$40 N64 That Repair Shop "Couldn't Fix" - Let's Fix It!

$40 N64 That Repair Shop "Couldn't Fix" - Let's Fix It! The seller of this Nintendo 64 game console took it to a repair shop when it stopped working. The shop said they couldn't fix it for him so now I have it to figure out what is wrong and if I can get it working again.
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Tools I Use:
-Protech Toolkit: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/90il5y
-Torx Security T8: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/AEcBvZL
-PH00 Phillips: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/YGVSSv
-Tweezer Set: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/t0VrlcX
-Electric Screwdriver: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/2wbHzJ
-Thermal Paste: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/q2Prd
-Canned Air: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/CPYy
Equipment Used:
-Hakko Hot Air Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/y2JDR
-Nozzle for hot air station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/zpEWlT
-Hakko Soldering Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/MTL0qb
-Hakko Air Filter: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/Gqznh
-Digital Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/fAw8d4Q
-Stereo Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/WBO3b
-Kester Solder: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/ETXUh
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TronicsFix assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. All material provided within this KZbin channel is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. No information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result.
TronicsFix does not make any claims of the safety of the projects, techniques, or resources listed on this channel and will not take responsibility of what you do with the information provided by this channel. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not TronicsFix. Please do not attempt anything contained in this video unless you accept personal responsibility for the results, whether they are good or bad.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The music used in this video does not require attribution.

[@alienrefugee51]

Hey Steve. I forgot to mention on your community post about your health. One of my close friends got diagnosed with a type of stage 4 lymphoma years ago. It was a long, tough battle, but she came out on top and is still going strong today. We know you got this bro! Nothing can take down the "perfect amount".

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks for the comment. Mine is stage 4 as well. It'll likely be a long road. I had my first treatment a couple days ago and so far so good.

[@MrRahovart]

Please stay safe!

[@ForkNinjaa]

@@Tronicsfix Ugh so sorry to hear about your health. Keep up the good work and hoping for the best. Much love!

[@jorgesantillan1454]

Come on bro! Get well soon and fix it! I’m sure you can defeat that, best wishes and you are in our prayers.

[@vezokpiraka]

@@Tronicsfix We are here for you. You got this.

[@JerryTravisSmith]

My dad had stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, had a bone marrow transplant, and lived another 27 years (even going back to work to retirement). He was in a clinical trial that formed the basis for how they treat a lot of NHL now, and they have come a very long way since. You'll have some rough days, but you got this!

[@robertpayne6781]

That's what Mario Lemieux had

[@dbeaumontresident847]

Steve. You're one of those people that just makes the world a better place to live. You share both your successes and your failures, and don't sugar coat it. You're a positive light in the world, and I truly wish you the best with your battle. I'm a long-time follower of your channel, and that will never change. You got this.

[@Noelia-Nedds-You]

Hope your feeling better and doing well.

[@ChristopherBurtraw]

I can't help but wonder if that chip was fine and the pop was a bug that shorted some traces or legs, or perhaps a protection breaker in the power supply. Might have worked fine after a cleaning. I'm sure the seller didn't test it with another power supply fwiw.

[@stevenbenson9976]

So much this. Would have been interested to see if it worked after cleaning and before chip swap

[@Tronicsfix]

That would have been interesting to test but that chip was also definitely not fine.

[@ChristopherBurtraw]

@@Tronicsfix I guess I couldn't tell from the video, it looked more or less than same as the replacement once you cleaned it up. How were you able to tell?

[@dalevanderzee4086]

@@Tronicsfix why do you say chip was not fine? I did not see you test it. I would bet it is still good. Usually that chip never goes bad and there were no visible defects after you cleaned the terminals on it. Also you should have cleaned the cartridge connector. It simply comes off the main board by pulling straight up. Dirt and debris almost always cause issues here. I suspect that the system did not work due to shorted pins from the bugs across couple ICs. It started working after your cleanup.

