Fixing (waking up) an NES game

[Jmastab]

Hey everyone, I bought a NES game I've been looking for (A Boy and His Blob) and but it seems to have some problems. When I insert the game I get a red screen. I've cleaned out the cart correctly and I can get the game to start sometimes. When I get the game to start it will work for a short time but then will glitch up and freeze. I think the problem is that the cart hasn't been used in such a long time and that's why it glitches up. So I was wondering if there were any methods to get this cart working good again or should I just get my money back ?

[Ziggy]

The pins probably just have to be cleaned more thoroughly. It'll help if you can open the cart up, that'll give you better access to the pins so that you can clean them better.

Earlier NES carts can be opened with a small flat head screwdriver, otherwise you'll need a security bit to open it, if you don't already own one. The security bit is worth the small investment, you can use it to open all your other carts that use the same size bit.

I don't know what method you're using to clean the cart, but rubbing alcohol (the higher the percentage the better) or electrical contact cleaner are the only solvents I recommend using. I like to use an old (but clean) cotton t-shirt to scrub the pins with, but you can use whatever you want as long as it isn't too abrasive. Sometimes I'll use a toothbrush, lots of people seem to like using an eraser.

Once you get the cart open you'll be able to visibly inspect the pins much better. If there's any corrosion on them, you'll have to jump to more aggressive cleaning methods.

Take this story as an example, and this happened just last night:

I was trying to get a NES game working but every time I put it in I would get a blinking red power light or glitched up graphics. I haven't used my NES in a while, so I cleaned the console's pins and I cleaned the cart (without opening it). I was still getting glitched up graphics. So I cleaned the console again, and cleaned the cart again. No difference. I tried two other NES carts (without even cleaning them first) and they both worked fine. So I realized I had to stop being lazy and open the NES cart up to clean it. After opening it, the pins LOOKED clean. They were very shinny, looked 100% clean. But having the cart open allows you to clean them much easier and much better. So I cleaned them again, with the cart opened, reassembled the cart and guess what? It works perfectly now.

Point of the story is this: Although the pins looked clean, and although I cleaned them twice, they still weren't 100% clean. It'll take just one dirty pin to give you problems.

edit: There are no moving parts inside a NES cart, so sitting for a long time wont do any harm. The pins will get dirty, but that's it.

[ninjainspandex]

I suggest disabling the nes lockout chip as well, pretty easy to do, just google it their are tons of guides.

[CRTGAMER]

I suggest disabling the nes lockout chip as well, pretty easy to do, just google it their are tons of guides.

This will help, but only for the pins addressing the Lockout Chip. If the 10NES Chip pin is clipped, be sure to ground it properly.

Concur with Ziggy, best to clean NES cart pins with the PCB out of the cart case. I just use a pencil eraser, works well without resorting to chemicals. The NES console connector pins may need looking at too.

[Jmastab]

Hey everyone thanks for the responses. I did what CRTGAMER suggested with using a pencil eraser and again used some rubbing alcohol to clean and a cotton swab to dry it off and the game started to work no freezes and played for 15 mins . I am starting to think that my NES's Lockout Chip is giving me problems though. I just played some Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 3, and Tiny Toon Adventures and noticed some slowdown on the games and Mario and Zelda gave me some problems starting up with a red screen. So I'll have to disable the lockout chip in my NES over the weekend. I'll have to invest in a security bit for my Nintendo games as well because my copy of Super Mario World quit working need to replace the battery and cleaning out some of the games would really help. Anyways thanks for the suggestions really appreciate it.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am starting to think that my NES's Lockout Chip is giving me problems though. I just...noticed some slowdown

Oh...you're going to get that with NES games!

[ninjainspandex]

I'm glad I invested money in a modded toploader, i never have problems with games starting up now.

[Ziggy]

I am starting to think that my NES's Lockout Chip is giving me problems though. [...] noticed some slowdown on the games and Mario and Zelda gave me some problems starting up with a red screen.

The ONLY problem the lockout chip will ever give you is a blinking red power light (and blinking TV screen). If the cart and the console don't make a proper connection on the pins that the lockout chip uses (because they're dirty) then the NES will refuse to load the game. What it does is constantly restart the console, which is why the power light will blink. You're TV screen will also blink. But that's it, that's the only problem you'll ever have with the lockout chip. It will not cause any other problems, like slow down.

[Jmastab]

Thanks for informing me about what the lockout chip does Ziggy, I just thought it could be causing more. A few months ago I never had any problems in-game with my NES, I guess my console is just getting old or games are getting dusty again. Sorry if I sound like a noob I'm still learning all this stuff