General Repair FAQ

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Revision as of 00:57, 30 January 2014 by ITEM-3 (talk | contribs)
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Almost all video game consoles have the same basic components: a power supply; a motherboard containing the CPU, GPU, and RAM; an interface for media input (cartridge, disc, or download); connections for video and sound; and some method for user input. Because of these common features, many consoles will share problems, and the process of diagnosing and repairing the malfunction will often be more or less the same.

The purpose of this FAQ is to help guide you in diagnosing a problem with a console that has not yet been explicitly written about on this wiki. It's assumed you're not an idiot and that you've already tried the obvious steps (are all the cables plugged in, is the TV on, etc.). First, check if the issue you're having falls into one of these categories:

  • The console will not power on.

Power Supply

Problems with the power supply typically result in the console not being able to turn on, although sometimes only certain components are affected (for instance, a CD drive). Other problems that may be related to a faulty power supply are self-resets or an image with a lot of interference. To diagnose a power supply, you will absolutely need a multimeter.

The console does not receive power.

The first thing to do is confirm this is a problem with the power supply and not a "no picture" issue.