Commodore CDTV troubleshooting and repair information

Here are some things to try if your CDTV doesn't seem to be working properly:

 

1. Before doing anything dramatic first try the simple things. Make sure that the power is connected and that you have the video and sound cables attached properly. Make sure that your television or monitor are turned on and that the switches and/or buttons on your screen are properly set for the video input which you are using.

2. Many of the CDTV units which we have seen which have totally lost their picture have a bad video card. This card slides into the back of the unit and usually has a video out (RCA) jack and a television out (RF modulated) RCA jack as well as an S-Video output. (It is also possible that your CDTV unit might have a CDTV Genlock video card installed which just has a video input and video output and no television output). There are two little screws that can be removed to allow the video card to be removed. The big problem is to try to find a replacement. Although we often don't have any of the normal video cards for the CDTV we do have some of the CDTV Genlock composite video cards which have a video out and a video in (for genlock purposes). The video out on this is the same as the video out on the original card. These CDTV genlock video cards don't have the RF modulated TV output but you can still connect to most newer style televisions as long as they have a video in RCA jack or you can run the CDTV through the video input of a VCR and into your television.

click here for pricing on CDTV genlock video cards

3. Another possible cause of CDTV malfunction is loose or defective chips. After unplugging the CDTV if you take the top off of the unit you should try pressing firmly on all of the socketed chips to make sure that they are seated properly. These chips tend to get loose after a while. After pressing down firmly on the chips try connecting the unit again and see if this helps.

4. If the unit works but can't access an external floppy drive or other external device you may have a bad 8520 CIA chip. We also have these available on our main Amiga page.

Click here to see a huge list of Commodore and Amiga chips. Many of the Amiga chips especially those for the Amiga 500 are also used in the CDTV.

5. If the unit works but the remote doesn't seem to be working then check the batteries in the remote. Also, if you have accidently pressed the joy/mouse button you may need to press this button again because you might be in the joystick mode when you usually need to be in the mouse mode. If this still doesn't solve the problem you may want to try a new CDTV remote unit which we also still have available.

6. If the unit and remote work but CDTV software won't load then try ejecting the CD caddy which has your CD in it and try inserting it again a couple of times. Sometimes these CDTV units require the CD (in its caddy) to be inserted and ejected a couple of times before it will detect the CD.

7. Other problems can keep the CDTV from functioning properly. Quite often the CDTV drive mechanism becomes malfunctional. Unfortunately we don't have an easy solution to this but we do periodically get complete and functional CDTV machines still which you can purchase from us. We also have some defective CDTV parts units which we sell AS IS for those who want to try to strip and replace parts.

8. This is all of the information which we have regarding CDTV troubleshooting. If you can't be helped by this information you will need to check elsewhere.

 

click here to see a listing of our CDTV parts and other CDTV products


See "Ordering Details" for limited exceptions





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