Richard TroupeI noticed that not all games were loading correctly on my Dragon 32 computer when using the BackBit cartridge.
I opened up the computer and saw that it was generally clean, except for one exploded cap. Yikes!
This computer needs a recap then.
It's not a pretty job.
I actually hate through-hole soldering as I find that older computers tend to soak up a ton of heat on the ground plane, making it difficult to clear solder holes.
Some through-hole caps have had to be surface mounted. 😬
The main thing is that it all works!
Well, not exactly.
The same games are still having issues.
Is it a RAM issue?
I did some value poking and peeking into RAM with no apparent issues.
I found a RAM testing program, so I give it a whirl... And no RAM issues found!
So, I have recapped the unit and done a RAM test.
All appears to be good.
So it must either be the BackBit cart (which works fine in other consoles and computers) or bad game dumps.
Some games work totally fine but most don't load. 🙃
I might see about some other sources of Dragon 32 games.
Martin TillerWow, that's quite dramatic. I wonder how long ago it happened.
@MartinT I have no idea!
I've had this computer for about 10 years and I've only really just played about with it recently.
The issues with loading games forced me to open it up before discovering it. The board is otherwise immaculate!
It definitely didn't blow in the time I've had it.