Fixing N64 Cartridges

[Tool-Of-The-System]

Just about half an hour ago I broke one of my N64 games. So being the creative person that I am I disassembled the rest of it to see if I had broken anything in there... and looking for an alternative way to repair this game. So far I've decided I could try two things.

I could take out the chips as you can see in the picture below but I have no fucking idea which is for what... I'm guessing the biggest is the actual game. Or I could try hot gluing or soldering the broken pieces back together except it's not going to fit in the N64 port if I have too much...

So if anyone has experience in this, can you please help me out on how I can fix this? Here's pictures of the broken game to show how bad it is.

[HaroFreak]

If I am seeing your problem correctly, the only solution is to glue the board together and fix all the wiring with either Soldering Iron or pushing your luck and using a thick amount of graphite from a regular pencil.

After all, graphite is a somewhat decent conductor of electricity.

[Unknowingly]

Ha ha. The quick fix would buy another one. I still have my N64. My parents never bought an upgrade so I'm stuck with Mario Party I, Banjo Kazooie, and some wierd game that makes me nauseous. In any case, can't help you. Good luck with that.

[High-Roller]

At 3/24/05 03:20 PM, Unknowingly wrote: Ha ha. The quick fix would buy another one. I still have my N64. My parents never bought an upgrade so I'm stuck with Mario Party I, Banjo Kazooie, and some wierd game that makes me nauseous. In any case, can't help you. Good luck with that.

*tear* Yep, I still have N64 too... my banjo kazooie is broken so that I can't save... I had tried beating the game for a month (in one sitting) but I couldn't do it. I had the game memorized. I tried leaving it on for more than a day (just keeping N64 on) and I finally beat it! *tear*

[Auz]

I think you should go back to the store and ask them if they can repair it. Or just buy a new game, they're not that expensive anymore.

[BRS]

Yeah, I would have suggested glueing the detached peice back to the main board and soldering the conections over but like you said -- even if it does work, you probably wont be able to get the game to fit into the cartridge slot.

So...... scout eBay for a new cart, I guess.

[Viper-Studios]

heres a solution. Buy a new game

[DaSadGirl]

I used to dip my Genesis games in water when they would'nt work. Haha!

( 5

[Unknowingly]

At 3/24/05 03:22 PM, High_Roller wrote: *tear* Yep, I still have N64 too... my banjo kazooie is broken so that I can't save... I had tried beating the game for a month (in one sitting) but I couldn't do it. I had the game memorized. I tried leaving it on for more than a day (just keeping N64 on) and I finally beat it! *tear*

Ha ha. I'm still stuck at the end, didn't collect enough notes from the last world so I'm constantly going back to see if I can collect more. Grr. And then off to fight the witch.

[HaroFreak]

At 3/24/05 03:24 PM, DaSadGirl wrote: I used to dip my Genesis games in water when they would'nt work. Haha!

Did it fix the problem by freak chance?

[DarkArchon]

At 3/24/05 03:32 PM, HaroFreak wrote:

At 3/24/05 03:24 PM, DaSadGirl wrote: I used to dip my Genesis games in water when they would'nt work. Haha!

Did it fix the problem by freak chance?

Yeah, did it?

And, What game was it? :) (TOTS)

[Rule]

I see. But wouldn't hot glue mess it up? I mean It would work, but like the pictures, would probably suffer.

[Tool-Of-The-System]

E-Bay is not my best friend... I've gotten shafted too many times from trying to get shit for cheap from others on there. I'd rather go through the trouble of trying to fix this piece of crap myself than getting another one that's probably in shitty condition too.

[HaroFreak]

At 3/24/05 03:41 PM, -Rule- wrote: I see. But wouldn't hot glue mess it up? I mean It would work, but like the pictures, would probably suffer.

If you apply the glue in thin layers, it should be no problem.

If you don't want to use hot glue, use SuperGlue instead.

And if you mean "Pictures" you mean the sticker image on the Cartridge, I don't think it would mess it up since it's not taped between any removing parts.

[JackRabbitStudios]

At 3/24/05 03:42 PM, Tool_Of_The_System wrote: E-Bay is not my best friend... I've gotten shafted too many times from trying to get shit for cheap from others on there. I'd rather go through the trouble of trying to fix this piece of crap myself than getting another one that's probably in shitty condition too.

Well, usually smaller game stores usually have a whole bunch of used N64 games they wanna sell off. If you check there, I'm sure you could find a replacement for your broken game.

[pieoncar]

At 3/24/05 03:41 PM, -Rule- wrote: I see. But wouldn't hot glue mess it up? I mean It would work, but like the pictures, would probably suffer.

If you think of each of the gold connectors as a pipe, and the electricity as water...

Hot glue would be like putting connecting a faucet to a pipe by using cement.

I really doubt that cartridge stands a chance unless the OP is some kind of soldering king.=/

[Rule]

At 3/24/05 03:43 PM, HaroFreak wrote:
If you apply the glue in thin layers, it should be no problem.

If you don't want to use hot glue, use SuperGlue instead.

And if you mean "Pictures" you mean the sticker image on the Cartridge, I don't think it would mess it up since it's not taped between any removing parts.

Won't that take patience? Like do you have to be really careful, or what if you make one tiny mistake, wont it affect the whole game?

[HaroFreak]

At 3/24/05 03:47 PM, -Rule- wrote: Won't that take patience? Like do you have to be really careful, or what if you make one tiny mistake, wont it affect the whole game?

If the person who wants to fix the cartridge is unfamiliar with Soldering things, then i suggest that he/she practices a bit first before trying it for real.

Either that, or just be really careful, since good soldering involves fast reflexes and focused stamina at times.