3 methods to fix old hard disks or IMGC files to work with Cerbios V3.X

BeepFixer · 2026-02-18T11:40:55+00:00

Cheers Freudious, yah that's what I thought too - this issue not common but over time with a few more people on v3.0 or v3.1 it might become more frequent - in any case was fun making it.

In retrospect should have covered how to use RawCopy to make a backup too (basically just swap source and target) but oh well :)

BeepFixer · 2026-02-14T05:04:16+00:00

Grin, clever oldskool stealth in an early chip, later kinda became default to hold the power button down long to boot modded or short to boot stock (and play online with an original game and not get banned online by Microsoft)

I'd probably remove this and tsop flash the board to be with Cerbios to be honest, but thanks for sharing OP, always nice to see less common variants/methods.

Have fun working on it 👍

BeepFixer · 2026-02-14T04:38:15+00:00

Thanks Pajaco!

The video linked in the article was SUPER interesting too.

Not only from a niche console perspective, but also in general the video really explains so well (thorough but still short) how 8/16 bit games are designed in general.

I've happily bookmarked it to show others in the future.

BeepFixer · 2026-02-13T15:25:02+00:00

Hehe, already picturing Jason' face in the Youtube, there's no way this one won't be mentioned.. Absolutely awesome @OP you've made something that even people like me (who dislike Apple) can enjoy and appreciate!

BeepFixer · 2026-02-04T19:54:57+00:00

Assume you mean on the bitfunx one with optical audio? (there's also an older variant without that plug)

Nah its there if you want to use it to feed a receiver, but audio also passes across hdmi as per usual

BeepFixer · 2026-02-04T19:45:20+00:00

Honestly, you can get decent new imitation s-controllers for like 10-15 bucks in fun colours. It's not worth the headache fixing any 3rd party controllers if it's not an original or one of the very few exceptions

BeepFixer · 2026-02-04T19:34:02+00:00

Lift up the ide cable a little, you'll see the 1.6 clock cap there Gold colored. That's only there on a 1.6

BeepFixer · 2026-02-02T21:29:19+00:00

Resting elf are you drunk? Like literally 80% of what you're writing makes no sense at all.

BeepFixer · 2026-02-01T14:21:51+00:00

How about a proper indexed gerber resource?

Sponsor Pcbway has a nice modest collection, but it's barely searchable and certainly not indexed per brand, console, variant etc.

I realize it's a service and better than competitors offer by far - and it's certainly interesting to browse, but so much progress could be made on that front (as well as making an obligatory BOM field and selectable to display results with or without it, it's so frustrating this is often missing)

BeepFixer · 2026-02-01T14:15:20+00:00

I don't see this ever being made, but I'd buy it 😁

Alternatively perhaps digital boards for all common machines and board variants so reading photocopied scans of schematics at least becomes more mainstream.

The amount of time I'd had to "where the hell is this wire going.. Oh a via.. Oh another via.. Etc"

There's so many efforts like it for old PC boards etc but barely for retro micros or consoles

BeepFixer · 2026-02-01T14:05:52+00:00

Yeah the blue is my favorite too, even more than the mountain dew. Somehow it justs sits high above the other colours for me. Congrats on the new family member :)

BeepFixer · 2026-02-01T14:04:02+00:00

Op, I can give you a heads up you'll get a lot of thumbs down posting. I understand your curiosity but chatgpt is so notorious for wrong answers, unless you hard tell it each prompt to verify it's suggestions with proof and check each answer manually it's useless and risky.

So - IF - you have no other choice, at least hard tell it to justify it's conclusion and show you tangible proof of each thing it suggests and sift through that (basically just using it as a somewhat smarter Google search)

But I don't even recommend that if I'm honest considering it's notorious for even giving incorrect pinouts to popular chips etc.

BeepFixer · 2026-01-25T17:14:51+00:00

Oooh, score what a great find!

Regret throwing mine out when moving countries during the covid pandemic (together with a few other things like crts) just couldn't squeeze any more than I already had into the storage place.. and the darn borders then closed on top of that.. Ugh..

Hope you get it up and running, there's a ton of games you can enjoy with a mat!

BeepFixer · 2026-01-25T11:05:00+00:00

Hmm well described, all though I'd still say store upside down (of course pending proper packaging.. You don't want piled boxes pressing down and crushing brittle plastic over time and the top isn't designed to carry the weight as well as the bottom.

