Excellent video, very well explained my friend. Your instructions have allowed me to remove 25 years’ worth of dust and crud from my console. My 64 went dead in 2014 and it’s only in hindsight I worked out it was likely due to the power supply no longer working and not the console itself. All the same, it needed this thorough clean. A couple of small parts I lost were casualties but main thing is we now have our 64 working once again. If anyone else finds no power or picture on their 64, i would suggest ordering a new power supply first. Greetings from Scotland.
I normally don’t write comments, but I gotta give you special shout-out. My N64 wasn’t consistently turning on but now it turns on 1st every time. Thank you so much
Awesome video! My old n64 was my first time attempting any sort of restoration, and I can confidently say that all those pieces never would've made it back together without this video. Thanks!
I realize it's 2021 but it was actually fun to give my original N64 some TLC after all these years. This was a great and thorough video. I wasn't going to trust putting my plastic parts in the dishwasher so I just washed them in the sink. They came out really clean but I lost my white numbered sticker on the bottom so be careful with that. Thanks again, well done.
This was a great help in taking apart my broken N64 to clean it! It’s probably nicer inside than my Switch now lol. Only thing I want to mention is that I kept pausing the video so I could follow along with each step, and it doesn’t mention that the little clear piece of plastic for the LED can separate from the case until fairly late in the video. I had no idea I could have removed it and it tragically fell down the drain when I was washing the case in the sink. So this is my little PSA to everyone! Don’t end up like me and make sure you remove that piece before cleaning the case in a sink.
Wow thanks u so much Man U made me so happy after like 20yrs of my n64 being not cleaned and forgotten as a kid, I just cleaned it and followed this whole video and got it to work!!!!!!!!! THANK U SO MUCH MAN REALLLY!!!!!!!!!!!
You're a lifesaver, brother, much appreciated. I never would have tried to get the cartridge slot off but it was vital in cleaning this very filthy jungle green N64 I got from a thrift shop. I think someone must have spilled a coke down there about 20 years ago.
Wonderfully aligned, simple and perfect design. If you compare this to today's consoles and computers it is so customer friendly, it's ridiculous. Thanks Nintendo.
Thanks, this was a great video for all the shrouds and screws. I just capped mine and didn't get back to it right away... again was a huge help. thanks!
Bought a toys r us gold N64 and it didn't worked cleaned it up thanks to this video and now the guy i bought it from wants to hire me to clean the rest of their N64 stock. Thanks dude! Amazing video.
This video was very helpful, one of the pins going to the AV out looked like it was missing solder, (it was dropped pretty hard 😬) I re-soldered it and now my N64 works like a charm!
Gave me hope that this unit can work. Followed your video and after years of being in storage it worked but the blue screen with no signal returned after cycling through my game cartridges. Will keep at it.. good video, well made and helpful 👍
thanks a lot man, like another commenter said, you're a life saver. i had my n64 dissassembled for a long time, tried to assemble it back and wasn't working, almost threw it away. i had some stuff missplaced in the ram slot area. with your reassembly i could figure it out. as im writing this im about to go and play, thank you!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, kind sir. What a blessing it was to find this video. I took a good part of 3 hours to do this and also give my system a much needed cleaning.
Man you are the best, my brother havd a n64 abandoned and had nthe problem of the turn the light but no signal. Your tutorial helped me a lot, super easy and your cleaning tips help. Now I am ready to rock wwf no mercy!!!! Take care bro.
10-19-2020 Very helpful, I got my N64 a few years ago. Decided to give it some TLC. The power and reset button are stuck. This video will help a lot. Thanks
Thank you so much man, I just followed the whole video step by step, completely took mine apart and cleaned the hell out of it with no problems at all. Would have been a nightmare without this video, thank you!!!!!!!
Thanks for the video. Can't help but laugh at how the difficulty in disassembly has increased in each system from the nes to the switch with each one being a little harder than the last lol. Btw I really appreciated the reassembly portion, this one is easy to miss a step.
