u/MadFranko008

Strange Case Of SNES Mini Stuck/ Locked In An Endless Boot Cycle Mode !!! 🤔

I had a phone call the other day from my nephew telling me that his SNES Mini which I bought him way back when they were first released was no longer working correctly... 😕

Seemingly the "back" button of the games carousel menu would no longer work after he had played any game and tried to use it. After clicking on the "back" button his SNES Mini would then display a "C3 error" followed by a "C7 error" and he had to pull the power cord to get it to boot up again, but with the exact same results each time, ie: the "Back button" not working followed by the "C3" & "C7" errors !!! 🤔

Went through ALL the "usual" things to do with him which "should" normally fix such an error but each time with no joy and with the problem still remaining. Went as far as getting him to do a complete re-flash of the "Original" Nintendo kernel followed by flashing the "Custom" kernel BUT still it wouldn't work with the exact same "C" errors as described above... 😕

We gave up and I said I'd visit him and fix it myself as I thought he must be doing something wrong, turns out he wasn't doing anything wrong and had followed my instructions to the letter... 😳

A wee bit baffled I visited him and took his console home with me to have a more timely look and investigation... 🤓

First thing I noticed really was the "Extra Swap Mem" that was installed was saying at boot up that the USB drive was "read only" !!!... 🤔

So I tried one of my own USB Drives and OTG Dongles with it that I KNEW was working but it too said the USB Drive was "read only" !!! 😳

As I knew I was using the correct fully wired USB Cables to hook everything up I did the old "tighten up the Micro USB Connector" routine but still with no luck... 😕

Tried manually deleting the files on the SNES Mini itself that normally are the cause of those "C" errors but I couldn't even delete them using "HakChi2 CE" and "ftps" !!! seems that somehow the console was now entirely "read only" !!! 😳

As a last resort I decided myself o re-flash the Original Nintendo kernel using both different versions of the official kernel for the console (Ver 2.0.7 and Ver 2.0.14) and while it "appeared" to be flashing the kernel, the only results where that the console was now "locked" into an endless boot cycle of powering up to a black screen then the power light would go off and it would try again to boot up, but with no success !!! 🤪

Not one of the usual things for "fixing" the console would work, from formatting the "User data partition" to flashing kernels (any kernel !!!) would work, checking cables & the connector, the USB drive etc... etc... (heck I even tried the so called "UnFuck" method which didn't work either but then it never did) and the console was "Stuck" in this endless "boot cycle"... 😡 🤔 🤪

So while I was sitting there thinking that this must be the first SNES Mini consoles I've came across in all these years that MUST actually be "broken" I decided to try one last thing just to see what would happen... I decided to try and flash an exact copy of one of my working SNES Mini's ".hsqs" file to it and whaddaya know... IT WORKED... 😁 👍 🎉

The console now booted up perfectly and is once again running like a charm... 😊

Being honest, having tried EVERYTHING I normally tell others to do in this situation BUT having no luck in getting the console to work at all, then it has left me wondering... WHAT exactly WAS causing this issue ?... WHY none of it worked ?... and WHY the ONLY way to get it working again WAS to flash a different (working) ".hsqs" file to the console !!!

Answers on a postcard to the usual address please, or indeed just any useful hints, tips or ideas as to what might have been the cause of this strange (but incredibly annoying) issue... 🤔

PS: Think I'll now add the advice of making a full backup of the consoles "system/ firmware" in ".hsqs" so that it can be "flashed" back to the console as a last resort option to any future help for others who find themselves in the same situation as described above, cos for whatever reason... it worked... 🤔

PPS: And humble apologies to anyone in the past who I may have tried to help in the same situation but we could never quite resolve the issue and I would have to give up on it thinking that you may have done something wrong (turns out after all that the old SNES Mini CAN indeed still throw up some very strange problems that CAN'T be resolved by the "usual" methods... 😳 😉

The SNES Mini has always been the most popular Mini console around with still to this day people purchasing used ones and it's a market that I've always kept an eye on and followed closely...

