Naomi Netboot setup freezing/crashing

[mmmmaerk]

I just put a Naomi netboot set up in my Blast City but every game freezes after a few minutes or they just won't start at all. I'm using an ATX PSU and running the Pi on it's own wall outlet. I know the typical culprit is a power issue. I tried the ATX PSU and the Sun PSU that's in my Versus City but had the same problems with the Sun. I tested each pin with a multi meter and this is what I found:

ATX
Orange - 3.369
Red - 5.086
Yellow - 11.90

Sun (The wire colors are wrong but the pins and voltages match)
Orange - 3.421
Yellow - 5.225
Red - 12.11

Some games are inconsistent, like Dead or Alive 2 sometimes not starting at all, sometimes not making it past the character select screen, or sometimes making it through a couple games before freezing. Capcom vs. SNK 2 usually freezes during some kind of transition, like before a game starts, between rounds, or after the victory screen.
Other games are extremely consistent. Akatsuki Blitzkampf never makes it past the "LOADING GAME NOW..." screen. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 crashes as soon as I press start on the title screen.

The seller showed this setup running Akatsuki Blitzkampf on a test bench with an ATX PSU so I'm assuming it must be something I'm doing wrong.

Thanks for your help.

 

[mmmmaerk]

Okay I'm dumb as hell and somehow convinced myself that the power supply in my Versus is a Sun PSU. I guess the solution is to find a Sun PSU and power the Naomi with that. I noticed today that there are some games that work totally fine using the ATX PSU. Tetris Kiwamemichi and Cannon Spike run great.

 

[Raph_friend]

Sometimes just reattaching the cables will solve these freezing issues.

 

[mmmmaerk]

Bumping this thread now that my Blast is working. Are the voltages I'm getting with the ATX power supply okay?

 

[mmmmaerk]

I hooked up an actual Sun PSU and I still have the freezing problem. Actually, I think some games that used to work pretty well aren't working at all anymore. I'll check the voltages on the Sun when I'm home from work.

 

[mmmmaerk]

I got a JVS power extension cable with a voltmeter from Lemony Vengeance. Only the display for 3.3v works but I used a multi-meter to check the 5v pin while CvS2 was running. I tweaked my Sun PSU to have the correct voltages. 3.30v and 5.00v on the dot. Nothing has changed and every game still freezes constantly.

Also sometimes the graphics look like this at startup:

I've been dealing with this since day one and I am very sick of this Naomi. I'm pretty desperate for a fix so if you have any advice at all let me know.

 

[mmmmaerk]

Desperation bump. If it's not the voltages, what could it be?

 

[dmg01]

I had freezing in the past with my Naomi 2, my main board would test "GOOD" on all RAM tests, but after testing multiple times it eventually showed one of them to be "BAD" (in my case, it was IC114). Replacing it resolved the issue. I know of at least one other Naomi 2 user who had RAM test report "GOOD" after freezes, but went ahead and replaced the RAM anyways one section at a time. They replace the ELAN RAM which ended up resolving their issue.

I don't know how common getting false positives are, or if they are more/less/equally common on Naomis vs Naomi 2s. It is possible you may be experiencing something similar however. Unfortunately after ensuring proper voltage on the 3.3v and 5v, it can be a bit difficult to isolate issues with these systems (at least, in my limited experience).

 

[PlatynumX]

I had a stick of ram in my netdimm that was bad but would always be "ok" on the test screen. I had similar random freezes until I swapped it out. You might try some new ram sticks.

 

[mmmmaerk]

So the RAM is in the netdimm? I always assumed it was in the motherboard. I'll check mine out later. I'll run the memory test a few more times too since I think I only did it once. Thanks for the info.

 

[mmmmaerk]

Oh yeah. I guess I could've figured that out

 

[themisterfalcon]

You could always send your Naomi to Ken at https://www.irepairsega.com/

He will quickly suss out any issues and get it running as good a new.

 

[nam9]

Good idea to swap around the NetDimm ram and/or reseat the NetDimm its self.
Are you using M3 bolts to keep everything seated together tight?
3x M3x30s and 1x M3x70 off the top of my head...

 

[mmmmaerk]

I don't think so but I'll look into that. I can just pop the netdimm right out with my hand.

Maybe this doesn't help narrow anything down, but the only game I've been playing on this Naomi has been Tetris Kiwamemichi because it never freezes during gameplay. I noticed that the attract mode gets stuck at the exact same frame every time, and the audio (annoyingly) loops. It looks like it crashed but if you press start the game continues as normal. The consistency is what made me think it might be something other than the voltages.

 

[notsonic]

I have a flaky Naomi 2 mobo, but it only ever boots or doesn't boot. Once booted it's reliable for over 24 hours.

On the other hand I had bad ram in my net dimms and that had similar problems. Games crashing, errors during transfer, etc but it would still pass the ram check. I cleaned the dimm slots with deoxit and bought new ram on eBay. I think using one stick is more reliable than two too.

This was the listing I bought: https://www.ebay.com/itm/330480793925

This is my thread troubleshooting what I thought was bios problems and just turned out to be bad dimm ram:
https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/different-behavior-with-4-01-and-4-02-dimm-firmware.20337/

 

[PlatynumX]

Thanks for dropping that eBay link @notsonic . It reminded me I never bought ram sticks to finish a type 1 chihiro to type 3 conversion

 

[mmmmaerk]

I opened up the netdimm and I thought one of them looked a little loose. I reseated both of them but still had the same problems in the same games. I tried with just one stick. Same shit. When I tried with the other one, I got no video on the monitor and the Pi couldn't connect. I put the RAM back the way I found it and I'm still getting no video and no connection.

 

[PlatynumX]

Check the daughterboard connection in the netdimm if you still have it apart .

Does it his Naomi have these issues with a regular cartridge game or just the netdimm?

 

[mmmmaerk]

You could always send your Naomi to Ken at https://www.irepairsega.com/

He will quickly suss out any issues and get it running as good a new.

I talked to him on the phone earlier and he said the fan probably isn't spinning right. I forget what he called the graphics chip. The BGA I think. The fan for that, not the case fan. He said to take it all apart and see if it spins consistently when it's powered on. I might not even get into all that and just send it to him because if it isn't working I don't think I'd be able to fix it. He said he'd replace my case fan too because I broke one of the fan blades off while cleaning it.

Does it his Naomi have these issues with a regular cartridge game or just the netdimm?

I don't have a regular cart to test, sadly.

 

[mmmmaerk]

I just got my Naomi back from Ken today. Marvel 2 still crashes after pressing start, Akatsuki Blitzkampf still never loads at all, and CvS2 still has corrupted graphics and randomly freezes. Could the problem be with the ROMs on my Pi? I'm freaking out. I am so sick of this Naomi.