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Hi Sega loving Community :)

This is my first post here, and I hope that this is the correct forum for my question.

I recently found my dear SMS 1 and wanted to play it again. The first problem was that i didn't manage to find the "TV connection box" which I bought through ebay. I was really happy, I connected everything to find out that the SMS is broken. So I opened it, but to my surprise, besides a little dust everything looks perfect. Just a little rust here and there, but nothing terrible. Even the capacitors look brand new.
Really nothing seems to be wrong, but the problem persists. I am going to try and explain what happens, since it's different every time I turn it on :

Bios V. 1.3 - No cartridge inserted.

1.) Pushing power button, nothing happens
2.) Pushing power button, the SMS try's to boot, but the screen is distorted, no sound.
3.) As above, but with strange sound
4.) As 2.) but you can recognize the starting sound but it's kinda double (echo?)
5.) Every thing boots fine, but at the Enjoy screen you can't run the snail game (controller works, managed to run snail game once WITH Golden Axe Cartridge inserted (lol))
6.) Strange Boot with distorted picture & sound, loops endless.

With any cartridge inserted:

As above points but never loads the game(s)

Here are the links to the pictures:

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3858/dsc00246dz3.jpg
-whole view
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2239/dsc00247pb8.jpg
-better view side 1
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1411/dsc00248qb1.jpg
-better view side 2
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3479/dsc00252ko3.jpg
-back side

Please Help me, I would really love to play with my SMS again :)

Thank you :)

Here I am again with a little update :)

My SMS does now the boot sequence correctly (First Sega "splash screen" and then the text with the instructions and the final word "Enjoy", correct sound. This, if no cartridge is inserted. Snail Game won't start though.

With Cartridge installed:

1. Does only show Sega Logo

or

2. Does as described above as if there were no cartridge installed (Same for card, tried transbot)

or

3. Correct boot, but then the games don't start

and

4. Sometimes an error screen appears containing the following:

" Master System C Sega 1986
Software Error " , on the top right the Bios version V 1.3 is displayed.

I Really hope some of you have any idea of what I could do or at least what it could be.

thanks so far
:)

NEW UPDATE:

Now Snail Game starts with no cartridge inserted, but i c'ant control the snail and the grafics are corrupted, sound is fine though. At the end of the 60 seconds, the SMS either restarts or freezes.

I'am starting to think that my SMS is slowly waking up XD, indeed it slept for aprox. 15 years.

Although I have no circutry knowledge, either a chip and/or some circut connections may be off. I fear one of the chips inside may be gone/warming up.

It sounds pretty screwed. If you clean the cart slot it might boot a bit better but the no-cart problems you describe suggest something is quite wrong in there. It could be a broken or corroded connection on a chip, which will be hard to track down.

I can see SMS1s for €15-€20 including delivery on ebay.it right now. That is likely to be easier than trying to fix this one.

First of all, I would like to thank you for your answers :)

Honestly I immagined something like that but hope is last to die as we say here ... I think I will get a "new" one...but I'm going to keep mine for spare parts purpose.

The guy who sold me the "TV connection box" told me he would sell me a working SMS 1 for 30€ including delivery, since I kinda trust him because he was real quick with sending me the TV thingy I would like to buy his.
Do you think 30€ is too expensive or could I ask him to include a game he has or something (considering he has a "Retro-Games Shop") ?

Hi everybody :)

I finally got another SMS 1, everything works fine except I sometimes get "Software Error" message at startup. I turn it then off and on again and everything is fine. Do you guys get this error too sometimes ? is it due to it's age or something ?

Is there anything I can do about ?

Thanks ^^

Lale wrote

I finally got another SMS 1, everything works fine except I sometimes get "Software Error" message at startup. I turn it then off and on again and everything is fine. Do you guys get this error too sometimes ? is it due to it's age or something ?

The cartridge connector is probably dirty - you should clean it as well as the contacts on your games. I don't know what the best or proper ways are, but this is what I have done:

For cartridges, take the plastic shell off and use an eraser to clean the contacts. The eraser is slightly abrasive and it takes dirt right off. Make sure you have touched something that's grounded (like the metal chassis of your PC) before handling the PCB.

For the cartridge connector, fold a piece of paper a few times so it's thicker, and insert the folded corner into the cartridge connector a few times, moving from one side to the other. You'll see how dirty the paper gets quickly. Don't use anything too thick because you don't want to bend the contacts out of position.

For cleaning cartridge contacts I use a fine grit nail file, I dont take the case off, just rub along both sides gently.

As for the cartridge slot, Charles' idea sounds good.

