SNK Neo Geo Repair-a-thon Ep. 2 - AES BIOS Mod Japan to USA - Retro Console Restoration

[@GadgetUK164]

Always nice to get something that just needs a clean! =D

[@BorderlineOCD]

For sure! Although I was more excited about such finds before I started doing repair videos on KZbin. Now I think to myself "ugh I bet the boys aren't gonna get too fired up about this" haha. Conflicted priorities of sorts, since the tricky repairs get the repair junkies the most excited :) BTW, just got a chance to watch your Neo Geo CD ODE install. Very cool. I thought I was up to speed on all the ODEs out there but had no idea there was an option for the Neo Geo CD. One of the units in this bulk lot is a CD so excited to know I have options for reviving it if it ends up coming down to an optical drive issue.

[@Tiigsi_Retro]

I am LOVING this channel so much right now, keep up the great work!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks my man, glad you're enjoying the content!

[@mjc0961]

US: Unrealistic lack of jiggle Japan: Unrealistic extreme jiggle 🤔

[@BorderlineOCD]

What an odd thing to sensor out. Curious what other games I'll come across with similar subtle variations.

[@Asriazh]

@@BorderlineOCD Bobbing boobs sure is a "sensory" thing :D

[@thefifthdoctor6780]

Just got my AES recapped with rgb mod , stereo fix and multi bios. Wow what a difference!

[@RetroRepairGuy]

Was wondering why you hadn't posted in a while but saw in the comments you were moving. Hope to see the rest soon. I'm very interested and I've never owned or opened up a Neo Geo. Now you gave me one more thing to buy and fix and one more excuse for my wife to want to collect on my insurance policy. Thanks! PS Great videos! Keep it up!

[@ukmark9211]

Can't believe you think that case isn't scratched. It would drive me mental seeing that big massive scratch on the front right above the memory card slot. You would have loved the one I sold on ebay about 10 years ago. The box didn't even have a scratch on it never mind the console. It was mint

[@VisualDocFacts]

Where have you been man I have been wanting to watch more of your vids

[@BorderlineOCD]

Hey bud appreciate you checking in. I am in the middle of a move from California to Oregon, which also includes buying our first house. Things are hectic but I should be able to resume uploading in a couple of weeks.

[@VisualDocFacts]

Oh that must be fun glad you were able to reply hope to see a video from you in the future

[@notthatdigusted7468]

I have to dig my system out of my storage unit so that I can do this mod and play the awesome 1990s arcade games again I have not played in years. :)

[@snowman5020]

Great video again, really interesting, and nice to see the new products you use. Congratulations on another Neo Geo in good condition.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for tuning in my man, appreciate the comment.

[@pauldaniel6208]

Just found your channel and I like the quality of your work. Looking forward to more content.

[@mthanry]

Always a pleasure to see your work. Well done 👍

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks very much!

[@wolfzert]

Great job as always, I love this season of Neo Geo videos!!! :D

[@BorderlineOCD]

Glad you're enjoying it. I am too. I'm on a Neo Geo kick for sure :)

[@amaiorano]

Nice work on the drag soldering! Great video as always :)

[@joshbessler6991]

Do you plan to do a part 3? I really like your repair videos! Hope to see more from this lot.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you, I certainly am. I’m in the middle of buying a house and moving to another state but otherwise very eager to resume the repairs.

[@joshbessler6991]

@@BorderlineOCD Excellent. Good luck with your move, and I look forward to seeing more. Also, could you link me the socket you used for your unibios? I plan to put a new BIOS in my AES as well and would like to use a higher quality socket like you used. Thanks!

[@CraigyGInDaHut1993]

Glad to see another video. Wondered when the next video would be

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for tuning back in. I'm in the middle of moving, it has disrupted my schedule. I'll share some more info with you guys once my plans firm up.

[@deanjamieson7814]

so good man, really enjoy your channel

[@BasementBrothers]

This mod was done really clean! Just goes to show how a little patience and the right tools go a long way! I don't follow your point about saving money on Japanese games being a benefit of this mod. Since the game's display language is determined by the console's bios, no matter which system you own, whether you buy a Japanese cart or an English one, you will get the same display language. In other words, with or without the bios mod, the region of the game cart won't make a difference. But it is true that with or without the bios, buying the Japanese cart will often save you cash.

