Code Name S.T.E.A.M. doesn't work anymore

[Erebos]

Hi, I bought this game years ago, played it for about ten minutes and then put it away. But now the cartridge has stopped working. It shows the game icon but, whenever I try to load it, I get this error message:

An error occurred (ErrDisp)

Error type: generic

Process ID: 38
Process name: abe
Process title ID: 0004000000132500

Address: 0x00109884
Error code: 0xd900458b

Press any button to reboot.

Please, do you know if there is a way to fix this? Or should I just buy another copy? Unfortunately I heard there are some faulty 3DS cartridges that stop working after a certain time.

 

[Jayro]

Unfortunately I heard there are some faulty 3DS cartridges that stop working after a certain time.

I've never heard of this. Are the contacts in the 3DS and the cart both clean? Has the cart been exposed to moisture either actively (steamy rooms like a bathroom) or passively (humid living climate)?

 

[SylverReZ]

Try cleaning the contacts with a toothbrush (not used) and some isopropyl alcohol and maybe the 3DS cartridge slot.

Unfortunately I heard there are some faulty 3DS cartridges that stop working after a certain time.

That sounds completely false. However, flash chips will die at some point in time, who knows when.

 

[Erebos]

I've never heard of this. Are the contacts in the 3DS and the cart both clean? Has the cart been exposed to moisture either actively (steamy rooms like a bathroom) or passively (humid living climate)?

The game was new and sealed when I bought it, I stored it on a shelf together with my other games. I checked all of them but only Code Name STEAM has this issue.

Try cleaning the contacts with a toothbrush (not used) and some isopropyl alcohol and maybe the 3DS cartridge slot.

Thanks, I already tried yesterday, but to no avail.

That sounds completely false. However, flash chips will die at some point in time, who knows when.

Two years ago it was reported that some copies of 3DS games like Pokémon ORAS and Persona Q ceased to work, it caused quite a stir.

 

[Jayro]

The game was new and sealed when I bought it, I stored it on a shelf together with my other games. I checked all of them but only Code Name STEAM has this issue.


Thanks, I already tried yesterday, but to no avail.

Two years ago it was reported that some copies of 3DS games like Pokémon ORAS and Persona Q ceased to work, it caused quite a stir.

I sold all my 3DS games in 2021 to pay my bills. Kinda mad about it tbh, but it beats being homeless.

 

[Kwyjor]

Two years ago it was reported that some copies of 3DS games like Pokémon ORAS and Persona Q ceased to work, it caused quite a stir.

Yup, Smash Bros too. Possibly Kirby: Planet Robobot. But no one's mentioned Code Name S.T.E.A.M. that I know of. Then again, it's not a very popular game.

The standard advice in cases like this is to dump the cartridge and see if you can compare the hash of the dump with a known good dump.

I would love to know of a practical, reliable solution for this problem, but that has yet to be established. (My dead Smash Bros cart sits on my shelf, waiting.)

 

[Jayro]

Yup, Smash Bros too. Possibly Kirby: Planet Robobot. But no one's mentioned Code Name S.T.E.A.M. that I know of. Then again, it's not a very popular game.

The standard advice in cases like this is to dump the cartridge and see if you can compare the hash of the dump with a known good dump.

I would love to know of a practical, reliable solution for this problem, but that has yet to be established. (My dead Smash Bros cart sits on my shelf, waiting.)

You could always try to reflow the ROM chip.

 

[Kwyjor]

You could always try to reflow the ROM chip.

"Always"? You mean with the handy-dandy never-fail ROM-chip-reflower I use every day?

When people can definitively demonstrate that reflowing can solve the problem and that it has no risk of making things worse and that it's easy to do with cheap, commonplace equipment, then that's something I might consider doing. To my knowledge it's all very speculative at this point.

 

[Jayro]

"Always"? You mean with the handy-dandy never-fail ROM-chip-reflower I use every day?

When people can definitively demonstrate that reflowing can solve the problem and that it has no risk of making things worse and that it's easy to do with cheap, commonplace equipment, then that's something I might consider doing. To my knowledge it's all very speculative at this point.

It's not difficult, nor expensive. Just takes a hot air station and patience.

 

[Kwyjor]

Just takes a hot air station and patience.

Seriously now, how many people do you know with a hot air station?

I'm certainly not going to run out and buy one (or even find one I can borrow) without knowing whether it actually works in this case. Cartridge failures are likely to become more frequent as years pass; the details will emerge soon enough.