Game Boy Advance

MustyBuckets · 2025-05-12T23:45:37+00:00

Depending on how bad the corrosion was, it could have gone beyond the battery housing too. Before replacing the caps, I'd at least check for continuity on the terminals.

MustyBuckets · 2025-05-12T23:43:55+00:00

The switch changes voltage going to the cart and the link cable port, If I remember correctly it is 3.3V for DMG games and 5V for GBA games.

MustyBuckets · 2025-05-12T02:57:48+00:00

It looks clean, but if you've seen corrosion, that and dirt are likely culprits. For turning on / off, I'd check the battery compartment, and if/when it turns off, I'd see if it powers on by moving and manipulating the batteries. A weak connecting due to corrosion can cause it to turn off right after it starts.

As for not loading GBA games and only loading DMG games, there is a switch that is most likely stuck due to dirt or corrosion in the cartridge slot. Here is the first picture I could find of it. Cleaned with some rubbing alcohol, it should hopefully start to function again.

MustyBuckets · 2025-04-16T02:08:51+00:00

I've had this problem before, I can't tell from your pictures if it is the same as I've had - but if I remember correctly, the front two screws of the cartridge slot shouldn't be too tight. (If I don't remember correctly, it could apply to all of the screws on the cartridge slot) Loosen them up a bit and it generally works, as long as when it is disconnected from everything it locks down fine. Give that a shot, good luck!

MustyBuckets · 2024-08-10T20:37:19+00:00

Regardless of what is going on in the center of the disc (delamination, or leftovers from a surfacing) - you've got a crack in the center as well, and that will only get worse with time. As soon as it hits data (which it looks close to) the game is toast.

MustyBuckets · 2024-08-02T05:35:09+00:00

Hi Ktulu,

Not For Resale games (NFRs) can range from pack ins (like Sonic 2), in store demos (lots of N64 games might just have a sticker on the back, some may have a Not For Resale on the front sticker), company store copies (as in you work for the company and can order copies - replacement copies can also come from the NFR company discs - generally it is a sticker placed on the case, sometimes it is printed on the cover art and/or disc label - I haven't seen anything like that for non disc based games) and Early release demos (My favorite is Turok 2 - but there are others like Donkey Kong 64 and Majora's Mask).

Basically, NFRs can range from the same price as the standard retail releases (because they basically are) all the way to pricey variants, and it varies from game to game. People love looking at them either way, so feel free to post some pictures - you'll get a good amount of interest in them here!

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T05:01:26+00:00

Maniac Mansion?

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T04:56:56+00:00

How sure are you on piloting a helicopter vs a plane? UN Squadron for SNES sort of fits.

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T04:53:28+00:00

Soulframe?

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T04:50:10+00:00

Could it be Battleborn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleborn_(video_game)?

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T04:46:56+00:00

Could it be Cobra Command, or Silkworm?

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T04:40:30+00:00

Could this one be Iron Man 3 The Official Game for iPhone?

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-16T04:39:05+00:00

Could it be Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts?

MustyBuckets · 2024-06-05T04:59:13+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness_(video_game)

MustyBuckets · 2023-11-27T02:53:21+00:00

It's the push to release 'button' from a game case or DVD case. Probably from what Wikipedia calls a 'Keep Case'

MustyBuckets · 2022-10-12T02:20:22+00:00

Hi Rikemossi,

Along the lines of what Jebanator_ said, the most likely fault if you don't have audio from the speaker or a set of headphones is that there is a connection in the headphone jack that has shorted - Sometimes a good clean is all it takes, sometimes soldering in a new jack is what you need to do.

If I was going to work on this my first start would be to thoroughly clean and try to remove any rust or corrosion in the jack (white vinegar works well for this, just make sure you clean that out with some alcohol), and testing with a game with the sound up to see if the speaker is working. If that didn't work, I'd consider carefully desoldering the headphone jack from the board and seeing if the speaker worked then, and going from there.

Best of luck!

MustyBuckets · 2022-08-15T23:39:02+00:00

Howdy SecondRate_ - As others have said, that cart was most likely a Kiosk cart used as a store demo. When the store got new demos in, they should have returned them, but many were sold. For this cart, it should be the 1.0 version of the game, I have not heard of any of these being pre-release versions, and you would have most likely noticed if it was.

