NHL 95 save battery (Sega Genesis)

[bangtango]

Over the past couple of years, I've been trying to get ahold of a copy of NHL 95 for Sega Genesis that actually has a working battery. Two dozen copies later, I'm still looking. Awhile back, I did some digging online and found some old bulletin board posts from about 1995-1997 talking about the problem. Apparently a large number of copies shipped from EA with a defective battery that would fail within a matter of days/weeks.

So I guess my question is if anyone else is familiar with that problem surrounding the game and are there any copies out there that actually have a working save battery? If not, would getting a new battery into my current copy be a quick fix or will it be a little more complicated than that? I just don't know if it is a bigger problem than a defective battery, meaning is there something going on in which a new battery gets put in and that dies right off the bat, too.

It sounds a little silly asking this, since NHL 95 is over 10 years old but I have plenty of Genesis games older than that which still do save. That particular edition is my favorite of the NHL series on the Genesis, so I'd love to find one with a good battery or fix up a dead copy.

[PingvinBlueJeans]

Awhile back, I did some digging online and found some old bulletin board posts from about 1995-1997 talking about the problem. Apparently a large number of copies shipped from EA with a defective battery that would fail within a matter of days/weeks.

So I guess my question is if anyone else is familiar with that problem surrounding the game and are there any copies out there that actually have a working save battery?
Can't help, but I wil say that's 100% true about the defective battery. I remember my friend's copy died within a month of him getting it. The batteries in those realistically should still work...my copies of NHLPA '93 and NHL '94 still save just fine.

[Alfador]

I worry about my batteries dying and my saves getting lost forever...is there anyway to back them up or transfer to and from a computer to a cart? How long do these batteries typically last?

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Dreamc@sting]

Is there a way to swap batteries in cartridge based games? ie NES and Genesis?

[PingvinBlueJeans]

Is there a way to swap batteries in cartridge based games? ie NES and Genesis?

I worry about my batteries dying and my saves getting lost forever...is there anyway to back them up or transfer to and from a computer to a cart? How long do these batteries typically last?
The batteries (supposedly) have a minimum life of 3-5 years, but depending upon how much they're used, they tend to last up to 10 years or more.

You can replace them when they are dead or near-dead, but obviously any data being saved at the time will be lost. I'm not aware of any way to "transfer" saves. I suppose there's a way to maintain power at the battery point while you swapt it out (you have to do this when replacing batteries on arcade boards), but for a cartridge, I doubt it's really worth the trouble.

[Dreamc@sting]

I could care less about swapping the data but I have a complete Shining Force 1 and I can't save! o.O swapping the battery out would be awesome

[Natty Bumppo]

You can get the bits to open genesis cases off of ebay - search under sega security bit (they will also work on SMS). (You can also get ones for SNES.) I think I paid about $14 for a pair of SEGA/Nintendo ones.

(You can get the screws out without the specialty bit, but it is a pain and you can damage the cartridge).

I also went down to an electronic supply place and got a slew of phillips head screws - when I replace a battery, I put these back in instead of the security ones. Much easier to get out in the furute.

[PingvinBlueJeans]

I could care less about swapping the data but I have a complete Shining Force 1 and I can't save! o.O swapping the battery out would be awesome

Changing the battery is not very hard to do, but it requires minor soldering skills. The hardest part is finding an exact replacement, but most battery specialty stores will carry just about any variety you will need. There's lots of information about changing batteries out there...if you search the forums here or Google it, you should get all the info you need.

[Sothy]

A friend of mine when I worked at Game Exchange would come in when his Keyless entry remote was dead and buy a Genny sports game for 50 cents, rip the battery out and toss the cart. Batteries were always still good.

[Lemmi_Is_God]

i thought i had one of those bad copies, but i found out later that it was my 32x causing the problem with saves on my NHL games (95 and 97)
i removed it one day because i never played my 32x and i played a game of 95 and it saved and kept my saves for a few weeks untill i stopped playing it and packed the system away

[rbudrick]

Replacing the battery is easy, saving your saved data is tougher, unless you have a game backup device. I think the tototek unit works for this...can't remember.

-Rob

[jcalder8]

I checked my copy and the battery is still working fine.