Has Anyone's Gp32 Irreparably Crashed?


mrdark

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Sep 15, 2005
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Sorry that I'm just asking a new topic every day, but it's coming to the end of that I think. Just trying to be as prepared as I can for the care of my system.

I've heard nothing but great reviews of the gp32, which is great. But because of this, I haven't had the opportunity to hear if the machine has longevity.

My question is, have any of you had a gp32 that crashed/broke in some permanent way? I guess downloaded program screwups would count, but I'm mainly wondering about internal hardware problems. Everyone remembers how the Nes systems would get to the point where they'd flash repeatedly upon powerup and not work, and Playstations eventually stopped reading discs very well. You know, stuff like that.

So has anyone here had a gp32 that just screwed up on them in such a way? Are any of the units notorious for working improperly? Are there any methods or programs that I should seriously avoid?

Thanks for any answers, I haven't heard anyone discuss this and I'd really like to take care of this thing since it's apparently pretty hard to replace.
 
As it havent any mechanic parts (only the buttons)it is very unlikely to wear out like cd player, only thing that can make the hardware "unusable" wihout opening it is a bad flash.
Only hardware fault that isnt user related is the flash dieing, have happend to 2 or 3 guys, and it can be replaced.
Of course, you can kill the gp by useing a foulty power adapter etc, but thats the users foult, and can also be fixed by replaceing a diod.
When the unit turns on there cant be anything dead, maybe the frontlight if it is a flu unit.

So short answer: no
 
I see what you mean. That's cool, it doesn't seem very fagile. I just assumed maybe like PCs, it could stall or not run correctly or get a virus or magically erase my files or something. Glad to know it's sturdy, but if anyone HAS had problems like this, I'd love to know!

Oh and how does someone have a "bad" flash? Does something get corrupted when writing to the SMC?
 
the gp2x wont turn on anymore after a bad flash, well it would jsut show a white screen, it happens when you turn it of, or it looses power, while changeing the firmware.
 
mrdark posted on Sep 17 2005 at 10:12 PM said:
I see what you mean. That's cool, it doesn't seem very fagile. I just assumed maybe like PCs, it could stall or not run correctly or get a virus or magically erase my files or something. Glad to know it's sturdy, but if anyone HAS had problems like this, I'd love to know!

Oh and how does someone have a "bad" flash? Does something get corrupted when writing to the SMC?

Bad flashes apparently occur when people try to re-flash their firmware with low batteries, although I've never known anyone who's had that problem. There have been a few issues with some games writing to SMCs, but they're not major, and certainly won't render your GP32 unusable :)
 
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Well, I once dropped my GP32 into a lake (don't ask :ph34r:). After it dried, I found that the speakers seemed slightly damaged (a few frequencies wouldn't sound, but when using headphones it was still fine) and also the screen was now divided horizontally into equal three parts, with each part having a slightly different brightness. On some days it's noticeable that one third of the screen is less bright than others, while on others I can barely notice it at all - it seems to flunctuate. I'm really not sure what's the problem there (if anybody knows, that would be much appreciated). Other than that, the worst thing is the joystick - it's very difficult to play games which have diagonals because it's a little hard to get them, and it seems like the joystick has gotten slightly worse. Not all GP32s have problems with joysticks though, and if you have a BLU+ chances are that you won't (see this poll of GP32 users).

The main problem has actually been my Smartmedia Card, not the GP32 - it's in the process of dying and I can no longer copy new programs onto in like DrMDv3.0 :( I just get a BIOS error.

Hopefully I'll buy a new SMC soon...
 
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Ive only had 2 problems one not a real big deal, the sholder buttons and that was fixed with paper.
And 2 kind of a big deal i used the power adapter and once i was done wit it and tried to use batt power it wouldnt start. i could get it working again buy turning it on and inserting the power plug and pulling it out 3 or 4 times but then after a mont or so it wouldnt fire so i just oppend it up and sodered the center pin ad the side wall to the apropit batt terminals in side so now it works but i have to make sure i take out the batts other wise i may over charg them.

Bourbon
 
Killed my first GP32 Nlu (Non Lit Unit) by connecting the power adaptor the wrong way (Stupid me :rolleyes:). I was using the adaptor with something else before using it on the GP and forgot to swap the polarity over (Dumb).

