(c) 2004 A. Karoutas ._____________________. V 0.24b (01-09-04) |\ /| | Lens Calibration | | for | | Nintendo Gamecube | |/___________________\| ============================================================================== *GUIDE INFORMATION* ============================================================================== --SYSTEM-----> Nintendo Gamecube --BRAND------> Nintendo --REGION-----> JAPAN NTSC, USA NTSC, EUROPE PAL --RELEASED---> 2001-2002 --FAQ AUTHOR-> Grey Rain Cloud ============================================================================== *LEGAL INFORMATION* ============================================================================== (c) 2004, Andreas Karoutas. This guide was written by Andreas Karoutas. You are not allowed to modify or change this file in any way. Use of this guide to profit, is strictly prohibited and illegal. If you want to add this guide to your website, please ask for my permission first. .__________________. |\ /| You can e-mail me at: | karoutas@gmx.net | |/________________\| If you found this guide in any site other than those listed below, you probably have an UNAUTHORIZED copy. If you happen upon an UNAUTHORIZED copy, then you should e-mail me so that I can take legal action. List of AUTHORIZED sites: /-----------------------\ | www.gamefaqs.com | |-----------------------| | - | |-----------------------| | - | |-----------------------| | - | \---------*~.~*---------/ Nintendo Gamecube is (c) 2001-2004 Nintendo Corp. LTD Other used terms are registered trademarks of their respective owners. I shall not be liable for any damages, incidental or consequential, caused by the use of this guide. If you have any enquiries, please e-mail me. ============================================================================== *CONTENTS* ============================================================================== To move quickly across this guide, find what you are looking for in the Guide Key below, then type it in the Search String. To bring up the Search, press together CTRL+F. For example, if you wish to go to "Game Heroes", you should type "PART 1-c". Contents Guide Key ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -PART-1-> GUIDE INTRODUCTION [ PART 1-/ ] |_a. Version History [ PART 1-a ] \_b. Introduction [ PART 1-b ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -PART-2-> CALIBRATION PROCEDURE GUIDE [ PART 2-/ ] |_a. Before The Procedure [ PART 2-a ] |_b. Opening The Console [ PART 2-b ] |_c. The 10 Simple Steps [ PART 2-c ] \_d. After The Procedure [ PART 2-d ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -PART-3-> OTHER STUFF [ PART 3-/ ] |_a. Frequently Asked Questions [ PART 3-a ] |_b. Credits [ PART 3-b ] \_c. Thanks [ PART 3-c ] ============================================================================== [ PART 1-a ] *Version History* [ PART 1-a ] ============================================================================== -0.24b-> Minor update in PART-3, and a slight change of the file layout. File Created [ 01-09-04 ] -0.13-> Cleared some slight mistakes from previous version. Added the new section "Frequently Asked Questions", and revamped the guide visually. I also changed some of the explanations, so be sure to read the new file thoroughly! File Created [ 13-08-04 ] -0.01-> Created the basic file layouts, and the first version of the guide. The basic stuff is already complete, but there will be another version, which will include better guide visuals and updated content. File Created [ 02-06-04 ] ============================================================================== [ PART 1-b ] *INTRODUCTION* [ PART 1-b ] ============================================================================== ___________________________________________________________________________ / \ |THIS IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC GUIDE, AND AS SUCH SOME OF THE WORDS USED MIGHT BE| |IMPROPER OR WRONG!! IF YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE THIS GUIDE BETTER, E-MAIL ME!!!| \___________________________________________________________________________/ First of all, let's start by introducing you to your problem. Gamecube consoles feature a very delicate DVD mechanism system, that as it turned out, was faulty. Running for 2-3 years already, 40% of the Gamecube consoles purchased, started showing Disk Reading Errors while playing a game. These DREs would occur more often as time passed, and in the end would result in the death of the system. Some consoles even showed the DRE problem before the first year from their purchase. Nintendo was keen to replace those consoles under warranty. But what about those other with the same problem, that were out of warranty? Of course, one option would be to send it to Nintendo. But they will charge you a price to fix