Thank you so much this was extremely helpful I was vary lost at the beginning now I’ve successfully refurbished my n 64 witch has raised the value thank you
Thanks for this man. You are an underrated MVP. I'm trying to get my N64to boot up games again so I will check the pins if it needs cleaning. I want to be able to refurbish these systems to keep the around for generations to see.
i wouldnt recommend washing the case in the dishwasher. high heat of the dishwasher can warp plastic. i think scrubbing with warm soapy water would probably work fine
Just finished watching all of your videos. Found you looking up info on Xbox classic repair and enjoyed the videos. I see the latest one says a year ago but any continued repair videos I will watch.
Awesome tutorial dude! Thank you so much for this! Very detailed and thorough! I didn't have a special tool so I melted the tip of a mechanical pencil and let it set for a few seconds before twisting. Worked ok but the specialty tool is definitely on its way 🤣
This is really cool, great video! Very clear instructions, definitely the best I've seen. I've seen some custom N64 consoles with the 4 gray controller ports in different colors - what would you recommend the best way to go about that? Does that piece come off at all or would you maybe use a very thin paint brush once you have the shell off?
Are the cartridge tray screws the same as the small ones in the middle of the system? I need screws for my cartridge tray, but have no idea what size I need.
Just saw your videos my man your great love your stuff, any plans of coming back my guy it would be a shame to loes a talent like yours my guy , where ever you may be or going through stay blessed and stay safe and stay the champion and the talent you are 🙏💪🔥💪😇💪💯👍!
I also want to point out that the metal plate that goes on top with the ten short screws does not need to be in place before you screw in the first plate with the 5 screws. And frankly speaking you'd have to be kind of dense to misalign said plate.
@@retro_vg_repairs3339 I gave up. I had a right angle ratchet screwdriver that got some out. I'm looking to order one that is straight like a standard screwdriver.
Hi The metal part that goes over the led that you put back on at 13min 11sec is missing from my Pal N64. Do you know if this just a NTSC / Pal difference and it doesn’t need it, and what is its purpose? Thank you
Nice video Retro VG Repairs. It's been awhile since I've been here but I'm glad you did this N64 disassembly video. I have a yellow N64 controller in which the "right" trigger button does not work. I took it apart and I couldn't find what the problem was. I even tried testing the right trigger button while the controller was disassembled with a game running, it still didn't work. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.
There is no reason to pry or lever the Expansion Pak or Jumper Pak when you are disassembling the console. It comes off with the top shell. :) Also, the Jumper Pak is often taped down with a sticker. The five screws you take out should include the sixth identical screw by the LED. I underatand that this is supposed to be a complete disassembly guide so you will be taking out screws that are not always necessary, but the two with lock washers should be next after removing the board and heatsink/EMI shield assembly because that is as far as most will ever need to go. After removing those two you can remove the entire heatsink assembly with heat blocks and EMI shield as one piece to access the entire board. The black screws holding down the metal plate should be later since they can usually be skipped entirely. At least 8 of the 10 short screws on top aren't even there on late-model consoles with stamped heatsinks. Stamping the heatsink to directly interface with the CPU/GPU eliminates the cost of the screws and heat blocks. You get those on NUS-CPU-09-1 boards and some NUS-CPU-09 boards. Obviously, these screws are optional since they do not exist on some consoles, and that means they can be skipped on older consoles, but there is a concern with that: lifting off the whole heatsink assembly without leaving the heat blocks can rip the RDRAM off the board if you don't lift from the back near the cartridge slot. Once you know to lift from the back and not bother disasseming the whole heatsink/EMI shield assembly, getting down to the board is a breeze! It's very easy to break a wing when removing the cartridge slot if you don't lift it out perfectly straight. Another thing few people realize: The cartridge slot can be further disassembled so that you can eject and swap individual pins. I once did this because a pin was bent. I removed it and ejected a vestigial pin, like cartridge audio input (only used in rare Mario Artist cartridge and doesn't work with UltraHDMI anyway), to swap it with. That way I didn't have to worry about my straightened pin having a poor connection. How to do it: there are three catches on the front and back plates as well as a couple on the two side plates. They align with slots in the bottom of the slot (thru-hole pins side) where you can stick a small, flat, piece of metal all the way up to the catch. If you release all the catches on one plate you should be able to remove that plate. I count it very easy to do with my iFixit toolkit using the smallest flathead... no bending/marring of the plates. :) If I recall correctly I had to push to remove the pin which would normally be blocked by the shield plating we removed. Just grab the through-hole part of the pin with needle-nose pliers somewhat close to the bottom of the connector so that it does not have room to bend when you push. You may have to do it a few times to move it enough to grab from the other side but don't try to push so much at once that it bends. If all you need to do is blow it, it's a good idea to blow from the back too, since a lot of stuff just gets stuck on the plastic grill down there and will come out the top much easier.
