Dragon Warrior 1 freezing

[dlopez9069]

Ok dragon warrior 1 for my good old nes keeps freezing after about 15 mins. Its really starting to get annoying and I don't know how to fix it. The game is perfectly clean and so is the system. in fact i put a spare new 72-pin in it and it still doesn't play for more than 15 mins. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. (Quietly waits for InsaneDavid to make feel like idiot)

[TomMage]

Ok dragon warrior 1 for my good old nes keeps freezing after about 15 mins. Its really starting to get annoying and I don't know how to fix it. The game is perfectly clean and so is the system. in fact i put a spare new 72-pin in it and it still doesn't play for more than 15 mins. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. (Quietly waits for InsaneDavid to make feel like idiot)

Well I have found that DW 1 can freeze up if the battery is dead/weak. If dead it freezes while booting (I've had that happen). If very weak maybe it would freeze a short time after playing? Some games can be played with dead battery but saves will not hold however some just plain can't be played at all (Lufia 2 for SNES is another one, it goes into some kind of loop while booting if I remember correctly)

[TomMage]

Replacing the battery is not fun but it's possible. First of all you need a security bit to open the cart. Nintendo carts use a certain size bit, Sega Genesis a slightly larger one. Not sure if you can buy in stores but should be able to get at ebay or MCM Electronics. Open the cart. They use a common 2032 watch battery, $2-3 at Walmart or if you want to do a bunch of carts can get in quantity for $1 each at ebay. Remember any saves will be lost if replacing a battery, if already dead they are gone anyway. Now the tricky part, the batteries are spot welded in. So you have to break the welds without damaging the board (perhaps someone has a tip for this, I just use a screwdriver very carefully). Then you replace the battery. You can solder it in (just be careful, too much heat could damage the board also). Or use some combination of tape/glue as long as it makes contact. This method you need to handle the cart carefully so the battery does not come loose. The batteries were/are only meant to last 5 years, in NES carts can be over 20 years old now. All will go dead eventually so good to know how to do it.

[TomMage]

One more thing while on the subject, if you are taking the cart apart good idea to clean the contacts with a PENCIL eraser (could probably use ink eraser but it's much "rougher/abrasive"). Normal method of cleaning with alcohol is ok in most cases but pencil eraser will get the contacts like new. I've had games that I could not get to work right or at all with alcohol but after using pencil eraser they worked like new. Could come in handy if you have some games that need to be cleaned constantly or don't work at all, it's VERY RARE when a cart goes completely bad..........................

[dlopez9069]

well i have cleaned it with the whole eraser/alchohol trick and it didn't work. Oh and I don't think the battery is bad because my save data is still there.

[TomMage]

Hmm, well then it could be problem with the NES, new 72 pin notwithstanding (or defective 72 pin, one bent pin could screw things up). If you have a buddy with an NES try it on their system. If same problem I have no idea other than possible "weak" battery but if it's still holding OLD saves probably not. Sometimes the system partially charges the battery while playing so you get a temporary save but if you let it sit overnight it will be gone.

[omnedon]

The battery in that cart is not rechargeable.

If it is only that game that chokes and freezes, the weak link in your reliability chain is the third party 72 pin connector, as they are inconsistent at best. If you had a mainboard problem with your NES, it should show with other games. If you had an NTF2 diagnostic cart, you could test the memory etc that way.

Your battery is nearly 20 years old. If it's flaking out, it's not impossible that it could be causing the weirdness. Replacing it is the next easiest thing to try.

This is a common game, reasonably easy to replace is it not?

[InsaneDavid]

Now the tricky part, the batteries are spot welded in. So you have to break the welds without damaging the board (perhaps someone has a tip for this, I just use a screwdriver very carefully). Then you replace the battery. You can solder it in (just be careful, too much heat could damage the board also). Or use some combination of tape/glue as long as it makes contact. This method you need to handle the cart carefully so the battery does not come loose. The batteries were/are only meant to last 5 years, in NES carts can be over 20 years old now. All will go dead eventually so good to know how to do it.

Or you just remove the clips with the battery all in one shot by desoldering the whole smash. Replace it with a 2032 battery retainer, then you can easily replace the battery in ten years when it goes bad again. There are many threads on how to replace a SNES battery with a battery retainer, that's the easiest way and will make future battery replacement easy as well.

Not saying that I know the above is what the problem is, but if you're going to replace the battery then you might as well replace the clip with a retainer.


(Quietly waits for InsaneDavid to make feel like idiot)

LOL Great, I'm the type of forum in-joke I didn't want to be. :) You can probably get a new copy of the game for less than the cost of the battery - in fact I pass up copies of Dragon Warrior for $2.00 every week.

[Bratwurst]

Or you just remove the clips with the battery all in one shot by desoldering the whole smash.

Damn it David don't type battery and smash in the same sentence on these forums, somebody's going to lose an eye.

[InsaneDavid]

Damn it David don't type battery and smash in the same sentence on these forums, somebody's going to lose an eye.

ROFL Sometime I should bring up the story of why my right eye doesn't have the clarity of my left one because I lifted up my safety glasses for five freaking seconds when grinding some ABS plastic. There went my 20/10 vision.