Neo Geo CD Neo CD frontloader

K

Kanji

Blast away and go, go, go!
Does anyone have a frontloader they can comment on? I am curious about reliability, fit and finish. Is it of quality construction, etc?

I want to buy one, but want to know if the construction is of higher quality then the top loader, or just the same.
 
honestly, I have not heard about problems with the frontloader.... I am curious as well if there are problems.  I sell quite a lot of them.  In fact, I have 2 more coming very soon (I just sold out about 2 weeks ago).

I am not sure if the problems are not documented like the CDZ..etc... but as far as I know.... there are not a lot of problems.  But there are always people who say there are problems with something here and there.
Its old electronics... and the risk for problems are always there.

Out of the 15-20 I have sold.... I have not had any returned. I have had 1 toploader returned (weird fluke), and 0 CDZ systems returned.

Anyone else have good insite on specific problems?

†B†V† :hat
 
Well, that is good to hear. Seems like SNK used quality parts for their CD systems.....

My only concern would be the disk tray that moves in and out of the system.
 
Kanji said:
Well, that is good to hear. Seems like SNK used quality parts for their CD systems.....

My only concern would be the disk tray that moves in and out of the system.
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I don't think that should be a concern. I've owned 3DO's, Sega CD's, and CDI's with the same type disk tray, and never had any problems at all. And these systems were as old or older than the NGCD.
 
Dr_Ackula said:
I don't think that should be a concern. I've owned 3DO's, Sega CD's, and CDI's with the same type disk tray, and never had any problems at all. And these systems were as old or older than the NGCD.
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Good to know.
 
Seems like SNK used quality parts for their CD systems....
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I´m not so sure on that. Though especially the toploader is known to be a very reliable machine the laser unit that SNK used is of medium quality at best. Disc i/o errors seem to be a frequent problem.
I sold a system that started behaving weird when it reached its new owner. It turned out that due to transport the laser wasn´t adjusted the way it should be. I can be corrected with a screw inside that you need to turn counterclockwise in very small bits but it´s painful to get it readjusted.
However, I don´t know if they used the same laser unit on the frontloaders.
 
go_left said:
I´m not so sure on that. Though especially the toploader is known to be a very reliable machine the laser unit that SNK used is of medium quality at best. Disc i/o errors seem to be a frequent problem.
I sold a system that started behaving weird when it reached its new owner. It turned out that due to transport the laser wasn´t adjusted the way it should be. I can be corrected with a screw inside that you need to turn counterclockwise in very small bits but it´s painful to get it readjusted.
However, I don´t know if they used the same laser unit on the frontloaders.
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WOW. Anybody else have this problem? Is there a faqs anywhere that goes into how to correct this?
 
If someone has an FAQ... I can host it up as well.
Just an FYI :)

Now.... I know the I/O error is there... but honestly, I have only had it once or twice while opening (on accident) the cd lid while loading.

Either that, or the cd was dirty (most people's I/O problem).



†B†V† :hat
 
Bluevoodu said:
If someone has an FAQ... I can host it up as well.
Just an FYI :)

Now.... I know the I/O error is there... but honestly, I have only had it once or twice while opening (on accident) the cd lid while loading.

Either that, or the cd was dirty (most people's I/O problem).



†B†V† :hat
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That is what I thought, and have never heard of a misaligned laser.
 
I do agree. There are various reasons for i/o disc errors, but misaligned lasers have been reported a few times.
Apart from that, reliable systems as far as cd operated consoles can go. Maybe in a few years it will be hard (and more expensive) to find a fully working systym (like it happened with the Turbo Duo).
 
go_left said:
I do agree. There are various reasons for i/o disc errors, but misaligned lasers have been reported a few times.
Apart from that, reliable systems as far as cd operated consoles can go. Maybe in a few years it will be hard (and more expensive) to find a fully working systym (like it happened with the Turbo Duo).
Click to expand...

WOW, I did not know that Turbo Duo's went bad in masse.
 
WOW, I did not know that Turbo Duo's went bad in masse.
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Nono, they didn´t. It´s just one of the older CD systems and it´s getting hard to find a working system, cos over time the cd systems give up earlier than cartridge based ones.
It´s just a general statement on cd-technique; systems with moving parts have a more limited life span.
The Turbo duo is older than the Neo CD, so it´s a natural thing they become rare and more expensive.
 