Great video, thanks. I have one issue though, when putting back together my n64 two of the screws at the front connecting the shielding to the controller ports have become stripped. They still go in but do not tighten fully. Should I be concerned about safety/grounding issues because of this? Do you have any recommendations for fixing this issues? Thanks
I was wondering 🤔if u could buy a replacement cartridge slot new & install it the same way but unfortunately the only place I could find one was on Ebay & it would be coming from the uk 🇬🇧 no big deal but on there website Game Gorilla on Ebay it tells in the item description that there is soldering involved is this true & if so is there anyway around this without soldering?
Any thermal compound or pads to replace? My n64 seems to run very slow I assume it's overheating but maybe all games were just slow back then? even Mario kart feels extremely slow.
Excellent video, very well explained my friend. Your instructions have allowed me to remove 25 years’ worth of dust and crud from my console.
My 64 went dead in 2014 and it’s only in hindsight I worked out it was likely due to the power supply no longer working and not the console itself. All the same, it needed this thorough clean. A couple of small parts I lost were casualties but main thing is we now have our 64 working once again. If anyone else finds no power or picture on their 64, i would suggest ordering a new power supply first.
Greetings from Scotland.
I normally don’t write comments, but I gotta give you special shout-out. My N64 wasn’t consistently turning on but now it turns on 1st every time. Thank you so much
Awesome video! My old n64 was my first time attempting any sort of restoration, and I can confidently say that all those pieces never would've made it back together without this video. Thanks!
Happy to help
I realize it's 2021 but it was actually fun to give my original N64 some TLC after all these years. This was a great and thorough video. I wasn't going to trust putting my plastic parts in the dishwasher so I just washed them in the sink. They came out really clean but I lost my white numbered sticker on the bottom so be careful with that. Thanks again, well done.
This was a great help in taking apart my broken N64 to clean it! It’s probably nicer inside than my Switch now lol.
Only thing I want to mention is that I kept pausing the video so I could follow along with each step, and it doesn’t mention that the little clear piece of plastic for the LED can separate from the case until fairly late in the video. I had no idea I could have removed it and it tragically fell down the drain when I was washing the case in the sink.
So this is my little PSA to everyone! Don’t end up like me and make sure you remove that piece before cleaning the case in a sink.
Wow thanks u so much Man U made me so happy after like 20yrs of my n64 being not cleaned and forgotten as a kid, I just cleaned it and followed this whole video and got it to work!!!!!!!!! THANK U SO MUCH MAN REALLLY!!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy! what games did you want to get back into?
@@retro_vg_repairs3339 I was playing paper Mario,Mario golf,Mario party 3 and some others really fun and enjoyable
You're a lifesaver, brother, much appreciated. I never would have tried to get the cartridge slot off but it was vital in cleaning this very filthy jungle green N64 I got from a thrift shop. I think someone must have spilled a coke down there about 20 years ago.
nice! not too many people know its removable. It is definitely where a lot of dirt likes to hide
Just did a deep clean on a N64 and this couldn’t have been a better video. Thank you so much!
Wonderfully aligned, simple and perfect design. If you compare this to today's consoles and computers it is so customer friendly, it's ridiculous.
Thanks Nintendo.
You're a lifesaver, brother. Very well made and helpful.