it for you. Also you will have to pay for the costs to ship it to them. So, if you are out of warranty, and your Gamecube is dead, read on... ============================================================================== [ PART 2-a ] *BEFORE THE PROCEDURE* [ PART 2-a ] ============================================================================== This section is to inform you of your problem, what needs to be done, and other general stuff. Read through this very carefully, as it will enlighten you on many aspects of this guide. You can always ask me if you have a question, but please first be sure that this guide does not cover it's answer. ._^_. | 1 | MY GAMECUBE CANNOT LOAD GAMES ANYMORE, AND WHEN IT DOES THERE IS \-v-/ A DRE 10-15 MINUTES LATER. WHAT CAN I DO? Your console's lens have been "de-calibrated". Through the "strain" of playing games all this while, your lens have slowly lost their focus and laser strength. They can no longer read big parts of information, and they cannot read certain m-DVD opening sessions to start playing your game. They need to be re-calibrated. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | 2 | WILL THIS TECHNIQUE SAVE MY GAMECUBE? \-v-/ It depends. The problem may lie elsewhere, and it might be of another nature (namely, problematic DVD mechanism, problematic motherboard PCB etc.). But if you happen to be in the lucky >80%, this technique will add yet another 12-24 months of life to your console. From my current experience, depending on how well you perform the calibration, the console may and may not show any DREs in the future. But you can keep re-calibrating the console whenever a problem occurs. Usually, a correctly calibrated console will NOT show ANY DREs for a period of at LEAST 6 months. If yours works for a while and then starts again, you have probably calibrated impropoperly. Reasons which cause mistakes are usually not paying attention to this guide and doing something wrong. In other times, people overdo it, and change the values in the potensiometer more than the allowed. Finally, some few, do the mistake to misconnect the PIN cables, which also occurs in a DRE (albeit the message is "Gamecube Can Not Read Disk"). /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | 3 | HOW CAN WE KNOW THAT MY DREs OCCUR BECAUSE OF THE LENS DE-CALIBRATION? \-v-/ That's the problem. We don't. Before trying this method, you should try to clean your lens, as some times the easiest of all methods and the most obvious, is also the most overlooked. Also, in some cases, the lens are damaged, or the DVD mechanism faulty. I have found a solution, to these methods as well, and if you believe that your Gamecube is failing to load a game because of one of these two problems, feel free to e-mail me karoutas@gmx.net. But in general, 98% of the DREs problems that do not derive from dusty lens, are caused by this problem. So you have 98% chances of getting your Gamecube to work with the minimum amount of money spent. Please note that I have received MANY e-mails since the release of this guide, more than 10 daily, and I have a very hard time answering to all of them. Many also end mistakenly in my spam folder. I made this updated guide so that I can answer most of the questions in those e-mails. Still, I will try to answer independently any e-mails that I find to be NOT covered through this updated guide. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | 4 | CAN YOU OFFER ME ANY SUPPORT DURING THE PROCEDURE? \-v-/ I will try. If you have any problem, feel free to ask me and I will reply to the best of my ability. Please note that English is not my first language, and as such, I might be missing several "scientific" expressions during this guide. Also forgive my inability to sppelll and synnntaxxx correctly. My english suck. I know. Please, before asking me anything, check whether it is available in this updated file. I will NOT answer again stuff that I have answered here already. Also please read the above question thoroughly. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | 5 | WHO WILL BE LIABLE IF I BREAK MY GAMECUBE AFTER THIS PROCEDURE? \-v-/ Well, not me! You are doing this on your own free will, and I will not be held liable for any damages imposed on your Gamecube as a consequence of using this guide. I can guarantee that this guide WORKS, but if you are really clumsy at electronics, or don't have a steady hand, or simply have never opened anything in your life before, you are likely to break your Gamecube. You do this at your own risk. I don't want ANY hate mail! So far, from the 300+ (!) e-mails I have received, many people made their console work. In fact, only 3 people reported me that this guide "broke" their console. As I said, it's a risk. But the problem probably did not lie in this guide. THEY probably did something wrong, and THEY probably did not pay enough attention! