Fired up my CPS3 for the first time last night--same error message. But I can read a little Japanese, and I got it working, and figured out what it meant.
You get that error when you try to load a game with the wrong rom configuration. It's a generic error, meaning the roms don't match the CD/cart combo being fed to it.
The reason why your other games don't work is because they require a different combination of roms in the right slots. Plus, if one of the DIMMS is actually damaged, that doesn't help set-up matters either.
In any case, if 3rd Strike was working, then suddenly stopped working, with that error message, then it's probably one of the following:
1. Bad DIMM connection (dirty/loose/not sitting right)
2. Broken DIMM
3. Broken interface to the DIMMS on the board, at some point
A suicided security cart means a black screen. The mainboard itself does not suicide, just like a CPS2 A board.
If you have the right security cart/rom setup, but the CD isn't in the drive, you will get a different error message, asking you to put the right CD in and press Player 1, Button 1.
My recommendation is this:
First, check your DIMM config. You said you replaced some of the roms--make sure that they are formatted correctly. CPS3 roms come formatted as PRG or CHR (maybe SND, haven't seen it yet). There is a sticker on them that says so. The two slots on the right in your diagram are for 64Mb PRG roms, and nothing else. The five slots on the left in your diagram are for 32- 128Mb CHR roms.
Your 3rd Strike rev. calls for two PRG roms, and four 128Mb CHR roms. So if you swap any of those out, they have to have the same sticker.
What matters is that you have the right number of roms in the right slots, and that you meet or exceed the size required for the game. This means that if a game requires CHR roms of 128/128/64, 128/128/128 will work.
If the config is correct, well, you said you already cleaned them. If I were cleaning mine, I would hit the contacts with something like alcohol+water, scrubbing them with a cotton swab until they shine. Then I'd shoot compressed air into the slots.
Also, make sure all the roms are seated just right. When you put them in, tilt them back a little and push down until they drop fully in the slots. Then, they should lean fully back with practically no resistance, with the plastic tabs fitting right into the holes on either side of the rom board.
If that doesn't work, things get tricky.
Grab another game--one with less of a space requirement, like SF3:NG (128/128/64 CHR and 1 PRG rom). Then, with less roms in the slots, you can narrow down which ones aren't working. Basically, keep switching out the extra roms from the 3rd Strike config, and note which roms let you load the game, and which do not.
If you need the right setup for another game, that faq that was posted is great, but remember that the rom formats/banks are more important than meeting the sizes exactly. Also, remember to start loading them from the edge of the board, going inward, from largest to smallest size.
If you can't get the older game to work, well, it's either lots of dead roms or a damaged board. Both are bad news.
Since it still boots up to an error message, this would probably mean that only your DIMM slots are damaged. From what you've described, the chances that it is from physical damage are slim. It would probably be from electronic damage... maybe a surge, brownout, or a nearby lightning strike. From now on, I would definitely have your cab plugged into, at the very least, a low-end battery-backup UPS, to even out the AC power through the battery.
Anyways, if it's just one or two of the roms, I'd look for CPS3 upgrade kits, with spare roms in them. If it is worse, well, if you think about it, you might as well get a new board. A CPS3 board isn't any good without at least the basic set of working roms, and the cheapest way to get a new set of working roms would probably be buying an entirely new board.
Of course, if you wanted to, you could use the new board's roms to track down the problem on the old board. But if you just want your game back up and running, it might not be worth the trouble.
- Ven