I'm done with old consoles

[nothingisttrue]

you could also get a shop vac and hold the attachment to the cartridge slot.
this works as a diy way to dust off laptops without cracking the case so i would assume it would work on old consoles as well.

[OldSkoolBrian]

I never have these problems... I have with the NES but when cleaned it works fine... Send me a PM when you want to get rid of all that Junk.. I will gladly take it.

[Parodius Duh!]

Good riddance, more classic games for me then!

[chuckwalla]

My 2 cents on this...

I've found that contact cleaner, followed by 91% isopropyl alcohol are the best cleaning solutions - used in the cartridge slots and carts.

I store all my games and systems in plastic bins in the house (as in neither the attic or basement) where the temp is relatively stable - temp swings are generally not good for electronics.

I use emulation only for MAME and the C64 to cut down on costs and space - i'm a big fan of original hardware/software for gaming otherwise.

Consider some of the suggestions on this thread and don't sell off your collection in frustration just yet - a lot of the time it's deeply regretted unless the financial situation is desperate.

[Atarileaf]

I will be sticking to Ps1, Ps2, Dreamcast, Gamecube, and Xbox when it comes to playing on the actual console. those are the systems that have never failed me.

You realize that those systems are also all prone to breaking and in fact have a great chance of failure than the older systems do. How many Xboxes or Dreamcasts do you think will be working in another 10 years?

Not sure if you're having a run of bad luck or there's something else we're not learning about the way you store or treat your systems.

[duffmanth]

My retro consoles give me grief occasionally, but I still play them from time to time.

[SonicBoom]

Tisk Tisk Tisk
Seems classic game consoles need the right kind of person to play them.
Someone who will spend i little while to play there games pure.
Shame, Really. But more for me!

[kedawa]

I'm not sure what you mean. Playing classic games instead of modern games actually saves me time, since I don't have to sit through loading screens and pointless cutscenes.

[Dr. BaconStein]

You could always just play your carts on the newer clone consoles, but that may or may not be blasphemy to you depending on how you view them. I got a Retro Duo for Christmas last year and a GenMobile earlier this year, and I have no regrets. Portable clones are even nicer since you can play at anytime and take your carts with you. Emulation is convenient, but nothing can really replace the feeling of getting a game CIB and playing the cart.

[kedawa]

I have an unmodified Retro Duo v2.0, and it really is a competent clone.
It's a shame nobody is making more accurate, high-end clone systems, though.
Whenever I check in on the progress of the various FPGA clone projects for arcade and Amiga systems, I can't help but dream of cycle-exact clones of my favourite classic consoles.

[QuickSciFi]

@ first post:

Patience is virtue. Sounds like the problems you mentioned are the same exact problems I faced back in the day when the systems were brand new.

[treismac]

It's a shame nobody is making more accurate, high-end clone systems, though.

That it is. It is an even bigger shame, though, that the original companies (Sega and Ninitendo) aren't releasing new versions of their old hardware. "Atari" is, or at least, their name's sake is popping out new plug n' play systems, but you don't have the ability to play old cartridges which is why I haven't bothered purchasing one.

[substantial_snake]

That it is. It is an even bigger shame, though, that the original companies (Sega and Ninitendo) aren't releasing new versions of their old hardware. "Atari" is, or at least, their name's sake is popping out new plug n' play systems, but you don't have the ability to play old cartridges which is why I haven't bothered purchasing one.

From a business perspective distribution and/or contracting out old hardware with low production batches might just not make financial sense for them. Another problem is that they may feel that it would confuse the average consumer, or take revenue away from things like the Wii's retro channel. However I would really like to see this and would definitely pay a premium price if Sega and Nintendo released hardware compatible with original carts again.

[treismac]

Hey, Retro Rich! Have you tried this technique with your carts? It works wonders.

[Gameguy]

However I would really like to see this and would definitely pay a premium price if Sega and Nintendo released hardware compatible with original carts again.

The Sega Firecore;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxW4FMFkjGM

[RetroRich]

good news guys. i opened up the snes and gave it a proper cleaning. turns out a hair was stuck under the pin connector. after i cleaned everything, all games work fine now.

[Atarileaf]

good news guys. i opened up the snes and gave it a proper cleaning. turns out a hair was stuck under the pin connector. after i cleaned everything, all games work fine now.

Glad to here and its a good point to make - even if you clean all your games, if the cart slot itself has dirty connectors or, as in your case, a physical object even as small as a hair is in it, it can cause the same problems.