iFixit - Answers With Device "Nintendo Game Cartridge"

Nintendo 3DS Game Card (Cartridge): Game Card Will not Work in any System

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 19:13:29 -0700

So I have a copy of Tomodachi Life that whenever I start it says “ An error has occurred. Hold down the POWER Button to turn off the power, then turn it on and try again. For help, visit support.Nintendo.com.” Here is a picture of the error -

I don’t think this is the system because all of my other games work fine and it does this in multiple systems. I opened the cartridge to see if one of the pins were disconnected, but I didn’t see anything. Here is the board -

Does anyone know why this is happening and what I could do about it? Thank you.

EDIT: Here is an image of it running on a 2DS as well.

(yeah I know the circle pad needs fixed)

⟐ Commented June 02, 2023 at 19:13 MST

Nintendo DS Game Card (Cartridge): Need help repairing Pokémon Platinum Game

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 20:54:20 -0700

A few years go my game stopped working, I put it way after trying to fix it myself. The case is busted and there are scratches on the gold parts at the bottom, is there anything that can be done?

⟐ Commented November 29, 2025 at 20:54 MST

Nintendo DS Game Card (Cartridge): My dog got ahold of my Pokémon HG cartridge and broke it

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 16:33:24 -0700

My dog broke the cartridge itself but luckily I already order a new one but the main issue is that this small piece came off and I don’t know what to use to put It back on or if I have to solder

Any help would be appreciated 😊

⟐ Answered June 15, 2023 at 16:33 MST

Game Boy Advance Cartridge: Putting a fallen chip back on

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 11:53:31 -0700

I opened up my pokemon sapphire cartridge up to see what was wrong with it after a long time of absence and discovered a chip came right off.

i have no soldering experiences so I would have to go in this repair blind. So i want to at least ask if this level of damages is fixable or not.

⟐ Answer accepted April 09, 2023 at 11:53 MST

Game Boy Advance Cartridge: Is save data recovery possible in Emerald?

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 22:34:09 -0700

Hey! So I have a pokemon Emerald game that was my FIRST video game that I ever owned. There are several cartridge connector pads that are missing. Would it be at all possible to transfer the main chips to another copy of Emerald and retain the save data, and if so what would this take? Where should I start looking for help?

⟐ Commented June 05, 2023 at 22:34 MST

Game Boy Cartridge: Pokémon Blue Game Problem

Thu, 18 May 2023 01:08:44 -0700

I just got an authentic copy of Pokemon Blue from eBay that I'm wanting to fix. The issue is that there is a huge black square where the characters are set to appear. How can I fix this?

Also, this is the first game boy cartridge that I'm actually going to attempt fixing, so I would like some pointers too if that's alright with you guys.

I know that the game will definitely need a new battery, but now the game won’t get to the title menu whenever I put a cartridge in.

@hellomacos here is my multimeter. What setting do I need to set it on?

Here is what the inside looks like

⟐ Answer edited May 18, 2023 at 1:08 MST

Game Boy Cartridge: Pocket Monsters Crystal Version

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 05:36:43 -0700

Why won't my game data save?

⟐ Commented December 02, 2024 at 5:36 MST

Nintendo 3DS Game Card (Cartridge): Are the Pins too dirty to be read on my 2ds?

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:53:23 -0700

Are the pins too dirty or is it a different problem? I've tried to clean the pins but maybe I just didn't do it right?

I've also tried it in two different 2ds systems and it worked on one but it took a lot of tries. On the other one, I haven't gotten it to work yet.

The 2ds that I want to play New Leaf on reads Tomodachi Life just fine but not New Leaf so I think it's definitely a problem with the cartridge but the pins don't seem too dirty.

Idk maybe It's dirtier than I think it is.

Here are some images

Could this be a problem?

Edit: My Tomodachi Life cartridge has the same markings as the image below but it works fine anyway

I got the game from eBay so I don't know what it's been through or how much use it had

⟐ Commented January 10, 2024 at 16:53 MST

Game Boy Advance Cartridge: Can copper contacts be repaired

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:40:24 -0700

so I have an authentic copy of Pokemon sapphire that only works here and there as such I have taken to keeping it in my spare gameboy for now but can the missing copper contact be repaired? I would likely look for a pro as I have never soldered anything myself

doesn't appear to be working for some reason not sure

⟐ Commented February 07, 2022 at 17:40 MST

Nintendo 3DS Game Card (Cartridge): Why won't my game load

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 03:15:19 -0700

I recently bought a copy of pokemon y on ebay when it arrived it did not load, so I cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol a few times which didn't work and have also used an eraser what is the issue?