[@paulsaltine]

@@dalevanderzee4086 Yeah I was thinking the same thing watching the video. After he cleaned up the board around the chip the old one didn't look that bad at all.

[@BrandonWAndrews]

Had aml leukemia at 37. Coming up on my 5 year cure date in a week. Had bone marrow transplant. You got this Steve. Praying for you and family.

[@RestorishOfficial]

9:06 Yeah you should have sent it over to me for cleaning! 😊

[@Tronicsfix]

Lol, next time!

[@Shinquapin]

I liked the Pikachu N64 you did a while back, and I laughed when Steve kept all the nastiness inside for you to clean. Same with that nasty PS5.

[@atomD21]

I cannot thank you enough for the influence you and your channel have had on me and my decision to start a repair business. I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and my thoughts are with you for a full recovery! Kick cancer's butt!

[@Spartan122S]

Glad to see more retro stuff on this channel Steve! Keep it up!!

[@Tronicsfix]

I'm trying to keep a good mix of retro and newer stuff on the channel. Glad you enjoy these

[@hamza361]

Hope your health is now better Steve! you are truly a legend.

[@Tronicsfix]

Just had my first treatment two days ago and so far so good.

[@korbendallas8488]

What did I miss?

[@angellisvamp]

@@korbendallas8488read the pinned post on steves channel

[@walkwe2791]

I love these kinds of repairs so much! Keep up the good work and recover safely!!

[@IFarmWeFarm]

As one KZbinr to another we wish you a full and speedy recovery mate. Very much enjoy all your videos 👍

[@12345.......]

Ugh. Nintendo and their obscure screws. Thank god for ifixit

[@Tronicsfix]

Yeah, not a fan of gamebit screws, especially if they are really tight. So glad iFixit includes these bits in their toolsets.

[@bobbyrivera2951]

Try apples screws. It will blow your mind

[@volvo09]

​@@bobbyrivera2951 I remember encountering them for the first time.... I grabbed my torx bits only to find out they were 5 sided instead of 6 and yelled out "of f-cking course apple did that" at my desk, haha Had to wait for a stupid screwdriver to arrive.

[@darylsonnier658]

Great job as always! Hadn't heard about the health issue prior. Good luck!

[@jesusalvarez3160]

I love your videos man! I haven't done repairs like yours but i have learned a lot from watching your fixes. Btw, the disconnected power cord fail was good~

[@KBDxTokyo]

Hey brother I been watching your videos for few years now. Over covid I started my electronic refurbishing journey and multiple of your videos helped me out along the way. 👍🏼✅ you were definitely a big inspiration. Just wanted to say thank you!!

[@Tronicsfix]

That is awesome!

[@mike_havens]

"Let's see what we ruined after trying to fix it" has gotta be the most hilarious thing I've heard from this channel so far😂 and best of luck with the rest of your treatments!

[@epiphany86]

Nice touch on the yellow progress bar ❤ it's the little things in life

[@Tronicsfix]

Yeah, my editor, Dan started doing that. I really like it too.

[@limpfinger12]

Another great video. Hope everything is going good with you. I know it's a long road but you've got tons of support here!

[@hirambenitez5168]

Thank you for your continued inspiration Steve. Hang in there and wishing you the best brother. Many prayers for you and your family.

[@Toku6606]

I like that you have been doing more retro stuff lately. Love retro repairs.

[@hdlbmxer]

great fix again. Quick tip: use some leaded solder (or low melt) on the legs first so you don´t need as much heat and put it back on with the soldering iron and a good amount of flux so that you don´t need hot air at all. Workes great for me in tight areas like this.

[@WladimirWostok]

Great tip! Also clean the pads with wick and PCB cleaner before placing the new component 🙂

[@Shinquapin]

Yep, I agree. If you use low melt solder, you probably could take it off without any hot air. Turned out fine though!

[@basser100]

Get well soon Steve. Thanks for this wonderful video!

