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Larger version of the Nintendo DSi, released March 2010 in North America. Most repairs are accomplished with only a screwdriver and prying tools.

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DSi Won't Turn on

It was working fine, then one day it just refused to turn on. I thought maybe the battery was dead, so I charged it, but nada. I've tried turning it on with the cabled plugged in, as well, but nope. It powers on for literally half a second, then the screen flashes and powers down. I'm not sure what's wrong, and I was JUST about to finish Pokemon Black.

I haven't gotten it wet, or thrown it, or been rough with it, but I should mention I took it apart after it started acting up, and I found the larger chip (CPU?) below the cartridge to have a square impression near the center; maybe it over heated?

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From experience from working with Nintendo DS Lites, the reason that your DSi's screens light up for half a second and shut back off is likely due to a certain cable on the motherboard not being properly seated.

Since you mentioned that you took it apart, you may want to check if any of those ribbon cables are inserted all the way into their proper slots. Be careful, as those ZIF connectors are really delicate. The cables Nintendo puts into their DS'es are very sensitive if they are half a millimeter out of place. I'd wager it is one those super tiny ZIF connectors, like the touchscreen connector.

As for the square impression, was there originally something adhered on that chip, like a piece of foam or something else that cushions it? Or does it look burnt?

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Okay, I'll assemble it again, but I'm almost certain none of the cables are out of place, as I'm very specific about making sure everything is in place, and neat.

As for the CPU impression, it looks more like it's part of the chip, and not something that was adhered to it, like a burn possibly. I don't ever recall it getting noticeably warm, or anything, which is why it was such a surprise.

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Okay, I've reassembled it (again), and I quadruple checked everything was connected properly, and securely, but still to no avail.

I did note one thing, though, and that was the White WiFi antenna (The one that plugs into the chip, and not the Motherboard), was a little loose around the area that plug into the chip. Could that possibly be it? I doubt it, but it might be.

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It's possible. Make sure everything is seated in snugly!

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