Cartridge battery life (?)
Exa
Hello,
I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain savegame
info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
does it not work at all?
Exa
Fred Salerno
Ive still got my NES Zelda cartridge. The battery in it is 9 years old,
and still going strong.
Exa (e...@v-wave.com) wrote:
: Hello,
:
c64
> Hello,
>
> I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain savegame
> info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
> years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
> when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
> does it not work at all?
>
> Exa
My old zelda fo NES still works, as do all my other NES battery-backed games.
BTW: I've heard that the batteries recharge when you play the game...does
anyone know if this is true? If it is, does this apply to NES or SNES
games, or both?
Please post your reply.
Thanks
c64
Melissa
<<<<<<< I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to
retain savegame
info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
does it not work at all?>>>>>>>
Well, considering I've got games on my NES, well over 10 years old,
that still have working batteries, it's not a problem.
==Derek
Joseph Waldvogel
>Hello,
> I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain savegame
>info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
>years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
>when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
>does it not work at all?
>Exa
How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
power is turned off. It's the SAME thing that's also been in modems
for many many years to allow you to save your modem setting, they call
it NRAM (Nonvolatile Memory), Or the New Fancy name for it these days
is FLASHRAM. which is being used so you can update your modems Code
it's self, or even on some computers some of the chips themself. You
Unplug your Modem and it's STILL THERE, NO BATTERY AT ALL!
The reason not all Computer ram is like this, that I can think off on
top of my head are:
#1. It's quite a bit more Expensive then normal Ram
#2. It's SLOWER in speed then Normal Ram
#3. You can only write to them a limited amount of times. Not a
problem when your just updating modem code, or saving Settings here
and there. But after so many writes it'll start for forget things and
then finally not work at all. I don't remember what it was, but it
was quite a lot, nothen to worry about unless you do a shit-load of
saves for many years on your Game, On the other hand on a Normal
computer and it's memeory it's always being written to and erased
non-stop, EPROM,NRAM, FLASHRAM whatever you want to call it wouldn't
work very good for that type of use.
I think, but am not sure, but it may be the SAME Ram that's used on
the RAMDRIVES. You know the drives that cost thousands of dollars
for 10 Megs. Depending on the size. No Hard Platters spinning like
normal Hard Drives, they're all NON Moving, using only CHIPS. Very
very Expensive. Very quick access times though.
Joseph Waldvogel
>Ive still got my NES Zelda cartridge. The battery in it is 9 years old,
>and still going strong.
There are NO Batterys! Open a game up at LOOK if you need to, though
I'm not responsible if for some reason you screw the game up.
Look in the Mag 'Electronic Gaming Monthly' #90, January 1997, Page
22, there you will see the Inside of a Game Cartridge. It's not quite
the came as the normal Cartridges, because of the phone Line Plugs,
and probley a few other minor things, but you will notice there is NO
BATTERY.
Just like the Memory Packs you plug into the Controlers. There's NO
Battery in those either! NONE.
>Exa (e...@v-wave.com) wrote:
>: Hello,
>:
Jonathan Jalving
Exa (e...@v-wave.com) wrote:
: Hello,
:
: I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain savegame
: info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
: years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
: when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
: does it not work at all?
The N64 games do not use battery backed RAM, they use EEPROM's which are
good for up to 10,000 writes. As long as you don't write to them too
frequently they should last as long as the cartridge does.
--
Jonathan Jalving
jjal...@psd.k12.co.us
Web-Slinger
Joseph Waldvogel wrote:
>
>
> There are NO Batterys! Open a game up at LOOK if you need to, though
> I'm not responsible if for some reason you screw the game up.
>
Correct. N64 games use EEPROMS rather than batteries, and are good
for about 10,000 saves. The old SNES and NES carts used battery
backups. My oldest cart is Super Marioworld, which is still going
strong after 6 years.
--
Web-Slinger
-----------
"Give 'em an inch, they take a foot and before
you know it you haven't got a leg to stand on."
Email: sli...@websling.demon.co.uk
N64 Gazetta: http://www.websling.demon.co.uk/
c64
In article <2053.694...@sprynet.com>, Joseph Waldvogel
<joe...@sprynet.com> wrote:
<snip>
> How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
> ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
> EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
> power is turned off. It's the SAME thing that's also been in modems
> for many many years to allow you to save your modem setting, they call
> it NRAM (Nonvolatile Memory), Or the New Fancy name for it these days
> is FLASHRAM. which is being used so you can update your modems Code
> it's self, or even on some computers some of the chips themself. You
> Unplug your Modem and it's STILL THERE, NO BATTERY AT ALL!
<snip>
Now this is incorrect...only the N64's save-game cartridge and some n64
games use FLASHRAM. The NES & SNES both use battery back-up for their
games.
c64
Matthew Gaunt
In article <anon-01019...@ppp828.on.sympatico.ca>, an...@anon.com (c64) says:
>
>In article <5ac38e$f...@crash.videotron.ab.ca>, e...@v-wave.com (Exa) wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain savegame
>> info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
>> years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
>> when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
>> does it not work at all?
