturing and that can scratch the lens.  The lens is plastic so it will scratch easily.

That is it!  Good luck and be careful.  Do this at your own risk and only attempt this on a dead gamecube as a last resort before taking it in for repair.