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | 6 | WILL THE GAMECUBE CONSOLE WORK IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CALIBRATION? \-v-/ Most likely it will yes. But be sure to read the guide thoroughly before deeming this guide a hoax. Sometimes you miss a very important step, or read something the wrong way. Read this guide MANY times before attempting to calibrate your Gamecube lens. Also, the first time that you will test your console, it might not load. This is perfectly normal, as the first time the lens are doing an automatic calibration procedure, and re apply their laser strength, speed and distance. Try loading a game a second time, after the automatic calibration procedure has taken place to see whether you really have positive results or not. Finally, it is possible for the console to work PERFECTLY in the first boot, then fail you on the second. This is why it is VERY important to double check your console after EACH calibration attempt. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | 7 | THIS GUIDE IS GREAT! CAN YOU DO A SAME GUIDE FOR PLAYSTATION 2 \-v-/ OR XBOX CONSOLES? Technically I can. Since I managed to find the solution on a Gamecube console, I don't think that there is a huge difference between other consoles. But for the time beeing, neither my XBOX nor my PLAYSTATION 2 are showing any DREs, so why fix something not broken? If I ever attempt to do a same guide for non Gamecube consoles, you will be the first to know! ============================================================================== [ PART 2-b ] *OPENING THE CONSOLE* [ PART 2-b ] ============================================================================== Here I will explain how YOU can open a Gamecube console. Please read through this section carefully, before choosing what to do, as there are two ways of opening your console. Generally, you will need: * 1 "Special" Gamebit Screwdriver to open the console, * 1 Phillips (or normal) screwdriver to open the screws inside the console, * 1 Smaller screwdriver to remove the ground springs & turn the potensiometer, * 1 pair of hands & eyes carefully watching out as they take each step. If you manage to open your Gamecube, you are pretty much halfway there. To open it you will need a Special Gamebit Screwdriver. You can find these in many online retailers. Because they seem to be the only way to open your console properly, I will give you a link where you can purchase them online. They are NOT available in ANY shop in the U.S. or Europe, to my knowledge. Lik-Sang (www.Lik-Sang.com) is a site I trust and use, and they have them pretty cheap. They also ship stuff worldwide pretty fast, they accept most forms of payment, even including PayPal. I am not doing this guide to promote any site though, so I won't actually recommend you where to buy this from. So please, DON'T ask me about where to purchase this Special Gamebit Screwdriver. I am not endorsing the use of the "Bic Pen Method", which many people find to be a good alternative if you can't get your hands on a Special Gamebit Screwdriver but I can roughly explain it to you, if you think that you do not mind damaging your screws, or even, in certain cases, getting them stuck to your console forever. ._^_. | * | OK NOW! TELL ME! HOW THE BIC PEN METHOD WORKS? \-v-/ It's very simple. Take out the small blue plastic thing from the back of a BIC PEN, and the ink fluid container as well. Heat the BACK of a BIC PEN with a lighter. Once it starts melting slightly (we don't want the thing to look like lava flowing from a volcano), place it firmly in one of the screw holes of your console. KEEP it in this position for a while. I recommend more than 3 minutes actually. Try NOT to move your hands at ALL. When you feel confident enough that it has completely frozen, you can take it out. The plastic will have taken the shape of the Gamecube's screws, and it will be able to turn them. On some occasions though, it can get STUCK in there, causing you to destroy your precious screws which is a problem as you WON'T be able to open your console afterwards! ============================================================================== [ PART 2-c ] *THE 10 SIMPLE STEPS* [ PART 2-c ] ============================================================================== This is where we begin our guide, or the calibration procedure as I like to call it. From here on, I assume that you CAN open your console. Read previous parts of the guide to learn HOW to open your console. Be very careful from now on, and try not to miss any step! ._*_. | 1 | OPEN THE GAMECUBE \-v-/ Turn your Gamecube up side down. Open your Gamecube with the use of your special screwdriver. Turn the Gamecube back in normal position and slowly take out the top plastic cover. