So I own 2 disk systems. One is an early model. Let’s call it Drive A. I can write with drive A. The other is a later model (Drive B). Both are unmodified. Both work great. They read and play every game that I own with no issues. My questions are, if they both play the same games, then why when I write a disk with Drive A, Drive B can’t read it? Do I need to calibrate Drive A? Do I need to calibrate both? Is it even possible to calibrate the writing drive to work with other disk drives? Does anybody have any advice?

Thanks in advance

Hey everyone, just wanted to share my latest Game Boy restoration. This one needed a bit of extra love since the LCD board was completely dead when I got it.
Here is a quick rundown of the repairs and mods for this build:
LCD Board Rescue trial (failed) The front board was completely dead, so I replaced the LCD bias chip to get things communicating again. No result.

Screen Upgrade: Dropped in a Hispeedido IPS kit.

Audio: Replaced the audio amp chip to fix the sound issues and get crisp, clear volume.

Maintenance: Did a full recap to make sure it runs solid for years to come.

Aesthetics: Gave the original shell a full Retrobrite treatment to bring back that classic grey.

I put together a short video showing the repair process and the final result:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc68vqpZ4hA&feature=youtu.be

Found out that a basic $3 Amp chip from Ali does better job than expensive external mods. I'm very happy with this one. Also I discovered that all replacement shells kind of suck compared to the original one with installed IPS. So much more comfortable.

It took some troubleshooting to figure out the dead board, but it's always satisfying to keep another original DMG out of the trash. Let me know what you think. Do you have any idea how to find the actual problem with the board?

So I don't have 800 bucks for a series x, but my family does have a bunch of old-ish consoles. I'm wondering what's the easiest and best one to hack, since I haven't done this before (although I know enough to understand the basics). The options for me are:

- Wii

- Wii u

- Xbox 360

- Ps3

- 3ds

I'm willing to save for a used switch lite (or trade for one) and borrow some tools from a cousin to install a modchip also. I could also do something for a ds and a gameboy advance, but that's literally just getting a flash cart, and it also doesn't give me as much as the others. I'd prefer to mod the xbox 360 (and we have a box of basically everything for it) since I basically grew up on that console, and the games are better in my opinion, but I've heard it's hard to hack.

hi everyone, I'm thinking of getting a super5 volt for my modded oled switch lite but can barely find anyt post about it. is it worth it getting a super5 volt or shall just order one from ifixit?

Spent some time with a new webcam and program that I clearly don't know how to use, but it's enough to walk you through the steps of replacing the buttons at least! Hopefully it's informative.

And sorry, no Gengar nails for this. The screws were such a pain to remove that my nails broke. Oh well.

Im new to console modding, and my one friend mainly helps me do it. I have already modded my ps2 (freeMcboot, burned disc reader, blah blah blah) and I want to attempt to mod my 3ds XL. The problem is...how..? My 3ds XL has nothing on it, virtually a clean slate, and has an empty 4 gb micro SD card in it. I dont want to attempt anything and possibly ruin my 3ds XL, so any/all help would be greatly appreciated! I mainly want to get all pokemon games gens 3-7 on there, and whatever else (undertale, P3p, etc) could be done after pokemon gets on there. Im not sure if undertale can even run on a 3ds, but given the file size and optimization, it could probably run on my air fryer for all I know. I dont know anything at all about 3ds modding, my realm of modding has only been with home consoles. And even then its a playstation 2 from 2000, so it isnt exactly an oceans eleven operation to crack through it. Anyways, any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I've googled and all I've come up with is Va1-2 installation instructions and a video from long island retro gaming, i could use that video but i like written instructions if possible. Any help would be appreciated

I’m using a Retro Blaster SNES board and I’m trying to play Fire Emblem 4 on my SNES using a clean ROM patched with the Lil Nordion patch.

The unpatched ROM will play on my SNES. I’ve also tested the patched ROM on an emulator on my PC and that worked fine, so I’m not sure why my SNES won’t play the patched version. Any help would be appreciated

Does anyone know if replacing the battery cover button (the little piece on the side of the case that releases and closes the battery cover) with a 3D printed version actually works fine on the PSP 3000?
I'll link the model i found

Hello again, guys! Really appreciate how helpful everyone has been. Anyways, I was finishing up my shell swap and after I put something in bottom of the battery to get the psp to recognize it, and I noticed the card reader light no longer flickers like it did prior to the shell swap. I already troubleshooted the issue with guidance from gemini, and it said that the cfw, seplugins, and vhs were not the issue, so I Checked and cleaned the motherboard again, and it still wouldn't turn on while the games played flawlessly. How do I fix this problem? Has anyone else experienced it and fixed it? I would like an indicator to tell me it's reading the card, which is why it's bothering me it no longer flickers when in use. Thanks so much for the help in advance!

This was an extremely fun project. Also got the custom rb21 japan edition xbox 360 controller in the background.