>>
>
>My old zelda fo NES still works, as do all my other NES battery-backed games.
>
>BTW: I've heard that the batteries recharge when you play the game...does
>anyone know if this is true? If it is, does this apply to NES or SNES
>games, or both?
>
>Please post your reply.
>
>Thanks
>c64
The lifespan is quoted as been "approx five years". All my SNES games
still work fine, though - apart from my F-Zero which occasionally forgets
the times now that it's getting old.
The are bog standard lithium batteries, and they do not recharge whilst
you are playing.
M. Gillgannon
In article <anon-01019...@ppp836.on.sympatico.ca>, an...@anon.com
(c64) wrote:
I think c64 is right. Nintendo's own literature for NES and SNES games
referred to battery backups.
--mjg
Gantt Edmiston
Well, to pick a nit... it's technically called "EEPROM".
Electrically Erasable Programable Read Only Memory.
Each EEPROM is capable of being re-written 10,000 times as a low
value. That value is really more a "half-life" than an absolute.
As to which has what, I can't say, but if we are going to correct
someone, let's keep it correct. The Mario 64 cart has EEPROM which
allows saving of the four "files" or users. Each save of any user
is a re-write of the EEPROM. The start screen is just a GUI around
the ability to access the EEPROM.
Sorry, I'm an Electrical Engineer and a "gamer wanna-be".
Play Well!
Joseph Waldvogel
>> Hello,
>>
>> I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain
>> savegame
>> info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
>> years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more?
>> And when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving
>> ability), or does it not work at all?
>>
>> Exa
>My old zelda fo NES still works, as do all my other NES battery-backed games.
>BTW: I've heard that the batteries recharge when you play the game...does
>anyone know if this is true? If it is, does this apply to NES or SNES
>games, or both?
There are NO Battery's! NONE!!! They have a EEPROM chip that stores
the settings on. Or the current name for it these days is FLASHRAM!
Same thing. You can write to them a limited amount of times, around
10,000 or so, before they start to forget and then not work at all.
Again, there are NO Battery's. None in the N64, Not even the Memory Packs
for the joysticks. They all EEPROM Chips.
Joseph Waldvogel
><<<<<<< I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to
>retain savegame
>info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
>years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
>when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
>does it not work at all?>>>>>>>
>Well, considering I've got games on my NES, well over 10 years old,
>that still have working batteries, it's not a problem.
There are NO Battery's. They have EEPROM chips, or better known these
days as FLASHRAM. If your not saving your settings 50 times a day all
the time they can easily last that long.
>==Derek
d...@ss.net
Joseph Waldvogel wrote:
>
> >Hello,
>
> > I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain savegame
> >info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
> >years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
> >when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
> >does it not work at all?
>
>
> How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
> ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
> EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
> power is turned off. It's the SAME thing that's also been in modems
Some SNES carts use a CR2032 3 volt lithium battery, to back up
a 16k bit SRAM chip. This battery has an expected life of
7-10 years. I predict they can last as long as 15 years.
These batteries are not rechargeable.
The SNES carts will continue operate if the battery dies,
but without save function.
If you know how to solder and have a game bit driver you can
replace the battery quite easily.
Some Game Boy carts use CR2016 type lithium battery
for memory backups.
The N64 uses an EEPROM that does not require battery backup.
An EEPROM does have a finite life, but can be rewritten more
than 100,000 times.
Filtered
On 1 Jan 97 17:09:02 -0800, Cow...@msn.com (Melissa ) wrote:
><<<<<<< I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to
>retain savegame
>info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
>years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more? And
>when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving ability), or
>does it not work at all?>>>>>>>
>
>
>Well, considering I've got games on my NES, well over 10 years old,
>that still have working batteries, it's not a problem.
>
>==Derek
i'm pretty sure that those batteries don't last that long,
but if you keep using them, you recharge them.
When you stick them into your console and play 'em they get recharged.
i think i read this in a manual somewhere.
I'm not sure if this is true,
but what else can account for the different battery lives people have
been quoting: "only lasted a year and died!" or "lasted me over 10
years.."
*****************************
*From Filtered*
filt...@hotmail.com
martin zimmer
joe...@sprynet.com (Joseph Waldvogel) wrote:
> How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
> ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
> EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
what you mean is an eeprom. eproms are the little things in which the
games themselves are living. :)
but you are wrong anyways. the first cartridge system to use eeproms for
storing settings/scores/whatever was the jaguar. next was the N64.
snes, nes and others always had battery-backup (well, of course only those
who had features that demanded that....).
---
mzi...@sw.cybersurf.de
ma...@haari.mayn.de
martin...@wue.maus.de
martin zimmer
joe...@sprynet.com (Joseph Waldvogel) wrote:
> Just like the Memory Packs you plug into the Controlers. There's NO
> Battery in those either! NONE.
well, guess what.... you're wrong again. :)
open up one of those. i have two of them. both have 32 kbytes of sram
which is kept alive by a battery.