Jesus loves you sir :)
Thanks, this was a great video for all the shrouds and screws. I just capped mine and didn't get back to it right away... again was a huge help. thanks!
Bought a toys r us gold N64 and it didn't worked cleaned it up thanks to this video and now the guy i bought it from wants to hire me to clean the rest of their N64 stock. Thanks dude! Amazing video.
You’re a boss for this! I took mine completely apart and forgot how to put it back together!!! Great content my friend!!!
This video was very helpful, one of the pins going to the AV out looked like it was missing solder, (it was dropped pretty hard 😬) I re-soldered it and now my N64 works like a charm!
Thank you very much for making this video. I left mine disassembled for over a year and would never have remembered where all the screws came from
Had a sticky reset button for years. Great video! Thank you so much
Gave me hope that this unit can work. Followed your video and after years of being in storage it worked but the blue screen with no signal returned after cycling through my game cartridges. Will keep at it.. good video, well made and helpful 👍
I didn't even get it to work, but putting that top piece back on was definitely satisfying.
thanks a lot man, like another commenter said, you're a life saver. i had my n64 dissassembled for a long time, tried to assemble it back and wasn't working, almost threw it away. i had some stuff missplaced in the ram slot area. with your reassembly i could figure it out. as im writing this im about to go and play, thank you!!!!!!!!!
Awesome! Glad you didn't give up!
Thanks for making this video. I just restored my first 64 and it’s working perfectly 👍👍👍
The reassembly portion of the video was super great!
Been coming back to this video every few years, thanks!!
Thank you, kind sir. What a blessing it was to find this video. I took a good part of 3 hours to do this and also give my system a much needed cleaning.
Man you are the best, my brother havd a n64 abandoned and had nthe problem of the turn the light but no signal. Your tutorial helped me a lot, super easy and your cleaning tips help. Now I am ready to rock wwf no mercy!!!! Take care bro.
🤘
The lid for the jumper pak is the perfect fit for that little prying slot on the back of the jumper and expansion paks
10-19-2020
Very helpful, I got my N64 a few years ago. Decided to give it some TLC. The power and reset button are stuck. This video will help a lot. Thanks
Thank you so much man, I just followed the whole video step by step, completely took mine apart and cleaned the hell out of it with no problems at all. Would have been a nightmare without this video, thank you!!!!!!!
If it helped you, then it was worth it to me! Very glad to hear.
Excellent video. Great close ups and instruction. Thanks for your time. Everything went back smoothly.
Thanks for the video. Can't help but laugh at how the difficulty in disassembly has increased in each system from the nes to the switch with each one being a little harder than the last lol. Btw I really appreciated the reassembly portion, this one is easy to miss a step.
Nice teardown video. Did mines which had decades of dust and debris inside. Can't beat Nintendo's build quality though. Simplistic and Functional.
Can you make a video on the same thing but for NES and SNES? This was an incredible tutorial!
oh yes finally found an useful video from cleaning the n64 system properly thank you
This is the most perfect teardown video ive ever seen
Appreciate the comment. My goal was to make the most thorough and easy to follow video. Thanks!
Thank you so much this was extremely helpful I was vary lost at the beginning now I’ve successfully refurbished my n 64 witch has raised the value thank you
Me: does not have a n64
Also me: this is interesting
Thanks for this man. You are an underrated MVP. I'm trying to get my N64to boot up games again so I will check the pins if it needs cleaning. I want to be able to refurbish these systems to keep the around for generations to see.
I super appreciate the ste-by-step breakdown and reassembly.
Thank you for this guide! You have helped save my n64 from the heap.
This was a very useful video, repaired my reset button and cleaned my console, thank you
i wouldnt recommend washing the case in the dishwasher. high heat of the dishwasher can warp plastic. i think scrubbing with warm soapy water would probably work fine
Just finished watching all of your videos. Found you looking up info on Xbox classic repair and enjoyed the videos. I see the latest one says a year ago but any continued repair videos I will watch.
