Halp, Genesis isn't working :(

[Holly]

I bought a 1st generation Genesis at a yardsale (risky enough I know) and when I plugged it in and turned it on, all I got was a black screen. The RF cable is in securely, and both the Genesis and the TV are set to channel 3, so I'm not really sure what is causing the problem. I tried using compressed air to dust off the circuitboard (which was really dusty) but I don't see any difference. Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong, and how I could fix it, or is it a dead doorstop now?

[DungeonMan]

It is most likely the inner circuits. The people who sold it might have noticed that it didn't work, so they decided to sell it in a yard sale where no one could tell.

The only thing I can think of is(if possible) use a game genie(maybe even sonic & knuckles) and try to see if your games work when plugged in through the game genie. The only reason I suggest this is because my NES didn't work at all with just the games, then I got a game genie and it makes even my broken games work.

Anyway if it's too much trouble(which it usually is) I wouldn't spend too much time looking for a game genie. The genesis could just be broken. Maybe examine the circuits one more time, and if you can't find the problem it might be a pain to fix.

Well, good luck getting it to work!

P.S.- The RF cable might have a short as well, although I don't know how you could find out.

[Holly]

Ooh, damn. Oh well..I'll try to find a Game Genie then, but chances are I won't be able to find one. Maybe try some thrift shops or something...I wonder if maybe the system was exposed to a magnetic field or something, the person selling it had a LOT of stuff and it would not take much for it to have been exposed to something it shouldn't have.

I guess if anything scrap the gold out of it...

[necrotize666]

When you turn it on and all you have is a black screen does the tv flicker or make a noise as the system is turned on and off?
My guess is that you need to clean it out with something other than air, the contacts for where the game is inserted are probably dirty and not making contact with the game! In a pinch I have used a little rubbing alcohol on a swab and it works good....
Also I am pretty sure that there is nothing inside the genesis that would be affected by a magnetic field.....

[Firefox14088]

Send it to "Vacs & videos" if you have one nearby.

[daminmancejin]

i still play my sega genesis Holly nice meeting you^_^