View Full Version : NES Pool of Radiance - battery or dead cart?
Cornelius
10-10-2018, 11:40 AM
I've got Pool of Radiance for the NES with odd behavior. It loads up fine, I can make a character, but when I go to the Character select screen or the Order screen, there is just one 'name' and it is nonsense characters. Not even letters, really, just odd squiggles and such. It is also stuck/frozen on that screen and I have to reset.
Is the cart dead? Just the battery?
bb_hood
10-10-2018, 03:31 PM
its not a dead battery, try cleaning the cart.. if that doesnt work there might be a problem
Cornelius
10-10-2018, 04:04 PM
I've cleaned it. Opening and polishing the contacts. I'm confident that's not the problem, so I guess it is something else. I'm also doubtful that it is the battery, mostly was just hoping.
About the only other thing I'm capable of is replacing the caps. Worth trying?
video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lo2IHfcRjw
bb_hood
10-10-2018, 04:15 PM
Ack, that sucks.
I have no clue why it would glitch like that. Even if the battery is dead it shouldnt do that.
I doubt that the problem would be the caps, but Im not a expert..
gbpxl
10-13-2018, 10:12 AM
When you are polishing the contacts, are they still gold colored afterwards or silver colored
Gameguy
10-13-2018, 04:09 PM
If it's a problem with the board you could swap the ROM chips with a compatible donor board, if the ROM chips are bad then the game isn't really repairable.
If you can, maybe check the board for continuity between the chips and throughout the traces.
Cornelius
10-15-2018, 01:37 PM
When you are polishing the contacts, are they still gold colored afterwards or silver colored
Definitely still gold in this case. There are some carts that are harder to tell, though, and just seem more silver in the first place. I'm not scrubbing away at them or anything. It just takes a titch of polish and some gentle rubbing and the black crud comes right off.
If it's a problem with the board you could swap the ROM chips with a compatible donor board, if the ROM chips are bad then the game isn't really repairable.
If you can, maybe check the board for continuity between the chips and throughout the traces.
I'll poke around at it sometime. Thanks!
Bratwurst
10-16-2018, 02:53 PM
Try replacing the battery, it's possible that the coin cell got weak enough that the stored ram data was corrupted. I recall a similar issue with a copy of Super Metroid:
https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?117792-FIXED-Busted-SNES-cartridge-What-to-do-(Super-Metroid)
bb_hood
10-16-2018, 05:43 PM
Try replacing the battery, it's possible that the coin cell got weak enough that the stored ram data was corrupted. I recall a similar issue with a copy of Super Metroid:
https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?117792-FIXED-Busted-SNES-cartridge-What-to-do-(Super-Metroid)
Its worth a shot, however not too long ago I tested 2 copies of Pool of Radiance, in one the battery was dead. It started up just fine.
Bratwurst
10-17-2018, 11:34 AM
It's possible that the battery has just enough charge that it's floating some corrupted bits in part of the ram- certainly couldn't hurt to try loading the game with the battery completely removed to see what comes of it. It's a less invasive procedure than transplanting maskroms to another board.
Cornelius
11-03-2018, 03:40 PM
Gold star for Bratwurst! Or a jar of sauerkraut? Anyway, got this back out today, pulled the battery and it now works fine, other than not saving. Just need to order some tabbed batteries or maybe holders and it'll be ready to sell or trade.
bb_hood
11-05-2018, 07:42 PM
nice! im glad to hear you saved it, i love old d&d games.
Also have you played the genesis d&d game? Its really really good.
Cornelius
11-05-2018, 10:43 PM
nice! im glad to hear you saved it, i love old d&d games.
Also have you played the genesis d&d game? Its really really good.
I have not, but I do own it and will move it up in the queue!
Bratwurst
11-06-2018, 10:38 AM
Excellent, thanks for getting back to us on the results. This pretty much verifies an issue anyone else might encounter down the road, especially considering the increasing age of those original batteries.
bb_hood
11-06-2018, 07:54 PM
I have not, but I do own it and will move it up in the queue!
Its got an amazing soundtrack as well, you can check it out here if you like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZXyG3yonOI&index=12&list=PLjipjJrLYWJgwMMMEZU64DUZYf0uahRpq