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 2 | REMOVE THE OUTER PLASTIC PARTS \-v-/ You will now be seeing the Gamecube's interior. Look to your left, and you will see the Gamecube fan. There are two screws on it that you need to remove. Do so now and slowly take the fan out of it's place, while taking care not to cut any cables. Leave it on the side, with the cables on. Now remove the front panel, where the controller ports are. You can easily remove it by pulling it from the pods on the sides. Also take care not to take out the pin cable that connect the front panel's PCB with the motherboard. Finally, remove the rear panel in the same way that you removed the front panel. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 3 | REMOVE THE MEMORY CARD GROUND SPRINGS \-v-/ Now remove ALL the screws that you can see on the metallic chasis where the DVD lays on top. Also remove the ground springs found near your memory card slots, by removing the 4 longer screws, with a smaller screwdriver. Remember to put them back before operating your Gamecube console! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 4 | SEPARATE THE DVD MECHANISM FOM THE CONSOLE \-v-/ Take off the whole DVD mechanism straight from the metallic chasis. It is connected to your Gamecube's motherboard with a slot on the front right, so some force will be needed. Don't worry, you can't break anything if you are careful. One mistake many people do here is that they try to lift off the whole metallic chasis. This is not right. You should ONLY remove the chasis that is connected to your DVD mechanism. Just take a closer look. You will see that there are actually two metallic chassis there. You only need to remove the one on top. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 5 | REMOVE THE METALLIC CHASIS FROM THE DVD MECHANISM \-v-/ Flip the DVD mechanism upside down (remember to have a game on it, so that the lens don't get scratched and dusted) and remove the small screws securing the metallic chasis to the DVD mechanism. Once you have taken them out, you can safely remove the whole metallic chasis. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 6 | FIND THE POTENSIOMETER ON THE BACK OF THE DVD MECHANISM PCB \-v-/ Now you should be seeing the PCB (green plastic circuit board) of the DVD mechanism, on the opposite side of the lens. Look carefully in the middle of the PCB and you will see a small screw mounted on a small square box. This is the potensiometer, and the route to your Gamecube's salvation. You need to turn this screw to re-calibrate the lens. This will re-adjust your lens. You should read the following chapter to find out how to turn the potensiometer correctly. Many people mistake where the potensiometer is. It's almost in the center of the PCB. Don't turn the screws on the edges of the PCB, as they have nothing to do with your problem! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 7 | ADJUSTING THE POTENSIOMETER ON THE BACK OF THE DVD MECHANISM PCB \-v-/ The adjustment required is very small, less than 3 degrees. Turn the screw really slightly in an anti-clockwise direction. That means opposite from the direction of the clock. Don't change it too much, or you will make your lens much stronger than ever needed, resulting in actually burning the lens! If you think you have turned the potensiometer's screw really slightly in an anti-clockwise direction, you have concluded this chapter and 90% of the whole guide! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 8 | RE-ASSEMBLING YOUR GAMECUBE FOR A TEST-DRIVE \-v-/ Re-assemble your console but don't put any screws back but those needed for the ground springs near the memory card slots. Then, simply place the metallic chasis on the DVD mechanism as it was (you can safe-guard it, by sliding it through the two plastic pods), then place it on your Gamecube as it was. You can easily find the correct position if you look at where the "slot" is. Once you have placed it, press it lightly and until it clicks into place. When you are done with that, place back the fan making sure it slides below the DVD mechanism as it initially was. Also place back the front and rear panels. Don't place any screws yet, as we may need to turn the potensiometer again. Place the top cover, and connect your console to the electricity and television. