Classic Systems that Routinely Fail RROD Style [Archive]

kupomogli

02-26-2011, 02:24 AM

I know PS2s had a LOT of problems, and I think the Dreamcast had some Disc Read Error problems as well?

My fat PS2 is still running good.

The PSX and Dreamcast had problems though. Both systems stopped reading discs. Flipping the systems upside down seamed to allow the discs to read for awhile until even that didn't work.

*edit*

Also the PSP. Now the PSP is my favorite current gen system by far, but I've had two UMD drives die on me. The systems themselves work fine, but the UMD drive either won't work on a phat that I've had and one of my slims the motor I'm guessing is going out because it makes a loud screeching sound and makes me scared to put my UMDs in there :P. There's always the fact that you can rip your games and play them not using UMD but why should I have to do that?

It's not even like they lasted a long time before the UMDs stopped working. Both lasted between 2-3 years before they started having problems with the UMD. The only difference between the PSP and the 360 is that I can still play games and in that three years of playing games I don't have to wait for my system to ship back and forth :P.

j_factor

02-26-2011, 02:25 AM

Game Gear is pretty bad. I own three of them, and all three have problems.

Rickstilwell1

02-26-2011, 02:45 AM

Yeah, Game Gear dying capacitors. Then don't forget the TurboDuo dying sound capacitor and the Atari Jaguar CD being so fragile. Then with Intellivision I's you have to worry about hardwired controller damage. The original Fairchild Channel F also had failure problems where games will only load for a couple of minutes then the system turns itself off. The Pioneer LaserActive also has so much going on electricity-wise so you have to be careful not to short it out. After what happened to mine I would recommend that you always always plug it into a surge protector not a direct wall outlet.

Gameguy

02-26-2011, 03:14 AM

The PSX and Dreamcast had problems though. Both systems stopped reading discs. Flipping the systems upside down seamed to allow the discs to read for awhile until even that didn't work.
The early PSX units overheated and warped the cheap laser assemblies, eventually they would become unplayable. I briefly had an original model and though it still worked for me, it ran pretty loud when reading discs.

Game Gear is pretty bad. I own three of them, and all three have problems.

Yeah, Game Gear dying capacitors. Then don't forget the TurboDuo dying sound capacitor and the Atari Jaguar CD being so fragile.
The thing about the Game Gear and Turbo Duo capacitor problem is that they're pretty easily repairable and usually problems only start long after the systems were produced, like over a decade later. Not as bad as RROD where the systems have problems within a few years and are mostly beyond repair.

The Model 1 Sega CD and Turbo CD expansion comes to mind, those seem to die pretty frequently and are a pain to get running again. The gears seem to break for some reason. Wasn't the Adventure Vision fragile as well?

klausien

02-26-2011, 12:16 PM

Early '90's capacitors make life a living hell at times. I've done these kinds of repairs far too often. Everything from the precious TurboDuo and Express, to the lowly original Game Boy, will eventually have capacitor problems. At least they are usually replaceable with moderate level soldering skills. You do need to be extremely careful of falling into the pitfall of doing damage taking them out because you pulled instead of melted out of impatience however. Destroyed traces can ruin everything.

Anything with a CD or DVD drive is going to fail (as can the games via rot). I don't like to think about it too much, but I've dealt with it. The Jag CD, 3DO, TurboGrafx CD & Duo, PS2, DC... doesn't matter. They do occasionally go, and sometimes cannot be repaired. It sucks.

Anything with a proprietary A/V cable and/or AC Adapter can screw you. I've had to repair the cord on the AC for the JVC X'Eye before (yikes), and have heard many Atari 5200 horror stories.

Even considering all of that, the Colecovision is absolutely the worst hardware I've dealt with. Why do I have to love it so much? The I/O IC's are going to fail if they haven't already. Hotswapping controllers is absolutely out of the question on the CV. Then there are the controllers themselves. Even good ones are terrible, with their deservedly maligned joysticks and ridiculous coiled wires. I'm still looking for the right solution there. I'd love to use a Epyx 500XJ with it, but non-CV controllers are flaky in my experience. It sucks that a set of Champ keypads is hard to find and can be pricey. Then you have the AC adapter plug & socket... the RF port... the power switch... at least they are all mostly fixable. Also, I have never gotten the trackball to work for the life of me.

