DVDizzy Forum

So ... where to start? My family used to own an old Commodore 64 MicroComputer. When I was born, it was inevitable that I get involved with it aswell, and through the years I've grown to really love it.

Now unfortunately my C64 broke about 7 years ago. We didn't throw it away. We just stored it in our garage. All these years I've been yearning for a working C64. I have emulators on my PC, but it just isn't the same without that big brown thing in front of you.

Curiously, I couldn't remember what was wrong with my C64 before we dumped it 7 years ago. I did have a vague feeling that it involved a blank black screen, but that was it. On some strange impulse I decided to unearth it and plug it in, and see, if by some miracle, it would work.

On taking it out of the garage I couldn't help seeing in what a sorry state it was. Though stored in plastic, the casing has yellowed badly and looks filthy, and keys rattle, and the ports at the back have cobwebs extending into the circuit boards within! I doubted even the little red bulb labelled "power" would light up.

Before hooking up to my TV, I wanted to make sure it was actually receiving power. And surprise of surprises, the little red bulb lit up! I quickly hooked up the C64 to my TV, and miracle of miracles, I saw the startup screen! Yes it was all there! The blue screen with the light blue border! "How could this machine, previously stubbornly refusing to even light up, suddenly work perfecty?" I thought, "After seven years!"

Like an ecstatic six-year old child I tinkered with it and tried typing in some programs for about 20 minutes.

Then the trouble started.

After leaving my C64 idle for a few minutes, I realized that the cursor was blinking incredibly fast ... so fast that it almost looked transparent. Something stirred in my memory. "This is not good." I thought. I tried typing something in, but the computer refused to respond. I switched it off, and then on again, to which I was greeted by NO startup screen. Everything remained black and blank. The red bulb was shining, so the computer was definately getting power, but no matter how many times I reset it, I never got my beloved blue startup screen again.

Then I immediately remembered. This was the problem the C64 was giving me exactly 7 years ago! That's what happened! The cursor once jammed for me, and once I switched the computer off, I could never get it to restart. We obviously thought it was finished ... kaput, and stored it in the garage!

Now, by some minor miracle, 7 years later, it managed to start up again, only to meet the same problem once more.

Do you guys have any ideas?

Thanks.

Could one of the keys be jammed? I never had a C64 (I was an Apple IIe guy) but I would think first of all, a good cleaning would be in order... Get one of the cans of air, maybe a computer vacuum, and clean every inch of that thing.

Also, you might look on the net for C64 discussion groups, repair services, etc... Some of these might be able to help you narrow down what might be wrong.

I agree with giving the thing a good cleaning first as well. It sounds like there might either be a key jamming, or something is overheating (most likely due to being covered with dust). I'm always amazed at how sensitive computers are to dust and how a good cleaning will often set things right.

Failing that, I don't have much more advice for you. It's not like you can switch out parts or reformat

I just think you need to have a nice retirement party for this old piece of junk. This is the 21st Century now and computers today are so much farther advanced. Sure in its day Commodore was impressive and very popular, but it is time to put the 'old dog' to rest, and join civilization. Surely there isn't something on that C64 that you can't do ten times easier and ten times better than today's computers.

Don't you ever feel nostalgia Junkie?

Today, in the 21st century, all of those C64 games that took minutes to load one at a time will now probably fit all together on a fraction of your hard drive. 1980s nostalgia is obviously what this is about - and there's nothing wrong with that, is there?

Lars Vermundsberget wrote:Today, in the 21st century, all of those C64 games that took minutes to load one at a time will now probably fit all together on a fraction of your hard drive. 1980s nostalgia is obviously what this is about - and there's nothing wrong with that, is there?

Nope! I spend lots of time and up-keep on my original NES. Yeah I could play the games on emulators...but there's only one light gun!

2099net wrote:Don't you ever feel nostalgia Junkie?

I don't think he really feels anything except aggrevation, thus why he's always rolling his eyes.

To defend dvdjunkie, he always has the rolling eyes emoticon at the end of his posts- it's almost like a signature.

It's not a question of nostalgia at all. Sure it would be nice to have a working C64, who wouldn't want one, I would get one in a second if I could find one that was fully functional.

What I am saying is, maybe Julian should just find a nice place for it on a shelf, cover it so it doesn't get all gunked up with dust and other things, and just remember when.

Nostalgia is fine, but to carry it on to the point that you are willing to spend more money on it than its worth just to play games, is sorta silly, don't you think.

I still have a fully functional NES system with wireless controllers that still work, and probably upwards of 100 games. I also still have a fully functional Sega Genesis with all the working parts, four controllers, two guns, and a set of wireless controllers. My Sega Dreamcast bit the dust several years ago, but I think that to even try and fix it today would be not worth the money. Sonic The Hedgehog is the most powerful game to play on the Genesis, and I still play it today whenever I take time to hook everything up to my big screen tv.

I totally am very nostalgic about the 'good old days', but I also am very practical when it comes to spending money on something that has no value. That is all that I was saying.

blackcauldron85 wrote:To defend dvdjunkie, he always has the rolling eyes emoticon at the end of his posts- it's almost like a signature.

I know. I was just saying that it's always rolling eyes. It's always something sarcastic.

Junkie, you could probably pick up a working Dreamcast from a pawn shop or game store for ~$20 or so...

I know how you feel. I grew up with atari 2600 and commodore 64. I have a commodore 64 but I don't have anywhere to put it so i can use it and all of my old disks full of programs I typed in ,custom game levels ,etc are long gone and I wish I could get some of them back.

I have a working Atari 2600. Love to play Adventure once a year or so.

Ya know what could be kinda cool is to take an old Commodore 64 and update it using today's technology. Still have it be a C64, but with a huge hard drive, processor, etc.

Maerj wrote:Ya know what could be kinda cool is to take an old Commodore 64 and update it using today's technology. Still have it be a C64, but with a huge hard drive, processor, etc.

I've seen some C64 case mods. They basically take everything out of the C64 and put new updated PC parts in it. They don't fit, so there is a lot of cutting to the case and adding fans, etc... They look pretty nice if done right.

Wow. Talk about a heated discussion.

I've taken the cleaning advice and have opened up my C64 and removed the copious amounts of dust from the motherboard. I've yet to clean the keyboard though.