"90% of all Sega Genesis & Megadrive Cartridges that people throw away actually still work.   It's true!"

Let's face it.  Anyone with a Sega Genesis who has bought a cartridge off ebay or has some old cartridges laying around the house has experienced a DEAD game.

What a bummer! 

Maybe you have even bought one of those Genesis Cartridge Kits and cleaned the game only to find that it still doesn't work.   Sound familiar?  Of course it does!

So what do you do next?  Probably you toss it in the trash or maybe you do what I've done before and open the cartridge case and sand paper the game contacts, still only to find the game doesn't work.  Maybe it works even less after the sand paper, right?

Well, as both a Sega Genesis ebay seller and game player, it is worth passing on my very important tips about that messed up, non-working game. 

Don't throw it away!

90% of all Sega Genesis Cartridges that people throw away actually still work.   It's true!  The reality is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the game at all.

Yes, perhaps you get a blank screen or if you reinsert the game over and over again you might at least see the white text that is seen before any Genesis Cartridge loads.

The actual problem is with your Sega Genesis or Megadrive Genesis Console (The game unit).   No, it's not broken either so don't throw your game console away if other games (even one) are still working on it.

Your cartridges and game unit are both made up of electonic components.  In fact your cartidge is actually nothing more than a computer chip attached to a piece of electronic chip board.

What happens is that over time, your games and game system are exposed to static electricty and magnetic energy.  When you insert a game cartidge that has been, you will get a blank screen or a partial start-up.  

Another problem is that like a Flashlight that doesn't work well because the bulb base will not make good contact with the battery, the metal contacts on your game does not make good contact with the game system contacts.

So, what do you do?   First of all, don't throw it away until you have tried the following:

1.) Buy or make a pencil eraser that can fit easily between the opening of the game cartridge and the contacts board the sits in the middle.  (Make sure that it is not to tight!)   Move the eraser gently back and forth a few times across the contact board leads.  Now do the same thing on the other side.   Blow out the cartridge with your breath or with a store bought can of compressed air to remove any of the pencil erase flakes.

2.) (Ask an Adult for assistance!)
Take a piece of paper towel, fold it in half and dip a corner of the paper towel into a very small amount of rubbing acohol on the cotton swab tip.  (Just a little - you don't want it dripping!)  Then lightly hold the cartridge so that the contact board side (opening) is facing downward.  Lightly brush over the cartridge with the paper towel corner for a minute.  Then use a dry corner to dry it. (Have an adult help you since this liquid is extremely flamable - Never put rubbing alchol in your game unit!)  Now do the backside.  Let the game cartridge dry for a hour in the open air before testing it out. You may want to clean all of your games at the same time.

Your cartidge is now clean!
After the game has air dried for a hour in the open air, test it out and see if it works.  If it doesn't work then you need to do the following.  (You may want to repeat step #2 after one month of game play)

The Game System 

3.) This may be a challenge to find, but using Ebay or a seach engine like Google.com, do a search for a Sega Genesis or MegaDrive System Cleaner. This should not be one that uses liquid! (Do not mistake a Game Cleaner which is for Cartridges for a System or Console Cleaner, they are not the same.)

The system or console cleaner looks like a normal game cartridge or like a cartridge with a handle.

I use the Eliminator as pictured below.

You just insert this cartridge into your Genesis or Megadrive before inserting the problem game, let it sit for a minute and then take it out and insert your game.  90% of the time your game will start right up.

This System / Console cleaner prevents Power Flashes, Blank Screens, and Scrambled Pictures by eliminating the static and electro-magnetic build in your game console.

Storing your games and console

How you store your games and system also makes a difference.

1.) Try to store you games and system in a bag made for video game and system storage.  Plastic Bags do help prevent moisture from getting into a bag but they also create static electricty, so if you use a plastic bag, place one or two static free laundry sheets in each bag with the games and/or console.

2.) If your going to be storing the games for a while, clean the games before storage so to remove any acids from the games contacts which might cause corrosion.

3.) Store your game with a System Cleaner Cartridge inserted.  This will help keep the system contacts from corrosion.

4.) Store it in a safe place away from anything with magnets, like speakers.  Also, do not place it in a box or anywhere that things might get stacked on top of it.

5.) If chance are your not going to be using it for a long time.  You might want to consider selling it.  Some game systems drop to dirt cheap prices while other game systems retain a reasonable price as a collectable unit.  Check the selling prices on ebay - you may want to sell it while prices are still decent.