There are several Vectrex IC's that fail RROD style, but they can be replaced if you can source the part. If you are lucky enough to have one with socketed chips, it really is just so much easier in the best way possible. Very few things suck worse than a dead Vectrex. Their CRT's also need to be recalibrated after so many years, but it is a touchier process than it should be because they really aren't built to be serviced. It affects raster effects like the score and boot-up text moreso than straight vector graphics, but it's harder to fix than it should be. Someone needs to do a run of the test cart overlay to make it easier. I know I'd buy one.

It's really a terrible system overall, but ALL Philips CD-i consoles cannot hold save data at this point. That's right, ALL of them (that haven't been fixed). Ok, so replace the battery! Heh, yeah, it's not that simple. The pictures in the link make it look much easier than it is, but it's very doable if you are confident enough to do delicate work in a tight space. You have to be extremely careful though, because it's VERY easy to cause some potentially devastating collateral damage with this repair. It's also harder if you have the consolized Maganavox 450 because of space limitations. You have to find a place for the battery rather than just mounting it on top of the chip. Anyway, have a look: http://cdii.blogspot.com/2007/11/locating-cd-i-timekeeper-battery-in-cd.html

All of this kind of crap, along with the absolute abandonment of CRT technology, have made me reconsider the collection a bit. Maintenance of 25+ year old electronic devices, many of which suffer from a bit of planned obsolescence, is a real problem. I guess you just need to keep your fingers crossed.

Dangerboy

02-26-2011, 12:25 PM

As a retail worker who has worked gaming retail for 14 years across 3 companies and 2 states:

a. PSX - first 2 years at least all had the "Hey we can flip it over to work" bonus.

b. PS2 was a clusterduck - we used to have at least 10 people a day at the PS2's peak complaining of DRE. The family shop I used to work at had no less than 30 systems at a time all waiting to be repaired. Even the first issue PS2 Slims had serious overheating issues, which I can attest to personally.

c. Xbox 1 - the one specific tray drive caused all sorts of havoc - to the point customers would ask us to check the drive before selling them the deck, new or used.

d. Dreamcast seemed more like a disc issue - mine's a launch era and it's been fine ever since. But Midway and Sega both had disc printing issues.

e. Game Gear's volume knob.

PSX and PS2 were the absolute worst before the 360, hands down.

j_factor

02-26-2011, 12:58 PM

Even considering all of that, the Colecovision is absolutely the worst hardware I've dealt with. Why do I have to love it so much? The I/O IC's are going to fail if they haven't already. Hotswapping controllers is absolutely out of the question on the CV. Then there are the controllers themselves. Even good ones are terrible, with their deservedly maligned joysticks and ridiculous coiled wires. I'm still looking for the right solution there. I'd love to use a Epyx 500XJ with it, but non-CV controllers are flaky in my experience. It sucks that a set of Champ keypads is hard to find and can be pricey. Then you have the AC adapter plug & socket... the RF port... the power switch... at least they are all mostly fixable. Also, I have never gotten the trackball to work for the life of me.

My trackball works fine. Should I be worried? lol

In my experience with the Colecovision, the Super Action controllers work quite a bit better than the regular ones. However, they're also among the weirdest controllers I've ever used.

tubeway

02-26-2011, 03:07 PM

As a retail worker who has worked gaming retail for 14 years across 3 companies and 2 states:

Good... GOD, man. That isn't something to take any kind of pride in.

SegaAges

02-26-2011, 03:39 PM

Awhile back I was talking with a Sega rep about some Dreamcasts not being able to play some of the later games (this was awhile ago), and I was informed that many of the earlier DC's were not made to have the laser go out to the edge of the disc. For some of the bigger and later games, like PSO, they needed to reach information way out there, so many of the older DC's could not play the game because the laser itself could not go out that far

Greg2600

02-26-2011, 05:44 PM

If the question is RROD a la 360 where the system no longer functions, then the answer is very few classic systems. Astrocade's are known for failure. Master Systems often got fried by people using the wrong power supplies (NES). Colecovision and Intellivision had a lot of various things to fail. Controller ports, RF, power supplies, etc. The reality is the older, solid state systems are still very reliable. Newer systems, usually disc drives go bad the most.

jordandavid

02-26-2011, 06:28 PM

My fat PS2 is still running good.

Mine runs great, and I played it hard. However, I did get mine late in the fat PS2s run, a few months before the slim edition came out. I've never had a hiccup other than it being pretty shitty at playing dvds sometimes. (Skips more often than I feel it should, but I feel like PS2s are just generally not the best DVD players.) In the past few years it's pretty much just been my DVD and Dance Dance Revolution player. I hope I don't jinx it.