The only time I have ever gotten i/o errors is when trying to play a CDR game...this is due to copy protection techniques that SNK started using on later games...almost any fighter will have this protection. There may be a way around it..but if there is I have never heard of it..plus I don't care...cuz the whole CDR thing is bad mkay.

But my point is..thats the only times my top loader has ever given errors, I would venture to say they are as reliable as any CD based system really, I've seen 3DO's, Sega CDs, DC's, PS2's, and Xbox's all die...it happens to the best of them, and its just an unfortunate risk gamers take when buying an older CD based system...electronics can and do fail from time to time.

I know at least one former member here bought a NOS top loader only to have it fail several months later...its really hard to say if one system is better than another in terms of reliability. Alot of it comes down to how well the system was/is treated imo.
 
go_left said:
Nono, they didn´t. It´s just one of the older CD systems and it´s getting hard to find a working system, cos over time the cd systems give up earlier than cartridge based ones.
It´s just a general statement on cd-technique; systems with moving parts have a more limited life span.
The Turbo duo is older than the Neo CD, so it´s a natural thing they become rare and more expensive.
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The turbo stuff never really lost its value though. I mean... look at the Turbo Express... the new ones still sell around $170-200. The Duo's.... I have never seen below $240 unless some weird market dip occured where I have seen a few @ $190-210 (I am talking boxed / near mint systems... lesser conditioned fetches fewer $$).

thats the one think I like about the Turbo Market, its much more predictable. The Neo market used to be the same way up until about 6-7 months ago.


†B†V† :hat
 
I've got a NGCD, 3DO, Turbo Duo and Saturn, and have never had any problems with em... now my newest systems (coughXBoxcough) are another story. I've gone through 3 of them so far.
 
Z-Force said:
I've got a NGCD, 3DO, Turbo Duo and Saturn, and have never had any problems with em... now my newest systems (coughXBoxcough) are another story. I've gone through 3 of them so far.
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I never personaly had any problems out of any CD based system I myself owned either...except Xbox..and I have went through three of them as well...I think its safe to say that Microsoft will not be getting any more mopney from me for their consoles.

But I have seen others have problems out of DC's, 3DO's, Sega CD's, and PS2...but myself..nope never any troubles out of any system I have ever owned besides the Xbox.
 
Dr_Ackula said:
I never personaly had any problems out of any CD based system I myself owned either...except Xbox..and I have went through three of them as well...I think its safe to say that Microsoft will not be getting any more mopney from me for their consoles.

But I have seen others have problems out of DC's, 3DO's, Sega CD's, and PS2...but myself..nope never any troubles out of any system I have ever owned besides the Xbox.
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I had a bawks go bad too.... seems like an epidemic.

Well, I am having some trouble with the bad Neo CD I bought.... an update in the tech support forum.
 
My Neo Geo CD died a month ago after almost 8 years of honored service: it couldn't boot! The red light went on and off, and the system never started.

Thank God I got it repaired for as low as €30 (less than $40)...

Now that i think about it................ I was supposed to get it back from the shop today............ D'OH!!!! :lol :lol :lol

As for read errors, I never got one, even with CDR games (just tried with 2 though: League Bowling and Last Blade 2)
 
i had some problems with my frontloader when i first got it and i'm pretty sure it had to do with the laser be misaligned or something because it was making a grinding noise when loading up the game.

i haven't played it too much since then for a few reasons. one, i dont have many games :P. two, i'm afraid it's going to die on me because it is kind of an old system and when it made that unpleasant noise, i was worried it wouldnt' last too much longer. i'm not very savvy when it comes to electronics so i'm afraid i couldnt do any repairs unless they were easy enough and i had good instructions. and lastly, i'm kind of afraid it will eat my discs or something. does anyone know if the frontloader can scratch discs?

i remember an old ps2 system i had put marks on a few games and every since then, i've been suspicious about cd trays and drives inadvertently messing up my discs.

i'm looking for a good deal on toploader system now. i hope to find one in really good condition so i dont have to worry as much. also keeping my eye out for a US system even though i know those are rare now.
 
honestly... I haven't heard of the Front Loader (or any Neo CD System) eating discs.

I wonder if the grinding is coming from the spindle. Did any of your CD's come out scratched at all before?

You know... if it's going to die, it will die. You might as well get it over with :lol Even though I know it sucks when they stop working...

I wonder how Rainman fixed his.

BV :hat
 
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