[@individualeleven]

Some games have a "blood" option in their SoftDIPs. Even in home mode, some games (like Metal Slug) *do* read the SoftDIP settings, but they are set to a default state on AES hardware as it doesn't have backup RAM like the MVS does, and the defaults change based on the region. At 12:40 when you pull up the startup menu, the second menu option allows you to change those SoftDIPs like you could in the hardware test menu on MVS boards. I am not familiar with the options for the Samurai Spirits/Shodown games or KOF2000, but if 2000 is like 98, there is a blood SoftDIP for it (but it seems that 98 does ignore the SoftDIPs in home mode, however there is a cheat to re-enable blood in the in-game menu).

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thats cool. I haven't messed with those yet but that makes sense.

[@rubenmejia4881]

Definitely invest into a desoldering gun it makes life much easier and less time consuming. Work smart not hard, I used the pumps and wicks they were ok but took so much more time and frustration. With the gun in a matter of a few seconds you're getting IC's out asap and clean. Any tool that facilities your job or hobby is well worth it!

[@ModzvilleUSA]

Hell yeah! Just bought a junk 9v aes on buyee. Waiting on the PSU, fingers crossed I get this lucky :D Board looks super clean so I like my odds

[@BorderlineOCD]

Nice! It seems broken traces are quite common on these but they appear to be pretty robust otherwise. Given my success fixing this particular lot I would definitely take another gamble on a junk Neo Geo lot in future.

[@ModzvilleUSA]

@@BorderlineOCD got lucky brotha! Hit it with deoxit and it’s golden. Will need to rgb bypass it for sure as the jailbars are wild on this thing

[@MondrianAtawiz]

Greetings from Poland! And thanks for the t-shirt ;)

[@BorderlineOCD]

Hey thanks very much for buying a t-shirt, appreciate the support! I hope it turned out good.

[@Ojref1]

The universe bios is the best upgrade I've done for my gen 1 MVS.

[@Nic03444]

regarding chipquik, put it on the pin and just use an air flow at 150/180 deg severals seconds to remove it easily

[@supersaito]

Great work, I really have a good time and learn by reviewing your videos. Keep up the good work. ps: I'd like someday to get a hold myself of a Neo Geo Aes, even if it's damaged lol.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks man, glad you're enjoying the videos. They're still out there to be found but unfortunately they are less and less affordable as time goes on.

[@KRSGRIND]

I´ve become addicted to these repairs, why pay a lot of money when you can do it at home!! have you ever thought about repairing fat ps3´s? i have one and they are a pain in the ass to maintain. Cheers!

[@nietjoost]

Happy new year! And looking forward to the cool video's.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Cheers! Thanks for tuning in.

[@petercroasdell]

Excellent video, I have the Japanese Neo Geo AES and I'm happy to leave it as is due to the carts being a little cheaper and non censership. However I can see it's nice to have the option to switch region should you desire.

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

All carts are identical apart from their stickers and artwork, and work on ALL machines, regardless of BIOS chip. These consoles are not region locked.

[@ChadLuciano]

Another great video, thank you.

[@Olly_C]

Nice video, always good to see people repairing these systems however minor or major the repairs are 👌🏻 One point I didn't get from your video was where you state that once you have the UniBios you can buy the cheaper Japanese games instead of the more expensive English versions because you can change the language with UniBios? Both the US and Japanese games are exactly the same inside, there is never any need to buy English versions whether your system is modded or not, the thing that dictates everything is the system BIOS. If you buy the US King of Fighters 2001 and put it in the Japanese system it'll still be in Japanese the same as your Japanese version cart. Likewise if you have a US system you can plug either in and it'll output in English. So doing the UniBios install doesn't give you any benefit in terms of which game you buy price wise or gameplay wise, they would be the same, it would just give you the option of playing either in the region/language you choose 🙂 Hope that helps 👍🏻

[@BorderlineOCD]

You're exactly right bud. I mentioned that earlier in the video and then contradicted myself to make a point about the cheaper Japanese carts when it's indeed irrelevant to a UniBIOS modded system.

