hey guys my gamecubeS are BROKEN

[Steeler]

Yes, okay. Only post if you have any idea of what i should do okay?

Anyways, my first Gamecube broke a few years ago...it was quite random. However, I think I recall hearing something SNAP and then the disc stopped spinning. Ever since then the discs inserted will not spin...meaning the system will always go to the "cube" system menu thing.

I asked an associate at EB Games [olol] what the problem may be and he said that perhaps a SPRING under the lens or something was out of place. This sounded feasible as when I attempted to play, I heard something spinning and hitting against something else...but I could not for the life of me find a way to get under the area where you load the discs. So if anyone here could help me out and tell me 1. how to pry open the disc load area or 2. if the problem is something unrelated to a spring then I would appreciate it.

So I bought a new Gamecube since...I didn't want to bother fixing that one or something. I don't know. But anyways, this GC has problems reading discs...and does not seem to be related to the problem the first Gamecube had. The system can read the discs for about...10 minutes and then the good old "The disc cannot be read" error appears. I've tried cleaning the lens a few good times but that doesn't do much for me. A buddy told me it may be an issue with the hard drive or something...any help here is appreciated as well.

I'm sure I could get some good help here because I know you are all very very intelligent!

 

[Ecnemalas]

maybe it's the games that are scratched/smudged, not the gamecube?

 

[Dan Dan]

Buy a Wii? They play Gamecube games and have the ports for the old school controllers PLUS you can play cool wii games like ZELDA and pokemon

 

[Nekada]

Some of the games that were released for GC had some things that damaged the reader, meaning it had issues reading discs. For example, constant usage of telepipes in Phantasy Star Online put too much presssure on the reader and broke my first GC.

It is just a case of wear and tear on the latter unfortunately. The GC was never THAT powerful graphically. Luckily for you, now all the next gen consoles are out, you can either get one of those of buy a cheap GC seeing as they're completely out of demand now.

 

[ZinkOxide]

There ARE sites that help you mod your gamecube out there. IIRC the most common problem involved the laser diode assembly getting too loose or something, which precipitated you needing to tighten the spring. Really, you're probably better off getting a Wii, considering you probably won't get more than a few more weeks to maybe a couple months out of it.

 

[Steeler]

Well sure, I'll get a Wii once I find one, but this is more of a "in the meantime" measure...

 

[Cerivious]

I read a long time ago that there's a special screwdriver that can open the cube and let you mod it yourself. Search around on eBay if you really need it.

 

[Dan Dan]

I can sell you my Gamecube :P

 

[Atlas]

send it back to the manufacturer, doesnt it have some kind of warranty

 

[minty4president]

What did you use to clean the laser? if it was just a cloth chances are its ruined.

 

[Firestorm]

Are you still under warranty (1 year), if so, send it to Nintendo for repair. It's free. Otherwise, there's a guide at GameFAQs that can help you. Wii can be found if you try hard enough, so you could always go for a Wii...

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/game/915781.html
Lens Calibration FAQ is the one you want.

I had this same problem twice but I live near Nintendo of Canada so I just went over there. They gave me a refurbished unit and took the old one both times.