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Philips CDI 604 Troubleshooting Guide

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Philips CDI 604 (Philips press photograph)
Philips CDI 604 (Philips press photograph, as published by ICDIA)

No service manual for the Philips CDI 604 has been found, so there are no 604-specific voltages, test points or error codes.[1] Retrostuff, a CD-i repair site, points to the CDI 220/00 service manual for the professional Mini MMC board; that manual is hosted as File:Philips CDI 220-00 Service Manual.pdf, and the consumer player's diagnostics are on the Philips CDI 220 Troubleshooting Guide.[2] Philips's 1992 technical documentation for the 6XX series describes the start-up sequence and how the player finds its input devices. Routine care is on Philips CDI 604 General Maintenance.

First checks

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First checks
Symptom Check Source
Before switching on The mains voltage selector matches the supply Retrostuff
Light blue screen at start-up, "memory full" message, or settings and clock lost Timekeeper NVRAM; see start-up faults Retrostuff
Disc does not spin CDM 9 turntable or flat cable; see disc faults The World of CD-i
Pointing device on Port 2 not working Port 2 is identified only at switch-on, so the device must be plugged in first 6XX technical documentation
No Digital Video A 22ER9424 board in the expansion slots, or a modified VMPEG cartridge, is needed ICDIA

[3][4][5][6][7]

Start-up faults

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Retrostuff lists the symptoms of a failing timekeeper as lost data and lost date and time, and a player that stops at a light blue screen or shows the "memory full" error.[4] The 604 is a Mini MMC player, and retrostuff says all Mini MMC players have a timekeeper.[4][2] The replacement parts are listed on the maintenance page.

If the player does not reach the player shell at all, connect a terminal to Port 3. The 6XX documentation says that if the player shell or service shell cannot be started, an error message is printed to a terminal on Port 3, if connected, and the system crashes; a failure to start the config program, or a wrong exit code from a shell, causes a reset. The terminal runs at 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and the player detects it through the CTS line of Port 3.[6][8][9] The full start-up sequence is set out on the CDI 601 troubleshooting guide; the 6XX documentation does not give a separate one for each model.

Disc faults

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The 604 uses a tray-loading CDM 9.[7][5] The World of CD-i, a CD-i community site, gives these checks for a CD-i mechanism that will not play:[5]

  1. If the lens moves but the disc does not spin, the turntable has most likely slipped down its shaft; ease it up by about 1 mm all round with a thin metal blade.
  2. Check the flat cable. Every mechanism the author replaced had a damaged flat cable; none had a dead motor.
  3. Measure the spindle motor winding for continuity.
  4. Leave the focus adjustment alone unless an oscilloscope is available.

Video faults

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The professional Mini MMC players have multi-region encoder panels with the region switches already fitted.[2] Retrostuff expects the 604's 9-pin RGB port to match the CDI 605's pinout but has not confirmed it, so measure the signals before connecting an adapter built for the 605.[10]

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References

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  1. ↑ The New International CD-i Association, "CD-i Service Manuals" (retrieved 2026-10-21): no manual for the CDI 604.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Retrostuff, "Modifications for Philips CD-i Players" (retrieved 2026-10-20), section "JNMS, Maxi MMC and Mini MMC (prof.)".
  3. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CD-i Power Supply Units", 2024, updated 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-20), section "Maxi MMC / Mini MMC".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Retrostuff, "NVRAM+RTC Solutions for Philips CD-i Players", 2021, updated 2025 (retrieved 2026-10-20), section "8 KB (Timekeeper)".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The World of CD-i, "Chronicle #32: CD-i player CDM substituition", 30 October 2020 (retrieved 2026-10-21): 604/00 CDM 9; stuck turntable, flat cable, motor winding, lens adjustment.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Philips Interactive Media Systems, CDI6XX Technical Manual (Technical Documentation for CDI 605 Users), 22 June 1992, chapter 3, Configuration Status Descriptor, section 4: terminal detection through the CTS line of port 3; port 2 identified only once, at start-up. Hosted as File:Philips CDI 6XX Technical Documentation (1992).pdf.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The New International CD-i Association, "Comparison table of all Philips professional and authoring CD-i players" (retrieved 2026-10-21): CDI 604/00, tray, DVC 9424, CDM 9; the 22ER9424 and modified VMPEG cartridges.
  8. ↑ Philips, CDI6XX Technical Manual, chapter 5, Sysgo. Hosted as File:Philips CDI 6XX Technical Documentation (1992).pdf.
  9. ↑ Philips, CDI6XX Technical Manual, chapter 6, Load application and system: terminal at 9600 baud, 8 bits per character, no parity. Hosted as File:Philips CDI 6XX Technical Documentation (1992).pdf.
  10. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CDI605 RGB SCART Adapter", 27 January 2021 (retrieved 2026-10-21).


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