Gaming Save game Death?

[xxxkumcell]

Recently purchesed gameboy and charger I hear that after 6ish years gba gbc game cards die is this true and is there any way to fix this

 

[ThoD]

They don't die, just the internal battery does. You just have to swap it out for a new one and that's it, problem solved. It's a button-type battery and varies between cartridges. Also, if the battery runs out on GB/GBC cartridges, you lose your save data, while on GBA you simply lose the ability to do things like time-related events (eg: berries on Pokemon). Again, replacing the battery solves any issues.

 

[xxxkumcell]

but save data?

 

[ThoD]

but save data?

As I said, save data is lost for GB/GBC cartridges, while for GBA it's not lost, just the ability to do some things such as time-related events (or other stuff depending on the game). In GBA's case, just basically anything that's supposed to happen when you aren't playing the game (time advancing for example) is all you lose, for GB/GBC you lose the save itself.

 

[Taffy]

I've actually had a copy of Superstar Saga go through the wash and it came out with the save data gone. I don't remember, but I popped it open to find a battery I THINK. 90% sure I did.

I think.

It was a year ago, roughly. But most other gba games don't rely on battery-backed saves so they should be fine.

I have also had a copy of Pokemon Silver r wit a missing sram battery, and no saving ability as a result. Would not retain saves.

 

[ThoD]

I've actually had a copy of Superstar Saga go through the wash and it came out with the save data gone. I don't remember, but I popped it open to find a battery I THINK. 90% sure I did.

I think.

It was a year ago, roughly. But most other gba games don't rely on battery-backed saves so they should be fine.

I have also had a copy of Pokemon Silver r wit a missing sram battery, and no saving ability as a result. Would not retain saves.

For SS, it could have just short-circuited the memory chip when it got wet, causing it to empty itself you know Not unlikely and much more possible to be the reason the save was gone as I had the game too years back and removing the battery didn't delete the save.

 

[Taffy]

...wait

why does it have a battery then

did ss have an rtc? o.o

 

[ThoD]

...wait

why does it have a battery then

did ss have an rtc? o.o

The battery in GBA games isn't just for the clock, it's for everything that's past the save file size limit too. Things like last RNG values, system info, etc. are stored using the battery. Losing them doesn't make games unable to save, just unable to function 100% as intended. Battery can also be used for things like Sleep Mode in games that have it (some GBA games have Sleep Mode available with a button combination), enhanced functions while the game is running (eg: to give an extra charge to the wireless adapter for games that support it like Pokemon FR/LG), etc.. In general, GBA games hold all the necessary data to keep the save intact and usable in the permanent memory, while using the flash memory (which is powered by the battery) for extra stuff/gimmicks.

 

[Localhorst86]

Superstar Saga is an EEPROM (v124) game and does not have a battery. See this post for a picture of the game pcb:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/zelda-minish-cap-cant-save-fake.394481/#post-5619013

If yours had a battery, it was a counterfeit/fake copy as can often be purchased from china. Those are modified to use the cheaper SRAM save storage and therefore need a battery to keep savegames.

I have also never heard of any GBA game that would use the battery for RNG or system info, the only usage I am aware of (in GBA cartridges) is either savegame storage (SRAM) or keeping the time (RTC). And that also doens't seem plausible to me. RNG does not need to be kept alive when the cartridge is powered off and what would "system info" even entail?

EDIT: just for reference, here's a picture of a fake Superstar Saga PCB:

https://imgur.com/DyUMTmh

EDIT2: while most GBA games used EEPROM or Flash to store savegames, there are some GBA games that use SRAM for saving and therefore have a battery build in. One such example would be Wario Land 4 and the Wario Ware games for GBA. SRAM uses very little power and the battery can last for decades (my SNES and GB cards still hold their savegames). RTC on the other hand is a lot more power hungry. My Pokemon gold and crystal cards - which used the battery for RTC *AND* savegames - are dry and don't hold any savegames. In general, though: if a game uses a SRAM, the savegame will vanish at some point. It could be decades, though.

 

[migles]

Recently purchesed gameboy and charger I hear that after 6ish years gba gbc game cards die is this true and is there any way to fix this

as stated above that's not true
what can die is the internal battery of the cartridges which keeps the save, you might lose your save but game will still work fine

keep in mind, only some early cartridges in the gba used a battery to keep the save, (except few cases as stated above, the pokemon 3rd gen games use the battery for berries and some events like the mirage island, and boktai to keep date and time)

if your gba games do use a battery to keep the save, most likely its a counterfeit\fake copy
(key words: "most likely", like i said some early released games still used a battery backed system also known as sram)

a flashcart would very likely solve you plenty of hassle, for both playing games and dont worrying about batteries specially in the GBC games scenario
you can also buy a device to backup your save games in case you are afraid of losing them
(for example joey bags, or inside gadgets gbxcart rw, i got a gbxcart rw myself)

if you need any help or questions, you can ask me

 