I will try and clean the contacts, thank you very much :)

Author	Message
Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	SMS 1 Hardware - Can you help me find the problem ? Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:48 pm
Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Hi Sega loving Community :) This is my first post here, and I hope that this is the correct forum for my question. I recently found my dear SMS 1 and wanted to play it again. The first problem was that i didn't manage to find the "TV connection box" which I bought through ebay. I was really happy, I connected everything to find out that the SMS is broken. So I opened it, but to my surprise, besides a little dust everything looks perfect. Just a little rust here and there, but nothing terrible. Even the capacitors look brand new. Really nothing seems to be wrong, but the problem persists. I am going to try and explain what happens, since it's different every time I turn it on : Bios V. 1.3 - No cartridge inserted. 1.) Pushing power button, nothing happens 2.) Pushing power button, the SMS try's to boot, but the screen is distorted, no sound. 3.) As above, but with strange sound 4.) As 2.) but you can recognize the starting sound but it's kinda double (echo?) 5.) Every thing boots fine, but at the Enjoy screen you can't run the snail game (controller works, managed to run snail game once WITH Golden Axe Cartridge inserted (lol)) 6.) Strange Boot with distorted picture & sound, loops endless. With any cartridge inserted: As above points but never loads the game(s) Here are the links to the pictures: http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3858/dsc00246dz3.jpg -whole view http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2239/dsc00247pb8.jpg -better view side 1 http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1411/dsc00248qb1.jpg -better view side 2 http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3479/dsc00252ko3.jpg -back side Please Help me, I would really love to play with my SMS again :) Thank you :)

Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:59 pm
Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Here I am again with a little update :) My SMS does now the boot sequence correctly (First Sega "splash screen" and then the text with the instructions and the final word "Enjoy", correct sound. This, if no cartridge is inserted. Snail Game won't start though. With Cartridge installed: 1. Does only show Sega Logo or 2. Does as described above as if there were no cartridge installed (Same for card, tried transbot) or 3. Correct boot, but then the games don't start and 4. Sometimes an error screen appears containing the following: " Master System C Sega 1986 Software Error " , on the top right the Bios version V 1.3 is displayed. I Really hope some of you have any idea of what I could do or at least what it could be. thanks so far :) NEW UPDATE: Now Snail Game starts with no cartridge inserted, but i c'ant control the snail and the grafics are corrupted, sound is fine though. At the end of the 60 seconds, the SMS either restarts or freezes. I'am starting to think that my SMS is slowly waking up XD, indeed it slept for aprox. 15 years.

AtariRaccoon Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 99 Location: Canada - NB	Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:05 pm
	Although I have no circutry knowledge, either a chip and/or some circut connections may be off. I fear one of the chips inside may be gone/warming up.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14770 Location: London	Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:16 am
	It sounds pretty screwed. If you clean the cart slot it might boot a bit better but the no-cart problems you describe suggest something is quite wrong in there. It could be a broken or corroded connection on a chip, which will be hard to track down. I can see SMS1s for €15-€20 including delivery on ebay.it right now. That is likely to be easier than trying to fix this one.

Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:42 am
Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	First of all, I would like to thank you for your answers :) Honestly I immagined something like that but hope is last to die as we say here ... I think I will get a "new" one...but I'm going to keep mine for spare parts purpose. The guy who sold me the "TV connection box" told me he would sell me a working SMS 1 for 30€ including delivery, since I kinda trust him because he was real quick with sending me the TV thingy I would like to buy his. Do you think 30€ is too expensive or could I ask him to include a game he has or something (considering he has a "Retro-Games Shop") ?

Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:57 pm
Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Hi everybody :) I finally got another SMS 1, everything works fine except I sometimes get "Software Error" message at startup. I turn it then off and on again and everything is fine. Do you guys get this error too sometimes ? is it due to it's age or something ? Is there anything I can do about ? Thanks ^^

Charles MacDonald Joined: 28 Sep 1999 Posts: 1198	Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 4:12 pm
Charles MacDonald Joined: 28 Sep 1999 Posts: 1198	Lale wrote I finally got another SMS 1, everything works fine except I sometimes get "Software Error" message at startup. I turn it then off and on again and everything is fine. Do you guys get this error too sometimes ? is it due to it's age or something ? The cartridge connector is probably dirty - you should clean it as well as the contacts on your games. I don't know what the best or proper ways are, but this is what I have done: For cartridges, take the plastic shell off and use an eraser to clean the contacts. The eraser is slightly abrasive and it takes dirt right off. Make sure you have touched something that's grounded (like the metal chassis of your PC) before handling the PCB. For the cartridge connector, fold a piece of paper a few times so it's thicker, and insert the folded corner into the cartridge connector a few times, moving from one side to the other. You'll see how dirty the paper gets quickly. Don't use anything too thick because you don't want to bend the contacts out of position.

Jacko Joined: 01 Feb 2004 Posts: 1464 Location: Sunny ol Tamworth, New England NSW AU	Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:14 pm
	For cleaning cartridge contacts I use a fine grit nail file, I dont take the case off, just rub along both sides gently. As for the cartridge slot, Charles' idea sounds good.

Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:03 pm
Lale Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Italy	I will try and clean the contacts, thank you very much :)

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