Awesome tutorial dude! Thank you so much for this! Very detailed and thorough! I didn't have a special tool so I melted the tip of a mechanical pencil and let it set for a few seconds before twisting. Worked ok but the specialty tool is definitely on its way 🤣
Thanks a lot saved me time which screw goes where, and the clips since I dropped it while it was open your a life saver👍👍👍👍👍
Very informative. I just pulled out my N64 & it was covered with dust, & sticky gunk on the vents infront of the cartridge slot...! Thanks
Thanks for the great video. I know I would have had extra screws leftover if I just winged it!
Thanks for the amazing video, succeeded in my repair (the N64 was just dirty I got lucky)
This is really cool, great video! Very clear instructions, definitely the best I've seen.
I've seen some custom N64 consoles with the 4 gray controller ports in different colors - what would you recommend the best way to go about that? Does that piece come off at all or would you maybe use a very thin paint brush once you have the shell off?
That is soldered onto the board. I'd recommend you carefully paint it with the top and bottom shell off
Great video man! Thank so much!
Are the cartridge tray screws the same as the small ones in the middle of the system? I need screws for my cartridge tray, but have no idea what size I need.
Thanks a ton! My N64 was needing to be restored!
Excellent video Sir!! Helped me immensely! Thanks
Greatest TH-cam video ever
Thanks for such an in depth video! Mine needed a nice cleaning.
Just saw your videos my man your great love your stuff, any plans of coming back my guy it would be a shame to loes a talent like yours my guy , where ever you may be or going through stay blessed and stay safe and stay the champion and the talent you are 🙏💪🔥💪😇💪💯👍!
This was very helpful and well-done, thanks!
I also want to point out that the metal plate that goes on top with the ten short screws does not need to be in place before you screw in the first plate with the 5 screws. And frankly speaking you'd have to be kind of dense to misalign said plate.
Great video! Very detailed, thanks man!
I just spent a few hours trying to do this. Those 10 screws on that heatsink plate won't budge. I was maybe able to get 3 off but the rest are stuck.
Make sure your philips screwdriver is the right size. A longer one with a bigger grip will give you more torque. Just be careful not to strip it
@@retro_vg_repairs3339 I gave up. I had a right angle ratchet screwdriver that got some out. I'm looking to order one that is straight like a standard screwdriver.
Hi
The metal part that goes over the led that you put back on at 13min 11sec is missing from my Pal N64.
Do you know if this just a NTSC / Pal difference and it doesn’t need it, and what is its purpose?
Thank you
I've seen it missing from a few jpn consoles too. Tbh I'm not sure what it's for. Don't worry about it
Retro_VG_Repairs interesting.
Great video by the way
Thanks so much man! Video was perfect! Step by step
Great video. Thank you for posting.
Thank you , your video was on point and made everything easy to do .
I used your video to help me again on my second n64 ! Thanks Again !
Nice video Retro VG Repairs. It's been awhile since I've been here but I'm glad you did this N64 disassembly video. I have a yellow N64 controller in which the "right" trigger button does not work. I took it apart and I couldn't find what the problem was. I even tried testing the right trigger button while the controller was disassembled with a game running, it still didn't work. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.
Great! You help me a lot! Thanks!!!
Absolutely fantastic vid.
Nice how to! My reset button is stuck, i ordered the security bit and will take the console apart this week!
Epic video! Thank you!
There is no reason to pry or lever the Expansion Pak or Jumper Pak when you are disassembling the console. It comes off with the top shell. :) Also, the Jumper Pak is often taped down with a sticker.
The five screws you take out should include the sixth identical screw by the LED.
I underatand that this is supposed to be a complete disassembly guide so you will be taking out screws that are not always necessary, but the two with lock washers should be next after removing the board and heatsink/EMI shield assembly because that is as far as most will ever need to go. After removing those two you can remove the entire heatsink assembly with heat blocks and EMI shield as one piece to access the entire board. The black screws holding down the metal plate should be later since they can usually be skipped entirely.
