Need help with Chinese/Japanese Error Mesage DDR Supernova 2

[Jonathan GS]

Hi friends,

I'm a game technician for Grand Station in College Station, TX. We own a DDR Supernova 2 by Konami that is displaying this error message that I can't understand. I'm not sure if it's chinese, japanese etc..., but in order to fix it... knowing what it's saying would be a massive help.




Symptoms of the error message.
- Once the game is turned on the monitor screen comes on, but stays black. Then after about 2 minutes that message pops up.
- Seems there is some kind of option to do something, but it's in a language I can't understand .
- That error message will stay there until you turn the game off. No action will remove it.

Notes
- Took out the main computer board for inspection and found that it has a Playstation 2 inside of it. So replacing that unit might not be that bad.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! My customers love this game, and it's turned into a cult favorite here so fixing it asap would be awesome!

Thanks,
Jonathan Ortiz

[MonMotha]

It's Japanese. If you look carefully, you'll note that the PS2 in the box is actually Japanese region, even for the US/North America builds of the game. Replacing it with a US (NTSC/UC) region PS2 will not work.

I think that what you see in your picture is what happens when the hard drive dies. Let me inquire with somebody who knows this system a bit better to confirm.

If indeed the drive is dead, I believe it can be replaced with a new (never used), real Sony PS2 hard drive e.g. from a new-old-stock hard drive kit. These were fairly rare in the USA to start with, and they haven't been made for quite some time; you may have to import one from Japan (where they were more popular) to find it. You'll also need the original, pressed (not a copy/burn) installer DVD for Supernova 2. If you don't have one, I may be able to arrange for you to borrow one. I will inquire with somebody who can tell you for sure, but my recollection is that, if you put that disc in the tray and power on the PS2 with a blank hard drive, it will do a from-scratch installation, and you should be back in working order.

[Jonathan GS]

Wow, thank you for the great post. On monday my distributor should be open again and maybe the tech department has some good info I can use since we did buy it from them around 5 years ago.

Thanks again for the quick response

[Jonathan GS]

Update 8/6/14

- Got a call back from a Betson tech who is familiar with this kind of game. He asked if I checked the 5V to the Jamma board which I haven't, and that if I want to replace the Playstation 2 inside it would cost me around $1100. There has to be an easier/more cost efficient way!!

[MonMotha]

Well, I have good news and bad news. Unfortunately, it's mostly the latter...

The good news is that my diagnosis was apparently correct. The hard drive installed in the PS2 has failed. Everything else is probably still in working order. The hard drive is a common failure item since it has moving parts and all.

The bad news is that apparently you cannot resurrect it using a new hard drive. The process of provisioning a new hard drive is rather complex and has to be done by Konami in cooperation with Sony.

There may be other options. I'll let you know what I can figure out. This system has very aggressive copy protection, to the point that it often interferes with maintenance as in this case, but it's pretty well understood at this point. It should be possible to get you back up and running for less than $1100.

[Ho]

I don't see any right now, but these complete system units (the entire metal box including the PS2) come up on eBay with some relative frequency--usually selling for < $500 if my memory serves.

However, I haven't been actively watching eBay for DDR parts in the past year, so the market may have changed. I don't imagine the prices have changed radically, but availability may have. I imagine that more of these units are failing like yours and that many have settled with owners who are not intending to sell them. Still, it's another avenue for investigation.

[Jonathan GS]

Update 8/7

Will go ahead and send it in to betson for a complete replacement with a new Playstation unit. It's costly, but hopefully this will last a looong time.
Will also be replacing some floor sensors. Some of our frequent customers have complained about the buttons sticking while others don't. Anyone have a solid source that they've used before to get new floor pad sensors? I'm aware of a few sources, but would appreciate some buyers experience on the floor pad sensors for this game.

Thanks for all of the help! It has been greatly appreciated.

[Fluffyumpkins]

I purchased sensors from Betson and have been happy with the result. The machine in question has been used at home and not commercially, but I've had minimal issues. You may also be surprised what a good cleaning can do for performance. This includes getting dirt out, making sure the foam pads above the sensor have not worn down, and making sure the screws connecting the bracket to each sensor are in place. Here's a pretty good article (shout out to Brian) on disassembly and cleaning.

http://www.ddrfreak.com/library/contrib ... ID=7909984

I would advise against the sensors from Uniarcade. The price reflects the quality (i.e. garbage.)

http://www.uniarcade.com/dance_machine_ ... switch.htm

[Jonathan GS]

Awesome, thank you for that info. I've cleaned them about pretty well twice in the last year and with how much this game gets used. Tallying to about 4,000 plays in an 8 month period it's pretty impressive to find how much dirt, hair and debris falls into those floor pads.

Will look into the floor pad scenario. I just assumed they were mounted well when i took out the sensor for inspection.

[Ho]

Awesome to hear about a public machine still getting a heavy amount of play. I hope you're able to get it up and running again soon.

[MonMotha]

Jonathan GS: Check your private messages.

[Jonathan GS]

Update 8/12

- Sending off the computer tomorrow on Wednesday (8/12). Talked to a tech named Brian L. from betson who has done hundreds of DDR repairs over the years. I asked about the problems of sending back the unit and it not working with my system when they return it to me, and he responded to me saying that they actually put it into a DDR game they have in house after they put a brand new PS2 in for the broken one. This is of course after the process of writing the new game to the brand new PS2 unit. Once it actually loads and plays the game they ship it back. Hopefully he keeps his word and I'll be able to log on here in about 5 business days showing a working DDR Supernova 2. At least this gives me time to detail the inside of the foot panels and sensors.