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Cleaning it is better then wiggling wit because the real problem is dirty connecter pins in the game, wiggling it just spreads this dirt/rust onto the consoles receiving connector pins and ruins them. Cleaning will address the problem at it source and keep the game running longer + wiggling can scrape down the pins of the console and the game.
Been getting some of these old videos from my RU-vid recommendations lately. I especially remember watching this one back in the day, since it gave my older brothers’ NES collection a second life. So, I don’t know if you’ll ever see this comment, but thank you from both 13 and 26-year-old me
Best method I've found is flat out cleaning everything. Everything. The games: Isopropyl alcohol, q-tips, and a felt eraser. Soak the q-tip with alcohol, completely soak the contacts on one side, and attack it with the eraser. Dry with a paper towel and repeat for the opposite side. The NES: clip the 4th pin on the 10nes chip. The 10nes (lockout chip) goes bad over time, so kill that sucker. Now time for the weirdest part. Boil the pin connector. It's a bit tricky, so I suggest looking up a guide, but by boiling it, the pins are cleaned and re-formed into their original shape. All that will ensure another 10 or so years of flawless performance.
You cant always get the connectors clean with simple solvent and eraser/Qtips. Sometimes the connections are just corroded and cant be simply "cleaned". I recently bought a few NES game lots off ebay. There are 51 total. I tested them all, and nearly all of them wouldn't work. I used the Qtip/eraser/alcohol method to try and clean them, and this worked on only about 10 of the games. My first step, is always to take the cart apart, check it out and then clean it, as its MUCH easier to simply take out the board and get clear access. So, what I do now, is I use very fine sandpaper. I use 320, but a finer sandpaper would work a bit better. After using this method, there were only 5 carts which simply will not work, no matter what. The sand paper will actually restore a perfect metal/metal connection, and works every time (on games that arent simply broken, which those 5 certainly are). Some people say sandpaper will destroy the pins/contacts, hell no it wont, unless, you're simply an idiot and using some very large grip sandpaper and tearing the metal right off the board. If you get FINE sandpaper and be CAREFUL/PATIENT, it will make any game (which isnt broken) work like new.
How did I get my nintendo to work EVERY time when I was a kid? Took the damn thing apart and bypassed the entire shitty design of the pseudo-ZIF...I took everything apart when I was a kid :-D lol, when my mom saw me doing that, and saw that it still worked...she bought me one of those 1200 in 1 electronics starter kit things...BEST...MOM....EVER!!!
WIth the 2 cartridge trick, because of the flawed design of the original NES, this one DOES work in theory, but you did it wrong. You have to have the second cartridge only partially inserted, where the center of mass is outside the system, so it uses the edge of the cartridge being played as the fulcrum point, putting force down at the most efficient location, thereby allowing a better connection on the crumby psudo-ZIF. I never thought of your method as a kid though! I just went straight to just taking the sucker apart and playing it without the casing, lol.
It's pretty much like a placebo effect that always seems to work regardless of anyone who denies it, though I am aware that constant blowing into the cartridges may cause the pin connectors to wear out over time, but I think that all depends on the model of the console.
I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw that my copy of Super Mario Bros 3 finally worked again after 5 years. Thank you kind lady. Take this like and subscribe.
Here is a better idea: cut the 10NES chip, and make a soundmod into the backtray to pin 3 and 9. Effect? You can play audio mappered FC games, and with the 10NES chip disabled, no more blinking light, no more fuckups. *Almost all the shown examples are impractical, and should be avoided.* :P
Ahh the memories of my brother and my dad using q-tips for NES games....I did too but being the baby of the family I rarely got to play first. I still play and blow in to my gameboy games
GuitarAudiologist is right. the 3193A chip is the regional lockout chip and disconecting the 4th pin will solve most blinking light problems. Now for the loading/garbage on screen, using a q-tip with alcohol will solve a lot of problems too, and when that doesn't work it means your zif socket inside is on the fritz and needs to be replaced. It's cheap and easy to replace. You can also fix it trying to pull the contacts out a bit. You won't even need to push the cart down after that!
