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DARKSOFT The Definitive Guide to Fixing Your CPS2 Multi Kit

xodaraP said:
That really sounds like a main program ROM issue as @Darksoft mentioned earlier.

The lighter screen is usually what you see if main program ROMs are missing, pure black like the second image looks to me like the code is running but it's crashing.
Click to expand...
This comment really helped me. I was getting white screens after successful ROM/Key writing, and this pushed me back to remove all the boards and reinsert again.

Found the bent pin that wasn't seated properly! Of course, I was tired and managed to break it off the program ROM daughter board in the process. :(
But at least that's a clear and fixable problem.

--andrew
 
heiligekuh said:
xodaraP said:
That really sounds like a main program ROM issue as @Darksoft mentioned earlier.

The lighter screen is usually what you see if main program ROMs are missing, pure black like the second image looks to me like the code is running but it's crashing.
Click to expand...
This comment really helped me. I was getting white screens after successful ROM/Key writing, and this pushed me back to remove all the boards and reinsert again.
Found the bent pin that wasn't seated properly! Of course, I was tired and managed to break it off the program ROM daughter board in the process. :(
But at least that's a clear and fixable problem.

--andrew
Click to expand...
Snapped pins are frustrating but it is fixable. Good work finding the fault
 
Thanks! Especially with the new design, the bridging pins seem normal. Changing an edge pin looks like a short job for an iron and flush cutters.
The Pogo pins on the older boards give me the willies. :)
 
After getting a new cable from highscoresaves and mounting everything back down I am well up and running! Cheers again to the lot of you to help the troubleshooting process, you all rock!

dc8JgGp.jpg
 
Yeah, once construction is done in my basement (currently getting a french drain put in) I'll be putting my machines back in place and tweaked up again. For tonight, back in plastic wrap the machine goes!

Cheers again everybody!
 
Ok, I've replaced the broken pin. It was the top corner pin on Program ROM 7. That seems to trace to the middle of the two row connector to the bridging PCB. I can trace the connection from the back of the small PCB to the connector, to the top of the bridging PCB. I know that's not the same as "known good" but it's enough for the moment.

However, after reassembling, I'm still on a white screen after the ROM load success message on the LCD.

The possible causes in the installation document are:

Broken Pins - Well, there certainly was before! Looking at the side view now I don't see any bent or broken pins, but I will pull and reseat everything again.

Bridging PCB installed wrong direction -- I think I have the RU pointing the correct way. I've attached a picture for confirmation.

Broken Sockets on B Board - I tested this A + B pairing before starting the install. If I broke the sockets during this process, it is not easily visible.

SD Card is bad. -- Possible? I bought this 8GB SD card from Saveyourgames with the kit, and haven't used it with anything else. Wrote the ROMS on my windows PC and then put it in the Multi.

I would appreciate any thoughts while I remove and reseat all the boards.

--andrew
 

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Better newsI

I checked all of the pins on the smaller PCB through to the back of the CPS B board. With that done, I grabbed another "known good" CPS A board. Everything worked! I loaded and tested 1944 and COTA, got sound and full visuals.

Looking at the original A board now, there's a significant crack in the plastic housing. I think that's causing enough displacement that the pins aren't seated well between the two boards. Although the poor lighting in the arcade workshop is a problem, having a half dozen working CPS2 pairs laying around for testing is real nice.

Thanks again for the support.


heiligekuh said:
Ok, I've replaced the broken pin. It was the top corner pin on Program ROM 7. That seems to trace to the middle of the two row connector to the bridging PCB. I can trace the connection from the back of the small PCB to the connector, to the top of the bridging PCB. I know that's not the same as "known good" but it's enough for the moment.

However, after reassembling, I'm still on a white screen after the ROM load success message on the LCD.

The possible causes in the installation document are:

Broken Pins - Well, there certainly was before! Looking at the side view now I don't see any bent or broken pins, but I will pull and reseat everything again.

Bridging PCB installed wrong direction -- I think I have the RU pointing the correct way. I've attached a picture for confirmation.

