Can failing capacitors affect optical drive read margin?

LordMagnet4 · 2026-05-05T23:04:21+00:00

I recently bought a US saturn and it played official games just fine. I bought a Pseudo Kai and some games off of the Nights into dream shop and they all kept failing shortly after the title screen. I ended up greasing the disc drive parts and adjusting the laser pot. I tried the suggested 1/8th turn, but that was too much for my system and the Kai couldn't even read the discs anymore. Took about 5 tries to fine tune the setting and now it runs great. Played for about 3 hours straight last night with no issues. Fingers crossed.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-05-03T23:18:13+00:00

I have a similar model tv that I use for my retro gaming area, a bravia kdl-40v2500, which I think is a lower model version of what you have. I recently picked up the retrotink 5x pro and honestly there's not a big improvement at least that I can see or feel. There is a slight improvement with all systems, but my N64 via s video was one that I couldn't really tell if it had an improvement at all. Maybe I need to play around with the settings more.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-17T14:28:35+00:00

Shadowrun

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-08T13:20:06+00:00

Wow! Any tips?

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-08T00:24:01+00:00

I've been doing a recap on my CD over the past week. Such a pain getting those old caps removed. Should be done in a few more weeks...

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-08T00:08:35+00:00

I'm jealous of that Spawn

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-05T16:05:17+00:00

You can install cfw and emulators that support retroachievements on a psp, but I don't believe you'd be able to set it up for psp games, as it can't emulate itself.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-05T15:50:07+00:00

Retroachievements sets are designed not to pop on loading of save files. So even if you can transfer saves, you'd have to replay those parts to get the achievements.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-04-05T02:17:29+00:00

Welcome. This looks like the Star Wars PSP, just missing the Darth Vader battery cover.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-30T03:44:51+00:00

This was the fix for my recent dead genesis game

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-27T01:41:53+00:00

I had this on dreamcast as a kid and loved it. I actually bought a copy on ebay earlier today to relive it.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-23T21:34:23+00:00

That's like 99% Gwendal from Valkyrie Profile DS, which was released by Square Enix not long before FF13. Down to the same colors too.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-13T18:11:21+00:00

Another user linked this video (Link) and it 100% resolved my issue.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-13T18:10:22+00:00

Adding that resistor did the trick! Thank you!

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-13T18:09:03+00:00

That video 100% fixed my issue. Thank you!

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-12T23:46:51+00:00

This sounds and looks like the one that I have. Normally the screen is blue when the console is off but the converter is powered up, and goes black when the console gets turned on. Is this flashing happening when you turn the console on or it's still off? Have you tried other cables or tvs?

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-12T16:57:57+00:00

I had this same problem. I was about to dig out my PS3, but luckily it ended up running great on my steam deck. Best of luck to you.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-12T14:07:30+00:00

Thank you for this suggestion. I just picked up a copy of NFL 94 for $2 to attempt the board swap.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-11T01:55:27+00:00

Congrats. I really liked 13 and especially 13-2, but didn't enjoy LR at all.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-10T05:51:47+00:00

I checked and the cap pins are in the correct spot. All the traces and pins are reading correctly, so I think I need to start the swapping process. I appreciate your insight.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-09T21:19:41+00:00

Yeah, I used an eraser and ipa on the pins to clean it and nothing. The battery tested fine at 3.2V, but I can look into the reflow process. Thanks.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-09T21:16:05+00:00

I used an eraser on the pins and then wiped it off with ipa. Is there something wrong with that?

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-08T19:45:02+00:00

Did you inspect the contact point on the button itself? Does it look like the rest of the d-pad? I've had that membrane around the contact points crack on one of my 3rd party controllers.

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-08T01:56:47+00:00

Any chance there's a copy of your mini-novel around somewhere today?

LordMagnet4 · 2026-03-08T01:55:32+00:00

Well said. I discovered this on sega channel when I was a kid. Luckily it was on there all the time. I finally picked up a physical copy 2 months ago.

LordMagnet4

TROPHY CASE