Philips CD-I Issue.

[captcapcom]

Hey all, I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this problem. I recently bought a Philips CDI 910 off of eBay. This system was pristine and was worked on. I got everything with it, and when I first booted it up, everything was fine.

I was playing Hotel Mario (which was a freebie) and it was running great, then it freaked out and went to a black screen.

 

Now When I turn it back on I get a message on the front LED display that says "8CD-I" and it does nothing. Won't even load the menu screen.

 

Is my timekeeper chip at fault here? Anyone with experience with this unit please help me out... I really like this thing (I know its cheesy) and dont really want to send it back...

 

 

[CatPix]

I would point the timekeeper battery indeed. I read that timekeeper failure can lead to CD-i unit being locked completely. However I have no idea if the lock can happen during use of the CD-i. I kind of doubt it sadly.

Maybe someone else that know the codes will tell you better.

[Seob]

Tried to find info on the 8cd-i error, but in the service manual i couldn't find it. Does your cd-i have a videocartridge installed. Try reseating it or removing it. I never had a cd-i unit that stopt working all together when having timekeeper issues, but i have read it could lock up the system, but i'm not sure.

[captcapcom]

I managed to clear the "8CD-I" Message and got the menu to boot after it was left unplugged for an hour. Tried a game again and it instantly failed and did nothing like before. I only saw the "8CD-I" message once more after powering it on and off few times.

These games I have are Burns obviously... maybe that had something to do with it. Also I noticed that the power cord that shipped with it was a 3 prong cord... and the System only needed a two prong, so perhaps it was a Power fault?

 

 

Anyway, the dude on eBay was super cool about it and refunded me... I sent the unit back and am on the hunt for a working one. But I really don't know why....

[Austin]

Most-likely the Timekeeper. In my experience, CD-i systems will seem to act normal with a dead Timekeeper after being unplugged for a bit. But, shortly into a session things will start going wrong (in your case, the system locking up completely).

 

That said, I have never had a CD-i fail/lock up outright, but I also haven't owned a 910.

 

Keep in mind that nearly every CD-i (except for a handful of rare models) are going to have dead Timekeepers. I'd research tutorials on how to get them replaced, or try to get one of the few CD-i models that has a simple replaceable lithium battery.

[CatPix]

If I remember, CD players made with lithium batteries or even better, with flash memories are made by Samsung (if I recall correctly), and for most of them were made after Philips stopped making CD-i; which make them harder to find because they are just "media players" with an added CD-i functionnality.