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- Top Case crwdns2858870:02crwdne2858870:0
- Front and Back Panel crwdns2858870:03crwdne2858870:0
- Optical Drive Assembly crwdns2858870:04crwdne2858870:0
- Optical Drive Assembly crwdns2858870:07crwdne2858870:0
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This guide will teach you how to disassemble the GameCube Optical Drive Assembly for the purpose of accessing the Optical Drive and the laser. These parts are responsible for reading the information off of the game discs which allows games to be played on the console.
If the Optical Drive malfunctions (fails to spin the disc for example) or the Optical Laser Lens is damaged, it can prevent the game discs from being read properly. This can warrant a replacement of the device part. As the GameCube is an older console, E-bay would be a good place to start when searching for a replacement part.
Before attempting the disassembly, you will need a 4.5 mm Gamebit screwdriver. This is special tool that is used to open certain Nintendo consoles and can be ordered online from Amazon.
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Locate the four screws (circled in red) on each corner of the device. Then, use a 4.5 mm Gamebit screwdriver to remove all four screws.
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With the bottom side of the GameCube facing upward and the screws removed, carefully pull the outer shell of the unit away from the top half. Then place the inside of the unit facing up.
This can also be done whilst being in the normal upright position after all 4 of the 4.5mm Gamebit screws have been removed. Pull the top of the shell directly upwards and it should slide off easily.
Less chance of snagging any wires or parts.
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Gently press down on the clips located on either side of the the back panel, as shown, and carefully remove it from the main part of the device.
A second picture clearly showing which direction to pull the back panel away from the unit would be nice.
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With the back panel removed, carefully unclip the controller ports at the front of the unit.
well... what happens if accidentally i disconnected it?
presumably nothing major. The CMOS battery is attached to the controller ports, so the most i'd expect is that the gamecube loses it's date/time setting. As long as you reset that before jumping into animal crossing or something, you should be fine. I'm currently doing a teardown of my gamecube, and if something does prove to have gone wrong, i'll report back.
sigoshi -
okay, i finished putting it back together. gamecube works fine and surprisingly still remembers what year it is. boots into smash bros and shows memory card contents fine.
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Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the two 2 screws (circled in red) that are located on the back of the control port.
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Carefully separate the gray outer casing of the control port and the circuit board.
must do this?
That step is not needed for the laser replacement.
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The left side of the unit contains the cooling fan and its housing. Carefully remove the two (2) screws attaching the cooling fan housing to the unit.
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Do not detach the red and black cooling fan wire from the main unit.(red wire)
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Remove the four (4) Phillips #1 screws retaining the ground springs (outlined in teal).
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Carefully remove the ground springs from the main unit as shown in the second photograph.
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Using a Phillips #2 screwdriver, unscrew the twelve (12) screws that are around the outer edge of the optical drive (circled in red).
Are these 12 screws the exact same kind like the 2 that were on the fan?
Yes! As far as I can tell anyway. Makes sense, too since opposite the fan you have five of the same holes as well.
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Carefully separate the optical drive assembly from the rest of the GameCube unit.
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At this point, your optical drive assembly should be separated from your GameCube (picture 1).
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Flip the optical drive assembly upside down
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Shown in picture 2, remove the 6 Phillips #1 screws with a philips screwdriver.
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Once the screws are removed, gently lift and remove the metal plate (shown in picture 3).
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Be careful not to disturb the brown ribbon cable (highlighted in the yellow).
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Remove the blue wire by gently pulling.
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Disconnect the Brown cable. This is done by gently pulling the black tab away from the white plastic. This will loosen the tension on the brown cable allowing it to gently be slid away from the tab.
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Shown in the third picture, remove the 4 Phillips #1 screws connecting the circuit board to the optical drive assembly.
A helpful addition/change to this step would be to include a photo of where/how to remove the brown ribbon cable (maybe also include this terminology in the text, instead of just “cable”). Furthermore, the yellow box to indicate the blue cable highlights everything except the part that you need to remove, which is a little confusing.
Thanks!
Ben
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Gently remove the circuit board (the large green square) as shown in the three pictures.
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Red Wire
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White ribbon Cable
What would happen if I accidentally separated the white ribbon cable... because I watched a video of some guy going through this same process. Separated all the cables and his worked. My cube stopped reading disks recently. Laser is calibrated properly. Begins to spin then stops
Ps
Is there anyway I can save my cube
I'm just guessing here, but I think they mean there's no need to separate those cables to complete the repair—just be careful not to pull or stress them. Like you said, nothing bad will happen if you choose to disconnect a couple cables. As for what's wrong with your cube, you might want to try asking your question over in the Answers forum.
There is a small tab to the left of the red wire that you need to pull out to release the circuit board.
Why do we need further disassembly that this ? The potentiometer is already accessible at this point. Why do we need to tear down the lens from it’s slot in step 16 ?
Good question! I’m wondering the same thing.
You don’t. You can stop here if you’re doing the laser potentiometer calibration.
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Use a flathead screwdriver to carefully release the four plastic clips holding the drive assembly together.
Since this step uses a flathead screwdriver, it might be useful to include that in the list of required tools at the top.
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Gently lift the metal plate off of the drive assembly (shown in the first picture).
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Then flip the two halves of the drive assembly upside down as shown in the third picture.
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Use a flathead screwdriver to release the two clips located on the back half of the drive assembly.
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Finish removing the top half of the drive assembly from the base.
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Once the top half of the drive assembly is detached, turn it upside down.
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Using a philips screwdriver, carefully remove the 3 final screws located near the bars of the lens assembly.
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Once the the three final screws are removed, the lens assembly can be extracted (as shown in the second picture).
what kind of screws are these on the laser lens i lost one and need to buy new ones cause i cant find the 3rd
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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What type of optical drive could I use to replace the one in said GameCube once I've broken it down?
Did you ever find out, Bob?
I found OEM parts (removed from other Game Cubes) available on Ebay. Just ordered the part for about $16.
Good walkthrough. My 8 year old completed this repair with minimal help from me. Thanks!