Toploading NESs seem to get fried quite frequently. I have two and only one works (barely), it's a little fuzzy, well a lot fuzzy.

How about the most resilient systems? (This could probably be a new topic)
My vote goes to the N64 right now which is going on 15 years old, even though it's not as old as some systems, mine still purrs flawlessly, and i haven't heard of too many problems with them. Correct me if I'm wrong. (minus the controller joysticks that turn into powder after a few games of mario party)

Edit:

For some of the bigger and later games, like PSO, they needed to reach information way out there, so many of the older DC's could not play the game because the laser itself could not go out that far
That's a monster gaff. I hope when those games were released Sega offered to exchange or repair Dreamcasts to fix that problem.

Nebagram

02-26-2011, 07:26 PM

My fat PS2 is still running fine 9 years on, and pretty much every system I own is fault-free, with the exception of my 6-switch 2600, whose sound is knackered, and the Vectrex, whose sound only works at one specific volume (no, really). I've had a Mega-CD power adaptor die on me and have to be replaced, my PSP and Nomad have a couple of dead pixels but they're both in corners of the screens. 11 years on, my launch Dreamcast still works flawlessly, as do all its peripherals and VMUs (all launch stuff as well).

The only system I've ever had that's died on me- ever- is the 360. And that kicked the bucket twice, once over something I'm still not sure about, and then a year later it RRoD'd.

I do remember a guy though who once managed to kill his PSX in the space of four months. Bought brand-new, within 2 months he had to resort to flipping it to get it to work, then he stuck a brick on its underbelly in the hope that that'd work, and a month later it'd only boot 1 in 10 times. Then again, this is the same guy who once done with a CD-based game, would fling it across the room like a frisbee...

retroman

02-27-2011, 01:42 AM

i had a big problem with the Goldstar 3DO..would eject game for no reason in middle of playing, but other than that, the 360 is the only system i have replaced multiple times.

jordandavid

02-27-2011, 02:29 AM

Toploading NESs seem to get fried quite frequently. I have two and only one works (barely), it's a little fuzzy, well a lot fuzzy.

I apologize, Nintendo. I actually bought my NES 2 from a pawn shop for $25 several years ago and plugged it in once and it was fuzzy. I felt ripped off and I regarded not having them prove that it works as one of my biggest game collecting mistakes of all time. Tonight while I was organizing my systems and games I plugged it in just for the hell of it and it ran perfectly, I must have originally been using a faulty RF connector. hmm...now I would kill for a couple of those NES 2 controllers they originally came with!

The 1 2 P

02-27-2011, 04:09 AM

My original Nes is the only system I ever bought new that died completely. I've heard that the PS1 and PS2 had many problems but my PS1 has worked great since 1998. But I realize the problem was typically in older models. My original 3DO FZ-1 that I got used at a flea market nearly ten years ago still works perfectly as well. I've been very lucky with my cd-based systems having little or no problems at all.

Famidrive-16

02-27-2011, 04:30 AM

exit

02-27-2011, 08:42 AM

I've had my fat PS2 for about 6 years, it's gone through hell and back and still runs perfectly fine. The only problem I had with it later down the line was it didn't like reading some DVDs, but it never had a problem reading games. Same goes with my PSX, never gave me any problems until one day it fell off my bed and messed up the CD reader, which was completely my fault.

megasdkirby

02-27-2011, 09:42 AM

The thing about DRE errors on the Playstation 2 is that, in most cases, it's easily "fixable". In order:

1)"Deep clean" the lens, usually by opening the console and cleaning with alcohol and a qtip.

2)If that does not help, calibrate the potentiometer on the lens. That usually does the trick.

3)If the problem STILL persists, then a lens replacement is in order.

In most cases, point two resolves most problems. Of course, not everyone knows or dares to open their consoles to repair it.

Steve W

02-27-2011, 07:31 PM

megasdkirby

02-27-2011, 08:19 PM

The Colecovision was a terrible, flawed design.

My main gripe is the actual controller. It's one of the worst I've held and used. I love the console, but the controller is real...crap. Moving the character can be a real chore, if not impossible, depending on the game. On Montezuma's Revenge, for instance, it's a pain to get the character go down ladders: I can be right above the ladder and I have to press diagnostically down in order for the character to move.

Also, it gives me lots of hand cramps. Thw awkward design is a pain in the ass. Thankfully, I can change controllers, which is a plus.

Atarileaf

02-27-2011, 09:07 PM

How about the most resilient systems?

I'd vote for the 2600. I rarely come across a dead 2600 and I've had probably a hundred pass through my hands in the last 20 years.

