Last week I got myself a nice PC Engine / CD-Rom2 setup. It reads CD-Rs without any issues but something happened (two times so far) which is a tad weird, maybe someone has an explanation for this. Two days ago, I inserted a disc to play, but then I hit the RUN button, I got the usual PLEASE WAIT message, but nothing happened, I couldn't hear the drive spinning, nor any ticking noises. I switched off the machine and switched it back on, tried it again, voila, worked. I didn't give it much thought but today it happened again with a different game (Wonderboy 3). Exactly the same thing... PLEASE WAIT message and no disc spinning. Tried it for like 3 times with the same game - didn't work (I didn't try to resit the CD in between), then I put another game and it worked immediately. After which, I tried Wonderboy 3, and it booted just fine. Any ideas? Cheers!
Ok it just happened again. I re-opened the lid several times, but it still got stuck with "WAIT A MOMENT" with disc not spinning problem every time. In the end I switched it off, and back on- had to do this a few times before the disc decided to work. Just wondering, could it be that my 3rd party PSU is not outputting enough voltage? (It is one of those 7.5v/9v/12 adapters - it says regulated on the box). Is it risky to put it on 12v?
Recapping does sound like a good idea. Unfortunately they don't last forever. I think the regular DUO systems are somewhat notorious for needing to be recapped. But any old system might end up needing it. When caps start to have functional problems or fail is going to vary for every single cap.
do you hear (or see afterward) the laser return to the center when a new disc is inserted? might as well check the condition of the middle idler gear while you have it opened. could be seizing up from the old dried out lubricant on it.
Do you mean when I try a game and it doesn't work? If so, I do not hear anything in that case I think I will have the drive lubricated, caps replaced, and change the middle gear. Hopefully one of those would fix the problem.
All electrolytic capacitors have a life span and will need to be replaced eventually. Some systems (SegaCD1, GameGear) have surface mounted capacitors that leaked earlier than others that didn't. I've had to recap a NES because the audio was no longer sufficiently amplified before leaving the console for my amp to be of any real use.
I'm having the exact same issue as the OP, my CD-ROM2 is very fickle about when it decides if it will load a game or not. Most of the time, I get the "wait a moment" message without a peep from the drive itself. But sometimes it does work and when it does, you can usually turn the machine off and on and it will load the game right away this time. But leave it for too long, and it probably won't. The middle gear is staring to wear out, but it's not quite dead. When the drive wants to work, the laser moves without any issues. It's on it way out though, so I'm gonna replace it anyway, but At this stage, it's not the cause of the issue. So the caps have gone bad in my drive then? Any recommendations on where I can pick up a cap kit for the CD-ROM2 (original white one)? *EDIT* Hmmm, for some weird reason, after disassembling the drive and cleaning it, it works fine now. Granted, I did replace the middle gear, but as I said, the drive wasn't making any noises when it was having trouble starting, so it shouldn't have been the gear. Plus, it was occasionally able to load no problem and I could manually move the laser by turning the gear with my finger. Maybe the CDROM unit doesn't work very well if the plastic shell is dirty?
All capacitors on my White CD-Rom2 unit have been replaced and now the drive is working, good as new =) This has been fixed by "Wolfman" from PCEngineFX.com forums, he is based in Austria, so if you are in Europe, you might want to check him out!