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Hai fatto bene a mettere il socket,e' più pratico e il chip e' di facile estrazione,un lavoro preciso,sei un buon tecnico

[@mukeshgoolcharan6121]

Great stuff man

[@funnyguy150]

This video gave me the courage to attempt my own UNIBIOS mod. Would you recommand the chipquik method for removing the old BIOS chip? I have a desoldering pump/iron combo but it's nothing like a Hokka or quality desoldering station.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Great to see you back doing another repair video with Ep.2 from you OCD. It keeps getting better to see you doing your best to help these AES beauties being playable again to what they were intended for sure. 8^) I posted this up on the Neo-Geo thread on Aatriage.com for you. It's on post #25,017. Thank you as always bro. Looking forward on Ep.3 from you soon. 8^) Anthony..

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for continuing to spread the Neo Geo love. Very happy that your community is enjoying the content. I'm learning more about these systems with each repair and I can appreciate the passion certain folks have for the them, especially if they were the lucky few that owned them in their prime. I'm definitely enjoying experiencing real Neo Geo hardware for the first time even this many years later.

[@techtomek5062]

your videos are getting better and better haha the US censorship is always quite funny. Reminds me of the game giants citizen kabuto on PC.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks bud, glad you're enjoying the videos.

[@lookitskazzy]

The tape to protect the PCB from that mounting post isn't factory that was added by someone who had been in there before. I've seen plenty of damaged PCBs due to that stupid post. I'd just cut it off. Triads are great power supplies. I use them on all of my consoles. Great work!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Ahh interesting. If its not factory it's certainly a good addition. For such a high end system it does have some questionable design choices. Good to know about those Triads from someone who's tried them!

[@antbuch8699]

Good content as always, do you use some sort of magnification when you work on the boards?

[@BorderlineOCD]

I do not. It can get a little tedious with some of the finer work. My "helping hands" comes with a magnifying glass attachment but it's only suitable for small jobs.

[@JrManPT]

Nice drag soldering!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you! One day I will tame an iron like Voultar. Until then I'll keep practicing my drag soldering. Would love to get good wetting on the first drag.

[@gian.caraan]

At last. But is it bad that i want more lol.

[@rcboosted]

Awesome find of a gem. Makes me want to look for some of these consoles now. For the censorship, does it still censor if you set it to USA and MVS (arcade) mode? I don't remember seeing these censors in the arcade back in the day.

[@bobmcbob4399]

Defo had blood in SamSho at the arcade way back. Even completely slicing the enemy in half diagonally and the upper torso half slide downwards as an example for Haohmaru finisher. Arcade seems to have had blood dip switches as in @brandontolbird5329's comment below.

[@RealOG256]

Hey, could you maybe do someday a ps3 yellow light of death repair ? Would be nice to see it from you and keep that good work of yours hope to see new videos ;).

[@sean3278]

Can I give a very minor complaint? The game audio is only coming through the left channel. While I know this is a very easy fix and the game audio isn’t really a big part of your videos I just thought I would throw it out there. Sorry for being negative. Absolutely love your videos, keep up the good work!

[@Olly_C]

He is probably recording the audio directly from the Neo Geo which only outputs Mono by default, he should grab the audio from the front headphone socket if he wants the Stereo output 👍🏻

[@sean3278]

@@Olly_C it's really easy to just make the audio stereo in whatever editing software he uses

[@Olly_C]

@@sean3278 True, just if he wants proper stereo sound or mono to both speakers I guess, as you say not a huge deal for these kind of videos either way.

[@BorderlineOCD]

I messed with it a little and couldn't figure out how to do it in iMovie. I guess I may need to do it in some audio software before importing the gameplay footage. As you guys figured out in the comments above I recorded directly from the rear A/V port.

[@sean3278]

@@BorderlineOCD it’s a 2 second process in audacity (which is free but I’m not sure if it’s available on Mac) all you have to do is import the audio, select the audio, copy, paste, then select both tracks and click where you see the name of one of the tracks (should be on the left side) that should drop down a menu then you can select the option that says make stereo. Then just export it and all set. I hope I actually explained this well enough to help you!

[@cooldiysandrecycling7144]

perfect

[@hadesmcc]

I was looking forward to this!!! Bring on the rest of the Neo Geo consoles!!!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@Medwin88]

Hellow. What if when i turn on my neogeo with cartridge and the blue screen comeout . What should i do?

