SO I got an N64 today cuz I'm a rebel BUT

YEAH! day the Wii U is out and I get an N64, so I bring it home hook it up yes it powers on, but that's all it does. No Picture and the reset button is jammed I'm guessing the no picture or signal is the reason I'm getting diddily squat.

On of of that my Monster S-Video cable is broken. I have regular AV Hook ups for now though.

Anyways, what do you all think might be wrong here, is it just the reset button or could there be more to it? I already ordered a gamebit to try to fix it myself, and loose consoles are cheap ($20 and I already have everything else I need so it's not a complete loss) but I would like to try and get this unit working first.

Edit: I just tested the AV Cable with my Gamecube, no issues with the cable so it's the N64

 

Test before you buy maybe ?

 

Did you have your own games or did you buy the games too? A lot of the time games come from the same collection so to find a lot of games dirty and not working is quite common. First problem shoot, give the contacts a good clean, I usually just scrub them with a cotton bud but a lot of people use rubbing alcohol as well. Also take a look inside the console at the connector, if it looks dirty give those contacts a clean also. You could also try opening the machine and give the inside a clean also, getting rid of any dust or gunk that might be obscuring contacts or the buttons. If all that fails then start considering a hardware problem.

 

I tired both games nothing

I power it on, the light comes on, no picture and my TV displays no signal. the Carts well I'm not sure what shape they're in they look ok. I bought the games too The only real lead I have is the jammed reset button.

All these years I call it the Nshitty4 and I get one and THIS happens.

Here are some pictures of the reset button and the 2 carts I got.

reset button
http://oi50.tinypic.com/sgig09.jpg

Carts (same 2 carts)

http://oi47.tinypic.com/11uj2gy.jpg
http://oi47.tinypic.com/316593o.jpg
http://oi47.tinypic.com/316593o.jpg

 

Unstick the reset button. Screen stays blank while it is held down. Had this problem once meself...

 

apparently it's a very common problem too.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100421130552AAU11Ri

You know Nintendo was known for indestructible consoles. This only proves that theory WRONG! and my hatred for Nintendo is well documented here, this doesn't really help my opinion much

 

Really your going to bitch about a old console not working correctly ? Lol the 64 is a great console , you can only blame yourself as shitty because you did not test before you bought.

 

It looked fine when I bought it!

 

You get what you pay for.

 

these are old machines but very tough old machines the problem is prob fixable with a gamebit and suitable screwdriver i have got a couple cheap loose N64s either dust inside the dust flaps, reset button stuck or faulty power cord has been the problem most are easy to fix it should run pretty well once you get it going

 

It probably has to do with the tv not being able to display the lower resolution of the n64. I was debating rebuying an N64 myself when I looked up that its a common problem to get No Signal on newer tvs with the N64. The n64 was made for older analog tvs which display the lower resolution. Also I would just go to a reputable 99.9% seller on ebay and buy one from there. That way you know the console is somewhat guaranteed to work. If you still get No Signal then its definitly the tv not being able to display it.

 

It's not, It'll display PS1 and SNES. It's a HD CRT it's done every resolution I've thrown at it. There's no sound either. From what I've researched and what I've been told here I think I know the exact problem. Everything is getting a good alcohol rubdown.

Already bought a gamebit almost as soon as I found it not working.

it was $50

 

old consoles tent to get tempramental years of use abuse dust storage / crap spilled in them etc

its probably the reset button, but i had a n64 (had it since new) and sometimes it didnt fire up right away i had to leave it on to warm up for a while, then switch it off and on and it would work as normal.

im going to get another n64 soon as possible as i dont have that one anymore.

 

I was going to get my genesis at the same place...but seeing as it was the dusty as all hell....Yeah I'll get the remaining retro systems online. If I get a Genesis and it doesn't work...the level of Pissed off I'd be would be immeasurable. I'm already annoyed at how difficult it is to find a Mega Drive in this country.

If I can't get this one working it's not a huge loss I can buy a loose system on Amazon for about $22 which would make my investment about $72. Since I'm getting a gamebit screw driver I can franken system them together.

 

Have you also cleaned the console contacts? A clean cartridge means diddely-poop if the console's cart slot is dirty. As to the stick reset button, I'd say someone has spilled something sticky on it, since the reset button is nothing more than a piece of plastic that slides up and down in a plastic socket, which presses a little button on the main board. Open that bad boy up and give the plastic a good scrub.

 

Buy a screwdriver, open the console. Lift the top of the console off. Poke the reset button back up and make sure the button on the system isn't stuck. Fixed.

Nintendo 64 is a well built machine, it's probably just full of shit inside, not everybody cares about old consoles... Sadly.

 

Best way to do that?

 

Like Hexigon said, just open the case (but I would remove the reset button - 2 clips from the inside) and clean both inside the gap and the button itself with a toothbrush. Put it back together and it should work fine.

 

Rubbing Alcohol on a cloth of some kind around a card.

 

Pretty much what he said. I use an old plastic card (such as a shop loyalty card), which I stretch a cleaning cloth (the kind used for glasses) which has been soaked in isopropyl alochol, over, like this:

(yes, I know the cloth is dry, I'm just demonstrating what it looks like)

Make sure to pull the cloth really taunt so it doensn't catch on anything in the slot and bend any pins.