Strange problems

The carts probably got dusty. Blow in them and they should be fine. That's what Diane always used to do back when I was in year 5 and went to an "after school club".

 

A rubber works too. It also helps to hold the cart by providing a better surface for contact. (So long as you don't use the shitty rubbers which just leave flecks of rubber everywhere.)

 

Hehe... I used to get crap like that all the time. I got a "genesis cartridge cleaning kit" about 7 years ago for like $2 at Zellers. I works. Look on eBay. Might help you.

 

When my Cousin comes over and plays my old genesis and the cartridges don't work for him. He blows and spits in the cartridges vigorously. Then it works fine for him =P

 

Hehehe, I know that method. Try game, curse at game, blow into cartridge, try game again, repeat until game starts. I only had a NES though <_<

 

Blowing into the carts WILL fuck up your cartriges heads. Try some low power Metho on a earcleaner. works fine. If you keep putting saliva into the heads they will wear away. Anyway, that's your problem.

 

Actually, when I recently ran a cloth over one games contact points, I found a shitload of dirt and stuff on it, turns out blowing does jack, but you all knew that so bleh.

 

It isn't like you're spitting into the cartridge. It's not like they are getting waterlogged. It works fine, normal moisture from the air is more likely to curode the pins (over time of corse). But if you have a tendancy to blow saliva then maybe it will mess up your games. And if you have a sea in your cart after you blow into them, dry it out with a cloth before using it. :P

Then don't store your games in the sand :P j/k. Blowing does infact work, especially for NES carts. But if your carts are that durty you need to store them better. Store them right-side-up (standing like they do in the Genesis), this will help keep dust out of the head area. If you have any Genesis cart cases, use them. And if you must use a clenser or some other crap, make sure it is designed for that purpose. I've known people that have curroded away the pins in their N64 games because they used a clenser that was too strong.

 

Blow on your cartridge. The heads won't be messed up unless you put a VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY powerful blow to it which would take more than one person to do if they could do it at all.

Second, blow into your Genesis cartridge port (THAT is probably what was causing the problems in the first place). Don't listen to "it doesn't do anything" because it does. Dust affects games to great amounts rather you realize this or not. I wouldn't recommend a Q-tip because the cotton may get stuck into the cartridge port.... meaning you'd have to then vacume the thing (not that doing that would hurt it any).

Don't spit onto the cart, that's not good on it -- it causes the contacts to loose their conductability over a long period of time among other problems. Instead, they make special alcohol for that stuff that you should use if you want to apply a liquid to it.

 

I never had a Gens <_< Only NES, then Playstation and even the playstation is showing wear.

Luckily NES's cart port isn't as unforgiving just lift the door and clean :P the only cart I've got for NES that doesn't work anymore is Super Mario 3, ands because one of the cheap plastic pins holding the game card broke so the card went all the way into the cart casing.

 

How can you say it's easy to clean an NES port? It's like 4 inches inside the system! You must have long q-tips.

And I wish they kept the Atari style carts around. I don't know how many of you have seen Atari 2600 or 5200 cartridges but they have a spring loaded shield that only contracts when the game is inserted. You can't push it in otherwise and dust/debris can't get in around the cartridge head. And the port doesn't have doors like the Genesis, SNES, and N64. It's just realy small and barely any dust can get in. Even though the N64 uses more pins than Atari, it still could have worked if you look at how the Atari carts/ports work. Another option would have been like the Intellivision. It's cartridges went in on the side of the system, so the only way dust could get in is if you pushed it in.

 

Your Sonic 1 game must be pretty dirty then. Blow and blow and blow on both the system and the game. Check for any odd splotches on the cart and make sure the chip is as clean as you can get it. You can't say it's some odd glitch -- the red screen will happen 'because' the game isn't being read correctly (checksum, but let's not go there). Just know that the red screen basically means your game (or system) is really dirty. The black screen will mean the same thing.

 

I think its time you check the pins under a light. Depending on how good your eyesight is you may need a magnifying glass. Check if any pins have curosion or if any of them have been uplifted (this is rare, only happens when you're rough taking carts in and out), and pay close attention to the place where the rest of the pin dissapears through the plastic. This is where most curosion should be (if there is any). A black screen happens to me once in a great while, try turning the system on and off (not reset) and wait and see if the white text comes up. You already know what the red screen means.

 

Well, most of my NES games refuse to work, gives me the blinky gray screen. Im guessing this is why:
cartview

The contacts are dirty as hell, probably even worse in the NES, Id have to take it apart and see. What kind of cleaner should I use on it again?

 

It just looks like worn on dust. Try lightly rubbing the pins with a pencil eraser and then using a clenser or somthing. But dry it RIGHT after you use the clenser just incase. You can use a very light amount of alcohol safely but not too much.

 

The reason I say wait about a minute is because doing so will pick up more dirt because you have to give the solution time to mix in order to pick the 'really' hard stuff up.