Hello
Every time I start any game or emu, after a few seconds my GP32 randomly reboots or freezes.
( Actually it started acting up like this almost ten years ago and I stopped using it. Lately I was considering putting a raspberry pi inside this case. But it would be a big shame to kill such a rare console, so I decided to fix it instead. )
I think the problem comes from its card slot, because sometimes it says that there is no card. Sometimes it even corrupts the SMC card and I have to format it. My two SMC cards seem to still work perfectly in my usb card reader though.
Besides, it seems to only happen during reading or writing. The very few times it got to finish loading a game without rebooting or freezing, I was able to play. Two times it freezed during game too though, maybe it was streaming from the card, or maybe I am wrong and the card slot is not at fault.
In case it was a format problem, I formated both of them in the GP32 itself, using PC-Link and Orion's smc_format.bat. But it did not change anything.
I opened the console. The few slot connexions I can see look perfectly clean.
I did try to clean it anyway, by putting a drop of alcool on a card and inserting/removing it several times. But it did not change anything.
I did not get to unsolder the metal shield covering the slot. I wanted to look for a twisted part.
Of course I tried with different batteries, for I remember that weak batteries, even when full, could cause such behavior. I did not try with a power adaptor for I do not have such tiny plug, and I do not have any useless 3v power adapter I could cut the wires of.
What do you think ? Does it sound like a card slot issue to you ? Any other idea ?
Every time I start any game or emu, after a few seconds my GP32 randomly reboots or freezes.
( Actually it started acting up like this almost ten years ago and I stopped using it. Lately I was considering putting a raspberry pi inside this case. But it would be a big shame to kill such a rare console, so I decided to fix it instead. )
I think the problem comes from its card slot, because sometimes it says that there is no card. Sometimes it even corrupts the SMC card and I have to format it. My two SMC cards seem to still work perfectly in my usb card reader though.
Besides, it seems to only happen during reading or writing. The very few times it got to finish loading a game without rebooting or freezing, I was able to play. Two times it freezed during game too though, maybe it was streaming from the card, or maybe I am wrong and the card slot is not at fault.
In case it was a format problem, I formated both of them in the GP32 itself, using PC-Link and Orion's smc_format.bat. But it did not change anything.
I opened the console. The few slot connexions I can see look perfectly clean.
I did try to clean it anyway, by putting a drop of alcool on a card and inserting/removing it several times. But it did not change anything.
I did not get to unsolder the metal shield covering the slot. I wanted to look for a twisted part.
Of course I tried with different batteries, for I remember that weak batteries, even when full, could cause such behavior. I did not try with a power adaptor for I do not have such tiny plug, and I do not have any useless 3v power adapter I could cut the wires of.
What do you think ? Does it sound like a card slot issue to you ? Any other idea ?
