They Said This Gameboy Couldn't Be Fixed, I Proved Them Wrong! - Nintendo Gameboy Restoration

Welcome to my original Nintendo Game Boy restoration. I found this broken Game Boy on ebay and knew you guys would love to see it brought back to life... well at least i hope you do? lol
So first thing was first and that was the mandatory unboxing and look around shots. After that i put some batteries in the console and tested it using my old Tetris cartridge ( I dont use my good games incase anything goes wrong ) upon start up i could see instantly that around half of the the screen wasn't displaying i also noticed when the game started some of the buttons were unresponsive so this Gameboy has obviously had a hard life.
So once tested i flipped the Gameboy over and applied a little heat to soften the glue on the serial number so that i could remove it without damage and can re-use it later to keep the console as original as possible. I then proceeded to remove all the casing screws the hold the case together and the screws that hold the PCB's in place. once the boards were removed it was easy to see why some of the buttons weren't working . Something has been split on it at some point and worked its way onto the carbon pads causing then to become non conductive but its nothing a good clean wont fix.
Once stripped down to component form i took the plastic pieces over to my ultrasonic cleaner to remove every trace of dirt from the cases before moving onto placing the yellowed parts into a hydrogen peroxide and uv light solution. This process will remove all the yellowing and bring the cases back to the light grey that they should be.
While the cases were bleaching i made a start on cleaning all the grease and grime from the circuit boards and cartridge slot. This was done with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and a soft detailing brush. The IPA lifts the dirt without damaging the electronics, I then blow the dirt and alcohol away with compressed air leaving the boards as good as new.
After a day in the H202 and being bombarded with U.V light the cases are now a lovely bright grey like they should be no nasty yellow in sight. I rinsed and dried the cases and we were now ready for assembly. This was just the reverse of the disassembly up until the point where i needed to fix the screen. To fix the missing lines i had to reflow the solder joints at the screen under the ribbon cable as they tend to crack over time. Its extremely satisfying applying the iron and seeing the screen coming back online.
Once the display was fixed it was a case of fitting the board back into its housing and screwing the case halves together again. Instead of replacing the plastic screen with another plastic one i decided to go for a tempered glass one instead because it looks identical to the original screen but with the added benefit of being way more scratch resistant.
Then it was a case of flipping over refitting the serial number sticker and replacement batter cover and voila we have a fully restored and functional Nintendo Game Boy DMG-01
I hope you will all join me again soon and I also hope you enjoyed the video
Stay Tuned and i will see you all again soon.
RRC
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A new addition to my videos from now on will be a water mark and my channel name popping up in random places throughout the video as im getting rather tired of people re-uploading my content as their own i hope you guys understand.
If you like what you see and have any ideas for the channel or would even like to donate something to restore to the channel please get in touch. :)
And as usual if you liked the video please like share and subscribe and help the channel grow.
PATREON If you would like to help support the channel you can find my patreon account here / rrcrestoration
INSTAGRAM- / rrcrestoration
More videos can be found here- / @rrcrestoration
#Nintendo #Game Boy #Restoration
RRC Restoration
I Restored This Junk Game Boy - Retro Console Restoration & Repair

[@James_Byron]

That screen fix is one the most impressive things I've seen from these kind of things

[@MrClarkisgod]

It is a common problem. There are lots of videos already on KZbin on how to fix this.

[@James_Byron]

@@MrClarkisgod still... Pretty satisfying

[@kungfusing1]

I had no idea that could be done lol, it was like magic.

[@minorityofone1510]

Wish I knew that trick when I was trying to bring my SAAB console back to life. I tried to do it over a gas flame with bulldog clips. It sort of worked but I am sure this would have worked a treat in 10 per cent of the time.

[@matthale9596]

The OCD in me was so pleased to see you had a battery cover for it 😃 top job 👍

[@RRCRestoration]

Yeah, I ordered one as soon as the Game Boy turned up without its original. Thanks for the comment :)

[@oznik46]

Congrats on your new camera, looking awesome! as always, your talent shines bright on every single video..your work is amazing!