[@Tronicsfix]

Thank you!

[@azed127]

Thank you so much for filming all these thanks to you I've learned how to fix consoles and been making a couple bucks off doing it never had any problems with my fixes so thanks so much

[@CDR_TUVOK]

Love your videos and am a long time channel subscriber. My son and I watch. You motivated me to repair retro consoles and have successfully restored my own and neighborhood friends consoles. Thanks to you 🎉🎉🎉

[@samha8564]

I love seeing these retro gaming being fixed and brought back to life. Love the the content and love the channel thanks

[@Collin_J]

Thanks for the great content, and wishing all the best for you in your treatment and health!

[@matias0506cr]

Hey Steve, I don’t comment that often but I wanted to say that you are genuinely an awesome guide and an inspiration for a lot of people to get into these types of repairs. I have nothing but the best wishes to you and I really hope you get much better really soon ❤️

[@backgroundnoise9310]

I'll bet none of the techs at the repair shop were old enough to remember the N64 lol.

[@ricksterk7014]

Absolute lol'z

[@CrazeReactsOfficial]

I was born in 2003 and work on old consoles and resell them. All positive feedback.

[@Tronicsfix]

Lol, probably not. They probably thought this was a clock radio!

[@Andrewsk19]

Sad 😂😂

[@johnbrown8059]

@@Tronicsfix Chances are, they are so young they would say, "What's a clock radio???"

[@redalchemy]

I love your videos! Every time I see your face pop up on my feed, I get so excited! I always enjoy seeing an expert work his magic on these consoles.

[@BatLB]

Hey man, cool video as always, sorry to hear about your diagnosis! We are all rooting for you, you will get out on top, we all know it. Fixers always get fixed. If you need a break, we all know whats going on, so take care of yourself and we will be here.

[@phoenragon]

10:30 Comforting to know that even professionals still make this mistake from time to time 😅 Thanks for all the great content you put up, Steve! Praying for your swift recovery!

[@olinezra1506]

Hey man. I love your vids. Just something about fixing broken electronics is relaxing. Anyway, i read about your diagnosis, Ive been a silent viewer of yours for a while. Fight the good fight, know theres a lot of people out there who genuinely appreciate what you do and how you present your work. Sending good thoughts your way, my dad survived cancer last year and while hes a bit beat up, hes still running strong. Hang in there man!

[@MarioSratss]

I love these retro console fixes. Great work.

[@ppppw2]

To think that little board, out us through childhood. Amazing. Sending well wishes for your health mate

[@flavioamorim1390]

Much strenght for you bro, hope you can feel better every day from now, love from Brazil

[@JD-tb1ce]

Hi Steve just wanted to say I hope things go well with your health issues. I really enjoy your videos I love taking things apart and trying to fix them. Best wishes to you and your family bro ❤

[@tyman517]

Tronic has uploaded a new video on a Friday!?! Let's go 🔥🔥🔥

[@exxiieyt1068]

Hey Steve, thank you for the video and fight through it ! You light up plenty of people’s day and I am proud to be one of them. Thank you ❤

[@thesegacampgamerandwerecam7504]

Awesome Job I'm taking a Trip with Mememory Lane for me I got mine hooked up with HDMI and it looks good! I'm glad you got that one Fixed!

[@hawkfeather6802]

Nice work! The mystery glob looked like old soda or something. Good luck with your treatments! ❤

[@backontheroad2020]

Hey Steve, love your videos! Been super helpful and entertaining. Hope everything turns out good for you 👍🏻

[@ehtgerman5869]

Praying for your recovery Steve! I can't imagine how scary it must be.

[@No1BRC]

All the best to you, Steve ❤🙏🏾

[@edwardshank5190]

I've been super busy with work, and used to fix xboxs and mod them as a side gig. Don't have the time anymore but your vids have been amazing. I've honestly seen everyone. I even have an Original Xbox that is all taken apart (still all there) and a mod chip I'd love to send you for free just to see you put it back together and install the chip. And then I saw the comments about your health.. stay strong. Please we need that perfect amount, on days my depression from what I'm battling has been so bad, but throwing on your vids has been such a great distraction. It's gonna be hard days man, but you have so many people rooting for you!

