Sega Saturn Action Replay won't work! Help!

[emurozii]

I've bought a brand new Action Replay 4M Plus for my Saturn, but it won't work no matter what I try. I've given it a go a few hundred times now, moving it slightly and carefully between each time I reset my Saturn. It still won't work.

What can I do? I've been careful with it and made sure I didn't damage it, or my Saturn's cartridge slot. Yet no matter the action replay's position, no matter how loose or tight it's in the cart slot, it doesn't want to know. Instead, it just goes straight to the game, even when it's booted up from the Saturn's menu.

I've cleaned both my Saturn's cart slot and the action replay with isopropyl alcohol (even though the action replay is brand new), but that doesn't do the trick either. Does anyone know what could be wrong? Or is the Saturn's cartridge slot really this shit? Thanks.

[elmagicochrisg]

If all else fails you could try opening the cartridge and replace the capacitors...

[SaturnHST]

These carts seem to have a high lemon rate. The first one I got didn't work at all, and it was brand new. I had to send it back and got a replacement that worked.

[Redifer]

Don't reset your Saturn, power it off before you adjust the cart's position. Then power it back on.

[Breetai]

The Saturn's cart slot is notoriously finicky.

Or is the Saturn's cartridge slot really this shit?

Yup, it really is that bad.

My advice: break off the end of a Q-tip and jam the neck of it in between the back of the cart and the Saturn so that the cart is in there VERY snugly with no wiggle room. This has made a successful connection for me almost every time. I've had literally dozens of Saturns go through my hands and the majority (over half) of them have had a hard time reading carts. The Q-tip trick has worked on every system I've tried it on.

[Thierry Henry]

My Action Replay cart never once works if it's sitting flush in the cartridge slot. Lifting it up just a fraction always seems to do the trick. And this is the case on two different consoles.

But yeah as Redifer stated, don't be re-setting your console whilst fiddling around with the cart. Switch off the system and then re-seat the cartridge before powering it back on.

[Breetai]

My Action Replay cart never once works if it's sitting flush in the cartridge slot. Lifting it up just a fraction always seems to do the trick.

Jamming something like a Q-Tip or whatever in behind the cart usually seems to accomplish that.

[Thierry Henry]

My Action Replay cart never once works if it's sitting flush in the cartridge slot. Lifting it up just a fraction always seems to do the trick.

Jamming something like a Q-Tip or whatever in behind the cart usually seems to accomplish that.

This man speaks the truth. lol
I just tried it on one of the Saturns, and yeah the cart boots up that way with no issues.
So then that begs the question- why didn't Sega officially release broken off Q-Tip's to aid with Saturn cartridge slot operation?

[o.pwuaioc]

My Action Replay cart never once works if it's sitting flush in the cartridge slot. Lifting it up just a fraction always seems to do the trick.

Jamming something like a Q-Tip or whatever in behind the cart usually seems to accomplish that.

This man speaks the truth. lol
I just tried it on one of the Saturns, and yeah the cart boots up that way with no issues.
So then that begs the question- why didn't Sega officially release broken off Q-Tip's to aid with Saturn cartridge slot operation?

Hm, come to think about it, I have a 32X game that needs to be slightly up rather than jammed all the way in. My Action Replay cart is just fine, but I'm going to test the Q-Tip on the 32X later and see if that also works.

[elmagicochrisg]

I had to do that with my SCART connections. Otherwise they produced this really high fine tone. Drove me nuts sometimes...

I used a toothpick...