---
mzi...@sw.cybersurf.de
ma...@haari.mayn.de
martin...@wue.maus.de
Dave
In article <1098.6941...@sprynet.com>, joe...@sprynet.com says...
>There are NO Battery's! NONE!!! They have a EEPROM chip that stores
>the settings on. Or the current name for it these days is FLASHRAM!
>Same thing. You can write to them a limited amount of times, around
>10,000 or so, before they start to forget and then not work at all.
>Again, there are NO Battery's. None in the N64, Not even the Memory Packs
>for the joysticks. They all EEPROM Chips.
>
My cousins Mariokart game was smashed open. Sure looked like a battery in it
to me. BTW, even with the plastic casing completely destroyed, the game still
works and it won't save without the battery in place.
Matthew Gaunt
In article <6O9H8...@haari.mayn.de>, ma...@haari.mayn.de (martin zimmer) says:
>
>joe...@sprynet.com (Joseph Waldvogel) wrote:
>
>> How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
>> ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
>> EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
Wrong. My SNES Super Mario World cartridge has a lithium battery in it.
This is SO easy to resolve! You open it and look.
c64
In article <1098.6941...@sprynet.com>, Joseph Waldvogel
<joe...@sprynet.com> wrote:
> >In article <5ac38e$f...@crash.videotron.ab.ca>, e...@v-wave.com (Exa) wrote:
>
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I know that a lot of N64 and SNES games have batteries to retain
> >> savegame
> >> info, etc. Does anyone (maybe someone who has owned a SNES game for many
> >> years) know how long the batteries last? Are they like 5 years, or more?
> >> And when they do go dead, does the game still work (minus the saving
> >> ability), or does it not work at all?
> >>
> >> Exa
>
> >My old zelda fo NES still works, as do all my other NES battery-backed games.
>
> >BTW: I've heard that the batteries recharge when you play the game...does
> >anyone know if this is true? If it is, does this apply to NES or SNES
> >games, or both?
>
> There are NO Battery's! NONE!!! They have a EEPROM chip that stores
> the settings on. Or the current name for it these days is FLASHRAM!
> Same thing. You can write to them a limited amount of times, around
> 10,000 or so, before they start to forget and then not work at all.
> Again, there are NO Battery's. None in the N64, Not even the Memory Packs
> for the joysticks. They all EEPROM Chips.
Ok, maybe you didn't get what everyone else on this NG is saying: THERE
ARE BATTERIES IN THE BLOODY NES AND SNES CARTS!!!!! Open one up if you
don't believe me. Only the N64 and it's save cartridges use EEPROMs.
c64
Nicholas Yarymowich
Uhhhh He was talking about N64 games, not SNES games.
--
"This is sickening..... You sound like chapters from a self-help booklet"
-Kefka
"He walks like a DUCK"
-Lucca
martin zimmer
matt...@firtree.u-net.com (Matthew Gaunt) wrote:
> In article <6O9H8...@haari.mayn.de>, ma...@haari.mayn.de (martin zimmer)
> >says:
> >joe...@sprynet.com (Joseph Waldvogel) wrote:
> >
> >> How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
> >> ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
> >> EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
>
> Wrong. My SNES Super Mario World cartridge has a lithium battery in it.
next time please include some of MY text if you quote MY message.
if you had read mine, you'd have noticed that i basically said the same.
---
mzi...@sw.cybersurf.de
ma...@haari.mayn.de
martin...@wue.maus.de
Allan B. Chan
> >>joe...@sprynet.com (Joseph Waldvogel) wrote:
> >>
> >>> How many times does this need to be said! THERE ARE NO BATTERY'S IN
> >>> ANY N64, SNES OR NES GAME CARTRIDGE! NONE, ZIP, NADA. They have a
> >>> EPROM Chip that can store Save Info onto and not disappear when the
> >
> > Wrong. My SNES Super Mario World cartridge has a lithium battery in
it.
> >
> > This is SO easy to resolve! You open it and look.
>
>
> Uhhhh He was talking about N64 games, not SNES games.
>
if you read his post correctly, he said, "there are n batterys (sic) in any
N64, SNES OR NES GAMES CARTRIDGE..."
so he was talking about SNES games, and the Legend of Zelda for the SNES
also had a battery!!!!
Bruce Tomlin
Joseph Waldvogel <joe...@sprynet.com> wrote in rec.games.video.nintendo:
>>Well, considering I've got games on my NES, well over 10 years old,
>>that still have working batteries, it's not a problem.
The standard shelf life of lithium batteries is about six years, but they
often last longer than that. The drain is low enough that the life in a
cartridge is esentially the same as the shelf life.
>There are NO Battery's. They have EEPROM chips, or better known these
>days as FLASHRAM. If your not saving your settings 50 times a day all
>the time they can easily last that long.
I guess you've never opened a cartridge up, or you'd see a little round
metal thing soldered to the board. Game Boy carts and the Sega CD RAM cart
also use battery backup. Why?
The Playstation memory card *does* use EEPROM, however. 28F010 flash ROM
to be specific. (1 megabit or 128k bytes)
Next time, open up some carts before making yourself look like a complete
idiot.