⟐ Answered June 19, 2025 at 3:15 MST

Nintendo Game Cartridge: Yoshi Island (with SHVC-1CB5B-20) lost components

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 09:08:08 -0700

Hi everyone, i got a Yoshi Island snes cartridge with the Serial code SHVC-1CB5B-20 that isn't working.

When i opened it, i noticed that it does't have the C2 capacitor and R1 resistor.

Could anyone help me identify the values to replace?

⟐ Commented June 29, 2023 at 9:08 MST

Game Boy Advance Cartridge: How to replace the battery and fix solar sensor in a boktai cartridge?

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 08:45:47 -0700

So, the boktai GBA is unique due to the fact that it has a solar sensor on top and it uses the battery not for saving but for counting time.

(The solar sensor is found on the top the cartridge, it is also a UV sensor) The problem I’m with is that the solar sensor isn’t picking up much light as usual and the battery is dead. I just want to know how to fix these issues, what the battery is and if their is any precautions I should take.

⟐ Commented March 19, 2023 at 8:45 MST

Game Boy Advance Cartridge: Pokémon Emerald Game Problem

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 11:59:37 -0700

So I bought the Pokemon Emerald cartridge(The previous owner glued a new battery with tape...). When I started the game I've noticed that the start screen logo was messed up also some other graphics were missing from the game. For instance I couldn't see the three pokeballs in the beginning when it was the time to choose my first Pokemon. As soon as I saw that I've opened the cartridge and found some corroded pins and traces(Some of them missing). The RTC IC had a missing and corroded trace.

I've cleaned them and re soldered the Rom and Flash Ic's, but nothing changed. Could it be that the ROM is faulty or something else?

⟐ Answer edited October 01, 2022 at 11:59 MST

Game Boy Cartridge: Is this cartridge even worth fixing?

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 20:32:29 -0700

Recently my copy of Super Mario Land for the Gameboy stopped working. I opened it up, tested around with a multimeter, and the problem was obvious enough.

I don’t know how I’d go about fixing this without damaging the board as I’m fairly inexperienced, and its an inexpensive game, so maybe its not even worth trying?

⟐ Commented December 08, 2021 at 20:32 MST

Game Boy Cartridge: Why Does my save randomly delete after a fresh battery change?

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 16:57:57 -0700

I've been Resoldering new batteries into my old Game Boy Cartridges to keep the save feature in working order. After the battery replacement the saving seems to work but then will end up deleting at random. I made sure to do the following

Correct polarity alignment for the battery
Desoldering the pads and adding fresh Solder of the same chemistry
Checking continuity and avoiding cold solder joints
Reflowing all chips and pins on the PCB
Cleaning the board with IPA

I've tried everything within my soldering capabilities and yet multiple freshly changed cartridges continue to lose save data at random intervals. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to get back to playing with peace of mind.

Game Boy Cartridge: Pokémon Gold doesn’t boot, scrambled Nintendo Logo.

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:21:13 -0700

I own a copy of Pokémon Gold that doesn’t boot. It gets stuck at the Game Boy screen with a scrambled Nintendo logo. I’ve re-soldered every chip on the board with flux yet nothing seems to fix it. Are one of the chips dead? Is there anything I can do? Thank you for any help :)

⟐ Commented December 09, 2024 at 19:21 MST

Game Boy Advance Cartridge: Game crashed, scratch on cartridge?

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 11:06:02 -0700

Hey, I know it is not the right section to ask this but I haven’t found the one for 3ds cartridges.

My game has been crashing for a while now after 80 hours of gameplay or so. I got around it today and saw that it looks like there’s a scratch on the cartridge?

I thought I could try and rub it with alcohol but I’m afraid of doing more damage.

Thanks for your help

⟐ Answered October 01, 2022 at 11:06 MST

Game Boy Cartridge: Pokemon gold doesn't boot, blank screen after nintendo logo

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:26:09 -0700

hi, I'm trying to get my old pokemon gold game to work, it gets past the gameboy logo after I cleaned it, but now the screen is blank and nothing happens. Anyone know what the problem could be? Here's how the inside looks:

thanks!

⟐ Commented February 21, 2025 at 16:26 MST

Nintendo Game Cartridge: Why my Pokemon black 2 game can't access save file?

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 18:54:46 -0700

Every time I boot the game I get a message saying "The save data could not be accessed." I tried cleaning the gold pins with Novita alcohol but nothing worked. I also made sure that my system slot was clean. Please help

⟐ Answered June 16, 2024 at 18:54 MST

Game Boy Cartridge: Game wont start for me

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 15:14:04 -0700

When i insert the game cartridge the words gameboy come up along with nintendo under it but doesnt actually start the game

⟐ Answer edited July 08, 2021 at 15:14 MST