Neo-Geo cd system resets

Joined
Aug 11, 2003
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Newbie here... Just bought a used Japaneese Neo-Geo cd system and a Double-Dragon cd game. I place the Double-Dragon cd game into the system and power it up, but whenever the game loading bar gets to around 1/3 of the way, the entire system resets itself, each and every time. It plays audio cds fine. Any suggestions?
 

JAMMASLOT

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Check for the correct power supply, and also if your cd is in good condition. annoyed

<small>[ August 11, 2003, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: JAMMASLOT ]</small>
 
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While you're checking the power supply (it has to be correct, really, nothing else will fit) try wiggling the cord where it enters the system. The cord is very shoddily assembled and they break internally a lot. 90% of the used units I see in Japan have dead pads and dead PSUs. Thanks SNK!
 
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The game disc is perfect... zero scratches, the power supply says 'AC 100V 50/60hz, 55VA' (I would guess after hours of the main system powered on, if there was a power problem, it would have gone bye,bye.) I tested it for around 2-3 hours. Do you think it's the game disc (could it be a copy?) It looks very genuine. I'm a great fan of any NeoGeo equipment, and I love the fighting games. I may be a newbie, but I respect the collectors around the world that treasure their Neo-Geo collections, and would love to get this Neo-Geo cd system working... Any help would be greatly appreciated...
 

Takumaji

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There are a number of reasons why a CD system resets besides a dirty disc:

- dirty laser lense
- maladjusted CD reader unit
- excessive heat
- electric/electronical shortcut/burnout (e. g. a blown capacitor, damaged memory bank, etc.)

Do you have another game besides DD? If so, test it with that.

Afterwards, get a q-tip and a bit of pure alcohol and CAREFULLY clean the laser lense and the surrounding parts. Make sure that you don't use any force, then try again.

I once had a KoF99 CD that looked perfectly fine, it had no scratches or dents, but my top loader CD didn't accept it, it also started to reset but not on a fixed spot. After replacing it the problem was gone.
 
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Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty handy at electronics, so I can look for a bad capacitor, but a bad memory chip might be harder to pinpoint. First I'm going to clean the lens, and I would like to try a different disc, but unfortunately, I don't have any more to try. Is there any homebrew burnable discs (no copyrighted software...) that I can download and burn to a blank cd to try in my neogeo cd system that anyone knows of? Even a diag disk would be good.
Thanks again for the posts. When I figure out the problem, I will post the resoultion.
 

twalden

Leona's Therapist
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I have a Robo Army CD that causes my CDZ to reset once in a while. I have no problems with any other game in my system, so I'm pretty sure it's the game causing it.
 

BenimaruN

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Dec 29, 2000
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i had a similar problem with my jap top loader. but instead of resetting, it would give me the bsod ("disk i/o error id = 000x") everytime.

i was lucky enough to have bought the neo from a store, and it was still covered by their "warranty," so they took it back and sent it in to snk to fix it. after i got it back, i took the sucker apart and noticed that the control sub board was replaced, and most likely the lens assembly too. so i'm afraid you're gonna have to get a replacement lens. i don't know if you can buy any anymore, though. sorry.

i feel your pain, and hope you can easily (and cheaply) resolve this issue. i'd hate it if a fellow neo fan's console died, that sucks big time.
 

BIG BEAR

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Dude,it's most likely your door assembly slipping causing the system to believe that the drive lid is open. There is a PEG that pushes down onto a mechanism that tells the system that the CD lid is closed.
I'm pretty sure it's that. I hope you have'nt jumped to any extreme conclusions. Just remove the lid and press down on the mechanism that the lid PEG usually does and see what happens while the game loads.
-BB

<small>[ August 14, 2003, 04:28 AM: Message edited by: BIG BEAR ]</small>
 

Takumaji

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BIG BEAR:
Dude,it's most likely your door assembly slipping causing the system to believe that the drive lid is open. There is a PEG that pushes down onto a mechanism that tells the system that the CD lid is closed.
I'm pretty sure it's that. I hope you have'nt jumped to any extreme conclusions. Just remove the lid and press down on the mechanism that the lid PEG usually does and see what happens while the game loads.
-BB
Maybe, but then again he writes that it plays audio CDs just fine, wouldn't it reset with them as well?

Anyway, that drive door tip is very good, I'm going to put it in my CD faq.

arcadejunkie, keep us updated about what you find out.

Edit: I have another idea, you could make a backup of the DD disc on a CD-R and try it with that.

