Is it bad to always keep a cart in the system?

[2600lover]

The reason I asked is beacuse Ive seen a few folks who always have a cart in the system and seem to never take it out. Is this bad for the PCB or system at all? Just wanted to know so I dont make the mistake

[Opo Terser]

I highly doubt that leaving carts in the console could be harmful.

[n8littlefield]

I hope not - Pacman tends to live in my system as my 2 yrd old has an odd fascination with watching it and Pole Position.

[CPUWIZ]

The reason I asked is beacuse Ive seen a few folks who always have a cart in the system and seem to never take it out. Is this bad for the PCB or system at all? Just wanted to know so I dont make the mistake

 

Yes, it will kill your system after 3 years, 87 days, 2 hours and 13 minutes.

[gdement]

Technically, I think this might wear out the pins a bit more. Of course, if you're going to play the game again anyway, then it's probably better to leave it there, rather than putting the pins through another loosen-tighten cycle. I don't think this is an issue on most systems, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

However, I do think this could be a problem on the NES. Leaving a cart in there with the ZIF lever down might wear out the pins over time and cause the blinking problem to develop sooner. Ever since replacing the connector, I don't leave carts in my NES anymore.

 

The only top-loading system I've ever had problems with was my Genesis, and those problems went away with some persistent cleaning. The pin tension was apparently not the problem.

Edited August 31, 2006 by gdement

[godzillajoe]

I keep a cart in to help keep dust out of the system

[Lord Thag]

I've been doing that for thirty years now. I've yet to have a 2600 stop working because of it...

[sandmountainslim]

I keep a cart in to help keep dust out of the system

I leave a cart in for exactly that reason.

[pocketmego]

I keep a cart in to help keep dust out of the system

 

That is exactly what I was going to say. These days , especially with the portable cartdrige loading game consoles, they always tell you to keep a cart in the slot to prevent dust. I can't imagine the 2600 would be much different.

 

-Ray

[plaidbrad3141]

Technically, I think this might wear out the pins a bit more. Of course, if you're going to play the game again anyway, then it's probably better to leave it there, rather than putting the pins through another loosen-tighten cycle. I don't think this is an issue on most systems, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

However, I do think this could be a problem on the NES. Leaving a cart in there with the ZIF lever down might wear out the pins over time and cause the blinking problem to develop sooner. Ever since replacing the connector, I don't leave carts in my NES anymore.

 

The only top-loading system I've ever had problems with was my Genesis, and those problems went away with some persistent cleaning. The pin tension was apparently not the problem.

I had the typical problem with my NES of bad pins and blue screen, so I got a new set of pins and fixed it myself. Now the games only play if the cart is not pushed down...ooppss! Oh well it works all dumb like that now.

[+remowilliams]

The reason I asked is beacuse Ive seen a few folks who always have a cart in the system and seem to never take it out. Is this bad for the PCB or system at all? Just wanted to know so I dont make the mistake

Just keep an empty cart shell in the system, and you won't have to worry about dust or bending the contact pins out of shape.

[A.J. Franzman]

The reason I asked is beacuse Ive seen a few folks who always have a cart in the system and seem to never take it out. Is this bad for the PCB or system at all? Just wanted to know so I dont make the mistake

Just keep an empty cart shell in the system, and you won't have to worry about dust or bending the contact pins out of shape.

Leaving a cartridge plugged in all the time carries some risk of weakening the contacts -- probably not enough to cause an outright failure, but you might notice the system becoming more "finicky"; needing cartridges to be re-inserted or cleaned more often (especially those by Activision with their known issue of having thinner circuit boards).

 

If you have an empty shell handy, go ahead and use it! If not, I suggest dropping a cartridge in as a "dust protector", but not plugging it all the way in the contacts - just let it rest lightly against them. I disassembled and modified the cart port on one of my systems so that the built-in dust gate actually closes all the way like it's supposed to, so I don't worry about it.

[2600lover]

Ok thanks!

[BONK]

hmm i know its not bad to keep a cart in the system. But is it bad to slam a cart in to the system i do that alot with my snes games, when they dont wanna work, can't keep cleaning em everytime i wanna play another game.

[JacobZu7zu7]

I always remove the game from the system.

To prevent dust on the 2600, I just put a small towel over it when

I am done playing for the day.

So, I don't have to worry about dust getting on pins etc...

Atari System you could leave the game in, but with Nintendo,

I would take it out, also with C-64.. remove the disk!

Edited September 1, 2006 by JacobZu7zu7

[2600lover]

Alrighty, I'll just start throwing a facecloth over the ATari when Im done!

[Foxsolo2000]

I remember reading years ago in the Atari news letters in the UK that Atari themselves said it was suppossedly bad to leave a game in the system. Because of this I always took them out after I was finished and put a dust cover over the system. Maybe the warning was one of those famous gaming urban legends that cropped up from time to time

[Big Player]

I still have my 2600 dust cover from my original system. And I still use it. The dust cover that is, I had to retire my light six switcher for a vader.

[shadow460]

I'd actually recommend not leaving a game in the system, but not for the reasons stated.

It's possible that you might get used to leaving games in, then you leave a rare game in the slot on the exact day that your system takes its final power surge. Now your 2600 is fried along with your Quadrun cart.

Generally speaking, if a system has dust doors, I don't leave a cart in it. If it doesn't, I empty a cart shell and use that instead. My portables usually have full blown carts in them. I think the 'Gear has Super Monaco GP and the 'Boy has Mario Tennis.

 

I never leave game carts in my PS2.

I usually smack the carts into place on my portables--I don't know why, I just swat them real good when I insert them.

[Dragnerok X]

....It's possible that you might get used to leaving games in, then you leave a rare game in the slot on the exact day that your system takes its final power surge. Now your 2600 is fried along with your Quadrun cart....

 

That's what surge protectors are for.

[Shawn]

Contacts will wear from constant stress of having a cart in the console. How long it takes to actually make that happen is a totally different story.

[Ite]

I always have a game in the system so I HOPE IT DOESN'T HARM IT!

 

LOL, I never even thought of this before.

[shadow460]

....It's possible that you might get used to leaving games in, then you leave a rare game in the slot on the exact day that your system takes its final power surge. Now your 2600 is fried along with your Quadrun cart....

 

That's what surge protectors are for.

 

I wouldn't risk a $600 cart on a $80 surge protector.

 

Besides, the carts should probably be stored to protect them from physical damage. I dunno about everyone else, but my 7800 is sitting out where any cart that's in it will be damaged if it takes a spill.

[AussieAtari]

The occasional compressed air blowout/clean and not keeping the units anywhere near the floor has kept my consoles dust free problem free for years now. keeping them under the TV fills them full of dust and will kill them - eventually.

 

I do like the empty cartridge shell idea though.

[2600lover]

So I just take a cart I dont really play anymore and "empty" it? How do I go about doing that?