Atarileaf

02-27-2011, 09:08 PM

The Colecovision was a terrible, flawed design. They used the lowest cost components they could stuff inside it, which means it's next to impossible to buy one in "the wild" and have the damn thing work. I've bought five, only one works to a moderate degree (the graphics get glitchy some times). I can see the Xbox 360 ending up in the same manner, with us unable to find working units in a couple decades.

+1

The only way I'd buy a colecovision again is from one of the professional/enthusiasts who refurbish these machines and replace all the faulty parts and completely restore them. Worth the money for one of those IMO.

Gavica

02-27-2011, 10:13 PM

Nes .

Steve W

02-27-2011, 11:18 PM

+1

The only way I'd buy a colecovision again is from one of the professional/enthusiasts who refurbish these machines and replace all the faulty parts and completely restore them. Worth the money for one of those IMO.

And oddly, the lousy pirate clone that ended up being rebadged as the Telegames Dina 2-in-1 console has longer lasting hardware inside it than the console it was copying. Unless you get one of those with a bad motherboard that eventually burns itself out.

BydoEmpire

02-28-2011, 10:56 AM

My main gripe is the actual controller. It's one of the worst I've held and used. I love the console, but the controller is real..Agreed - I hate the stock CV controllers. Second only to the PainLines in my "worst controller" list. Fortunately the Super Action controllers are awesome. I finally got a CV around 2000 and really didn't like it at all until I got the Super Action controllers, then I had a lot of fun. I haven't had problems w/ several CV systems, but I do have a pile of borken CV controllers - I don't actually have any left that work right now!

LaughingMAN.S9

02-28-2011, 07:48 PM

Ylod...

kedawa

02-28-2011, 08:52 PM

BGA failure is currently only a problem for PS3 and XBOX360, but if you look beyond consoles, you'll find the same problem in some laptops as well.

Optical drives fail in just about any system. The early CD based systems are far more reliable then the Playstation, and things have only gone down hill since then.

Rob2600

03-01-2011, 12:53 PM

The early CD based systems are far more reliable then the Playstation, and things have only gone down hill since then.

The GameCube would disagree.

dnehthend

03-01-2011, 01:30 PM

99.9999% of PS2s are useless, I've never had a Dreamcast fail, just put it on its side and you are good to go

Enigmus

03-01-2011, 01:31 PM

The GameCube would disagree.

Same goes for Wii. I've seen a lot of broken Xboxes, but no broken Wiis.

kedawa

03-01-2011, 10:17 PM

I was referring to Sony's consoles specifically. Every Playstation console has had more than its fair share of problems, in spite of (or maybe because of) Sony's bizarre obsession with revising their hardware every few months.
The GameCube and Wii are definitely built right.
The Dreamcast also good, but damn is it loud. They're generally pretty reliable, but there are some common component failures, like controller port fuses blowing, and some units shipped with improperly calibrated lasers.
Microsoft doesn't seem to care about reliability at all. They source their optical drives from a multitude of manufacturers without any regard to quality. I don't even need to get into the laundry list of design flaws in the XBOX360.

Nature Boy

03-02-2011, 03:44 PM

I'll throw the SegaCD out there. I've got 2 of them, neither of which works.

Totally agree with the PSX comments. I've got at least one of the older models that needs to be put on it's side to play properly.

I've always felt the PS2 stuff was overblown, as I have two units (a launch day one and the PStwo) and have had issues with neither.

I think the NES counts too, because of the flashing screen problem we *all* went through back in the day at some point, but because we loved the system (like we do the 360), we lived with it.

jordandavid

03-02-2011, 04:27 PM

I've always felt the PS2 stuff was overblown, as I have two units (a launch day one and the PStwo) and have had issues with neither.

This.
TBH, I never personally knew anyone who had problems with their PS2 failing, I had just heard reports that the drives were prone to failure. Again, mine is still going strong. (and my friends were Playstation fanatics who thought I was gay with an N64 and GC)

I think the NES counts too, because of the flashing screen problem we *all* went through back in the day at some point, but because we loved the system (like we do the 360), we lived with it.

I'm not sure if I would count it. In my experience, with enough cleaning of either the game contacts or the 72 pin connector, the majority of blinking screen problems are fixable.

Icarus Moonsight

03-02-2011, 08:26 PM

I went through 5 PS2s... One outright dies, the other 4 stopped playing CDs and I unloaded them before they stopped reading DVDs. Some people got lucky, others unlucky, that's all.