<small>[ August 14, 2003, 05:50 AM: Message edited by: Takumaji ]</small>
 
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Thanks again for the info from everyone... Takumagi: I did make a backup from my original DD and it did the exact same thing... 1/3 of the way loading, the system reset, but thanks for the suggestion. I completely took apart the system, looked for any 'burn marks' on the main system board and component boards. Looked very clean (of course that doesn't mean everything is ok.) Big Bear, I did notice the switch which tells the system that the door is closed, and I'm going to try what you recommended tonight. Thanks again guys, I appreciate any help I can get, and I'll keep you posted on my progress... spock
 

BIG BEAR

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Yeah,just hook everything back up the way it was,minus the top casing. Operate the system like you would normally but keep that latch pressed down.
-BB
 
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I just tried the cd door switch by holding it down manually... It did the same exact thing... 1/3 of loading the system rebooted. While powered off, I unplugged the cd drive from the system, and I did get ("disk i/o error id = 000x")of course, that was to be expected. I did notice when the system rebooted, the cd drive make a single click noise and the system would reboot, so now my thoughts are either a faulty cd drive, or a bad memory chip. With a bad memory chip, I could see how it would load up until it reached the bad memory bank, resetting the system. I did try gently cleaning the laser lens with a swab and alcohol; didn't do the trick. I have an old 18 pin interface sony 2 speed cd rom drive which is close to the number of input pins on the neocd drive, but I know it's going to be a nightmare to try to mod it to work with the system, but I don't give up easily... Anyone know if there is any technical info on the neocd system? That may help me... As for the bad memory chip, I'd probably need an oscilloscope to check the on-board memory chips (I think, anyway...) It may seem pointless and much easier to purchase another neocd system, but I do like to tinker with electronics, and I've successfully done other mods to systems that needed cd/dvd replacements with a soldering iron and multimeter. I'm a big fan of all NeoGeo equipment/games, and maybe I'll have some luck with the NeoGeo cd system with some technical info, which may help other NeoGeo Fans with their problems. Thanks again guys, It's nice to know there are solid fans of the NeoGeo systems out there! smirk

ArcadeJunkie
 

BIG BEAR

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Are you trying other games or is that DD the only one you own? Th eproblem may lie with the CD.
Is it a CDR?? If so,I don't recommend using them at all in your unit.
-BB
 
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Unfortunately, it's the only one I own. I had planned on purchasing more games, but only if I had a working sytem. I did try a system emulator on my pc, and the game disc and the backup worked fine. I realize that does not mean the game still may cause problems with my neocd system. I asked earlier in the posts if anyone had an idea where I could download a homebrew game (I realize now that they may be far and few, or non-existent), a diagnostic disc, or a demo just to test my system (no bootleg or copyrighted stuff.) I'm a collector, so I don't mind paying for the games, as long as I have a working console. I may purchase a few more games with the hopes of obtaining a working neocd console, or fixing my current one...
I'm also thinking of getting an MVS or an AES with a Phoenix, but it's going to take some bucks to obtain that stuff. Any ideas where to download demo/diagnostic/homebrew game software?

ArcadeJunkie help
 

BIG BEAR

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I can only recommend original software as CDR stuff tends to degrade the performance of the CD systems. I'm pretty sure your problem lies with that CD you have.
You state that it tries to read the game CD and then resets itself meaning it's not reading code on the CD that should be there.
You need to get ahold of anothe original CD before you should assume it's anything mechanical.
-BB
 
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Yea, I think I'm going to purchase a few more games first before I go delving into technical surgery. Thanks for the responses, I do appreciate them. It would be a major waste of my time to try and fix what is normal, especially if the game disc is faulty and can't properly load on my neocd system. Big Bear,Benimaruman,Jammaslot,Neogeoman,,Takumaji,Twalden: thanks guys, for the posts.

When I get some new games to try, I'll post the result...

NeoGeo rocks... buttrock
 
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Thanks again guys for the tips! I just received four cd games that I purchased from e-bay. All of them worked perfectly. No system resets! My NeoGeo Cd system must not like the DD disk.
Now I know that my system works, I'll be making a few more game purchases...

Thanks to All...

Arcadejunkie multi_co
 

neo_ezekiel

I've been on this site for over 10 years.,
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I am having a similar problem. It’s a top loading CD unit, the screen flickers and the system will reset randomly even without a disk in, any ideas. :oh_no:
 

RVF400

Host for Orochi
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i've had 2 cd top loaders (1 from new) first one was US and worked ok, then my 2nd one was jap it was fine from 2 months then every time i tryed to play ANY game for over 30 mins it would say DISK I/O ERROR. so i floged it to cex!.:tickled:
 

crujones4life

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arcadejunkie said:
Newbie here... Just bought a used Japaneese Neo-Geo cd system and a Double-Dragon cd game. I place the Double-Dragon cd game into the system and power it up, but whenever the game loading bar gets to around 1/3 of the way, the entire system resets itself, each and every time. It plays audio cds fine. Any suggestions?

My double dragon does the exact same thing in the exact same spot (about 1/3 way through loading). Anybody know why?
 

Xian Xi

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Samething happened to my NGCD when I first got it, turns out it was the connection to the power supply that was the problem. Apparently the 3 prongs on the NGCD were not making good contact as the connector was loose. I fixed it by gently crimping the plug end slightly so it has some bite onto the 3 prongs, you can bite it if you have strong teeth. Worked perfectly ever since.

If you check your PS plug that goes into the console, if it is loose to go in and out that is the problem, it should be a little snug and have some resistance going in and out.
 

Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
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RVF400 said:
i've had 2 cd top loaders (1 from new) first one was US and worked ok, then my 2nd one was jap it was fine from 2 months then every time i tryed to play ANY game for over 30 mins it would say DISK I/O ERROR. so i floged it to cex!.:tickled:

I'm assuming those were burnt games. I only got that error when I tried to play backups not when I played the originals.
 
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