I made good money back in the early 90's repairing these consoles. The most common problems were dirty connections on the cartridges and poor spring tension on the contacts in the console.
during the summer, i stick my NES games in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and it works like charm. It gets really hot in my room at that time, and i've noticed that the temperature affects functionality. During the Winter games don't have much trouble starting up, however the game often freezes in the middle of gameplay and that's pretty well unavoidable.
This is a great idea! Why didn't I realize it was just the positioning of the pins when connected to the NES? It explains why taking it out and putting it back in would at some point end up with the game working, as well as pushing on the game while it was playing would often mess it up.
if you have a certain connector issue, putting 2 games in works better than any other method. I had an NES with a jacked connector and it always worked with 2 games stuck in. blowing in the games works commonly wiggling it like you say doesn't always work. I clean my games with metal polish on the contacts and it makes them work way better.
I wish I would have run into this video a few months earlier, last time i played the nes i had to resort to deep cleaning all my games and the nes itself. Took a while but eventually did work
Actualy, when you blow on a cartrege, small traces of seliva are put in the end, strengthening the electric signal. But most people think they're getting rid of dust.
I find that scrubbing the bottom of the cartridges with a wire brush works amazingly! I had two n64 games, one that turned on glitchy and one that wouldn't turn on at all. Scrubbed them both with wire brush and now they both work as good as new!
It's true- they each have a sweet spot. I try not to wiggle to the left, but I do it sometimes to get carts to work. It always means a bad connection, and could be the pin connector or the game.
I have actually done this with games such as Dragon Warrior, which uses the battery save, and it works fine. Those save batteries are a little hardier than Nintendo gives them credit for.
That's not always the problem. I had to disable the lockout chip on my NES to make it work. The good thing is that it runs games smooth now and it's region free.
Wiggling is all good and works pretty good depending on the condition of the 72pin connectors inside the nes, but it's this 72pin connector that is usually to blame. If you don't want to go through the trouble of buying a new 72 pin connector it's usually a good idea to just disassemble the cartridge tray already on your nes. Try cleaning the pins on the 72pin connector using products meant for cleaning electronic circuits of denature free alcohol. Also the position of the actual tray may have shifted during many years of abuse. Re-positioning the tray is done by turning the front two screws on the actual tray, these screws can not be tightened all the way down or the tray will not function properly. Place a hard to start cartridge on the nes and turn the screws while pressing the reset button to see when the position is ideal. If you own a moment screwdriver there is a Nintendo certified moment for the screws.
You cant always get the connectors clean with simple solvent and eraser/Qtips. Sometimes the connections are just corroded and cant be simply "cleaned". I recently bought a few NES game lots off ebay. There are 51 total. I tested them all, and nearly all of them wouldn't work. I used the Qtip/eraser/alcohol method to try and clean them, and this worked on only about 10 of the games. My first step, is always to take the cart apart, check it out and then clean it, as its MUCH easier to simply take out the board and get clear access. So, what I do now, is I use very fine sandpaper. I use 320, but a finer sandpaper would work a bit better. After using this method, there were only 5 carts which simply will not work, no matter what. The sand paper will actually restore a perfect metal/metal connection, and works every time (on games that arent simply broken, which those 5 certainly are). Some people say sandpaper will destroy the pins/contacts, hell no it wont, unless, you're simply an idiot and using some very large grip sandpaper and tearing the metal right off the board. If you get FINE sandpaper and be CAREFUL/PATIENT, it will make any game (which isnt broken) work like new.
I do remember just reversing the cartridge and then placing it in, turning on the console, wait for 5 seconds and after that place it in properly, and it worked.
Thanks a lot for these methods Rinry, the wiggle it method worked for me and you saved my retro night with Super Mario Bros. I really thought my Nes gave up on me.
Another culprit with the old NES not working is the lockout chip. The reason your NES blinks on and off so much is the lockout chip inside the NES. They eventually go screwy and they need to be disabled. This procedure is ALSO very simple and doesnt require any technical no-how to do. It also opens up the window for importing PAL and Unlicensed games if that's your thing.
another tip is replacing the internal connector.. very easy, and reads all games perfectly. one of the reason this happens is because the internal connector has "lost it's spring" on the pins connecting to the cart.. with a new one, you will get a better fit, and enough "tension" on the pins to make contact.. remember, blowing in the cart not only can ruin the cart, but also the internal connector as it transfers moisture
Now you must do a stomp on the floor test. Games can randomly glitch out if their connection isn't good enough (during game play). Other than that I set the game in a working position and hit reset as you demonstrated in the video.