[@Rodville]

Better restore than many of the actual retro gaming channels.

[@RRCRestoration]

High praise indeed :)

[@chantha2106]

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[@5334235]

I thought yellowed plastic was an irreversible degradation process. Interesting to see that´s not the case! Exeptionally impressive restauration all the way. This video deserves more views.

[@andymiller5611]

That turned out excellent! Loved the screen fix! Great work, dude! 🤘

[@davidgould5708]

That was great and a real eye opener on the screen tape. Top tip. Enjoying going through your back catalogue!

[@cossie8142]

I've been watching these to put me to sleep at night (in a good way) they're absolutely relaxing and satisfying bud. Tysm for ridding me of my insomnia

[@samcoote9653]

Very nice mate!!! Love the look of the yellowed plastic once its restored to its former glory. Stumbled upon that peroxide/uv method a while ago from 8-bit guy here on youtube and it stillseems like black magic to me. Very cool as always! And the screen fix! *chef kiss*

[@RestorationApprentice]

Perfect restoration it truly is! One of my favorite channels!

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you, Really glad you enjoy my work :)

[@joserodriguez-cc2wb]

I just got done refurbishing 6 gameboys the other day for my collection! Next is a Honda atc as soon as I can find one, keep up the great work!

[@cyclonicleo]

Very nice! Amazing what can be done with an old Gameboy; that screen fix was awesome!

[@essexhognose1808]

Thought the way you sorted the screen was pretty clever.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you :)

[@BabaG]

12% Hydrogen Peroxide & UV light, who knew. You learn something new along with the regular attention to detail. Thanks mate. Love the polishing of the buttons on the wheel. Thats classy :).

[@strokenumber3]

9 minutes and 57 seconds to go, with 3 seconds remaining on the cleaner ...Clever.

[@ZenMechanic1972]

Absolutely a wonderful job! The love for the product is dripping of the screen... Must be a great deal of preparation to figure out al of these treatments!

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you, I love what i do :)

[@MAYCOCustomRestorations]

I love restoring things, I’m currently restoring a 1970 Chevy truck!

[@theravedaddy]

Top quality work! The screen repair was interesting to watch.

[@1meanelf]

One of my favorite games when I was younger. But oh my goodness you are amazing at getting that up and running and restored to what it used to look like. I really liked how you knew about that soldering trick to fix the screen I was thinking oh my god that man is brilliant. And the IPA in the spray bottle to clean the dirty boards with a soft brush and then hit it with compressed air. I have a computer I will try that on to see if it helps the poor thing out. If it does thank you for your unexpected help and if it does not well it was an old computer anyways but will continue to work on it. Keep up the fantastic work and as always so enjoyable to watch.😁

[@russianrestorer6308]

I really love the restoration, good work!

[@baz8996]

You have skills lad. Brilliant as always

[@leex187]

Looks like new again so professional thanks for the restoration.

[@charlieburnside5586]

Magician! Pure and simple! 👑

[@commandeath]

I think the shot of you peeling off the protector from the screen frame just changed my life. 15:06 For maximum satisfaction!

[@RRCRestoration]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@ricardomorais1906]

I repeat... again, and again, and again... The best restoration youtube channel is yours, period!

[@beakittelscherz5419]

Boy does this guy makes good YT content out of scratch! Thanks mate ! I´m always happy when the bell rings for a new video of yours! My biggest wish: A Restauration of a red Porsche Traktor! ;-D

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you so much for your kind comment :) A Porsche 111 tractor would be a cool restoration project indeed.

