racketboy.com

Hi, I'm new here. I decided to join because I want to ask a question regarding what is probably a common issue...but the circumstances seem a bit strange so I'm wondering if it's something I did or if my Sega Saturn is dead.

Recently, I bought an 8-way composite connector for my tv so that I could hook up all of my old consoles at once, including my Saturn, which I haven't used in some number of years. I dusted it off, hooked it up and, surprisingly to me it worked great. I played some Virtua Fighter 2, then Astal the next day, then the day after I bought a new battery because the old one was dead (that was no surprise to me.)

Yesterday, I took out the old battery and put the new one in, turned the Saturn on and...nothing appeared on the screen, no sound, nothing, just the green power light. I tried futzing around with the 8-way switch box, my other consoles worked on it, so it wasn't that. I thought maybe the Saturn A/V cables gave out. Then I opened the lid and noticed that the disc wasn't spinning, which leads me to believe that it's dead. It just seems strange that it died after just hooking it up and playing it again after all these years and putting in a new battery.

If the console is shot I'd rather buy a new console, as I'm not good at repairs. Loose consoles are only $20 -$30 it seems. I wouldn't even need a power cord, just the console.

Anyone else experience this problem and know what's going on?

Is the system modded? If so, your modchip might have died. That's what happened to me recently.

Sarge wrote:Is the system modded? If so, your modchip might have died. That's what happened to me recently.

No it's not modded. It's a regular US model, I bout it on eBay I think 9 or 10 years ago.

Thanks for your reply!

That's scary!

There is a procedure for troubleshooting common problems, but it's been a long time since I read it - luckily, I believe that there are still a handful of Sega X-Treme members here.

I've brought systems back from the dead before, usually by re-seating problem connections (laser assembly, video connection, etc), and in extreme cases by replacing parts. In all cases the solution was far cheaper than a new system, and in most cases not too technical.

By this time, you have hooked it directly to your CRT, and verified that the problem is still there - green light, but otherwise no responsiveness, black screen and the disc will not spin?

I still have a spare parts console my friend carries around because we've tried to swap parts and they're all compatible (except this particular parts-console refuses mods).

Correct.

Usual tests then. Some guesses:
Replaced the battery recently - never heard of it causing a problem, but...
Unseat the new battery (assuming you're save games are backed up) and try powering it up - it should ask for date and time.

Check that a controller is connected (no kidding) - some games refuse to boot without a digital cable with (again, no kidding) a compatible region controller inserted in the 1P slot.

Use some non-destructive tool to allow you to keep the disc-lid open while observing the laser reader assembly on boot. Watch a youtube video on this and see if your console does the same.

... I'm sure there's some more steps here, but I'm at a loss. Mine's been going strong with a Racketboy chip for over 8 years, and I'm gonna install an SD reader soon.