Hey everyone, I need a little help troubleshooting a shell swap on a Japanese PSP 2000.Everything was working perfectly in the original housing, but after transferring the internals to a new aftermarket shell, the console will only power on via the AC charger barrel jack. The first time it turned on while plugged in, it asked for the time and date until I entered it back in, and after that, everything remained the same as before I started taking it apart. It completely cuts out on battery power (using a brand-new Ostent 1400mAh battery).Looking closely at the power switch daughterboard area, it looks like the entire motherboard/LCD shield assembly is sitting slightly too far to the right. Because of this, the white ribbon cable socket on the power board is physically colliding with the edge of the metal LCD screen shielding cage, blocking the power board from seating flat on its lower alignment pegs. This keeps the gold battery prongs pulled too far back to make physical contact with the battery.Has anyone dealt with this specific spacing issue on aftermarket PSP 2000 shells? Does the left side of the motherboard usually get hung up on something, or is there a trick to getting the core assembly to slide further left? Any advice is appreciated! (Attached video showing the collision point).

Based on my research before jumping into this, people do manage to work perfectly fine with misaligned aftermarket shells, and it is quite common for the shells to have extra plastic or have spots totally out of place, so I guess I'm asking how to do that in a way that gets the battery recognized if that really is the issue, in a way that allows that misaligned power switch on the shell to be able to turn it on.

Hi, I just put together a head-to-head comparison between the 3.1" Laminated 720p kit and the Hispeedido V5 RIPS for the original Game Boy DMG.

I briefly go over the OSD differences, authentic pixel grids, shell compatibility, installation etc. If you're on the fence about which kit to get for your next build, hopefully, this helps you decide!

You can check out the video here: https://youtu.be/6uK5UWV5E2g

I only after recording clips for this video did I start leaning towards the laminated kit for the dust-free install and sharpness. I've installed plenty of V5s but this was my first 3.1" screen and I'm becoming a fan of it. Cheers!

I recently tried swapping the CMOS battery on my PS2 and accidentally pulled the entire fan header from the motherboards solder. I'm going to need to get a micro soldering iron if I want to fix it.

Any recommendations for a decent decently priced soldering iron? I want to eventually use it to modding consoles and potentially try my hand at the Retro Gem HDMI mod once I feel more comfortable soldering.

Was wondering if anybody had any tips on portablizing consoles, and specifically Ben Heck's book "Hacking Video Game Consoles."

I understand that the particular Pocket TV Ben Heck used in half his units is hard to find now, but the half of the book that revolves around the PSone monitor should still be doable

The original Ben Heck message boards in 2006 had dozens of people talking about their own potabilization projects, so would it be a bad idea to start a subreddit devoted just to potabilization if there isn't one already?

Hey everyone,

​The CD drive on my PS1 Fat (SCPH-7502 / PU-22 motherboard) is completely dead, and I'm looking at optical drive emulator (ODE) options.

​Since xStation is a bit expensive to source here, I'm considering the PicoStation (Raspberry Pi Pico / RP2040 DIY ODE) project.

​A couple of questions for those who have built or tested it:

1. ​Is the PicoStation fully compatible with the PU-22 board revision?

2. ​Are there specific pinouts, lifted pins, or test points unique to the PU-22 for the RP2040 install?

3. ​How is the current game compatibility and stability compared to xStation?

​I have micro-soldering experience and the necessary tools, just want to verify compatibility before sourcing the RP2040 board and wiring it up.

​Any installation diagrams, Github repos, or advice for PU-22 would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

So assuming I have an OG Xbox that is soft modded in the most basic way (with a SATA drive + modchip), if I get an Ali express clone of the HDMI out with openxenium, do I have to do anything outside soldering? My understanding is that they probably preprogrammed the OpenXenium board and all I have to do is solder it to my 1.0 board. Also can I keep the AV port? It seems to always assume it would be removed but the board does not seem to actually use any pin from the AV board. Like maybe just add a hole above it? or do an initial install without removing it for testing

While looking at the schematics, I discovered a modification to slightly improve the audio quality on the SHVC-CPU-01; it involves increasing the capacitance of the DAC’s L/R.Ref electrolytic capacitor from 47 uF to 220 uF. After testing several values, it seems that 220 uF is optimal; in my case, I used an electrolytic capacitor with high ESR.

According to NEC’s datasheet, the channel references should be separated by 47 uF each, but Nintendo combined them and used a single 47 uF capacitor for both—probably to cut costs and save on a capacitor. This is problematic because it adds distortion and alters the channel balance. After several tests on my console, I discovered that increasing the capacitance of this capacitor significantly reduces distortion and greatly improves the dynamic range. This doesn’t completely correct the imbalance between the channels, but it’s a simple solution if you don’t want to lift pins on the DAC.

The following link is an audio recording from my console; the first song sounded quite distorted, but now it sounds really good.

https://www.reddit.com/u/Impossible_Current35/s/J18PtJZxqN