– Retrodrömmar
I recently bought a Commodore 128 (C128) on Swedish eBay for a good price. In this post I will write a few notes about the disassembly of this lovely machine (I wanted to inspect the insides, and give it a good clean). The C128 was introduced in 1985 as a sequel to the popular Commodore 64. By default, the C128 runs in “Commodore 128-mode”, but…
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When the cartridges for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) becomes dirty, you will experience problems getting the console to recognize them, which results in a flashing white screen, and similar issues. The simple solution is to clean them! In this post I will show you an excellent way to get your games clean again. You will need: A Gamebit screwdriver. A white eraser. Isopropanol alcohol….
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I recently puchased a few Nintendo Entertainment Systems (NES) together with some games. These were sold “as-is”, and the seller(s) reported problems such as the consoles were just blinking etc. In this post I will summarize what you can do to get your NES games running again: from simple cleaning measures, to more advanced solutions, which require you to disassembly your NES. Clean the cartridges!…
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In this post I will cover how to fix a Dreamcast controller port not working. Essentially, it involves replacing a broken fuse at the controller port board. While you are doing this, you can also replace the Dreamcast cmos battery. I will not describe how to disassembly the Dreamcast, since it is quite trivial (see, Dreamcast disassembly). What you need for this fix is the…
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In this post I will show how to repair the Super Nintendo (SNES) power supply. I am working with a psu for a PAL SNES unit. This psu also fits the PAL Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). If your SNES is not powering on properly, you will want to check if your psu is functional. To do so, use a multimeter set to measure “AC”, and…
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The RedOctane X-Plorer is possibly the best guitar controller ever made, suitable for games such as Guitar Hero, Band Hero etc. I spent many hours with this controller, together with my two favorite GH games: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and GH: Metallica. So, when I found a broken RedOctane X-Plorer for ~$5 in a charity shop, I was pleasantly suprised! The guitar had…
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The original Xbox, launched by Microsoft in 2001, is still a popular console to run homebrew games and emulators on. However, as with any old hardware, the console’s weaknesses are starting to show. One of those weaknesses is the optical drive, a common source of error on old video game consoles. One common errors are that the DVD-tray is stuck, and won’t eject. Another common…
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I bought a Compaq Contura 420C laptop for a fairly good price at Swedish eBay. The downside? Both hinges were broken. It seems like this is a common problem on these old laptops. In this post I will show how I repaired them. It is by no means a pretty fix, since I lack the tools to weld metal pieces together. But it works. I…
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In this post, I will make a full disassembly of a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), including cleaning the 72-pin cartridge connector. If you experience “pink” screen or having problems running games, this is the first measure to get your NES in working order again. The unit I am working on is an ex-rental. This unit has never been opened before, and is in excellent condition,…
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As described in another post, I’m using a Compaq Presario CDS 520 as a MS DOS gaming machine. I bought it in almost perfect condition from Swedish eBay, except for a broken “right arrow” key on the keyboard. In this post I will describe how to fix that. First, separate the top and bottom of the keyboard by removing the three marked screws below. As…
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