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

The censorship was interesting. I would have expected the USA version to censor less than the Japanese version. I wonder if the same would still hold true today?

[@issacthomas2201]

Great Vids, but I'm having trouble finding the power supply on Mouser's site. Can you provide a link?

[@BorderlineOCD]

I added the Mouser links to the product description for you (not affiliated).

[@issacthomas2201]

@@BorderlineOCD Thank You

[@RETROGAME-FIX]

Where do you purchase these consoles from?

[@Bartius007]

Does the euro version censor too?

[@davef113]

So annoyed that you're able to use wick and clean up these through holes so effortlessly, Lol. I did a PCB refurb kit on my Dreamcast controller board and had a helluva time getting the old parts out and the holes clean enough to get the new parts in.

[@BorderlineOCD]

It can be a bit troublesome but a good wick and decent flux certainly help. A large tip on the iron (if feasible) also helps with increased thermal transfer to the wick.

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

Did you get that UniBIOS chip from Razoola? I see you have a serial number there and it doesn't match that console you've put it in (and at that number was very likely an MVS serial number anyway) Certainly a good idea to open an unknown console befor power up, 5v consoles came in every revision, i have a 5v 3-6 revision console here. The 9-12v models with the internal 5v regulator were generally better, and even then it only really mattered on some of the very large games. Serial numbers don't mean much at all, it has always been a common misconception that low serial consoles had better video output, which is total garbage. What DOES matter is the revision number, and the 3-5 and 3-6 have the correct capacitors for the CXA1145, hence, have the best video output. Every single AES revision is capable of the EXACT SAME video output, if you swap out the incorrect cap/resistor values with the 470uF and 75ohm they should have had (100uF and 68ohm were used in the earlier machines, and that is incorrect) The 3-5 had the headphone audio output corrected, and the 3-6 didn't which means on a 3-6 the left and right audio is reversed on the headphone output. 3-3 and 3-4 revisions didn't have that issue, and the two earlier versions were quite different.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Apologies, I don't usually pay too much attention to comments on my old videos but I just noticed your comment and I wanted to address your question about the UniBOIS serial number. I purchased it from Japan with the Neo Geo bundle and it didn't occur to me when I installed it back then that anything was odd about the serial number. It seems obvious now that the serial number is meant to match the console serial number (duh!) but I just assumed it was a random number and didn't think anything of it. It's apparent that the seller I purchased this from was likely making multiple copies of a single purchased license. Anyhow, I encourage everyone to purchase the UniBIOS directly from one of the "approved" partners on the UniBIOS website, as those funds will directly support folks that have made meaningful contributions to the Neo Geo scene. Alternatively, just download it and program it yourself as the work has been made free for personal use. The author (Razoola) has made clear on his website that it is against his wishes to have his work sold for profit by random sellers on eBay and other marketplaces.

[@CaseTheCorvetteMan]

@@BorderlineOCD no worries, i have seen thousands of them that were obvious copies. I purchased a few back many many years ago, and Razoola would always send me the updated versions when he released them, i had to send my original files to him to verify serial numbers and then they'd come back with correct numbers on each file. The free version was always one step behind the current bought version, but i don't think it is being updated as of a couple years back. I also have the CD version in one of my front loaders and two of my top loaders. Real artwork, spectacular addition.

[@jeff15]

Fantastic video. Soldering gun is high end, I barely use mine since getting a manual desoldering pump. I recommend an official "SOLDAPULLT" from Edsyn. Model DS017. Get it from official website. I bought one from eBay and its knockoff. Will save you time and money using this tool. I felt in love with it on my first try. You can change the tip after a few years of use. Are you also changing all the caps on all ur systems ? Thanks for sharing and happy new year !!!!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for the product recommendation! I hadn't intended to swap out caps just yet. I haven't seen any visible signs of leakage or bulging on the 2 units I've repaired so far (although obviously this isn't the right way to tell). Perhaps for the sake of a demonstration, but I don't believe this system has a reputation for faulty caps despite it's age.

[@tnbn55]

How much to mod some Sega controllers to use for Neo Geo AES console play? 😁

[@BorderlineOCD]

I appreciate the interest but I don't generally take repair orders as my focus is primarily on creating content.

