Struggled for 2 hours to fix a Nintendo 64 that just needed the power switch cleaned with alcohol

I spent an entire Saturday afternoon tearing apart my childhood console, testing capacitors and tracing circuits, only to discover the simplest fix of all, so my question is: how many of you have embarrassed yourselves by overcomplicating a repair that took 5 minutes once you found the real issue?

2 comments

2 Comments

brian86524d ago

You ever hear that story about the guy who spent three grand on a used car only to find out it just needed a new battery? I read something like that on a car forum once and it reminded me of my own PS2 days. I took the whole thing apart, even ordered a new laser assembly from eBay, turned out the ribbon cable was just loose. Makes you feel like a real idiot but hey, you learn something for next time, right?

mia44224d ago

Bought a "vintage" turntable from a pawn shop once for 200 bucks, took it home and couldn't get any sound out of it. Spent weeks swapping out wires, bought a new cartridge, the whole deal. Finally called an audio shop and the guy said "is the mute switch on?" I didn't even know it had one. Felt like the biggest clown on earth but at least now I check the obvious stuff first. Your PS2 story is exactly the same vibe, we all learn the hard way.