One thing NOT to do, Especially if you use windows XP or have access to a machine that is running XP, Is to NOT format the SMC via XP if you use a card reader, As the GP will not be able to use/read it until it is formated properly (even if you use the fat 16 option in XP it will still not work).

If you need to format an SMC for use on the GP you have a few options, Format the card via the GP it`s self using slubmans commander or via the firmware if the GP has been flashed with a firmware that provides a format option (some do). You can also format the SMC via a card reader if you have access to a win 98 machine using the fat 12/16 format option. If you don`t have a card reader, You could always use the format option in the pc-link file transfer software for windows based computers via the usb cable usually supplied with all GP32`s.

Trooper
 
Whoa, thanks for the information but now I AM a little concerned. I'm glad that many of you have had small or no issues, and I can understand dropping it in water. But this firmware and flashing stuff scares me.

As I've said, I'm brand new to this machine. What exactly is firmware, and does flashing it simply mean connecting it to the PC and downloading onto the card?

I've bought a used BLU+ so I'm assuming that it already has this firmware. But if it has to be updated, this means that I should only do it with some brand new batteries because otherwise it'll corrupt the foundation of the machine's operating system?

I can be observant enough to try to use good batteries and stuff like that, but with the price I paid and low availability, it'll be damn hard to replace this thing. How sensitive and careful must I be with this flashing- do I have to do it often (or at all since it's used) and is it this possible to corrupt when flashing stuff like roms too?
 
You dont have to be :)
The gp32 haves a flash (tiny storage) for the firmware ("operateing system") build in, you cant store anything there, its only for the firmware, there are alternate firmwares with different look/additional fetures, you normaly dont have to touch it if you dont want.
 
mrdark posted on Sep 18 2005 at 03:37 PM said:
I've bought a used BLU+ so I'm assuming that it already has this firmware. But if it has to be updated, this means that I should only do it with some brand new batteries because otherwise it'll corrupt the foundation of the machine's operating system?

Since you've got a BLU+, even though it is used it should have the BLU+ Euro firmware in it already (unless the person before you flashed it with something else). You don't really need to do anything to run stuff on your GP32. I bought a BLU (not +) and still am using the Euro firmware that was in it when I bought it (mine was new).

Many people may say 'use this firmware' or 'firmware xyz pwns all' etc but if you can run apps on your gp32 and are happy with that, there's no need to change really.

@bourbon: love your sig pic.
 
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Thanks guys, this is the kind of information that helps. By far the biggest function I will use the gp32 for is emulation, since I have hundreds of roms. I'm interested in MP3 but don't have many, and I'd like to check out the movie player but I have no idea where to get films except for P2P which I'll never do. SO when it boils down to it, this baby will mainly be my portable Nes, Snes, Genesis, and GBA.

I do know that the previous owner keeps talking about playing his roms on it, and he's throwing in a bunch of games and stuff for me to use, so I'm assuming that it has whatever firmware it needs. So I'm to understand that the only reason to "flash" new firmware is to make a different main interface, with different features and stuff?

If so, then I guess I'd prefer to leave it alone. But I'm still somewhat confused. If the emus work and stuff like that, what real purpose would there be to getting different firmware? Does it do stuff as drastic as make the games run much smoother or cut down on memory usage, etc? Or is it just superficial and makes the menus look prettier and stuff?

Sorry to ask so many questions. I know there are faqs and things like that around this site, but I can't seem to find answers to some of these specifics. Like I said, I'm mostly worried about (A) ease of use when flashing games and files, and (B) likeliness of the unit permanently messing up. I guess I would like to customize the gp32 interface by putting my own picture in the background and stuff, but I don't even know if that's possible so I guess I'll leave it alone...
 
So I'm to understand that the only reason to "flash" new firmware is to make a different main interface, with different features and stuff?

You are correct, Though some offer the firmware as a runable program (slubmans commander for instance) so you don`t have to flash your firmware to be able to use them. Here are a couple of pics of some firmware/launchers.

Blumenu.jpg

Official Euro fimware

Koreanmenu.jpg

Original korean firmware

SlubmanFirmware.gif

Slubmans firmware

Trooper
 
mrdark posted on Sep 18 2005 at 08:50 AM said:
and I'd like to check out the movie player but I have no idea where to get films except for P2P which I'll never do.

If you want to try the movie player, then there are public domain films already coded for the GP32 available here :-
http://www.gptheatre.co.uk/
 
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