Ok, so I've recently gotten a 32x and am having some strange troubles with it that I thought this forum might be able to help me with, so Let's Start! The 32x will start most games perfectly until about 10 seconds or so after starting the game, the game will then freeze and the sound will keep on the same note from when it froze (i.e. it doesn't keep playing the music) and the same thing works with the few regular Genesis games I've put in there as well, but my Genesis without the 32x plays them fine, BUT the strangest thing about all of this is that Doom 32x works perfectly; heck, I've even test it and left the system on for an hour or so running and came back and it was all good to go still. Another game I have called Primal Rage differs and sometimes it plays for a while before freezing and other times it does what I described above. Before I get the typical responses, I will list below all the things I've tried 1. Resetting the Ribbon Cables 2. Cleaning the Ribbon Cables 3. Cleaning the 32x itself 4. Cleaning the Games I think these are the main responses that people recommend trying out and I've done them all, but still no luck. This whole thing is quite frustrating since it makes absolutely no sense to me since only Doom works and nothing else and all the games are in great condition with their boxes and everything (ironically Doom is the only game that I own that doesn't have a box...)
I've had a lot of problems with 32Xes. I think one of them would not boot any game at all. My current one works fine, but for a while the unit itself was making a hissing sound. I checked for snakes, but there were none inside. That eventually went away on its own. I think they're highly prone to failure for some reason. I can't explain your particular issue, though.
I have the same problem with one of mine. Not sure what it is. Could be capacitors. That seems to be the main problem with the older Sega consoles and stuff...
Probably not, capacitors are a big boogyman right now and while they are failing left and right they aren't responsible for everything. Sounds like something is crashing to me but I don't know enough about how the 32x works to say. Could be a solder joint expanding due to use and causing the crash but short of some magical machine to check out the joints over time you'd have to flux and reflow all of them - not something I'd advocate at this juncture. Wonder if Doom uses the hardware differently than the other titles you have.
I could post some pictures of the pcb maybe later if that might help since I still have it open (well its all put together with no screws) The other games that I own if your curious besides Doom is Primal Rage, Virtua Racing Deluxe, and Motocross Championship. I also had Star Wars 32x before I got those other games and it did the same thing, but I took it back because it was malfunctioning probably even more than these where it would have random slowdowns until it eventually froze. At that point I thought it was just the game because Doom worked perfectly. If we get this fixed out then I may just go and pick that game back up again even though it doesn't have its case unfortunately.
Also this is a random question that may or may not help with this problem...Do I need the Sega CD Addon to make the 32x work correctly? I heard something about a Terminator Expansion, but apparently I can't find them anywhere and I also heard that the Sega CD works in place of it or something. I mean, it does sound ridiculous, but who knows...I could believe that the system is so finicky that you need something extra to make it work.
Oh those things! I've never come across a unit that has needed one. I've got four of those 32X puppies rolling about in combination with quite a few Mega Drives. Only time I've ever seen address errors on any of my 32X units is when either knocked (and in need of a clean), but you've already tried that!
ok, so I guess that's what I need then, but I cannot for the life of me find one online. If you or anybody else knows of somewhere I can get one that would be very helpful because I think it will be a while before I get Sega CD (even though I want one!)
My problematic 32X in question would still lock up even with a model 2 CD hooked to my model 2 Genesis. I have a few revisions and it failed on all of them. Odd. Mega CD is supposed to do the same thing as the terminator but didn't work for me.
so what exactly does your 32x do when you start up a game? does your Doom 32x also work (assuming you have it) also a crazy question, but I'm assuming you've opened your 32x at some point and does it look like its been tampered with with even electrical tape inside it? I actually found a site earlier of somebody who had the exact same problem as me and even the same pcb as me, so I'll link it below (saves me having to take and upload pictures too) Apparently these kind of Sega 32x is different or something and needs the terminator port or sega cd addon...I still haven't tried to see if it works personally because I can't find anybody who sells one for the life of me, but yeah. Edit: Here's the Link I completely forgot to add in http://www.sega-16.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-19731.html
I'm actually curious as to what the terminator does and why it was ever needed, I've never come across a unit that won't work with a 32X, but that might just be because PAL generally lagged behind the rest of the world when it came to hardware releases. Was all this being done on just the one Mega Drive? If so do you know what model Mega Drive (VA1, VA4, etc) you were running? Here's some photos of the internals of one of the 32X units I had, maybe they can be of help. DOOM 32X sure is an odd one. That was the game I used for troubleshooting the wobbling / jittering display, but that didn't result in any hard lock ups like you are having :\ Edit: Actually, maybe the reason DOOM 32X is working so well is because you have done something terrible and karma is striking you down with those flat notes... It is DOOM on a 32X after all ;D (I hope you've had it muted during testing...!)
The port terminator was supposed to ground all the connections or something at least from what I hear...how that exactly fixes the problem, I'm not sure, but it was needed with early versions of the 32x I believe I read. I'm running a Model 2 Genesis unless your talking about the number on the pcb which I believe is where its at and I only would've skimmed over it while cleaning it earlier in the week. My 32x is really nothing like the one you showed in the picture. If you follow that link in my previous post and scroll down a bit for some picture links; My 32x is pretty much identical to that...electrical tape in front of the right ribbon cable and all. Haha, I quite like this version of Doom...its actually very playable and probably the earliest playable version ever. The music isn't all THAT bad with all its beeps and boops
From your pics you have a VA1 32X where the connector was not needed. Looking at the 32X service manuals and the updates some Mega Drive revisions required mods to be stable (model 1 VA4 if memory serves).
So I think my issue will finally be resolving itself soon. I actually got a sweet deal on Ebay today where I got a Model 1 Genesis, Sega CD, 2 6-button Controllers, and 10 games in boxes (2 Sega CD and rest Genesis) all for $140 and all of this is in great physical condition. This should hopefully resolve my 32x issue, but if it doesn't...well I got a Sega CD in place of a 32x which are harder to come by apparently (always thought it was the other way around)
I Have a similar issue with mine. Though now it doesnt even boot past the tmss screen. I've given up on it honestly.