Broken Sockets on B Board - I tested this A + B pairing before starting the install. If I broke the sockets during this process, it is not easily visible.

SD Card is bad. -- Possible? I bought this 8GB SD card from Saveyourgames with the kit, and haven't used it with anything else. Wrote the ROMS on my windows PC and then put it in the Multi.

I would appreciate any thoughts while I remove and reseat all the boards.

--andrew
Click to expand...
 
Anyone know what might be causing the video and sound issues I’m getting in this videoCPS2 Audio / Video Issues? I reseated the boards multiple times, used detoxit to increase conductivity, and also tried holding the board down with my hand to ensure connectivity. Thanks
 
@nekojeeta more information would be much more helpful. what version of the multi are you using (i.e. when did you buy it)? What donor B board? What PAL? Issues with all games? Did you touch the jumpers at all? What SD card are you using?

photos of the front and back of the B board, and the overall installation, will also help.
 
@ekorz thanks. I’ve uploaded some more pics here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-7Hwx_RXSz_3N8JOcMX7AE7jz2YiC0wq

I didn’t realize the jumpers could impact anything - I have since removed the solder from the jumpers that I had started to complete prior to learning that jumpers didn’t need to be modified any longer with the newer kits and it did fix the sound issues, but the video issues remain.

I purchased my dark soft kit in June. I’m using the pal that came with the kit (GAL16V8D) and I have soldered a cable from pin 9 that goes to the J17 pin on the dark soft board (I realized today that whether I have that pin connected to J17 or not that I can still load games - weird).

I’m using the original SD Card and I tested the card on another CPS2 Game + Darksoft kit without any issues.

Video issues have occurred on the 4 games I’ve tested.

the loaner is either puzzle hoop 2 or Quiz Nanairo

thanks!
 
Backgrounds and tiles are both good but sprites are messed up. It's either an issue with the A/B board customs or a connectivity issue.

Look for bent pins on the multi kit or on the A/B interconnects.
 
I assume sprites were fine before you installed the multi?

does your b board have any factory jumpers on the backside?

it could just be the multi not being seated firmly enough. Press down on the graphics section and make sure all the pins are in there. It’s highlighted in yellow on the instructions, upper right bank of roms on
b board.
 
xodaraP said:
Backgrounds and tiles are both good but sprites are messed up. It's either an issue with the A/B board customs or a connectivity issue.

Look for bent pins on the multi kit or on the A/B interconnects.
Click to expand...
Thanks - I double checked and the only slightly bent pins are on the connected between the two dark soft boards, b
ekorz said:
I assume sprites were fine before you installed the multi?

does your b board have any factory jumpers on the backside?

it could just be the multi not being seated firmly enough. Press down on the graphics section and make sure all the pins are in there. It’s highlighted in yellow on the instructions, upper right bank of roms on
b board.
Click to expand...

I double checked and everything is pushed in correctly / firmly (pushed down on graphics section with no change).

no jumper on the back

it’s a 93646b-4 board and worked fine prior to installing the dark soft kit

only bent pins are on the piece that connects the two dark soft boards together, but I pushed them all back into alignment

is it strange that the cable between pin 9 on the pal chip and j17 connector on the main darks off board doesn’t seem to make a difference whether it’s connected or not? I wonder if I should just remove this cable and put the 9 pin of the pal back into the b-board
 
The PAL jumper is mostly a sound fix, if it's not in place your sounds and some graphics depending on the game will be messed up.

I believe it connects a high/low address line to the PAL that was not needed on earlier games but once 32mbit ROMs started being used in all sections it became necessary.
 
xodaraP said:
The PAL jumper is mostly a sound fix, if it's not in place your sounds and some graphics depending on the game will be messed up.

I believe it connects a high/low address line to the PAL that was not needed on earlier games but once 32mbit ROMs started being used in all sections it became necessary.
Click to expand...

thanks... will try to inspect everything again
 
Do I still need to set the jumpers for my board (bought last June - not CE version) - wondering if this might be the issue
 
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