Inconsistent hardware isn't a total 360-esque fubb, but it's still pretty bad.

Gameguy

03-02-2011, 08:38 PM

TBH, I never personally knew anyone who had problems with their PS2 failing, I had just heard reports that the drives were prone to failure. Again, mine is still going strong. (and my friends were Playstation fanatics who thought I was gay with an N64 and GC)
I have to think back to high school around 6 years ago, it was near exams so we were allowed to have free time in class. Someone brought in their fat PS2 system into auto shop so we could play GTA, they set up the system on top of a filing cabinet that was about 5-6 feet tall. While it was playing someone tripped over the cords and the system fell off the cabinet onto the concrete floor, the thing didn't have a scratch on it and it still worked fine after that. I was surprised that it could still play the disc fine but people went back to playing it, it wasn't damaged at all.

Nonplus

03-02-2011, 11:04 PM

NES pin connectors are notorious for just outright failing. Fortunately, replacing them is cheap.

Tron 2.0

03-03-2011, 12:32 AM

Turbografx 16/Pc-engine:It doesn't matter wich one you own the gear in the cd-rom can break and it won't play the cds any more.

j_factor

03-03-2011, 12:43 AM

The Duo-R's don't seem to have problems.

nildem

03-03-2011, 04:49 AM

kedawa

03-03-2011, 11:10 PM

I've had the opposite experience, strangely enough. Every N64 I've seen in the last decade will lock up if you so much as breath on the cartridge while the machine is on, but I've yet to encounter a non-functioning Sega CD. That being said, I only check out front loaders, so maybe the clamshell models are less reliable.

Robocop2

03-03-2011, 11:22 PM

As far as the most resilient console... I'm going with the Nintendo 64. I've gone through hundreds of these things between collecting and work, and I have never come across a non-working console. Bad RAM pak? Sure. Dead power supply? Several. Worn out controllers? Nearly all of them. But never a faulty console. They've come in covered in mud, roach crap, bong water...whatever. Each one cleaned right up and worked like new.

N64: AK-47 of the video game world?

Tron 2.0

03-03-2011, 11:49 PM

The Duo-R's don't seem to have problems.
Yeah good model there i use a duo-r the most for pce gaming.Though i do have a (turbografx 16+turbocd) as well and i still have that fear the gear in it will,break one day.

Jehusephat

03-04-2011, 03:44 AM

I'm currently in possession of at least a dozen non-working model 2 Sega CD systems. In fact, I've never actually found a working Sega CD in the wild, aside from a barely working CDx console. As well, a childhood friend of mine went through three defective units before his parents refused to buy him another. Maybe it's just something in the air where I live. Dunno.

I bought a used Model 2 Sega CD in 1995, and have had absolutely no trouble with it in 16 years; I was just playing Shining Force CD on it not long ago. You've made me feel quite lucky that I haven't had to track down a working system at any point. I've put mine through more abuse than it was ever meant to tolerate. Maybe it's the discipline that has kept the system in line for all of these years.

I did have a SNES die on me at one point, although it never actually stopped working. Certain games would display garbled graphics in a very consistent manner, whereas others would work fine. I haven't heard of many SNES failures; at least the system is easy to come by.

I can think of a system that regularly fails, but it's not a classic: The DS Lite. I purchased two of them, and they both suffered from severely cracked hinges. I finally upgraded to a DSi XL, which I never play for fear that the hinges might crack.

Gameguy

03-04-2011, 09:23 AM

I did have a SNES die on me at one point, although it never actually stopped working. Certain games would display garbled graphics in a very consistent manner, whereas others would work fine. I haven't heard of many SNES failures; at least the system is easy to come by.
I've got a defective SNES that I got recently from a thrift store. Most games still work, but the sound doesn't work right. It's like I can hear only one sound channel so it's mostly just sound effects with no music or the music is distorted, it's really bad. One game I've tried can't get past a start up screen, yet the game works fine on my other systems.

I've yet to encounter a non-functioning Sega CD. That being said, I only check out front loaders, so maybe the clamshell models are less reliable.
Seriously? Every front loader I've come across wasn't working, yet I haven't had any problems with Model 2s. The Model 2s are like tanks compared to the front loaders.

Nature Boy

03-04-2011, 09:48 AM

I'm not sure if I would count it. In my experience, with enough cleaning of either the game contacts or the 72 pin connector, the majority of blinking screen problems are fixable.

I think you have to count the NES.

Much like with the 360, where my own has failed plus like 5 other people at work, and the original PSX, where you had to lean it on it's side but it would still work, the blinking screen thing was common.

