I’m new here by the way, so hello everybody. I recently purchased a VB with 12 games over the holiday. When I first fired up the system it was displaying glitchy images, so I thought I had been ripped off, big time by the seller on Ebay, who said it had been tested and played well. Anyway a little while later I did that old Nintendo trick where you put alcohol into the connectors and blow into the game. I know, I know this is a BIG no no but I was desperate BIG TIME. However the minute I did this the games all worked perfectly when before they were so glitchy. Do you guys have any experience with this? Was/Is my VB broken or were the games/system just dirty. My old NES, SNES, and 64 sometimes won’t fire up unless I clean them before hand, was this a similar case? My VB works perfectly know and I’m having tons of fun, great system. I hope it lasts.

Your console is (semi) broken. The glitchy lines are often intermittent or random, but it is a console failure due to a loose connection for the eye-piece’s ribbon cable. (Please NEVER EVER blame a seller for glitchy lines if you purchased just a game itself, the games themselves NEVER cause glitchy lines)

There is nothing wrong with your games, so avoid soaking the pin-out in cleaner or alcohol unless the game does not boot at all.

As for the consoles, Adjusting the IPD knob puts stress on the old cable connections and can cause the failure. I’ve had brand new consoles get the glitchy lines from doing a simple IPD adjustment.

More often than not seller’s are ignorant of the issue and sell you a glitchy console since the problem is usually intermittent. However, *if the console worked* for even a mere 10 minutes before the lines started occurring *after* twisting the IPD knob back and forth, try not to blame the seller. Since you can attest that it is sometimes working and sometimes not (trust me, your cleaning had nothing to do with it) be kind to the seller and give him the benefit of the doubt that it worked when he tested it.

I often get glitchy consoles that are sold as tested and perfect. Unless you get a physical repair done on your console, this glitch issue will resurrect itself.

If you’re handy with a soldering iron, the repair isn’t that difficult. If not, the repair isn’t that costly aside from shipping costs.

The irony in the glitchy lines is that beat up & man-handled consoles rarely get the glitchy lines because the ribbon cables are well worn-in and not stiff from lots of IPD adjustments over the years. It isn’t the end of the world to fix, but I know the bummer of cracking open that shipping box to be greeted with glitchy lines.
If I may ask, Was the console “Brand-New” NOS?
Best of luck with your problem, it’s nothing new and we’re all here to help.

Well not to worry I was very nice to the seller, he seemed to think I was lying but he seemed genuine and I informed him it luckily was able to work. I was very nice to him and closed the communication with him by leaving positive feedback. I knew off the top of my head the VB is a system from 1995 and delicate so I’m not very bummed at all. It came “used” but in perfecting working condition as he stated, with all American games minus Baseball and Jack Bros. A wall adapter was included and everything else it was released with, the stand etc etc etc. All in all even if it is broken I’m glad I bought it. I have not had any recent glitches with it and I’m enjoying all the games for it. Galactic Pinball is great, I love pinball games. Teleroboxer is fun but really hard. Nester’s Funky Bowling, I find myself playing a lot. Red Alarm is an experience, I love rail shooters. Panzer Dragoon FOR EVER! Anyway thanks for the help I’ll enjoy her while she lasts. Thanks. I’ll stick around and it’s great to be a part of the VB community at last.

its great to hear you are getting so much fun from this ace console and I’m pleased your glitchy lines are intermittent and you can at least play.
I think red alarm is my fav game on the system.

Welcome! The VB is one fun console to play and it doesnt take itself to seriously, (Have you seen the cave man commercial? LOL).
I got lucky when i got mine and have been lucky that i havent had the dreaded glitchy lines.
Waterworld is a game i always go back to, i like it even if the rest of the world didnt.