TIL a Q-tip with isopropyl alcohol can fix a NES cartridge in 10 seconds flat

I was at a garage sale in Dayton last weekend and grabbed a copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 for $2, but it booted to a gray screen. After a quick swipe of the pin connector with 91% alcohol on a cotton swab (the key is letting it dry fully), the game loaded up perfect. Has anyone else had luck with this trick on a particularly stubborn cartridge?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty_reed6111d ago

Honestly, I think people forget that the alcohol trick works best if you use the 91% kind instead of the regular 70%. The extra water in the 70% can leave residue that actually makes the pins worse over time. I learned that the hard way with my copy of Zelda, had to clean it three times before I figured out what I was doing wrong.

nathan2898d ago

Learned that the hard way with my copy of Zelda" - yeah cause nothing says "fun Saturday" like scrubbing a video game cartridge three times like it's a science experiment. Bet it still played better than the CD-i Zelda games though.