[@SirChevron]

Get well Steve. Your videos helped me a lot when trying to fix stuff.

[@mikesadventures3605]

Hey steve! Another great video! Again im sorry to hear about the diagnosis my partner she had stage 4 non Hodgkins lymphoma in her lungs and made a full recovery and is in remission. I saw how taxing the treatments were over time but you got this. I hope you make a full recovery. And i wont stop watching either.

[@jorge7317]

Amazing, first time in my life i see someone teaching the correct method to use the screws, first backwards until the screw get the correct position, then forward. This can be "the BEST joke" or stupid thing, but its not, this method avoid any problem with screw/holes and you can identify easily a damaged one & last longer your products (for example cartridges, PC plastic antivibration fans which are easy to damage etc...) For plastic & wood is totally necesary, for metal is not that bad but is important too. Use this method every time you screw something and forget about any problem for your entire life, trust me.

[@johnmcclafferty5161]

Hey man sorry to hear about your illness Hope it all goes well for you

[@RudeOfTheTurks]

I bought a user N64 for $25 back in 2005 after high school. Pretty impressive to see how much legacy video gaming hardware has inflated over the years.

[@robertt9342]

Increase demand (nostalgia and profit buyers) with declining supply (consoles breaking down and collectors not selling). Before the n64 it was the snes and before that it was nes, and Atari etc. original Xbox and ps2 are seeing more interest and a bit higher prices now.

[@MrPoeGhost]

You should see the prices on GBA games, it's disgusting. Emulation is the way to go these days.

[@IMissBionix]

Kids (or their parents) get rid of their collection as they move out/move on to other platforms as the hardware becomes obsolete. For the next few years, this creates a buyer's market as second hand goods flood the market. Then those previous owners get nostalgic, want to relive their memories and suddenly create increased demand for long discontinued products.

[@GUCFan]

Hardware has inflated, games have inflated. I'm glad Everdrives are a thing if you just want to play games, an Everdrive is the way to go. Same for disc based systems, ODE's are the way to go, in the case of PS2 and Xbox just load the games on the hard drive.

[@dicksdiggers]

@@MrPoeGhost man, I lost my pokemon emerald cartridge, it's the only GBA game I haven't been able to recover. Breaks my heart.

[@craighare1711]

Great video! Hope your feeling well Steve

[@xvision_6666]

Hope your feeling better and doing well

[@Tronicsfix]

Had my first infusion two days ago and so far so good. Thanks for your support!

[@xvision_6666]

No problem i help my mom out with her battle so ik exactly what your going through. Stay strong and god bless 🙌

[@ricksanchez3599]

good luck with your treatment steve. hope all goes well and the best of luck to you! stay healthy!

[@yogidemis8513]

Don't forget the power cord. It's helps. Nice work getting the 64 back working. I hate to see a broken Nintendo.

[@ItsNotRaphi]

Hope you're doing well and get better soon. Because of you I got into repairing my Stuff. You're my Idol.

[@actualgameplayjtm1986]

Hey men . Ilove all your work. Always watching your vids. Get well soon brother

[@xavieritaliano6083]

Good to see you in a good shape. Keep it up.

[@340clock]

Love your repairs on my childhood consoles. Hope you’re doing well.

[@lambofmetallica]

Great video! Hope you're feeling well!

[@xXCOR3Xx]

i think im getting a lot of knowledge from these videos and other tech videos as soon as you lifted off the metal plate cover i looked at that chip and was like that looks burnt then boom you put it under microscope and sure enough that was the one i was looking at

[@lbdjthethird1240]

Hey man, for whatever a strangers words are worth, you are a good dude. I am pulling for you and I know you got this. Also, thank you for cleaning that sucker before installing the new chip. That was going to drive me nuts and it made me smile knowing you and I have something in common. 🤟

[@WayneMcghee]

Hey Steve, just saying thoughts and prayers for you and yours! Looking forward to the healed post....