If the internet with Twitter and Facebook existed back in the days of the NES, the entire internet would have exploded when it started happening.

Rob2600

03-04-2011, 02:18 PM

I think you have to count the NES.

There's a big difference though. After I wipe a blinking NES game's contacts with a little rubbing alcohol, it works perfectly.

After an Xbox 360 gets the red ring of death, it's dead.

Hep038

03-04-2011, 03:11 PM

Funny what people will over look for Nintendo.

MASTERWEEDO

03-04-2011, 04:29 PM

My NES didnt have any problems until after i got my Playstation, and i had a NEs right after launch....one did need to use a game to hold the game down though

Gameguy

03-04-2011, 04:55 PM

Funny what people will over look for Nintendo.
A system starting to have problems 10 years after it came out is different than a system completely failing within 2-3 years. The NES isn't that bad.

kedawa

03-04-2011, 07:12 PM

It didn't take that long for the problem to show up. It was a pretty obvious design flaw right from the start, but Mattel seemed to be okay with it. I never really had much trouble getting the games to boot. I always wiggled the cartridge all the way to the front after pushing it down, and that usually did the trick.

ChuChuFlamingo

05-22-2011, 02:07 AM

PS2 and Famciom Disk System for me.

Heck, I remember my launch PS2 being unable to read blue-layered disc.

On the other hand, famicom disk system had some major flaws. Almost all games did not have a shutter to protect the exposed area. On top of that, the belts were propriertary in size and broke frequently.

xelement5x

05-22-2011, 01:02 PM

Like other folks have brought up, I've had the caps in GameGears fail, but at least it's gradual and bearable if you can hold the unit at a weird angle. The TurboDuo and TurboGrafx CD also have capacitor problems I know, but I use a Duo-RX to prevent having to deal with them.

I've also had SegaCD issues, but most of them are pretty minor to fix. Model 1s require a bit more finesse depending on the issue, but Model 2s are pretty solid. The big issue I always see is a blown fuse because someone stuck and NES adapter into the unit.

ApolloBoy

05-22-2011, 02:22 PM

Funny what people will over look for Nintendo.
...And?

Steve W

05-22-2011, 03:02 PM

My original 1986 NES started acting up within a year or two. First it wouldn't lock down anymore, so I'd have to stuff a dust cover inside to keep the cartridge down. Then it started blinking every once in a while. Eventually I set it aside and bought an Atari 7800. Going strong to this day.

NYLatenite

05-22-2011, 05:42 PM

From my own experiences...

1.) Sega CD (Original front loader) - if it wasn't the drive tray, it was an annoying red light and inability to read discs.

2.) PSX (Early models) - Don't leave it on for too long, or you'll warp the laser eye.

3.) Atari 5200 - not the system itself, but those controllers - I swear they'd break if you even looked at them funny.

4.) Xbox (Launch model) - DVD drive very prone to read failures.

5.) Sega Nomad - crooked cartridge insert/loose fit = inability to read games.

6.) Xbox 360 (Launch model) - RRoD

BetaWolf47

05-22-2011, 06:40 PM

There's a big difference though. After I wipe a blinking NES game's contacts with a little rubbing alcohol, it works perfectly.

After an Xbox 360 gets the red ring of death, it's dead.
Really? I thought the RRoD was very much fixable. The only reason I overlook the bad pins on the NES is because it was Nintendo's first system. Very few of their systems have had problems since.

I'm going to bring up something that people really do overlook though: the DS Lite. There's a system that's widely known to have shoulder buttons that fail for no reason, and hinges that crack, yet people still recommend it more than any version of the DS. I understand the original DS is big, and the DSi has no GBA slot, but at least both of them can do what they're built to do without messing up.

My Mario edition DS Lite has a cracked hinge. I bought it in 2008, a year after the issue was supposed to be FIXED. The paint itself is getting white spots although I've never done anything crazy with it aside from having it in my pocket and playing it as it is intended to be played. Also, the plastic housing has felt flimsy since the day I got it.

goatdan

05-22-2011, 11:31 PM

Interesting topic. As someone who has bought and sold hundreds of retro consoles in the last ten years, I think the answer though is simple:

Nothing.

There were a few systems that had some pretty big issues right out of the box. The Jaguar CD comes to mind -- like one out of three of these seemed not to work when new, so much so that I hate buying them or selling them as new because they come back. But, if they work, they tend to work pretty solidly for a long time. My Jaguar CD has been working for the past 13 years now, and I once kicked it across the room as the console was sitting on the flooring and I ran by it and caught it with my toe.