[Archangel22]

oh man gb and gbc games have this, nuts. makes metal gear solid, mario gold and tennis a chore its too long to replay over again but makes it acceptable with gba games if most of them have no batteries

I know people make fake carts these days but its 2018 wish they had the tech and means to somehow place that same rom without the need for batteries. dont care about cart authenticity as long as it works, its the game, gavesave is kept forever then thats a plus. gotta get word to the scammers out there making fakes to remove the battery need

 

[Localhorst86]

oh man gb and gbc games have this, nuts. makes metal gear solid, mario gold and tennis a chore its too long to replay over again but makes it acceptable with gba games if most of them have no batteries

I know people make fake carts these days but its 2018 wish they had the tech and means to somehow place that same rom without the need for batteries. dont care about cart authenticity as long as it works, its the game, gavesave is kept forever then thats a plus. gotta get word to the scammers out there making fakes to remove the battery need

They already do. I purchased a fake Pokemon Emerald from china a few months ago which uses EEPROM or Flash to save (not sure which, I have only opened the card to verify that it doesn't have a battery). The game saves fine and as expected the clock doesn't advance when the game is turned off.

SRAM - which requires a battery - used to be considerably cheaper than EEPROM or Flash so counterfeit games used the cheaper SRAM to keep costs down and maximize the profit margin. Now, my fake Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons GBA cards I purchased last year (They put it on there using goomba) still uses SRAM.

 

[xxxkumcell]

as stated above that's not true
what can die is the internal battery of the cartridges which keeps the save, you might lose your save but game will still work fine

keep in mind, only some early cartridges in the gba used a battery to keep the save, (except few cases as stated above, the pokemon 3rd gen games use the battery for berries and some events like the mirage island, and boktai to keep date and time)

if your gba games do use a battery to keep the save, most likely its a counterfeit\fake copy
(key words: "most likely", like i said some early released games still used a battery backed system also known as sram)

a flashcart would very likely solve you plenty of hassle, for both playing games and dont worrying about batteries specially in the GBC games scenario
you can also buy a device to backup your save games in case you are afraid of losing them
(for example joey bags, or inside gadgets gbxcart rw, i got a gbxcart rw myself)

if you need any help or questions, you can ask me

And how about even earlier carts specifically GBC or just GB tetris. Also If I were to get a flashcart for gba could it run gbc files for (gameboy sp)

 

[Localhorst86]

And how about even earlier carts specifically GBC or just GB tetris. Also If I were to get a flashcart for gba could it run gbc files for (gameboy sp)

Tetris does not save anything.
GBA flashcards can only play GB(C) roms with emulation (Goomba). Compatibility isn't 100%

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[kuwanger]

Yea, most SRAM games on the GBA are actually FRAM. The exceptions tend to be the earliest carts.

SRAM - which requires a battery - used to be considerably cheaper than EEPROM or Flash so counterfeit games used the cheaper SRAM to keep costs down and maximize the profit margin.

I presume the other major reason is the FRAM is meant to be a drop-in replacement for SRAM. Hacking games to use EEPROM or Flash would be a lot of effort in comparison. FRAM itself is also less readily available. I'm not even sure how many companies make FRAM.

 

[Localhorst86]

Yea, most SRAM games on the GBA are actually FRAM. The exceptions tend to be the earliest carts.

wait, you mean original cards? So most cards that are identified as "SRAM" didn't actually use an SRAM chip on the board but FRAM instead? That means, they wouldn't have a battery, then. I never really checked because I don't actually own any original cartridge that doesn't use flash or eeprom.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

The battery in GBA games isn't just for the clock, it's for everything that's past the save file size limit too. Things like last RNG values, system info, etc. are stored using the battery. Losing them doesn't make games unable to save, just unable to function 100% as intended. Battery can also be used for things like Sleep Mode in games that have it (some GBA games have Sleep Mode available with a button combination), enhanced functions while the game is running (eg: to give an extra charge to the wireless adapter for games that support it like Pokemon FR/LG), etc.. In general, GBA games hold all the necessary data to keep the save intact and usable in the permanent memory, while using the flash memory (which is powered by the battery) for extra stuff/gimmicks.

Flash memory is not battery backed.

 

[kuwanger]

wait, you mean original cards? So most cards that are identified as "SRAM" didn't actually use an SRAM chip on the board but FRAM instead? That means, they wouldn't have a battery, then.

Yep, that's precisely it. It's why you should always be suspicious of a game that has a battery and doesn't have a RTC.

 

[Localhorst86]

Yep, that's precisely it. It's why you should always be suspicious of a game that has a battery and doesn't have a RTC.

Wow, that's actually true. I just opened my copy of Wario ware twisted which should use SRAM and no battery in sight. Instead, an FRAM chip.

My whole GBA life has been a lie.

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