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Arcade PCB preservation & modernisation

Making an arcade board last without wearing out the original: replacing fragile storage (ROM/CD/GD-ROM/HDD), neutralising suicide batteries, or replaying the system another way (netboot, FPGA). Complements repair (recap, traces) and conversions (game swap, de-suicide). Method only, no ROM/BIOS.

Replacing storage — by media type

Original media Modernisation Level Example systems
EPROM / mask ROM SD/flash multicart or reprogrammed EPROMs 🟢/🟠 Neo-Geo MVS (NeoSD, Darksoft), CPS-1/2 (Darksoft), PGM
Flash SIMM remade / flashable SIMMs 🟠 CPS-3 (Darksoft, cps3-nos)
CD-ROM (SCSI) image on SD / no-CD 🟡 CPS-3 (Darksoft no-CD)
GD-ROM netboot or a solid-state drive 🟢 Naomi, Chihiro, Triforce (below)
Hard disk (PC) SSD/CF clone (dd image) + dongle 🟡 Lindbergh, Taito Type X, RingEdge, Nu

Multicart/ROM details → Multi-game solutions.

GD-ROM systems (Naomi / Chihiro / Triforce)

These load the game from a GD-ROM via a DIMM board (buffer RAM):

  • Sega Naomi / Atomiswave: the prime preservation route is netboot (load the game over the network into the NetDIMM, see next section); otherwise the tired GD-ROM drive can be replaced by a solid-state loader (e.g. USB-GDROM).
  • Chihiro (Xbox-based): media board + GD-ROM → community loaders.
  • Triforce (GameCube-based): baseboard + GD-ROM → netboot/loaders.

⚠️ The GD-ROM drive and its belt/laser are the weak point → solid-state avoids the wear.

Netboot

Many DIMM systems (Naomi, Atomiswave, Triforce, Chihiro) can receive the game over the network into the DIMM board's RAM, with no GD-ROM:

  • Community tools (PiForce Tools & equivalents) send the image from a PC/Raspberry Pi.
  • Benefits: no optical drive, fast game changes. The DIMM battery holds the decryption key for the session → weak battery = reload (see de-suicide below).

Anti-suicide / no-battery

NEVER cut power to a suicide board before securing the key

Boards with a security battery (CPS-2, CPS-3, System 16 FD1094, System 18/24, Naomi DIMM…) lose the decryption key — and thus the game permanently — if the battery dies or if you cut power during a swap. Before changing the battery: solder a buffer battery in parallel (or keep the board powered) so the key-holding RAM is never without power. Measure the battery without disconnecting it.

  • De-suicide (rewrite the keys) 🔴 or decrypted / phoenix ROMs → per-system detail in the conversions (e.g. CPS-2, CPS-3, System 16 FD1094).
  • No-battery modules (InfiniKey-CPS2, Darksoft multi) 🟡: permanently remove the battery dependency.

FPGA & recreation

  • MiSTer FPGA: cores faithfully reproduce several systems (Neo-Geo, CPS-1/2, System 16, IREM M72/M92, Toaplan…) → play without original hardware, 15 kHz output compatible with a cab CRT (see Modernising a cabinet).
  • Useful for preservation (the original custom silicon ages) and for development.

I/O, power, video

See also

Sources & attribution

  • Established community documentation (Darksoft, NeoSD/Terraonion, PiForce Tools, USB-GDROM, MiSTer, ArcadeHacker) — synthesis, no invented URL.

Review & corrections

How this space is used

Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.

Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.