Broken Neo-Geo AES? HELP! ;(

Hey Yo!

Bit gutted actually....... I was playing the MVS-AES conversion of Neo Bomberman, which i just purchased off ebay, and i noticed that there were a few graphical glitches. Not meaning graphical flicker, but it was more like the graphics colours were not the true colours that they should be. For example the colours were either too bright or too dark or sometimes completely wrong. I then tried out the same cartridge again (taking it out and reinserting it while the AES was off) - and i got the same results. I made sure the TV cable was inserted correctly as well as the cartridge and other cables - no difference same graphical issues. I blew on the cartridge connector (both in system, and in cartridge) and tried the cartridge out again and got the same result again.

So next i tried a mix of different cartridges and followed up with the same procedure - and i got the same results yet again. I tried resetting the system multiple times, etc and sometimes it would work. I would be able to play the games the way they should be (graphics wise), but after a while (during the game) the graphics would cock up again.

I left the AES for a day and tried the cartridges again. I got the same result again! Well, at first it would be OK but then the graphics would go awful again. So bad that, for example, the trademark Neo-Geo text introduction would have the text in black/grey with a white border instead of being just white!!! Oh, it is probably worth mentioning that the sound on all the games are OK.

I am guessing that the AES is totally fucked and will proabably need to be rapaired or replaced. I was just wondering whether i could get help on maybe sorting the original problem out, or if it's a worst case scenario, helping me find someone/place who could repair my broken AES or sell me a cheap spare one. Many thanks for your time.

Regards,

The slots on the AES may be dirty still?, as blowing on it probably won't shift the bulk of the crap on the connecters, try the guide at HardMVS: http://www.hardmvs.com/html/slotCleaning.htm

Hope this helps.....

dannywhac said:

The slots on the AES may be dirty still?, as blowing on it probably won't shift the bulk of the crap on the connecters, try the guide at HardMVS: http://www.hardmvs.com/html/slotCleaning.htm

Hope this helps.....

Click to expand...

Many thanks for the tip. Will have to try this. Anyone else got any other suggestions?

Regards

Your neo sounds fine, just the slots are probably dirty like danny said. Get a canned electronic cleaning solution with a brush tip and scrub the connectors. they probably have a fair amount of buildup from years of use. Be sure to let it dry before testing the carts. Should clear it up.

Hey Yo!

I have cleaned thoroughly the cartridge connectors, and motherboard itself and the game cartridges. The result? Same thing. Any other suggestions guys? Sounds like something has blown, same games has also have the screen rolling fom top to bottom. Any repair centres? I feel sick

Regards,

If it's not fixed by the end of the month, I'll have a look at it, as I move down your way on the 29th.

@Superfamifreak

Yeah that would be awesome, thank you.


I have done a search on these boards and realised that my problem is almost excactly the same as this dude's one:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142132&highlight=neo-geo+graphics

I will check on my motherboard see if i have any short circuit or anything.

Regards,

CU_AMiGA said:

@Superfamifreak

Yeah that would be awesome, thank you.


I have done a search on these boards and realised that my problem is almost excactly the same as this dude's one:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142132&highlight=neo-geo+graphics

I will check on my motherboard see if i have any short circuit or anything.

Regards,

Click to expand...

Since I was the one who repaired the AES in that link I can tell you it wasn't a broken trace or a short but a dead video ram chip. Run the system without cart and if the screen is yellow then it's a bad vram.

Is there anyone who knows what these colors all mean? I have heard somewhere (and saw it on my own AES) that switching the system on without a cart, the system gives a blue screen if all is OK. Here we just had that yellow means dead vram chip. What else do we have?

Hi

I tested the AES without any cartridge inserted and i get a light green screen (note the rhyme!). What does this mean?! The likely outcome is me having to send it to Superfamifreak and seeing if he can rescue it. I have thrown in the towel.

Regards,

Raz posted this a while back on the colour codes for the AES:
Blue = All tests passed (does not test z80).
Red = WorkRAM error (0x100000 region).
Green = PaletteRAM error (0x400000 region).
Yellow = VideoRAM error (programmed through custom port).
Pink = Bios selfcheck error (0xC00000 region).
Cyan = Memory card error (only tested if card in unit and blank).

Hi

Ah yes, that sounds right. So is there a way for my AES to get fixed/repaired? Or is it destined for the bin?

Regards