-ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE CAREFUL, EXPERIENCED AND WANT TO ASSIST ME WITH DEBUGGING. ALSO, READ ALL OF THE PART UP TO THE DISCLAIMER-
I was bored today, and I decided to tear into my Tamagotchi Music Star. I had been planning to find out how to debug it for quite a while, and I made some discoveries.
First off, I have NOT found out how to debug the Tamagotchi yet. HOWEVER, I have discovered the DEBUG symbols and the R11 switch, so I must be getting somewhere.
Disclaimer: Taking apart your TMGC will not destroy it unless you have no idea what you're doing. If the rare occasion of your TMGC breaking does occur, don't hold me responsible. Also, don't whine about "how debugging will ruin your Tamagotchi". We've heard it a million times already.
So, I'll put up the details and instructions here.
What you will need:
• Mini-screwdriver set
• A grip cloth or any material that you can hold onto without your hand slipping off (highly recommended)
• A clean, open surface
Now, the V6 is modeled after the V5's circuitboard. This means that you can follow most of the steps for debugging a V5 for the V6 alike. However, I took the liberty of writing down these steps. Enjoy.
1. Take out the screwdrivers and put your Tamagotchi screen-side down.
2. Take the screwdriver and unscrew the main screw counter-clockwise (all screws on the Tamagotchi follow this direction) until it's out. Place the screw in a safe, distinguishable area.
3. Open the back of your Tamagotchi and remove the battery.
4. Now would be a good time to get that grip-able cloth out. Take your screwdriver and gently unscrew the four corner screws (counter-clockwise again). Without the grip cloth, this can be a straining, near-impossible task, and usually will leave you with all four screws intact and two very sore hands.
5. Once the screws are out, place them in a pile and very gently open the inner shell.
6. You'll see the circuitboard--but not the debug switch. Instead, aim for the four screws in the corners of the circuitboard. You won't need the grip cloth for this one, just go as you please.
7. Once those are out, gently remove the circuitboard and flip it around so you can see the LCD screen.
8. Very important instructions follow: gently take the "background" cardboard out from under the LCD screen. Afterwards, shake out the remaining black plastic border from underneath the LCD screen as well (found mine by accident).
9. Now, you can see the R11 switch and the word DEBUG almost directly underneath the LCD screen, right? But do you also see the pinkish rubber things that are tethering it to the circuitboard? Take your screwdriver and very gently push the LCD screen off from behind. Don't remove it (or the pink things) from the back entirely, just make an aperture big enough for access.
10. Here's the confusing part. After taking off the screen, you can clearly see the DEBUG sign and the R11 switch. But the DEBUG button is simply not there. This strikes me as odd, so could someone with more experience than I do with disassembly try this out as well--and hopefully assist us with the solution?
So close, but no cigar. I hope some smart fellow could pick up where I left off, but for now, this is as close as we're getting.
I was bored today, and I decided to tear into my Tamagotchi Music Star. I had been planning to find out how to debug it for quite a while, and I made some discoveries.
First off, I have NOT found out how to debug the Tamagotchi yet. HOWEVER, I have discovered the DEBUG symbols and the R11 switch, so I must be getting somewhere.
Disclaimer: Taking apart your TMGC will not destroy it unless you have no idea what you're doing. If the rare occasion of your TMGC breaking does occur, don't hold me responsible. Also, don't whine about "how debugging will ruin your Tamagotchi". We've heard it a million times already.
So, I'll put up the details and instructions here.
What you will need:
• Mini-screwdriver set
• A grip cloth or any material that you can hold onto without your hand slipping off (highly recommended)
• A clean, open surface
Now, the V6 is modeled after the V5's circuitboard. This means that you can follow most of the steps for debugging a V5 for the V6 alike. However, I took the liberty of writing down these steps. Enjoy.
1. Take out the screwdrivers and put your Tamagotchi screen-side down.
2. Take the screwdriver and unscrew the main screw counter-clockwise (all screws on the Tamagotchi follow this direction) until it's out. Place the screw in a safe, distinguishable area.
3. Open the back of your Tamagotchi and remove the battery.
4. Now would be a good time to get that grip-able cloth out. Take your screwdriver and gently unscrew the four corner screws (counter-clockwise again). Without the grip cloth, this can be a straining, near-impossible task, and usually will leave you with all four screws intact and two very sore hands.
5. Once the screws are out, place them in a pile and very gently open the inner shell.
6. You'll see the circuitboard--but not the debug switch. Instead, aim for the four screws in the corners of the circuitboard. You won't need the grip cloth for this one, just go as you please.
7. Once those are out, gently remove the circuitboard and flip it around so you can see the LCD screen.
8. Very important instructions follow: gently take the "background" cardboard out from under the LCD screen. Afterwards, shake out the remaining black plastic border from underneath the LCD screen as well (found mine by accident).
9. Now, you can see the R11 switch and the word DEBUG almost directly underneath the LCD screen, right? But do you also see the pinkish rubber things that are tethering it to the circuitboard? Take your screwdriver and very gently push the LCD screen off from behind. Don't remove it (or the pink things) from the back entirely, just make an aperture big enough for access.
10. Here's the confusing part. After taking off the screen, you can clearly see the DEBUG sign and the R11 switch. But the DEBUG button is simply not there. This strikes me as odd, so could someone with more experience than I do with disassembly try this out as well--and hopefully assist us with the solution?
So close, but no cigar. I hope some smart fellow could pick up where I left off, but for now, this is as close as we're getting.