Is my GC dead?

[jefflongo]

So I'm a newbie trying to create my first portable GC. I have a rev A mobo and I haven't done much to it yet aside from removing the memory card, serial port, gc player, and rgb video connectors. Apparently this broke something because now when I try to boot I get no video or audio! It was working before I removed these connectors and I know the tv/power supply/video cable works.

I removed one of the serial port connectors and the motherboard connectors by breaking it off carefully as detailed in Kasar's guide. The others I removed with a heat gun. I trimmed and cleaned up the areas which were modified and I didn't see any bridges that could be causing shorts.

I'm using the stock regulator board and haven't modified everything else. The board is untrimmed. The fan spins and there's warmth from the chips. I tested with a multimeter and the board is getting the proper voltages on the power connector and as well, I tested the 5v pin on the composite video connector and that is working as well. The LED for the controller connector lights up and the optical drive is fully functional. No idea what could have happened!! I'm working on a wood table. Any advice or do I need to just get a new cube?? It's a bit discouraging messing up on the first step!

 

[Keirstin Bloom]

I might not really be helpful, and also am probably a bit late responding, but I would check these things.

When you power it on, make sure that your disc drive, controller ports, and power regulator are connected.

Use a different power brick (3rd party ones are known to sometimes cause video issues)

Connect it to a tv instead of whatever monitor you are planning to use.

If you can find a fuse, check for continuity.

I'm not sure I understand about your heat gun. Do you mean you used it to melt solder to get those connectors off? I didn't know they had heat guns that could do that, but if that's how you did it, it's very likely that you unintentionally melted something that shouldn't have been melted. The whole board has several layers of tiny metal traces inside, as well as solder on the outside that if melted could disconnect something that shouldn't be. If you were only using it to melt the plastic that holds the ports down, it still could've been damaging. It could warp the pcb, which could cause other problems. The gc is built to get warm, but excessive heat could've damaged it.

I really hope your board is salvageable, but if not keep working on your gcp anyways . Next time I would recommend carefully breaking them all off one at a time instead of using a heat gun and checking the gamecube after each one. That way, if something goes wrong, you'll know exactly what it is.

 

[jefflongo]

I might not really be helpful, and also am probably a bit late responding, but I would check these things.

When you power it on, make sure that your disc drive, controller ports, and power regulator are connected.

Use a different power brick (3rd party ones are known to sometimes cause video issues)

Connect it to a tv instead of whatever monitor you are planning to use.

If you can find a fuse, check for continuity.

I'm not sure I understand about your heat gun. Do you mean you used it to melt solder to get those connectors off? I didn't know they had heat guns that could do that, but if that's how you did it, it's very likely that you unintentionally melted something that shouldn't have been melted. The whole board has several layers of tiny metal traces inside, as well as solder on the outside that if melted could disconnect something that shouldn't be. If you were only using it to melt the plastic that holds the ports down, it still could've been damaging. It could warp the pcb, which could cause other problems. The gc is built to get warm, but excessive heat could've damaged it.

I really hope your board is salvageable, but if not keep working on your gcp anyways . Next time I would recommend carefully breaking them all off one at a time instead of using a heat gun and checking the gamecube after each one. That way, if something goes wrong, you'll know exactly what it is.

Everything was plugged in and the power brick was working, had it plugged into the tv since i didn't remove the AV port yet. I gave up on that board, started another one. I decided to break off the connectors this time and I have them all off except for the high speed port. That one is a Sega to get off, worried about breaking something haha

 

[Keirstin Bloom]

Everything was plugged in and the power brick was working, had it plugged into the tv since i didn't remove the AV port yet. I gave up on that board, started another one. I decided to break off the connectors this time and I have them all off except for the high speed port. That one is a Sega to get off, worried about breaking something haha

If this one breaks too, you should make a wii portable instead of a gcp. The trimmed boards are smaller, and take way less power, so you need less batteries. They can also output in component without an expensive cable, and can play wii, gc, n64, snes, nes, gba, etc games as well as wii ware and virtual console games. You don't need to use a wiimote either, because PortablizeMii allows you to navigate the menu and games with a gc controller. The only thing you'd need a wiimote for would be wii games that aren't classic controller compatible.

All around, it's a better system Modretro is kind of outdated (although still a great source of info for older consoles), but if you want to learn about wii portablizing and newer stuff, you should head over to Bitbuilt.net. They have all the info you could ever need on wiis, plus a more active community.

I love my gcp, but I really wish someone had told me about wii portables before I made it XD

P.S, if you are looking for a wii that is trimmable, a non-white one will always work, but if you can only find white ones, if the serial number starts with 1 or 7 (after the letters) it's a good bet (although not proven to be 100%)

 

[jefflongo]

If this one breaks too, you should make a wii portable instead of a gcp. The trimmed boards are smaller, and take way less power, so you need less batteries. They can also output in component without an expensive cable, and can play wii, gc, n64, snes, nes, gba, etc games as well as wii ware and virtual console games. You don't need to use a wiimote either, because PortablizeMii allows you to navigate the menu and games with a gc controller. The only thing you'd need a wiimote for would be wii games that aren't classic controller compatible.

All around, it's a better system Modretro is kind of outdated (although still a great source of info for older consoles), but if you want to learn about wii portablizing and newer stuff, you should head over to Bitbuilt.net. They have all the info you could ever need on wiis, plus a more active community.

I love my gcp, but I really wish someone had told me about wii portables before I made it XD

P.S, if you are looking for a wii that is trimmable, a non-white one will always work, but if you can only find white ones, if the serial number starts with 1 or 7 (after the letters) it's a good bet (although not proven to be 100%)

Thanks for the heads up, but I think I'm going to stick with the gamecube at least until this one breaks. I'm just going for a non-trimmed board to keep things very simple. Trying to think of a better way than forcing the connector to break as this one is much more difficult than the other ones.

 

[Keirstin Bloom]

Thanks for the heads up, but I think I'm going to stick with the gamecube at least until this one breaks. I'm just going for a non-trimmed board to keep things very simple. Trying to think of a better way than forcing the connector to break as this one is much more difficult than the other ones.

Have you considered a rev C board instead of A/B? That way if you don't trim it it's much thinner because of the on-board regulators

 

[jefflongo]

Have you considered a rev C board instead of A/B? That way if you don't trim it it's much thinner because of the on-board regulators

The first board that broke was a rev A, the one I am using now is rev C