[@bobzds8338]

o my gosh, i love dat Kalinka-Malinka sound. Awesome restoration by the way! =)

[@djevo3441]

Another successful restore from master of restoration.... congratulations my friend

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you so much 😀 nice to see you again

[@JohnnyWooh]

Seriously impressive. That thing looks as good as new. Also, waiting for the PLIIING sound when the Nintendo logo drops causes so much nostalgia haha. Well done.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you very much for the kind comment, Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@YammyCookiez]

Different, just watched this with someone whos never seen your videos. Needless to say she was jaw dropped. She said it just a games boy but god dam looks perfectly new! Good job brother nocked it out of the park again.

[@RRCRestoration]

Wow, thank you :)

[@Shinysideup]

That was amazing. So satisfying to watch.

[@RRCRestoration]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@PhoenixPLPhoenix]

Beautiful work ❤️

[@katiebellmichelle]

This is one of my favorite restoration vids I’ve ever seen 🤩

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it :)

[@georgestewart1325]

Wow 😯 didn’t think that could be brought back to new. The flashbacks I get when I hear that tune. Amazing stuff..

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you, Really glad you enjoyed it :)

[@carlis666]

Wow! Love your channel! Keep up the good work! 😁

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you so much!

[@vaisakhpprasad9396]

Some talented people do restorations and then there's you👀🔥🙌

[@NormanNodDunbar]

The new toy got rid of all that ear wax under the buttons extremely well! ;-) Another excellent restoration. Cheers, Norm.

[@RRCRestoration]

It did indeed its becoming a very handy tool to have around the shop :) Really glad you enjoyed the video. Stay safe.

[@NormanNodDunbar]

Thanks, I'll do my best. Tier 3 (England style) here at the moment. Stay safe yourself. Cheers, Norm.

[@baldanddangerous1572]

you never fail to amaze me bud,that nintendo looks as if its straight out the box brand new.nice one ..stay safe.....................dougie

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you so much for your kind comment and im really glad you enjoyed the restoration :)

[@st3althyone]

This is why I love your channel, I would’ve taken the easy way out and bad, good looking one and replaced the internals of this one, but nope, not you. Awesome work!

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you , really glad you enjoy my work :)

[@simondarrie666]

Wow I was more amazed you found a new screen for that never mind the making it look brand new part , well done 👏

[@RRCRestoration]

Believe it or not you can actually get all of the parts for these old consoles quite easily as they have such a big following. Glad you enjoyed the project :)

[@simondarrie666]

@@RRCRestoration wow everyday is a school day, you have some talent il give you that , stay safe and have a great day when it come around 😊

[@OgreJoe]

Loved this, so satisfying! I bet that Game Boy appreciated it too 😁

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you 🤗

[@Gus247365]

That soldering iron trick on the screen is insane!! Excellent result :)

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@robwulz3493]

The " 8 bit guy " would approve .

[@jrand2631]

Nice resto mate, and the trick with the screen fix was pretty cool. I had one of these, purchased back in 92 , but last time I moved, well I threw it out ( yeah I know 😱) the sad part is that it was in near mint condition, as I never used it that much. 😕 I should've kept it and sold it on eBay - I could've earned a couple of hundred bucks on it! Oh well, in hindsight our vision is always 20/20 right? lol Stay safe mate and a happy Christmas to you and your family. 👍

[@RRCRestoration]

Always nice to see you :) aww man that sucks! but as you say looking back how much stuff have we all thrown out that is now worth mega money.... best not to think about it! haha. Merry Christmas to you too :)

[@cg9542]

Awsome job as always dude. So much attention to detail I love it. Keep up the good work. Any sign of the wiring for the honda ATC 90?

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you so much :) Im working on the loom as we speak it will be the next video i release ;)

[@beakittelscherz5419]

5.44 Gave you the "Thumps up" back ;-) Who else?

[@RRCRestoration]

Nice one 👍😊

[@barthanes1]

Tetris is one of my favorites. I still have my original copy for the NES.

[@altairdesouza9368]

Beautiful Job!!!

[@stevenkahn8816]

Looks very good nice work.