The NES has connector issues, so much so that I don't sell them without refurbing them. But, although the games made intermittent connections with the console very early on it the console's life, you could with enough jiggling and blowing fix the issue usually.

The original Playstation tended to overheat and die, but it seemed they lasted about 5 years first.

The 360 RRoD issue seems to crop up WAY sooner than any of these, and is not fixable as easily as any of them. It's relatively unique, although I'd say the PS3 YLOD issue is just about as bad -- and in some ways worse. With the 360, at least you can detach the hard drive and / or memory card and you have your saves for your next console. Get a YLOD, and you could permanently lose your game saves and stuff on the PS3. That's pretty unique in the gaming world too.

tom

05-23-2011, 05:03 AM

Magnavox Odyssey from 1972, seems to work forever.

Swamperon

05-23-2011, 09:54 AM

Never owned a 360 but my sister's partner had his fail twice in quick succession. As for mine:

Playstation and Saturn: Can be a bit dodgy at times in reading discs but nothing too worrying for now.

Gamegear: Same usual cap problem.

Wii: Launch Wii had its graphics thing melt, console worked fine just no picture. Apparently it was a noted problem in launch Wiis. My replacement sometimes has trouble reading discs.

It's a shame DS and Wii aren't as infamously durable as previous Nintendo consoles.

Durability wise. N64 and Gameboys original - Advance; ain't nothing breaking them beasts. Megadrive is pretty resistant too.

theredlineboss

05-23-2011, 11:00 AM

I have many of the post-pong game systems here and while none of them have had the track record of my 360 (broke 5 times before I got a Slim), a number of them have needed repairs:

Atari 5200: Would not power on. Determined one of the chips on the board went bad, plus the RF switch was toast.

ColecoVision: Controller port 1 malfunctioning. Replaced the associated chip & reflowed the solder on the port.

NES: This cursed thing was a pain in the rear. Picked one up & a replacement 72 pin. Same issues. Exchanged the connector, same issue. Picked up another board, same issue. Tried the 72 pin from another supplier on the original board. Success. I had finally finished this right about the time that I ran across (and bought) a top loader for $35.

Sega CD: Would not power on and the fuse fix did not work. Wound up replacing the board.

Sega 32x: System was finnicky. Fixed it by disassembling it and reseating the connectors, before giving the connectors a good cleaning.

Game Gear: Got it with display issues & the sound wasn't working properly. Sent it out to have the caps replaced; problem solved.

SNES: Not a failure, but man, the plastic casing on these can yellow like there's no tomorrow! I swapped out the shell for a non-yellowed one, and some time later, the original shell fell off a shelf and shattered on the floor.

PS2: Laser went bad, needed to be replaced.

For the most part, my experiences have been pretty much in line with what others have experienced. That said, other than the NES, all of these systems remained "fixed" after I repaired them. Stupid 360...not so much.

-Rob

Brianvgplayer

05-23-2011, 08:56 PM

Durability wise. N64 and Gameboys original - Advance; ain't nothing breaking them beasts.

Gameboy Original wasn't that durable. There was a problem with lines covering part of the screen if one is dropped. I have seen this with more than one system.

alec006

05-25-2011, 12:55 AM

The 32x is also finicky when it comes to one game, Knuckles Chaotix. It seems there's something wrong with some 32x's connection in which Knuckles Chaotix will continually freeze when played on the system.

Really? I know that post is a few months old but I've never had any problems with Knuckles Chaotix freezing and I've played the game for hours on end.

Ask for systems, my ex girlfriend gave me her Fat PS2 with a drive that sounds like a gear or belt is slipping, and it can't read a music CD past track 20, but other than that, it works perfectly with no problems.

Ask for my Sega CD model 1, I got it to work by accident, don't know how but it works almost perfectly now...except for the annoying ejecting way too many times yet it says press reset to open the CD tray,but I get around that easily.

All my Nintendo systems still work rock solid, of course the NES with it's blinking but it's not a huge issue I mean the console is 26 years old of course it's gonna have a few hick ups.

BetaWolf47

05-25-2011, 12:56 PM

Gameboy Original wasn't that durable. There was a problem with lines covering part of the screen if one is dropped. I have seen this with more than one system.
Note to forum: never let this dude hold an infant.

TonyTheTiger

05-25-2011, 02:40 PM

I like to take a cost/benefit perspective with hardware failures.