[@ulisesarias1887]

Do you sell any system with the unibios chip in it?

[@BorderlineOCD]

When I am done with the repair-a-thon series and get all the footage I need I'll probably keep one for myself and sell the rest on my website. Stay tuned if you're keen, I'll announce it at some point when the series is over.

[@xVGAmusicPlayerz]

I mean its good mod since you could play it without errors.

[@thewoodbarionshow2223]

👍

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for watching bud, cheers!

[@lostgianini]

Does this bios mod is also possible on a super famicom?

[@BorderlineOCD]

The UniBIOS is specific to the AES and MVS. A Famicom should still read import games, the cart pinout is the same but the carts are language specific rather than the Neo Geo which has all the languages in the same cart.

[@darrenthebuilder]

US version has silicone implants

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

Hey so i want to get a ps3 which one should I get and from. I live in Greece

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

@@georg6876 hey so im looking forward to ps3 super slim or regular slim. I have 2 phats a 40 gb and a 60gb backwards compatible. I also have a ps2 hooked up to the tv so no problem here. Note the phats both have ylod and when i borroed one to the repair shop asked 80 bucks for a reflow that isnt temporary

[@dimitris27]

Το καλύτερο μοντέλο είναι το slim κοίτα στις αγγελίες του insomnia

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

@@georg6876 ahh they said it is the RSX chip that is fried

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

@@dimitris27 ευχαριστώ ρε Δημήτρη θα κοιτάξω

[@nikolaszisoudis8408]

@@georg6876 ok when i get a soldering iron i will try. What replacements should I use. Also i don't care if it brakes i found both consoles in a bin so yeah what replacements

[@itamarazulai6767]

Great Video, As always!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks my man.

[@alirehman3530]

IM THE 10K SUB :D

[@BorderlineOCD]

I appreciate your enthusiasm and your multiple posts declaring your victory. Thank you for taking the final step with me to 10k :)

[@alirehman3530]

@@BorderlineOCD your welcome (:

[@dudz1898]

How does the multimeter continuity mode works? Does the board needs power to use this?

[@antbuch8699]

No you don't need power, the multimeter send a little bit of voltage directly through the leads and when the circuit is complete it makes a sound

[@BorderlineOCD]

As mentioned in the response above no power is supplied to the board when using continuity mode.

[@BloodlustNL]

I wonder how the censorship is on the european bios.... in Holland we censor next to nothing😅

[@BorderlineOCD]

You rascals. I'll have to mess with it some more, I haven't quite understood the difference between the USA vs Europe BIOS although a couple of folks have chimed in already with their experience.

[@SparksNZeros]

i think an affordable desoldering gun will help your skills jump up rapidly, it did for me!

[@BorderlineOCD]

Which one did you end up getting? I see variations of a $100 desoldering gun on Amazon and the $250 Hakko. Some KZbin reviews of the $100 "knock off" say it works well on 220V but its underpowered at 110V.

[@SparksNZeros]

@@BorderlineOCD I use a ZD-915d labelled up as a duratool but the branding is irrelevant, it's been great for a ton of jobs. Just stock up on fresh filters and empty the chamber between sessions. Should it ever get blocked leave it on max heat for a good 10 mins then use the ram rods and don't ever let it get too crusty.

[@mrbisshie]

That censorship is so lame. They removed some of the cool stuff from the game.

[@realdragonrude]

i bet whoever sold this one feels like a fool right now just needed a little pin cleaning godda love cartridge based systems

[@BorderlineOCD]

Apparently Japanese stores that sell second hand goods need a license to do so. It's somewhat regulated I guess. I assume the seller's priorities are getting things out the door rather than any sort of electronics repair since they aren't a video game shop. They probably test each system for a couple of minutes and label it for sale accordingly. This is why the lot was sold as "junk" which is also common language in Japanese second hand auctions (really means you can't return it and you accept that no guarantees of any sort are provided).

[@Draknem]

14:44 unplayable!

[@csukosd]

8008 censorship

[@itmessenger77]

I am first

[@BorderlineOCD]

You win!

[@itmessenger77]

@@BorderlineOCD greate, I won the snk neo geo?

[@automat3000]

3:40 Did that cart just move when you turned the system off?? 😳