It seems that when a machine is chipped in it exhibits some sort of
problem or perceived misoperation, the mod chip is the first thing everyone
blames. Sorry to burst the bubble but it's not usually the chips fault.
Machine comes up with CD menu or "Insert CD-ROM" screen:
This is almost always an indicator that a wiring mistake was made.If you don't want to risk it click Here
It is very important to have clean, well-performed solder connections to the
board wiring points and the chip. If any of them are wrong or are poorly
soldered, then the chip is not going to function properly. The chip is
not the problem--the installation is. Double-check and resolder suspect
connections. Make sure wires don't get trapped under screws. Make sure
the wires don't short against other circuit points.
Machine plays originals fine but not backups:
This is probably the most common problem for which the mod chip takes
undeserved blame. Note that erratic operation can certainly fall under
this description, though it is equally likely the console is suffering
from the well-known "FMV problem"--which does not concern mod chips.
What is really happening is that the console is rejecting the media for one of
two reasons:
1) the CD drive is very finicky about the media it is reading. The
console's CD drive, while sufficient to read aluminum-layer discs, was not
designed for the more stringent requirements of reading CD-R media. Given
the large number of brands and formulations of CD-R media available, it
comes as no surprise that some work better than others. To make matters
worse, there seems to be no single brand/formulation that reliable across
more than one console.This leads to problems like it works on my mates
machine but not mine.
The only solution to this problem is to experiment with various brands
or CD-R media to see what seems to be the most reliable for your
particular console. Just remember that what turns out to be reliable on
one machine may not work as well (or at all) on another. Of course,
this brings up the 2nd reason:
2) This is the most common problem--the CD-R was INCORRECTLY MADE! Even
the smallest mistake can result in an unusable disc. There are a number
of guides available on the internet that outline proper procedures. Look
for them!.
CD-Rs boot, but originals do not:
This is almost certainly a wiring error. The only way this can happen
is if the mod chip signals are garbled by poor wiring or missing or
improper wiring. The difference between CD-R and masked production discs
in regard to booting is large enough to allow for this uncommon problem.
.
"Booting" versus "Running"
This problem is another one blamed on mod chips for the wrong reasons.
A mod chip is responsible for promoting a disc to the "boot screen" (aka
the "black screen with the Sony logo"). Once the boot screen appears, the mod chip's job is
finished. Any other problems encountered after that point are not
mod-chip related! These problems include: screen goes black and system
seems to "hang", boot screen never goes away, sound but no picture, and
just about any other run-time problem. These problems are caused by
incompatibilities between the executable software on the CD and the system
kernel software stored in ROM on the console. A classic exmaple is
attempting to run US discs on Japanese consoles. The only solution at
this point seems to be replacing the system ROM.
Game appears in Black-and-White on the TV Screen:
This problem has been well known (its to do with the colour burst freq). I will have colour mods available soon
and at a reasonable price.