At least 8 of the 10 short screws on top aren't even there on late-model consoles with stamped heatsinks. Stamping the heatsink to directly interface with the CPU/GPU eliminates the cost of the screws and heat blocks. You get those on NUS-CPU-09-1 boards and some NUS-CPU-09 boards. Obviously, these screws are optional since they do not exist on some consoles, and that means they can be skipped on older consoles, but there is a concern with that: lifting off the whole heatsink assembly without leaving the heat blocks can rip the RDRAM off the board if you don't lift from the back near the cartridge slot. Once you know to lift from the back and not bother disasseming the whole heatsink/EMI shield assembly, getting down to the board is a breeze!
It's very easy to break a wing when removing the cartridge slot if you don't lift it out perfectly straight. Another thing few people realize: The cartridge slot can be further disassembled so that you can eject and swap individual pins. I once did this because a pin was bent. I removed it and ejected a vestigial pin, like cartridge audio input (only used in rare Mario Artist cartridge and doesn't work with UltraHDMI anyway), to swap it with. That way I didn't have to worry about my straightened pin having a poor connection.
How to do it: there are three catches on the front and back plates as well as a couple on the two side plates. They align with slots in the bottom of the slot (thru-hole pins side) where you can stick a small, flat, piece of metal all the way up to the catch. If you release all the catches on one plate you should be able to remove that plate. I count it very easy to do with my iFixit toolkit using the smallest flathead... no bending/marring of the plates. :)
If I recall correctly I had to push to remove the pin which would normally be blocked by the shield plating we removed. Just grab the through-hole part of the pin with needle-nose pliers somewhat close to the bottom of the connector so that it does not have room to bend when you push. You may have to do it a few times to move it enough to grab from the other side but don't try to push so much at once that it bends.
If all you need to do is blow it, it's a good idea to blow from the back too, since a lot of stuff just gets stuck on the plastic grill down there and will come out the top much easier.
great vid! But should I be concerned if my console didn't include a small thin plate to go on top of the red LED at the very front?
Don't be concerned. Certain revisions didn't include it. Not necessary to have
@@retro_vg_repairs3339 aaah ok, had me worried... cheers for your help
Thank you, my friend. You're awesome!
Thanks I got a bunch of cheerios in my console
I'm impressed
Those caps are over 20 years old and due for replacement.
perfectly manufactured
Thanks for this upload. Is the best on youtube imo. Glad you did the reassembly too
Super helpful. Thanks so much.
Any alternatives for the Nintendo security screwdriver bit?
Awesome video, thanks my dude.
1:45 Now was that meant for the 64DD that we never got in this country?
Very thorough video. Thank you!
very thorough video well done
wouldn't use a dishwasher to clean the plastics. unless it's sure that they won't deform. but otherwise a brilliant useful tutorial
What size of screws will work to replace those used to hold that cartridge reader?
Thank you for this
Great video! Very helpful
Great job bossman
Super thank you 👍
great tutorial
Thank you for the video. :)
great video. helped a lot.
Great video, thanks. I have one issue though, when putting back together my n64 two of the screws at the front connecting the shielding to the controller ports have become stripped. They still go in but do not tighten fully. Should I be concerned about safety/grounding issues because of this? Do you have any recommendations for fixing this issues? Thanks
I mean once they are stripped you need new screws. As long as the system is put together with everything else, you will be fine
Thanks for the reply. I meant to say that the screw holes are stripped.
I was wondering 🤔if u could buy a replacement cartridge slot new & install it the same way but unfortunately the only place I could find one was on Ebay & it would be coming from the uk 🇬🇧 no big deal but on there website Game Gorilla on Ebay it tells in the item description that there is soldering involved is this true & if so is there anyway around this without soldering?
Thanks, well made
Jesus loves you sir :)
Thank you so much
Nice job
Is there a thermal past under the smaller heat sinks?
There are thermal pads under each one. By now they are pretty brittle so be careful handling it
@@retro_vg_repairs3339 👍 thanks for the response.
Very good.
Any thermal compound or pads to replace? My n64 seems to run very slow I assume it's overheating but maybe all games were just slow back then? even Mario kart feels extremely slow.
Thanks for this vid
good tutorial
Thanks for the video - really easy to follow:)