"dead" Genesis cartridges

[howdoin]

Just got a few Genesis carts from an auction and Sonic Spinball and The Lion King are not working.
I tested them on a Laseractive PAC, could it be an incompatibility issue or is it more likely to be non working carts?

I tried to clean the contacts with cue-tips but it did not change anything. Anyone knows about any way to bring them back to life?

[long_shawn_silver]

kick the Sonic Spinball & Punch the Lion King REALLY hard on the front label of each cart and then piss on the conacts, that should work ;)

[MegaDrive20XX]

Nada, there is nothing you can really do, I had a dead SF2, what I did was go out and find two loose copies and swap out the RAM chips

if the cart labels on the dead ones look good

[tuxedojoe]

Try cleaning them out again, this time with some rubbing alcohol. Try 'em again. I am relatively sure that dead Genesis carts are rare, but they are definetely not the most durable cart.

Also, try using some compressed air on the contacts of the system, maybe they have a bit of dirt/dust on them.

[long_shawn_silver]

In all seriousness if you want to get the contacts clean (if the contacts are even the problem) open up you cart and use some 200 - 300 grit sand paper on the contacts, then clean the contacts with a wetted magic eraser (wet it with rubbing alcohol) and then if it won't work the cart is toast (or at least the contacts are not the problem). All the best luck.

[Wavelflack]

How did you manage to fit a cue tip into the cartridge casing?

[howdoin]

How did you manage to fit a cue tip into the cartridge casing?

I opened it :p

[spider-man]

It could have gotten a voltage shock (is that the correct term?). If thats the case, the cartridge(s) is/are dead.

[Leo_A]

Ignore the advice there's nothing else to do, and wait for some other replies. Heard about people being able to repair stuff besides just cleaning in the past by repairing things inside, but I don't know enough to advice you.

Someone else should be able to help, there's a chance they can be revived even if its not dirt causing the problems, though its slim.

[jajaja]

Its not hard to clean a megadrive/genesis game with a q-tip without opening them (unless u have huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge q-tips haha :D)
I have this problem with one megadrive game, castle of illusion.
I tried it on a megadrive with the model number 1600-24 and it doesnt work. Then i tried it on a megadrive with model number 1601-24 (newer model) and it worked, but i didnt get any sound.
I cleaned the game like 10 times with alcohol so it wasnt a dirt issue.

[Wavelflack]

*sigh*

Goddamnit.

Now I have to take the time to explain a joke that should be obvious to all...


Think "cue tip" (end of a pool cuestick, about 5/8" diameter) Vs. "Q-tip"

The original post said something about cleaning the carts with a "cue tip".

[Wavelflack]

Practical advice time:

You can rebuild the traces on the edge connector with a rear window defroster repair kit. I did it on Super Tennis (SMS card), as well as Bonanza Bros.

The repair kit is basically a small bottle of ferrous emulsion, with some sort of epoxy or acrylic binder/adhesive. If one of the "lines" of your rear windw defroster is cut or worn off, you use this to paint it back on. It's conductive and dries hard.


I've mentioned this particular trick a few times before. I'm surprised it didn't make it into the institutional memory around here.

Anyway, you can buy the stuff at auto parts stores.

[Raccoon Lad]

It's rare, but carts DO die sometimes.

I've had a dead Great Basketball (SMS)
and 2 dead PC Engine Cards: Collecge Pro Baseball '89, and PC Genjin 2. The PC Genjin 2 actually started booting up for me the first time I got it, then froze at the title screen, only to give a blank black screen every other time I tried it. No amount of cleaning helped.

I've also had a couple NES games with what appear to be damaged CHR chips.

In my experience, dead carts are about 1 in 100.

[Ed Oscuro]

Nada, there is nothing you can really do, I had a dead SF2, what I did was go out and find two loose copies and swap out the RAM chips
I wouldn't be surprised if the "RAM chips" (er ROM) weren't bad; it was likely just worn off traces. Unless what you're saying is that you physically removed the ROMs from the PCB and replaced them, you wouldn't know if the ROMs were bad (and that assumes one is good at soldering).

[MegaDrive20XX]

Nada, there is nothing you can really do, I had a dead SF2, what I did was go out and find two loose copies and swap out the RAM chips
I wouldn't be surprised if the "RAM chips" (er ROM) weren't bad; it was likely just worn off traces. Unless what you're saying is that you physically removed the ROMs from the PCB and replaced them, you wouldn't know if the ROMs were bad (and that assumes one is good at soldering).

I'm sorry, I just meant the entire thing (PCB) to be replaced, easier that way

[Ed Oscuro]

Nothing to be sorry about! It makes me wonder how often true rares will be tossed due to dead PCBs. I'd say that it's likely some damage to rare games was done back in the day by PCB swaps too...but wear and tear is inevitable if you keep using a cart.