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. | 9 | DOING A TEST-DRIVE TO YOUR GAMECUBE \-v-/ Load a game that did not play before. If you are still getting a DRE, then you turned the potensiometer far too less. If the game boots but there is no longer the small "beeeeep" sound when booting a game, it means that you turned it too much. Return to the innards of your console and change the potensiometer's screw accordingly to the problem. Always remember to change it very slightly and remember that anti-clockwise fixes the DRE problem, but too much turn and it will burn the lens. Turning it clockwise, it lessens the power of the lens, resulting in more constant DREs. Also, before opening your Gamecube console to try and change the potensiometer again, remember that you actually have to try TWICE per time to load a game, since the first time an auto-calibration procedure begins that might also result in a DRE. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ._*_. |1 0| THE IMPORTANT FINAL DETAILS \-v-/ After some attempts with the potensiometer, you should be able to find the correct angle for it's screw. The game will load properly. When you have reached this part, your Gamecube is basically working. To prevent any mis-calibration in the future months, you should return one final time back to your Gamecube's innards, and turn the screw anti-clockwise for about 1-2 degrees more, to ensure that it's sending more stronger laser signal. Check if everything works, and now place back all the screws. Close your Gamecube and do a final test drive. It should be working perfectly! ============================================================================== [ PART 2-d ] *AFTER THE PROCEDURE* [ PART 2-d ] ============================================================================== Now that your console works, or not, you should be reading this section. Your console is now calibrated, but you need to know what happens next. Or your console may have yet failed to play. You still need to read this. ._^_. | * | IT STILL WON'T LOAD ANY GAMES? \-v-/ Remember. Some lens are faulty altogether. Or the spinning motor is faulty. You are in the unlucky 2% that have a different problem than the common. You should contact me and I will help you with your problem too! Also make sure that you have turned the potensiometer the right degrees. In the first attempt 3 degrees anti-clockwise at the most will be suffice. If it loads with the first time, go back and turn it just one more degree anti-clockwise and you are ready. If you need a second and third attempt, always increase the change anti-clockwise to 3 degrees. No matter if it is the first or the third try, soon you will realise an improvement and that your once upon a time unable to boot game will start booting. It might fail, meaning, try to boot and then stop but it means you are on the right track! A bit more turning and you are right there! So don't give up! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | * | IT WORKS! AM I AFRAID OF ANYTHING ELSE FROM NOW ON? \-v-/ Actually yes, you are. First of all, this problem MIGHT occur again sometime in the future. You have a 33% chance to have this problem AGAIN in the next 6-12 months. It's absolutely normal, and you can safely repeat this procedure to fix your console again. But there are some ways in which you can secure that your console will keep working for the maximum amount of time. Please be sure to read through all of them, as they are VERY important: * Do not move your console around. If you HAVE to, NEVER use the carrying handle. Pick it steadily with both your hands, and always keep it in a strict parallel line to the ground. Do not turn it upside down, unless when you want to plug an upgrade to the ports, and NEVER turn it to the sides. * Do not operate your console side-ways or upside down. Pretty obvious, but MANY people do this, thinking that it may load games faster, or that it looks better this way, or even because they can't fit their console elsewhere! * Do not move your console around with a DISK inside. Doing so will cause the game disk to spin slightly, threatening the life of the spinning DVD lens motor mechanism. Also NEVER leave a disc inside for a prolonged period. If you do not intend to play this particular game in the next few hours, then take it out of your console. * Do not leave your console's lid open for long periods. In fact, try to keep it shut MOST of the times, and open it ONLY to insert a new game and take out the old game. In any of these instances, it should NOT remain open for more than 10 seconds. * PROPERLY SHUT DOWN YOUR CONSOLE! The ONLY safe way to close your console is: 1. Open the lid, take out the game. 2. Reset your console. 3. Wait for the menus to pop up. 4. Close the console. 