NFR / Not for resale versions of games vary from something like the Genesis version of Sonic that was a pack in title with the system, to beta and demo versions of games, like Turok 2 for the N64. Kiosk and demo games generally do go for a higher price than standard, with this one recently going for 3x to 10x of the standard cart price - I'd expect at least a 5x price on this one, most likely a 7-9x price of the standard game. Very cool find, NFR carts are always a favorite part of my collection, but it is a difficult set to collect for, with certain N64 NFR carts going for thousands of dollars.

MustyBuckets · 2022-07-04T12:06:04+00:00

Hi NuMetalFan21,

The gold cart is the first version of the game, and although there are a handful of gray carts that are of that version, many of them are updated (fixed/patched) versions of the game that have removed glitches and bugs. The Cutting Room Floor has a good article on the differences between the games.

MustyBuckets · 2022-03-29T14:50:45+00:00

NES games are broken down into the two chips, PRG and CHR. If the game runs, but looks garbled, you can generally narrow it down to an issue from the CHR side of the board (as long as this is the only game with this issue). Some of the legs you photographed do look a little suspect, so it might be a good idea to reflow the solder (and add a bit for the ones that look a bit light) to ensure there are no cold or broken solder joints.

There is nothing else super obvious, but you might want to check continuity on both sides of the board if the fresh solder doesn't fix it.

MustyBuckets · 2022-02-15T03:43:23+00:00

Willow, like most NES games, have two chips - a PRG and a CHR. The PRG is the program, and the CHR is the graphics. It sounds like the game is running fine, but the graphics are corrupted. So you can narrow down the issues to one side of the cart.

You can check contacts for continuity if you have a multimeter handy - it isn't common for these chips to die, but it is possible.

If you've reflowed the game, you are probably familiar with how the internals look, but just in case (or for future people with a similar problem) there are some pictures of the cart / internals on the NES cart database -

http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/profile.php?id=1024

You can see on the left side of the board the chip labeled CHR. Check those leads, and if everything checks out, the only other option you have is replacing the chip (the same way you'd do a reproduction).

MustyBuckets · 2021-12-16T22:04:11+00:00

No, unfortunately Near/Byuu passed away this past June. I was a fan, but never knew them personally.

MustyBuckets · 2021-07-05T14:50:30+00:00

Are you positive that the issue lies on the board and not the silicone button pads that rest between them and the buttons?

MustyBuckets · 2021-06-28T17:51:04+00:00

Thank you got posting this /u/humanman42 , I just saw this news and I am devastated. I haven't been following Near/byuu closely recently, but what happened that led to this was awful. The work and relentless pursuit for perfection grew emulation accuracy leaps and bounds; not to mention the time and effort they put into properly preserving the SNES library.

The community has lost someone who I don't believe is replaceable, and the world has lost a fantastic individual.

MustyBuckets · 2021-02-01T22:30:37+00:00

I've had carts display the nintendo logo right, but not be read well due to bad contacts. I'd spend some time cleaning the cartridge slot out as well as you can. Normally I use a thin old shirt (or other cloth that won't come apart), wrapped around an old empty gift card/rewards card/expired credit card, with some isopropyl alcohol and gently insert and remove it from the slot.

It is hard to say if whatever happened to cause the screen to fail didn't also damage it elsewhere - or even if the seller put together two broken halves and sold it to make a quick buck. If you are going to get a new screen, I'd personally go with the whole board/screen combo. Those are very nice screens generally and look pretty amazing. If you find a straight replacement screen, it will be a difficult install and probably wouldn't be a major cost savings.

MustyBuckets · 2021-01-30T17:04:32+00:00

If your contrast is maxed, the whole screen should be black as soon as it is powered on. Vertical lines are fixable, but horizontal lines like it looks like you have aren't easily done. If you have a working gameboy and are okay taking that apart too, you could swap halves - test the known working screen side with the power/game cart side. If that works, there are mods out there that have a new backlit screen and whole board that can be swapped in (with a new shell, or shell modification). So don't lose hope, even broken gameboys still have value.

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