Why is this N64 so picky?

[Dahne]

I have just acquired an N64 from a cousin with a lack of appreciation for antiquities. Along with it came a handful of games, including Zelda, Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, and a few others. After some fiddling, I managed to get Zelda to work and had some fun playing with the little elf boy and remembering when these graphics blew people's minds.

After a bit of this, I decided to try a couple of the other games. Apparently the system wasn't happy about this. I flipped the switch to on and got nothing but a black screen. This happens with every game but Zelda, which works perfectly. Is there some logical explanation for this, or is my poor little console possessed by strange, Zelda-loving demons?

[zektor]

It's not that the system is picky on playing games, it is that the games are nasty dirty! Clean those carts with some alcohol and q-tips!

[Achika]

Have you tried cleaning the games? usually when I have to test consoles where I work and get the black screen, the games or the system just needs some cleaning.

Especially if you mention that Zelda needed fiddling, everything probably just needs a good cleaning.

[Dahne]

Oops, probably should have mentioned that I did that first thing. I takes good care o' me cartridges. :) Probably wouldn't hurt to give em another swipe, though.

[YoshiM]

You might also have to clean the deck as well. Try to get a Nintendo approved cleaning kit and clean the contacts real well. May want to open the cart slot and see if there is anything obviously out of the ordinary that may be hampering things.

[davidbrit2]

Try cleaning the RAM expansion pack, or the jumper block. It's worth a try.

[wberdan]

clean a cart real good... take cart and insert/remove it from system about 20 times... clean cart real good again- repeat.
do that as many times as it takes

willie

[MarioAllStar2600]

Dude that is not an antique. But yea try cleaning the cart. Rember with nintendo q tips and rubbing alchol are your best friends!

[VinnyT]

I remember a long time ago, I borrowd Castle Of Illusion from my friend, who had an Genesis 1. When I put it in my Genesis 2, it just wouldn't start. We cleaned it and blew into it, and did the same for the game. After a frustrating week, I returned it, and found that it still worked perfectly on his Genesis. I brought my Genesis to his house, and it still only worked on his Genesis 1. Spooky.

[Sega Hitman]

When I worked a Funco a couple years ago, our N64 set up in store was pretty similar to yours. It worked, but definitely not the way a newer system should. I came to the conclusion that when N64's have a cart in them for years, and it's rarely ever taken out, the pins stretch out just like they did on the NES. My advice would be to just pick up another system if a good cleaning isn't working for you.

-Hitman-