Donkey Kong JR Rest Issue

Phetishboy

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So I had this T/W board in a box for about 3 years. Recently slapped it into my newly built DKjr Cabaret and everything looks great. That is until you complete the first level. When the chains level begins, the game freezes, then resets and all credits are lost. Coin it up, you can play thru the first level again and the same thing happens when you complete it. Any ideas where to start?
 
So I had this T/W board in a box for about 3 years. Recently slapped it into my newly built DKjr Cabaret and everything looks great. That is until you complete the first level. When the chains level begins, the game freezes, then resets and all credits are lost. Coin it up, you can play thru the first level again and the same thing happens when you complete it. Any ideas where to start?

Do you have any way to check the ROMs? I would think that would be the first place to check. Probably the code for the chains level is corrupted or unreadable.

Try reseating them, cleaning any dirty ones. DeoxIT works wonders.

Radio Shack sells it.
 
+1 on the ROMs. If you have factory sockets they'll be single wipe sockets and will make contact on the INSIDE surface of the chip legs.

Beware of using any contact cleaner on a board. You do NOT want to leave oily residue behind.
 
+1 on the ROMs. If you have factory sockets they'll be single wipe sockets and will make contact on the INSIDE surface of the chip legs.

Beware of using any contact cleaner on a board. You do NOT want to leave oily residue behind.

Hey RJ, Just FYI....a lot of those Japanese sockets Nintendo (and Sega, for that matter) used actually single wipe on the outside.

Edward
 
+1 on the ROMs. If you have factory sockets they'll be single wipe sockets and will make contact on the INSIDE surface of the chip legs.

Beware of using any contact cleaner on a board. You do NOT want to leave oily residue behind.

If you use 100% deoxIT there is no residue. There is other ones that have mineral oil in it, which shouldn't harm anything.
 
So what does a non-board repair guy like myself do? Anyone repairing Nintendo boards these days? I have a 2 board DK that needs repair as well.

Know anyone local with an EPROM programmer? You can pull each ROM, read them, and verify the dumps in a ROMIdent tool to find out which one is bad. Then someone can program and send you a replacement for whichever one is bad.
 
So what does a non-board repair guy like myself do? Anyone repairing Nintendo boards these days? I have a 2 board DK that needs repair as well.

I really would try cleaning all the ROMs with an eraser and reinserting, using some deoxit on the pins and tiny bit in the sockets. I have finxed 4 boards that had "bad ROMS" that way.

If that doesn't work, you can have someone check the ROMs. Also you could order another set of ROMs from a place like hobby roms, or some member could be kind enough to write you a new set. If there is someone local that has a writer, they can rewrite your existing ROMs. But before you go that step, clean them first.


http://www.hobbyroms.com/
 
I really would try cleaning all the ROMs with an eraser and reinserting, using some deoxit on the pins and tiny bit in the sockets. I have finxed 4 boards that had "bad ROMS" that way.

If that doesn't work, you can have someone check the ROMs. Also you could order another set of ROMs from a place like hobby roms, or some member could be kind enough to write you a new set. If there is someone local that has a writer, they can rewrite your existing ROMs. But before you go that step, clean them first.


http://www.hobbyroms.com/

There is also a guy on Ebay selling sets of roms for $25.
 
So what does a non-board repair guy like myself do? Anyone repairing Nintendo boards these days? I have a 2 board DK that needs repair as well.

Hey Shawn,
Before sending it out......if you feel comfortable doing it, just reseat all the ROM chips. Check each one and it's socket for any corrosion or gunk. Should take you 10-15 minutes, and might fix it.

Edward
 
Hey Shawn,
Before sending it out......if you feel comfortable doing it, just reseat all the ROM chips. Check each one and it's socket for any corrosion or gunk. Should take you 10-15 minutes, and might fix it.

Edward

Oh yeah, I am comfortable, it's just the time and silence to focus that I lack. 3 little kids and a wife getting ready for Christmas kinda make the house a Chaos Zone right now. I'll give it a shot when the kids are in bed.
 
If you decide to try deoxIT on the chips you can get it at Radio Shack for $15, although it is cheaper (by volume) to by the 100% on line in the nail polish like bottle.

IMG_20111205_125852.jpg


Also if you are cheap like I am you can buy the Radio Shack contact cleaner. It has DeoxIT in it, but it also has mineral oil. The mineral oil might not be preferable to some people here, but it will help prevent future corrosion.

IMG_20111205_125715.jpg


Here you can see it is an ingredient:

IMG_20111205_125733.jpg






Either way this stuff is amazing stuff. I got boards working that didn't even after cleaning and re-seating with it.



You can't go wrong picking some up.
 
OK, as I figured, I reseated and cleaned the legs (some were black with oxidizing tarnish) of several of the roms, and no change. In fact, the game came up with garbage until I took it out and reseated all the ribbon cables a second time. Played through the first level, it resets right as the chains level shows up. The image flips upside down for a second, then resets. I knew it wouldn't be that easy.
 
OK, as I figured, I reseated and cleaned the legs (some were black with oxidizing tarnish) of several of the roms, and no change. In fact, the game came up with garbage until I took it out and reseated all the ribbon cables a second time. Played through the first level, it resets right as the chains level shows up. The image flips upside down for a second, then resets. I knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Did you use any contact cleaner in the sockets?
 
OK, update. Sent this off for repair, repair guy says it's working fine in his test rig. No resets. He plays thru the chains level just fine. Keeps it to test a few more times, it works every time. I get it back, plug it in, same issue. I can get to the chains level, it shows the screen for a split second, flips upside down and resets, exactly like before. I swapped the power supply out with 3 different DK supplies I have here, same issue. I then plug a DK board into the same harness and have no issues. Game boots, starts and I can play as long as I can stay alive with no resets. What could be the issue here? Wiring (DK3 harness)? Grounding? (Nothing is currently grounded)
 
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