It doesn't matter. The whole reason to play on a physical console (for me) is to receive that full nostalgic feeling. Which in turn, makes actually playing the game more fun. Playing on the PC isn't the same experience as playing on an old CRT TV with the physical copy of the console and game along with the awesome controller.
Wow, in all my years I've never seen the wiggle method. I actually just cracked open my NES last night and cleaned all the pins with Brasso and re-bent each pin of the 72-pin connector, works much better now, but still needs one reset to work.
Can't believe she said blowing the cartridge doesn't work. It doesn't always work, but it does have a high success rate. Wiggling the cartridge is just scrapping the metal contacts together so that they scrape through the tarnish. A proper cleaning kit would be the best way to deal with this.
This really worked! I pulled my Nes out of the closet after being packed away for about 4 years. Tried everything, then at long last the giggle trick did.....well....the trick. Thanks!
I found that repositioning worked for all but the dirtiest and most corroded of my games. Most of the time, a Q-tip dampened with alcohol would yield the best results, but if a vigorous swab didn't solve the problem, then a smidgen of Brasso would be my next and final approach. It's an abrasive and could possibly damage the contacts if used excessively, but the Brasso treatment restored all of my corroded games to full working order in a matter of minutes. No blinking, no glitches. :)
The reason I remember why blowing on the cartridge has been known to work is because when you blow in them, what you're actually doing is fogging up the connectors, giving them more conducting ability. Fogging= basically wetting the connectors a tiny bit. The connectors in the system and the cart have a better chance at transferring game data. Not a proven fact, but that's what I remember growing up on. ;p
You can blow into the cartridge, but you have to do it in a specific way. 1. Put top lip over bottom, but not on. 2. Blow into where you would normally blow. This gives a gust of wind, and no moisture is added to the cartridge. Simple!
Actually thoroughly cleaning your game helps, but also taking apart the console and removing the connector pin and placing it in a pan of boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes helps get years of grime off of the pins. Just make sure you keep moving around the pin connector in the water so it doesn't possibly burn to the pan. I doubt it could happen, but better safe than sorry. I did that on an NES I traded 3 SNES games for at a pawn shop. The NES would barely function and I had given up on it for years, and then I saw the boiling method and tried and it works! I have fixed a few of them this way! You just gotta be paying close attention while boiling the pin connector and when your taking the NES apart.
I just don't push the game quite all the way back, then when you push it down, you can feel a little friction..... This works for me and pretty much same concept.. It just doesn't like to be all the way back.
I figured this one out when I was a kid. Right when I was playing Megaman 2, it started to get glitchy and weird. On a whim, I barely moved the game while it was still on so I didnt lose my progress. I was almost through Wily's castle. For an 8 year old, that's big. Well it worked! I used that method ever since. Vice video. Very true and informative.
Nice... I will have to try this out. I usually do a variation of this where I put the game in on the right side, then move to the left side, then push it down, then move it back to the right and power on. Sounds funky but for most games it works for me. I have done this on a couple random NES units and it usually does the trick.
The big problem was how the front-loader NES was designed, though. The pins were angled and when the cart was inserted, the friction was supposed to make contact. This rarely worked out right (which is probably why the top-loader eventually replaced it, and all subsequent cartridge-based consoles were top-loaders).
Swaying it side to side is what I did. My brother showed me the trick the moment our NES 20 years back started to give the blink. Except I would put my finger in between the cartridge's top notch and proceeded to do the shake. I'm actually surprised that not many people knew it, because when I did it at a friends house, it was like performing CPR/the Heimlich to someone who never seen it.
The reason this happens is because the connector pins in the cartridge reader in the NES get bent with normal use. It is pretty cheap though to get a new reader and no soldering is required to install it, it just slides off the mother board and the new one slides into its place.