[@Huipie81]

Sorry to hear about your health. I hope you will get better soon. Stay strong and positive! ❤

[@NeedsMoreBirds]

I think it's neat that you went to the trouble of looking up the dead beetle and showing the ID in the video.

[@danksmoker420]

I hope you make a full recovery. Cancer is a scurge on our planet and we should spend more on research.

[@broncosbreaks]

Of all games to try 😆 Cool video! I enjoyed

[@RehTroRooTz]

Stay strong brother!!! Love you and your videos!!! ❤❤❤

[@goodcitizen7064]

Another satisfying video, thanks Steve!!

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks 👍

[@viisory]

Coffee & TronicsFix, I love fridays

[@JoshuaEpperson69]

Great job brotha! You kicked ass and cleaned that bad boy to perfection!

[@fightins1]

Dude you are the man got nothing but Love for this channel lots of great Entertainment.

[@CrassJackass]

7:47 pick up some ceramic shims to use under the capton tape, will help keep your plastics from going all gooey

[@Tronicsfix]

Oh, yeah, that's a great idea. I sometimes use quarters but they can be a little too thick

[@leonwatkins5072]

Hey Steve I just wanna stay thank u for all your hard work I want u to know that your videos help my anxiety and your content been with me for a long time iv watched every video im so to read your post about your health I hope u get well soon sending u my love from the uk 🇬🇧 get well soon ❤

[@davidbohn8955]

Get well soon Steve! We are all here to support you while you battle!

[@jayjayscoinbox9522]

Always try it first! The chip was nasty but I honestly didn't see the problem with it after you cleaned it. Yeah I guess it could of been shorted. Anyway, great content and nice job on this repair.

[@jquikshot]

great fix! so satisfying to see it working again

[@nibz7255]

God bless and i pray gor your speedy recovery brother love the channel and always great content

[@Alenix2000]

Quick fun fact: the N64 won’t show a picture without the Jumper or Expansion Pak installed. Maybe that was the issue in the first place 😅😂

[@Tilt_TM]

You can see when he separates the housing that the memory pack was present

[@ozzyp97]

A very fun and useful fact indeed... Back when I installed my UltraHDMI, I spent like an hour panicking because I thought I broke something, turns out I forgot to plug in my jumper pak. I knew about this too, I had the bare motherboard right in front of me and it still took me a whole hour to notice 😅

[@Tsigarinho]

I love your videos. I hope you doing better with your health man. Always think possitive!

[@CitoBlixk]

Hey Steve I just wanted to say you inspired me to give a shot in repairing. I got myself an ifixit toolkit and some other items. Though I can’t get everything at once because it is a bit pricey I’m slowing getting everything I need. I just want to say thank you for giving me courage to try something new. Much love to you and your family.

[@fishingboo9018]

Get well soon Steve! Sorry to hear about your health, but you got this man! Love the retro consoles work and the bug info 😂. Would love to see you try to delid a fat ps3. Stay strong king.

[@mohamadliy7786]

Respect.. I watch and learn more from ur video.. What i learn is nothing is imposible!!

[@jackthompson3968]

​​All the best Steve, a couple of good friends of mine had stage 4 non hodgekins lymphoma, one of which had spread to all his lymph nodes, both are now in remission and are doing great - you'd never know they were so sick. I've also had a run in with a rare oral cancer for the past 3 years and getting there. Your cancer isn't currently broken, but I'm sure you'll fix it until it is 😂 you've got this mate ❤

[@Alt_Aly]

I will never understand how the insides look so gross, my Aunt gave me her GBA SP that looks horrible on the outside but brand new on the inside!