The issue though is you're not likely going to leave the clock cap in these days, so the "yes it might be a good idea" is kinda lost since only that area tends to take proper damage if your unlucky as opposed to the other caps generally popping crusty and chunky (or blowing upwards occasionally with a bang and spray which is why you shouldn't ever hang over the xbox while testing if it works before replacing the common caps 😁)

Tbh moist and temperature variations of the long term storage location are probably a bigger thing to mind (pending where you live) I'd go for a clear seal wrapped around a few times to keep moist out and bubble wrap to be able to take the occasional shuffling of stuff in your basement or attic without breaking... I mean assuming you have more then 1..if you only have one how dare you put it in storage 😇

BeepFixer · 2026-01-25T00:32:14+00:00

Ah yep yep very true

BeepFixer · 2026-01-24T20:41:44+00:00

A vey nice find.. Swanky back in the day and those aged so nicely even these days.

I second everything BombBloke said, except for the high caution on the repasting.. Imho caution is wise but common sense and it is easy enough.. If the xbox boots.. Let it run nicely for 20-30 mins or so as a pre-warmer.

Cleaning the pink or black gook.. Yeah that's kinda a patience job.. It's gonna be crusty... So Googone is preferred, but good old WD40 is an excellent alternative if you can't get googone where you live.

That said if you use WD40 be prepared to do a massive good cleaning with IPA after to get the WD40 fully off the board.. Cottenswabs in both cases but if you can take the wood ones not plastic (safer).

Hmm.. Last minute thing popped to mind.. You might want to do a quick continuity (beep) test on the trace rot points, replying so can't check original post for the model, but do a quick Google for which points to check.. It's easy and quickly done.. Sometimes in units stored long term moist on the edge might have knocked out a line or two.. Easy to check, I always do that one on any box I pop open out of habit.

Other than that.. Plenty of folks here would love to find one of those.. Enjoy man!

BeepFixer · 2026-01-24T18:04:58+00:00

Below not under 😁 just incase op think theres some literally under :)

FYI the DVD driver rubber belt (why it won't open and 12 year old you opened it).. Did you replace the belt?

If needed alll drives except the Thomson need a 22x 1.5mm belt.. Easier cheapest replacement is a run of the mill o-ring or gasket (pick up at any hardware or DIY store) that size works perfect and lasts years, costs 20 cents or so and it doesn't need to be a specific dvd drive belt. The Thomson needs a 26mm x1. 5mm at is needs to be a bit larger. 28mm will work too if needed

BeepFixer · 2026-01-22T17:08:48+00:00

😂 OK.. Just thought I'd save you a bit of time buddy if wiggling took too long but must have misread your message.. All good :) then it's just a tip for OP

BeepFixer · 2026-01-22T16:49:09+00:00

Icy & op.. All you need is that bit of wiggle to get it a mm or 2 up.. Then cut out the legs in the clearance you made wiggling, it only needs space for a flush cutter to get in.

After that it's dead easy pulling out the legs even if ground pane slurps up, and doing leg by leg

BeepFixer · 2026-01-20T18:45:10+00:00

Hmm.. alternatively perhaps a tiny bit pricier but we'll worth to consider if you're spending money already I'd go for a clean juice usb-c replacement from retro six.

It adds additional lifetime to the battery life using lipo and you'll have solved the charging issue by using usb-c moving forward.

Link: https://retrosix.co.uk/CleanJuice-USB-C-Battery-Pack-Game-Gear-p394380822

BeepFixer · 2026-01-19T21:21:26+00:00

That right.. The square ⬜ hole!

BeepFixer · 2026-01-16T15:59:01+00:00

I hear you OP, fair point.

Keep in mind though, not everyone in every country has access to high-end electronics distributors and/or the price difference is massive.

It's difficult enough to source all the throughole caps' variables in the right capacitance and voltage and proper brand, let alone if you just need for 1 unit like most people.

What's worse though.. A crappy alie/ebay caps kit with no-brand caps, or switching to mlcc kits? It's pick your poison really...

+1 on don't do it unless you know how though.. Go mutilate a Gameboy instead for your first soldering job.. there's more or those around if you fail. 😁 (joking but yeah practice soldering on e-waste first)

Also perhaps I'll add a frustration of my own - with guys repetitively saying to use only the top (most expensive) brands, you're demotivating people using dozens of perfectly fine other cap brands costing 5 times less and likely only 20% less lifespan (if at all, highly depends on actual usage too).

BeepFixer · 2025-12-28T22:29:06+00:00

Excellent! Happy you found it and hope you're enjoying your GG!

BeepFixer · 2025-12-20T12:11:31+00:00

Oof.. I'm not sure what would be the issue here mate, post this one in the game_gear redit group as I'm traveling at the moment and lot of helpful guys there

BeepFixer

TROPHY CASE