[@MoaiGaming394]

You’re really not supposed to hold the soldering iron down on the ribbon cable, you’re more supposed to do a light circular motion which is the safest way. But, either way great restoration dude.

[@steveaustin4118]

I was thinking that screens going to need replacing, but nope you sorted it, learned something new

[@RRCRestoration]

Every days a school day ;) Glad you learned something from my channel it really does make all these restorations worth while :)

[@Mike_P646]

So satisfying to watch ✊

[@neilsmith6461]

Brilliant, the screen was particularly impressive

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you :)

[@hamishmacbeth4292]

Ah! The Mis-spent youth.Your an absolute genius bringing that manky old Gameboy back too life.Nice one. Never had a Gameboy, couldn’t afford it, had to share a Sega Megadrive 64bit and good old Sonic the Hedgehog with my brother, spent bloody hours on that thing trying to defeat Dr. Robotnik.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it :) I have many happy memories playing sonic the hedgehog to that theme song still makes me smile every time i hear it

[@petebird7171]

That’s different, and as usual a top quality job 👍👍👍👍

[@RRCRestoration]

You know me i like to keep it random ;) lol

[@regnor166]

i'm learning, thank you very much, Mr. i will share your channel around me for sure.

[@RRCRestoration]

Awesome, thank you!

[@shuggiemcg1]

Outstanding job! Should have another 20-30 years in it again!

[@RRCRestoration]

Lets hope so :)

[@remembergodisalwayswithyou6862]

Nice love you Nintendo game boy so much i am from morocco merry Christmas everybody happy new year for everyone here God bless all ❤☺💟

[@shannons1886]

I had low expectations on this one, but it came out great!!

[@RRCRestoration]

Im glad i could do better than you expected🙈 lol

[@glynprice3815]

Nice job as ever. Wasn't expecting that.

[@RRCRestoration]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@cbarr0288]

Makes me want to restore one!! Came out great 👍

[@RRCRestoration]

Go for it! its very satisfying bringing an old gameboy back to life :)

[@Tombrosapien]

The most impressive bits were removing the yellowing from the plastic and fixing the screen with a soldering iron! I didn’t know wizardry was of this earth...

[@falken_gt4]

Great job, just restored one myself, very satisfying

[@RRCRestoration]

Nice one :)

[@MadMax-yq9ix]

That screen fix was amazing

[@Ray_Sellner]

Great transformation.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you! Cheers! :)

[@pacoroto]

nice video! I bet you can get some decent money for that gameboy if you decided to sell it. I though of polishing the screen of my still working PSP, but I don't have the tools

[@-GenDrive]

Nice work.

[@stuarts4673]

Awesome job again

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you! Cheers! :)

[@zimba599]

Wauw. Well done, and thanks for the lesson.

[@pipotron1637]

Awesome, good job dude

[@RRCRestoration]

Glad you liked it :)

[@MrHugawa]

wow, I wonder how many of these are in the garbage or just tossed into a drawer because they looked like this... great job !!

Nice as always!

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@themechanic6117]

Removing the yellow and the screen fix was mind blowing!

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it :)

[@WIMBO_101]

That was a cracking job you done on that game boy

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you :)

[@PeteBeardsley]

Superb job! The wonky buttons were simply dirty then? Awesome, I wouldn't know where to start.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you very much :) Yeah something had been spilt on it at sometime and dried on the contact pads creating a barrier so a nice easy fix with that one.

[@dalebenavidez4896]

You made that look new great job

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@jaakkokoskinen8198]

Holy bleached plastic, Batman! That s***t with the case was PFM!

[@TelepathicRabbit]

The entire time I was muttering “he damn well better slide in the Tetris cartridge and play when this is all finished...” And you did. And brought a tear to my eye and a flood of nostalgia.