Regardless of whether it's the blinking screen of an NES, a RROD of the 360, a YLOD of a PS3, a DRE of a PS2, or just a damaged power cord, the end result is the always same. You can't use the damn thing.

So that being the case, my concern (coupled with the sobering understanding that all hardware will crap out eventually) is not necessarily what goes bad but how easy/hard it is to fix.

The NES blinking screen is quick, easy, and incredibly cheap to fix. The RROD? Certainly less so and probably not long lasting. A PS2 DRE? A constant battle with the intermittent fixes until you have to spring for an new laser.

For that reason I wouldn't necessarily put the NES in the league of catastrophic hardware failures that require a specific skill set to fix or need a fairly substantial money/time investment.

The less trivial the fix, the worse the failure is.

Baloo

05-25-2011, 06:13 PM

Really? I know that post is a few months old but I've never had any problems with Knuckles Chaotix freezing and I've played the game for hours on end.

Ask for systems, my ex girlfriend gave me her Fat PS2 with a drive that sounds like a gear or belt is slipping, and it can't read a music CD past track 20, but other than that, it works perfectly with no problems.

Ask for my Sega CD model 1, I got it to work by accident, don't know how but it works almost perfectly now...except for the annoying ejecting way too many times yet it says press reset to open the CD tray,but I get around that easily.

All my Nintendo systems still work rock solid, of course the NES with it's blinking but it's not a huge issue I mean the console is 26 years old of course it's gonna have a few hick ups.

Personally I have two copies and they both work fine on my 32x attached to my Model 1 Genesis, but I've heard a LOT of people complain about the Chaotix problem. A lot of people say they've cleaned everything, game and system, and it still tends to freeze on the opening, or as you start up the level, etc.

Why this is I have no idea. Perhaps it's related to the Model 2 Genesis?

Peonpiate

05-25-2011, 11:26 PM

I'd vote for the 2600. I rarely come across a dead 2600 and I've had probably a hundred pass through my hands in the last 20 years.

SNES is also resilient. I have had mine since its release in '92 - complete with the piss yellow coloring and it still works without a problem. I also dropped it from about 6 feet onto the ground in 93 or so, which cracked the back of the case...still worked fine, and still works today.

CD systems are another matter, they will go out one or the other eventually.

Baloo

05-25-2011, 11:35 PM

SNES is also resilient. I have had mine since its release in '92 - complete with the piss yellow coloring and it still works without a problem. I also dropped it from about 6 feet onto the ground in 93 or so, which cracked the back of the case...still worked fine, and still works today.

CD systems are another matter, they will go out one or the other eventually.

The Saturn and Gamecube are probably most durable when it comes to CD systems, you don't hear much about them breaking down.

Swamperon

05-26-2011, 08:43 AM

The Saturn and Gamecube are probably most durable when it comes to CD systems, you don't hear much about them breaking down.

I'd agree with that, with GC over Saturn. I've known Saturns to go dodgy but never heard or seen a GC break. Mine suffered mulitple falls and still works perfectly.

Pantechnicon

05-26-2011, 06:58 PM

Apparently the Bally Astrocade has a tendency to build heat up pretty quick on the bottom of the unit, causing the the system to crash. I got an Astrocade a year ago and ran into this right away. Prop it up a few inches off the surface (I use a small cardboard box with no lid), though, and it runs like a champ.

DKTheArcadeRat

05-27-2011, 10:08 PM

Apparently I've been lucky. I've never had a single problem with a system, unless I did it myself. (Dropping a GameBoy Color about a hundred times, stopped it working, took it to get fixed, couldn't fix it, bought a new one, today? GameBoy Color WORKS). But I've never had a problem with any system, regardless of if purchased new or used.

^ All of that with the exception of my 360 (e74 error). That was one time so far. Other than that, nothing.

Gameguy

05-28-2011, 12:13 AM

What about the original Gameboy with the screens getting rows of dead pixels? Lately most systems I've come across had dying screens, no way to repair that without replacing the screen.

Steve W

05-28-2011, 01:24 AM

There were a few systems that had some pretty big issues right out of the box. The Jaguar CD comes to mind -- like one out of three of these seemed not to work when new, so much so that I hate buying them or selling them as new because they come back. But, if they work, they tend to work pretty solidly for a long time.

I can attest to this, I ordered my Jag CD directly from Atari and it was dead on arrival. So I contacted them, they told me to keep it and they'd send me a bare replacement unit. When the package arrived, it turned out to be the full boxed version which has worked reliably ever since. And because of all that I ended up with two sets of the CD pack-ins and Tempest soundtrack.