general dumb question

[wrldstrman]

How long is the life of cartridge games. reason i ask is people talk about dead carts does this just happen once in a while or will they all go bad at some point.

[JB]

How long is the life of cartridge games.  reason i ask is people talk about dead carts does this just happen once in a while or will they all go bad at some point.

912862[/snapback]

Depends on the specific cart.

 

EPROM carts WILL die. There is no avoiding it.

Life expectancy of about 20 years, if I recall.

 

ROM carts it depends on the type of chip used.

A PROM could be in the same boat as EPROM. Or not.

A mask ROM is ageless.

 

That's step 1, and the clearest.

 

 

Step 2 is The Transistor's arch-nemesis, Static Electricity. *insert cheesy photochoped computer superhero here*

If Static E. blasts the ROMs, they are doomed, regardless of tech. *more cheezy comic book art*

 

This can happen at any place and any time.

 

 

 

Step 3 is physical construction. Leaky batteries, corroding contacts, etc.

[elliott]

Most "dead" carts are just dirty. Especially NES, people blew into NES games thinking it would help. It did way more damage then good, all most carts need is a good cleaning with alcohol and they will work just fine. I have only come across 2 truly dead carts so far out of about 500.

[Ze_ro]

As long as you keep your cartridges in good condition, their life time is essentially infinite. It'll eventually happen that passing alpha particles will render the electronics useless, but chances are better that either the contacts will corrode or rust before then. Keep things away from moist or humid conditions. As elliott said, most "dead" cartridges just need a good cleaning.

 

It should also be mentioned that games with a battery (like Legend of Zelda for the NES) will eventually fail to save your game when the battery dies. I haven't found a cartridge with a dead battery yet, but I know some people have. There are ways of replacing them too if you look around the net.

 

--Zero

[Famicoman]

As long as they're clean they will work, but if they have batteries, they might die. Unless theres some sort of alternator...

[JB]

As long as you keep your cartridges in good condition, their life time is essentially infinite. It'll eventually happen that passing alpha particles will render the electronics useless, but chances are better that either the contacts will corrode or rust before then. Keep things away from moist or humid conditions. As elliott said, most "dead" cartridges just need a good cleaning.

Like I said, EPROMs decay with time. They aren't reliable long-term.

 

It should also be mentioned that games with a battery (like Legend of Zelda for the NES) will eventually fail to save your game when the battery dies. I haven't found a cartridge with a dead battery yet, but I know some people have. There are ways of replacing them too if you look around the net.

Also note that as they age, the odds of them leaking goes up.

Could eat a hole in your game board. I know this has killed more than a few vintage arcade boards(even without the "suicide" feature of more modern ones).