SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - My Sega Genesis hasn't been working right lately. . .

Posted: Feb 25 2011 11:42 pm

Hey, guys. I have a bit of a problem.

For what I can guess might be the past year and a half, my Sega Genesis had serious problems reading cartridges whenever I put them in. At first, it gave me a pitch black screen, showing the usual Sega Genesis start screen after moving the system around a bit. The sound would be absolute crap, though; after a while, it would even go completely mute, too. Nowadays, the damn thing wouldn't even get me past the black screen.

I've tried all sorts of solutions, from cleaning the cartridges to cleaning the pin connector with a cartridge wet with alcohol to using a different RF switch, but none of them seem to be working. I think I might be at a last resort, having to learn soldering and work on the system from there. Could you guys please provide me with a different solution?

Edit: 5/11/11

I finally decided to go buy a new Sega Genesis yesterday afternoon. It, however, came with a working Sega CD, though, which is really awesome. I even got Sonic CD with it.

Posted: Feb 25 2011 11:45 pm

get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Retron-Genesis-Triple-System-Nintendo-Entertainment/dp/B003O3EFY2/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1298691911&sr=8-16

Posted: Feb 25 2011 11:47 pm

username wrote:

get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Retron-Genesis-Triple-System-Nintendo-Entertainment/dp/B003O3EFY2/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1298691911&sr=8-16

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

I had the same problem with mine, but not only that...the AC cord had to be elevated for some reason. I finally ended up getting rid of it. I suggest trying to get a replacement at a used game store...they aren't expensive. In fact if you're a good liar, you could take the bad one back and say they sold you a faulty Genesis and you want to return it.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 12:38 am

Doddsino wrote:

I had the same problem with mine, but not only that...the AC cord had to be elevated for some reason. I finally ended up getting rid of it. I suggest trying to get a replacement at a used game store...they aren't expensive. In fact if you're a good liar, you could take the bad one back and say they sold you a faulty Genesis and you want to return it.

Well, that might be one of my last resorts. Maybe tomorrow, I can take it to this guy who sells used video games and see if he can do anything about it.

In the meantime, I bought some Sega Genesis games through Steam.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Feb 26 2011 11:02 am

Doddsino wrote:

In fact if you're a good liar, you could take the bad one back and say they sold you a faulty Genesis and you want to return it.

I bet you're probably the first to complain when one of these stores goes out of business. I mean, honestly, if you want to rip them off, just fucking steal the thing. At least that way you don't leave them with a junked system.

Anyways, yeah, just get a replacement. Genesis isn't really an in-demand used system, and as was linked, there are clone units out there that work decently well too.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 11:06 am

Ehh i dunno about the clone systems for the Genesis, the sound was always a bit off for me but ive heard that people can sometimes get their Genesis to work using a game genie to play games. I dunno may be worth a shot

Posted: Feb 26 2011 11:19 am

Just go buy a new(used) one, fuck. They won't be more than like ten bucks. It's like those black urban youths said about Impalas, throw it in the gutter and go buy another.

For ultimate coolness, buy the first generation model and mod it to have rca and s-video output.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 01:04 pm

Jack Slater wrote:

Just go buy a new(used) one, fuck. They won't be more than like ten bucks. It's like those black urban youths said about Impalas, throw it in the gutter and go buy another.

For ultimate coolness, buy the first generation model and mod it to have rca and s-video output.

Is it difficult to mod? i was thinking about doing that myself

Posted: Feb 26 2011 01:56 pm

SnesGuy wrote:

Is it difficult to mod? i was thinking about doing that myself

If you know how to solder leads to contacts on a circuit board, it should be pretty easy. There are a bunch of guides on the internet telling you how, search something like "genesis rca mod"

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

UsaSatsui wrote:

Doddsino wrote:

In fact if you're a good liar, you could take the bad one back and say they sold you a faulty Genesis and you want to return it.

I bet you're probably the first to complain when one of these stores goes out of business. I mean, honestly, if you want to rip them off, just fucking steal the thing. At least that way you don't leave them with a junked system.

Wow...can't EVER be sarcastic, can I?

Posted: Feb 26 2011 02:19 pm

If you cant resolve it let me know as I have an extra you can have for the cost to ship.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

Have you tried talking to it?

Posted: Feb 26 2011 02:54 pm

No way that three way console linked is not some sort of console on a chip dealio that won't play half your games, not at that price. Get the real deal.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 02:57 pm

Blackout wrote:

No way that three way console linked is not some sort of console on a chip dealio that won't play half your games, not at that price. Get the real deal.

QFT. Those things are all garbage. All the colors are off and besides, you can't mix Nintendo and "Blast Processing"; we don't have the technology for that yet.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 03:17 pm

eh, i just put genesis in ebay & amazon, and that was one of the first things that popped up.

as others have pointed out, replacement units are cheap. down here in phx you can buy one for like $30 at bookmans.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 03:54 pm

Check this one out.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 04:57 pm

^ pretty neat collectible, but didn't Genesis 3s have some kind of problem with them? I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Genesis consoles lost something with each revision. I do know that you can't do the output mod on any of the later Genesis consoles, it has to be the original big-ass one.

Posted: Feb 26 2011 05:06 pm

Dunno. A roommate of mine way back had one hooked in to the TV just fine, but not sure if it was cabled or the Rf boxy thing. Seemed to work fine with all the games.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Feb 26 2011 08:27 pm

Doddsino wrote:

UsaSatsui wrote:

Doddsino wrote:

In fact if you're a good liar, you could take the bad one back and say they sold you a faulty Genesis and you want to return it.

I bet you're probably the first to complain when one of these stores goes out of business. I mean, honestly, if you want to rip them off, just fucking steal the thing. At least that way you don't leave them with a junked system.

Wow...can't EVER be sarcastic, can I?

You need to make it clearer. Maybe with some rolling eyes or pink text or whatever. That didn't seem like a sarcastic statement at -all-. And if ti was, it was a very poor use of it.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

There were some games that didn't work on the genesis 3 for some reason. It was a small percentage. I don't remember specifics.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Feb 26 2011 09:08 pm

FNJ wrote:

There were some games that didn't work on the genesis 3 for some reason. It was a small percentage. I don't remember specifics.

If I recall, they added a copy protection feature. That could be why.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

yeah that might be it. the copy protection actually conflicted with a small amount of legit retail games.

I think it had something to do with this:

Quote:

the Sega Genesis III incorporated a technical protection mechanism intended to facilitate trademark suits against companies producing pirate Genesis games. When a game cartridge was inserted, the console would check for the presence of the string "SEGA" at a particular point in the memory contained in the cartridge. If the string was present, the console would display the message: "PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD." If not, the game wouldn't run.

Accolade, a video game developer, was a legal but unlicensed third-party vendor of Genesis-compatible games.

Maybe Accolade games wouldn't run? Apparently afterwards they reverse engineered licensed games and started using the code in their games to make them run, even though they weren't licensed themselves and there was some court bullshit.

Title: The Self-Titler Joined: Aug 14 2010 Posts: 598

Call it a dirty motherfucker, then blow into the cartridge with just a TINY amount of spit. This always worked on my NES, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sega changed it so you have to call it a bitch or something.

Posted: Feb 27 2011 04:14 am

What the hell is a Sega Genesis?