crwdns2933423:0crwdne2933423:0

The GameCube is Nintendo's fourth console gaming system. Repair is simple and requires only common tools.

No power to Optical Drive

Hi there,

The disc drive on my DOL-001 GameCube has stopped working and all of the “usual” fixes don’t seem to be working.

I don’t get any disc spin and the laser doesn’t turn on when the lid switch is pressed.

So far I have tried:

  • Adjusting the potentiometer
  • Check the power board fuse (no issue)
  • Switch in a known good optical drive

The known good optical drive has the same issue so it seems like the issue is on the main board or power board. Is there anything else I can look at to try and diagnose?

I’ve fitted a picoboot to the main board which works perfectly and the disc drive was working before and after I fitted this. It has just suddenly died completely.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

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crwdns2934057:0crwdne2934057:0

Hi!

The switch is another part.. did you transfered that also over? If not, please do and test.

Did you also tried a new/other PCB? That’s under the drive.

If yes, it IS a known issue. You can try to re-cap everything on the motherboard and see how that goes. There are cap kits for sale, they are known to fail..

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Many thanks for the reply!

Yes, I have tried two different lid switches and the known working optical drive has a known working motherboard which rules out a capacitor issue on that board.

Is there anything on the main board that could have failed? I’m wondering if there is an issue with the optical drive connector on the main board.

Thanks again!

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

My pleasure! That is possible. Does the broken drive works on the known working motherboard?

Power board is less likely. Most of the time it’s one of the caps. If possible, can you share some pictures regarding the connectors?? It’s less likely, but possible. If the pins are fine, it should be OK. You can try another cable and see if that works.

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