[@RRCRestoration]

Haha Glad im so glad i didn't disappoint you ;)

[@SachsVDE]

I've had Donkey Kong game,in the late 90's with 24 stages i think.What a Fun..consumed too many batteries to finish that damn Game..😁..just Subscribed..👍

[@anthonybrennan1075]

Wow! Fantastic! 👍🏻

[@williambrown5348]

That was simply incredible.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you very much :)

[@yvesdesrosiers2396]

But where is the turbo????? LOL Nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

[@motorcyclewild5873]

Great job

[@ev4n5eli0n01]

Nice! I’m a tad surprised you didn’t go with a TFT or IPS screen, but in the nature of a restoration I totally get it. Polarizer is a tad burned (dark around the edges) but all in all that thing’s in pretty good shape. The board is nicer than the one I did for sure.

[@ronpalmer1371]

Are there different screens available? Can you give details and where to obtain from please.

[@RRCRestoration]

Hi, I did think about doing the upgrade to it but then i thought it would be nice to have a restored standard one for my collection. I might do an upgrade video on another DMG-01 at a later stage if theres enough interest in it.

[@jimmycav369]

Amazing result with removal of the yellowing

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you very much :)

[@mohangutta8931]

You are so talented..

[@sm0kestack]

Amazing job 👏 wasn't any description as you were buffing a and b buttons on the drill press with the buffing pad, just shining them up?

[@fenessinen]

7:18 white angel just sitting there I hope next video would about her :D

[@piochan3675]

nice!!!! good job !!!!

[@theoutlaw2213]

I wanna know literally how can you receive dislikes in your video...it's impossibile! Great work man, as always!!

[@RRCRestoration]

It a good question and i really wish i knew the answer haha. Glad you enjoyed i though :)

[@MrHugawa]

as of now, there are 20 people who tossed their game into the trash and just realized it could have looked new again, like this

[@theoutlaw2213]

@@MrHugawa yes, but RRC is great, i think that i'll do the work, the game will be trashed for being destroyed ahahahah

[@gpz550a2]

That thing was manky! Looks excellent now though! I need to try the peroxide and UV on the case of my A600 Amiga.

[@maximiranda0208]

Excelente video, soy admirador de lo que haces, mi pregunta es que es IPA? Y como logras quitar lo amarillo del plastico? Y tambien quisiera saber que temperatura usas en el soldador para lograr resoldar la cinta del display. Gracias!!!!

[@nelsonssebuyungo3400]

You are good very nice work

[@rorykelly8275]

Hi, I came across your channel by chance. I'm glad I did. I also like to bring electronics etc back to life to be used for many more years to come. Please tell me, what temperature did you have your soldering iron set to so I may do the same for the screen on mine? Many thanks in advance. Rory.

[@amf7580]

Great job look better than new.

[@RRCRestoration]

Thanks 👍

[@GamerViliam]

It looks like new🎮. And by the way, Merry christmas and Happy new year for everyone🎄❄️.

[@bobdickweed]

Same to you Gamer12121212Viliam...take it easy

[@RRCRestoration]

Thank you. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you too

[@GamerViliam]

@@RRCRestoration thank you🎄

[@GamerViliam]

@@bobdickweed thank you🎄

[@deanoloughlin6129]

Aaaaaahhhh clicked and thought it was the atv final restoration video 🙄👍

[@RRCRestoration]

Sorry about that, More coming from the ATC resto soon

[@deanoloughlin6129]

@@RRCRestoration its cool mate i love your stuff .and you did an awesome job .as per usual 🤩

[@fjones1914]

I think I’ll try the hydrogen peroxide mix and UV light exposure for my G Shock clear watch case that’s yellowed after years of wear and tear. Awesome restoration. Cheers from the USA!

[@RRCRestoration]

Thanks very much, let me know how your watch turns out :)

[@nidal1475]

amazing restoration !!! can you please do a playstation portable (psp) restoration ?

[@RRCRestoration]

If i can get one that's broken i will do ;)

[@andipajeroking]

Thanks to you I discovered RetroReiz so i can buy from Germany instead of US!