[@Tronicsfix]

Yeah, this one was so grimy. Probably sat in the back of a closet for a while

[@samuelbaker8724]

I live in a place where all the game stores and other places can't clean my PS5. I've been to GameStops in every place I lived in, and they can do it (Just a reference). But where I'm at now, they can't. I don't even need a deep clean, just a clean fan.

[@mehere8299]

Your aunt probably dusts and vacuums her home regularly. Less dust in the air means less dust being sucked in.

[@kirkanos3968]

LOL i can will never forget the day my buddy knocked over his gravity bong with week old water mean fing nasty lol. After dumping out about 1 litter of bong water and setting it by the fan for a few hours we were right back to playing excitebike 64. Nintendo really made some beefy hardware back in the day. My fav. memory was buddy playing Skate or die 2 the vert ramps and was on a roll and killing it then he fell. Out of nowhere grabs the NES and chucks it out a 2nd story window punch's his wall then goes and gets the NES haha. Just plugged it in and started right up.

[@pinchofdoom]

Handhelds are usually designed to be somewhat dust/water resistant. Not "playing in the rain" water resistant but at least a little bit better sealed since they'll be outside, in a pocket, etc. Home consoles aren't because it's assumed they will be safe on a table/counter somewhere indoors. (Also, like other commenters said, depends on who owned it more than anything)

[@steveafanador6441]

I always loved the way the n64 looked.

[@krcameron]

N64's random signal loss on older machines are a problem. I wonder if you had left the machine running would it have kept the signal. Thanks for the walk through!

[@trevorstevenson4038]

Love this guy. I'm an electrician. I feel like I could get a soldering iron and have a go at this, thanks!

[@aortiz826]

I mostly buy old non-working consoles to try everything I watch on your videos. I got a 90%+ rate of getting them working again. Thanks for keeping this 80's man's heart going back to the good old days. Take care of yourself and tell that doctor to apply the "perfect amount" of treatment. 🍻

[@kokomohtinsley8716]

Keep fighting for us Steve. No one else can give us the perfect amount of thermal paste!! 💪🏽

[@stanmarsh5127]

Man this channel teaches you about type of bugs in US homes besides electronical stuff... Great work

[@vitogamer1115]

Hey Steve,I read the community post about your lymphoma...anyway,keep us updated and hope you feel good and everything will be alright

[@videogamemadness88]

1:13 glad you said something bout this cause it’s robbery on what some places charge

[@jayboo1447]

Awesome job @TronicsFix. You fixed an old Nintendo console that is unfixable. I'm proud of you!

[@arokh72]

Hi Steve, sorry, I wasn't able to comment on your community post. All the best for your treatment. When I worked in pathology the survival rate for NHL, in Australia at least, was quite good, I feel after 25 years it'll be even better today :) As a side note, I feel if the repair shop said they couldn't fix the N64, without even trying, as a customer I would prefer to be told they don't fix them right from the get go.

[@RodrigoCruz82]

I am happy to see that you were able to repair an N64, without a doubt one of my favorite console

[@madmanmike1980]

Sorry to hear about your health issues. Praying for a speedy recovery.

[@n64fan60]

Interesting vid. Im a huge N64 fan, i never seen a broken one before lol

[@DJOveryde]

Apparently you can mod those to support HDMI. Nice side project for you perhaps.

[@Tronicsfix]

That would be a fun one to do!

[@volvo09]

If you have access to a CRT TV the games from this era of consoles look best on those, with the colors and dithering used for textures, clouds, trees and whatnot looking best on the hardware of the era. In my opinion I think modern outputs and modern TV's make these games look pretty bad. It's just too crisp.

[@ReetinEntertainment]

I can't count how many times I have put together a computer, gone to turn it on, and had the power supply shut off.

[@Tronicsfix]

Lol!

[@lisajohnson1528]

I wish i still had mine with zelda orcarina of time and goldeneye with my rumble pack and expansion pack hope your doing well steve thinking and praying for you love from the uk