So it been nice to notice in recent times that while you could always pick up a boxed genuine used SNES Mini for around £65, that the "lower price trend" seems to have finally reached the USA market where buyers have been paying way over the odds for them for a number of years now...

If you live in the UK then most days of the week you can pick up a genuine fully boxed great condition SNES Mini for on average around £65 (less in some cases, as low as around £50)and those still asking for "crazy prices" happily aren't selling them...

Typical UK eBay Prices For Sold SNES Mini's https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=snes+mini+classic&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1

The USA on the other hand has always been a tougher market for a used SNES Mini with people looking to buy one having to often pay well over the odds for one. Recently though (and happily) I've noticed that finally you can much of the time now pick up the genuine article on eBay for an average of around $100...

Typical USA eBay Prices For Sold SNES Mini's

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=snes+mini+classic&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1

While it's not surprising (to me) to see that there is still a huge interest in people looking to purchase a SNES Mini, it is nice however to notice that the shysters and scammers in the USA who have always asked for absurd prices for the consoles are no longer for the most part getting those crazy prices they ask for and now in the USA you can pick up a genuine SNES Mini for what is a more reasonable and more realistic price... 😊

Long may that trend continue and let it be a warning to those loony tunes who bought a SNES Mini but never used it hoping to make a quick buck in the future that it will never happen as these are not the type of items that do hold a high value years later unlike the original hardware... 😉

Been adding a number of Dreamcast games to my A500 Mini and while most work and can be run at up to 720p, there are a number of games that don't work !!!

Seems to be any game where on the Dreamcast Boot Screen say they are "Powered By Windows" that the console just freezes !!!

Tried using the "Force Windows CE Mode" function in RetroArch but it's still just freezes and crashes for any games that are "Powered By Windows" !!! 😕

Wondering if anyone out there knows if these type of games can/ do work and if so how to I get them to work ?

Any info/ help on this would be much appreciated... 😊

Would You Like To Be Able To Flash Kernels/ Firmware On The A500 Mini ???

Just posting this to see if there are enough A500 Mini owners out there who would like to be able to flash the kernel on their console before I spend time putting together a guide showing people how to do that ?... 🤔

Main reasons for me personally to be able to flash a kernel to the A500 Mini are...

1) It allows me to restore "Root Access" to ANY A500 Mini that has had an "Official Firmware Update" done to it which sadly disables that "Root Access"...

2) It also means you can make backups of the installed kernel (any version your console has) which you can the modify/ change and best of all restore the "Root Access" that the muppets at "Retro Games Ltd" decided to block/ disable on their firmware updates...

3) As well a restoring the "Root Access" again it also allows you if you are fluent in "Linux" to be able to mode the firmware/ kernel itself, opening up all sorts of different possibilities for you to mod the system to make changes or create something completely different on the console...

4) Best of all you can do this WITHOUT even dismantling the consoles case and be able to press the "Hidden" "FEL Mode' button on it's motherboard just by using a strip of plastic cut from an old credit/ bank card or similar...

I've now modded my own A500 Mini's and a number of friends and families consoles including ones that had updated firmware on them with 100% success using this method and restoring "Root Access" to them all along with them being able to recognise hundreds more controllers & joysticks than the current "official" firmware recognises, which means your controller can be used across the entire console from boot up...

You can even after flashing the kernel if you choose easily still use the "Official Firmware Updates" if you choose...

Anywhoo, before I spend the time putting together a guide on how to do this I thought I'd just ask first other A500 Mini owners out there if this is something they would be interested in !!!

Let me know in the comments here if you will be interested in being able to flash kernels/ firmware to your A500 Mini for whatever reason you might also have and that will help me decide whether or not to put a guide together... 😉

PS: The Guide might look quite long when it's ready but rest assured once you have installed required software on your computer (Windows 10) it really after that just comes down to hooking the console up to the computer and typing or copying and pasting a few different command lines into the "terminal" (using "Putty) that will then flash or copy ANY kernel you choose... 😊