Super Metroid save disapeared......strange

[loganm187]

I know what you are probably thinking...NEW SAVE BATTERY. The thing is though is that this cart has had one save on it for god knows how many years. Anyway i started a new game on slot 2 a couple of days ago( I never actually played through it back in the day....i know..) Anyway I was around 6 hours into it and well on my way to the end when i decide to save my game, take the cart out, and move it into the SNES in my bedroom instead of my game room just for convenience sake and to make sure I actually beat it as i will not go into my game room for days on end. when i booted the game the save file i was just playing was gone......GONE!!!!! BUT THE OTHER OLD SAVE FILE WAS STILL ON THE CART!! I didn't turn the game off while saving or anything. after i saved i ran into the next area and paused the game, turn the system off and grabbed the cart......After accepting the fact that my save was gone I then played the game up to the first save point, saved, reset the console like 5 times and took the cart out and back into the console and the save remained intact.....WTF I am so pissed off! i just needed to vent, so I am sorry. Do any of you guys have any idea what might have happened to my save since the battery seems fine?
I was loving this game to death, but now I don't even feel like playing it in fear that my save will disappear

[aeon]

Dunno, maybe it just didn't write properly. Cartridge saves can sometimes be weird, even with a good battery. It is possible that your battery could be the problem though, my Ogre Battle cart saved a few and deleted a few before it finally died.

But any way you look at your situation, it's just an excellent excuse to play Super Metroid again. It's also a chance to finish the game even faster for the sexy Samus ending.

[Ziggy]

It's probably the battery, just change it. When the batteries start to die they can do some wacky things. I had a Sim City cart that would sporadically loose all the save data. And worse off, similar to your situation, I was half way through Final Fantasy 2 (4) when the cart lost my save data.... and the old saves that I deleted were back!

Also, if you have a volt meter, check the voltage of the battery.

[loganm187]

Thanks guys! looks like ill be buying a new battery and yes, im flying through the first half of the game lol. Do you guys recommend the tape method once i get the cart open?

[Hobie-wan]

Thanks guys! looks like ill be buying a new battery and yes, im flying through the first half of the game lol. Do you guys recommend the tape method once i get the cart open?

No, tape isn't reliable. If the cart is shaken too much, you might lose saves again and having metal loose in the cart if you're playing is bad. I can't remember offhand if the PCB for SMet fills the entire cart, or it there's room. If there's enough room above the PCB, get or scavenge a battery holder from a dead PC motherboard and wire it up so the battery can be easily replaced next time.

[Ziggy]

^ Yes, that's what I would do.

The game is 32Mbits and came out in 1994, so it's probably on 2 mask ROMs (games around 1995 and later that were that big fit on 1 mask ROM) which would mean the PCB fills the inside of the cart. You'd have to pop it open to confirm (I'm way too tired to do that right now) but I'm pretty sure about it.

You can find extremely thing battery holders that you can mount on the PCB and will fit inside the cart. I've seen a few pictures before, but I never picked up any that thin and I can't specify the size of thickness. If you happen to get one and it fits, let me know the thickness. I would love to get some.

Better yet, you can get CR2032's with the two tabs welded on which is perfect. They're a little more expensive but if you only need the one than it's worth it.

But I would never go with the tape method.

[Hobie-wan]

The game is 32Mbits and came out in 1994, so it's probably on 2 mask ROMs (games around 1995 and later that were that big fit on 1 mask ROM) which would mean the PCB fills the inside of the cart. You'd have to pop it open to confirm (I'm way too tired to do that right now) but I'm pretty sure about it.

Just checked mine. Yeah it fills the cart. So either a thin battery holder or a pre-tabbed battery will be the way to go.

[SnowKitty]

^ Yes, that's what I would do.

The game is 32Mbits and came out in 1994, so it's probably on 2 mask ROMs (games around 1995 and later that were that big fit on 1 mask ROM) which would mean the PCB fills the inside of the cart. You'd have to pop it open to confirm (I'm way too tired to do that right now) but I'm pretty sure about it.

You can find extremely thing battery holders that you can mount on the PCB and will fit inside the cart. I've seen a few pictures before, but I never picked up any that thin and I can't specify the size of thickness. If you happen to get one and it fits, let me know the thickness. I would love to get some.

Better yet, you can get CR2032's with the two tabs welded on which is perfect. They're a little more expensive but if you only need the one than it's worth it.

But I would never go with the tape method.

i second the thin battery holder solution. i stole a perfect sized one from a dead playstation 2 motherboard. i soldered one pin to a through hole and ran a wire to the other (the pins were spaced a bit too far apart on the holder) im gonna add a bit of hotglue to reinforce it later on. BTW, this is on the donor cart i'm gonna turn into a starfox 2 repro :3

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