5. Close the lid. This procedure should not last more than 10 seconds by the way. The longer you take, the risk of letting dust get inside your console's lens grows. * Prefer to do SOFT-RESETS, rather than HARDWARE RESETS. A HARDWARE RESET is when you press the RESET button of your console to reset your game. When you do that, and depending on the game you are playing, the RAM may be cleared or not, the game code may be re-loaded or not, and the boot sector may be read or not. This causes a "lot" of strain to the DVD mechanism. It does not mean that you will instantly break your console, no, but if you keep doing this constantly, you are very prone to get the DREs sooner! Try to return to the main menus of the game using the game's option. Most of the games do NOT need you to use the RESET option. Try pausing the game and choosing EXIT, or any similar option. Getting manually to the menus is always the best way to maintain your console in perfect working order. Still, if you MUST RESET, try to SOFT-RESET: Pressing X+B+START for 4" will cause your console to SOFT-RESET. That means the console return to the menus in an automatic way, but without the need to re-apply any resetting of the RAM. It also does not need to re-load game code or the boot sector. In other words, this is a MUCH safer way to reset. So use this instead of the HARDWARE RESET. * Try not to open the lid when you are playing a game. Sure the Gamecube is a brilliant piece of hardware, and it will 99% of the times continue exactly where you left it from, but opening the lid and then closing it again needs the console to re-read all the important boot sectors and game code, often causing a big strain to the DVD lens. If you do that often, DREs will reach you very soon! * Constantly CLEAN the air ducts! Constantly (about once in a month) open your console and clean the two sides of it, where air comes in and out. Also try to clean the little plastic filter on the right side of the console. The more dust inside your console, the more heat. The more heat, the more strain put on your DVD mechanism! * Constantly do a THOROUGH CLEAN of your console! That means inside, as well as outside. About once per three months, open your console and clean all that you can see, everything, including the motherboards, the plastics, and the DVD lens. When cleaning the plastic parts, you can use a cleaning fluid and a soft tissue. When you clean the hardware parts, use a soft DRY cloth instead. Those used by opticians to clean glasses are the best. Finally, to clean your DVD lens, use a q-tip and alcohol. NEVER USE WATER WITH THE HARDWARE PARTS, AND NEVER BLOW AIR FROM YOUR MOUTH! * Finally, take care of the placement of your console. Do NOT leave it on the ground, where it is prone to receive more dust. Also do NOT place it between many electronic devices. This can cause the DVD lens to de-calibrate much sooner than normal! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ._^_. | * | THANKS, IT WORKS! YOU ARE SO GREAT! I LOVE YOU! \-v-/ I know, I know! It was a pleasure to help you. Anybody should be playing this awesome console, and I hope that you will now enjoy a lifetime of Nintendo gaming with it! I did this to help you all for free, and save you the hassle of paying upwards of 70$ to Nintendo just to fix your console. I do not need any payment for this guide, and no one should EVER ask you any money for this. But if you really won't take no for an answer, and wish to help me with my research, e-mail me for my PayPal account where I can accept a donation! ============================================================================== [ PART 3-a ] *FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS* [ PART 3-a ] ============================================================================== Here I will answer stuff that people asked through e-mails. I will try to include as much replies as possible, to as many different problems as possible. ._^_. | ? | So, where is the GUIDE PICTURE? \-v-/ Many people asked me about this. I promised that there will be one, but my digital camera broke, and I don't know when I will get one. I am very sorry for this, but you will have to wait. Actually I do NOT intend to include a separate PICTURE GUIDE. Rather, you will read through this, and I will upload the links to the pictures, which will be available online, on Nietsnie's server. It will be available hopefully with the next update. Please be patient and don't e-mail about it! ============================================================================== [ PART 3-b ] *Credits* [ PART 3-b ] ============================================================================== Grey Rain Cloud Weeping Shadow Andreas Karoutas ============================================================================== [ PART 3-c ] *Thanks* [ PART 3-c ] ============================================================================== Nintendo (For making one of the best consoles ever) GameFAQs (For giving us an awesome site to live our electronic lives on) Nietsnie (For providing some space on his server for this guide) Lik-Sang (For beeing the BEST online games retailer in the world) /==============\ |*END O F FILE*| \==============/