I used to just pinch a bit of my t-shirt and twist it into a little wad that I would dip in alcohol, then run up and down the edges of the connectors on the cartridge. Worked like a charm and all my cartridges still look great to this day.
Sir, im 42 years old. I disagree, but your vid explanation is great. Blowing worked everytime. Thanks for the throwback.... Fav nintendo game, sir?? Im subscribing kust scanned the chan bro. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much for your reply! Just to be clear, I think blowing on the cartridge does work because the moisture helps the pins connect more easily. But from what I understand, it can cause corrosion in the long term and eventually make the cartridges unplayable. My favorite Nintendo game has to be GoldenEye for the N64. Sooo many great multiplayer memories! What’s yours? Thanks for subbing! There’s more on the way.
I don't have an NES anymore - but when I did, I always blew on the cartridge and it worked every time. Then came SNES and then PlayStation -- my last and final console before becoming strictly a PC user.
Fun fact: when you go HAAAA and instead of blow on it, it will always work most of the time because the moisture clings to the pins and make the connection when installed but installed dry with all the gunk it will not work.
As a kid I called the phone number on the back of the game, the nintendo hotline and asked them how to clean the cartridge. A guy on the phone told me to use rubbing alcohol and a q tip, i'll never forget talking to nintendo lol
I actually stopped blowing in the cartridge. I have IPA and a toothbrush to clean all of my games that I have. Not to mention that I have an AVS now so I don't have to worry about the "FLAW" that the NES had.
@@DustinCondon 99.99% thought and did the same, my friend. But if you ever find yourself in a cartridge malfunction situation again: you know what to do!
Not just a Nintendo thing. Pretty much any cartrige-based game console had this issue, although I believe the NES to be the most notorious. I actually used to lick the contacts and wipe them off using my pinky finger. Never had an issue.
Funny you mention this! I actually had this in the first draft of the script, but in my quest for a shorter video I dropped quite a few lines. But you're absolutely right!
Ah yes, that thing that I knew I shouldn't do, but ultimately always seemed to work, and so just kept on doing it anyways. It never seemed to make anything any worse for wear either. But then again, I was also into the habit of randomly giving all the cartridges in the house an isopropyl q-tip cleaning and wipe down once in a while. So that may have helped keep the wear and tear down in its own way as well, since whatever may have been sprayed into the cartridge via blowing, was eventually being cleaned out again. Damage most likely already done... but again, they all continued to work just fine for the most part. Why the most part? Well... sibling dropping a tv on one of the consoles definitely helped nothing for the game in it. Ol' CRT, 20". Was not a good day. Legend of Zelda Link to the Past still worked though, the console too... somehow. But the game logic was wonky now and then as well now and then for LttP, and other games would just abruptly reset now and then. Everything was fine prior to the TV experiencing gravity. And seemed to fine still for a while, but then that all started to happen soon after as well. The one that probably was spray damage though from blowing on the cartridge, was our Majora's Mask cart. While the previous sibling did still get to play this one later on, after a thorough grounding no less, ultimately that one cartridge did eventually start doing weird things of its own. No other games had any issues. Everything else worked fine seemingly. But MM... nope. My brother decided to name Link, Elmo. Yes, that Elmo. He got nothing but ocarina's in all of his slots after being turned into a deku scrub. And it was repeatable on that cartridge, but no other copies I've tried with over the years just to see if it would happen again. We figured we must have damaged it from blowing into it too often. He mostly took the blame on this one though at the time, because all other cartridges aside from the CRT incident still worked fine with our Sega for instance. And I was the only one doing any blowing into cartridges back then. But... my brother has always been a bit of a sprayer, even while talking. So it was an easy one to figure out at that point. Especially since I had not done an iso cleaning in a while.
Wow, thank you for sharing your story! I really appreciate the detail. You took me on a nostalgic journey there. It’s amazing how resilient those old consoles and games could be (a CRT drop and still working? Incredible!). And poor Elmo the Deku Scrub, haha. But I’m sure it’s a memory you will never forget. Thanks again for taking the time to write this comment. It’s clear how much these moments mean to you. I love hearing stories like this!
@@BitbyBit_Official Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the CRT gravity experience was astonishing for us as well, in more ways than one. 😂 Lucky for us, it was one of the cheaper units I guess, cause it was a bit lighter than the usual CRT. But not that much lighter. I think what ultimately saved it, was that the drop was minimal, being on what was essentially the height of a bed side table. Still enough to get a good drop going, but... just enough to not finish it?
@@ManuFortis Seriously, your CRT pulled off a proper save. Amazing that it survived that drop. Guess it was just the perfect mix of ‘not too heavy’ and ‘not too far.’ Gotta love the durability of old tech!
You might think blowing works....but it just the position in the nes....if a game does not boot....you can adjust the game forward backward or side to side...then reset...you can .do this while game is down and power is on, electrical contact cleaner is your friend
Nah. Blowing definatly worked. If I pulled the cartrige out of my sega and just put it back in, it never worked, but as soon as I blew on it, even to this day, then it works. No amount of anyone telling otherwise is gonna change those facts.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Would you be so kind to let me know which information you are referring to? Love to hear your thoughts!
Edited to add - I typed this before watching the video! lol No, I NEVER did that! I still do not do that! Never blown in a cartridge slot because it will corrode the terminals! I used the tip of my finger to remove any dust and crap on the thing seeing as skin has not as much moisture on it vs blowing air from your MOUTH! It also has oils, that can slow down corrosion. From my decades of playing cart games - first one was in about 1987. Before then was from cassette or I had to literally type in the game computer code by hand for 30 minutes from a book with the game and its code on its pages to type out. One mistake and retype it from scratch! Long story less long - Do not blow on carts it will corrode them, use a fingertip or FAR better use isopropyl alcohol on a cotton "Q" tip style proboscis.
Funny thing is, it did always work.
I tested this recently with my original unit.
The contacts look horrible from years of this abuse.
Hey, those battle-scarred contacts are proof of a life well played.
I used to just pinch a bit of my t-shirt and twist it into a little wad that I would dip in alcohol, then run up and down the edges of the connectors on the cartridge. Worked like a charm and all my cartridges still look great to this day.
That’s some next-level ingenuity!
Im going out on a limb to say its the warmth and moisture that gives the fingers a better grip on the game.
Going out on a limb... or a fingertip!
Sir, im 42 years old. I disagree, but your vid explanation is great. Blowing worked everytime. Thanks for the throwback.... Fav nintendo game, sir??
Im subscribing kust scanned the chan bro. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much for your reply! Just to be clear, I think blowing on the cartridge does work because the moisture helps the pins connect more easily. But from what I understand, it can cause corrosion in the long term and eventually make the cartridges unplayable.
My favorite Nintendo game has to be GoldenEye for the N64. Sooo many great multiplayer memories! What’s yours?
Thanks for subbing! There’s more on the way.
I concur, this worked.
@@BitbyBit_Official My carts needed a lot of cleanup from the childhood aftermath.
@@integerofdoom69I hope you eventually gave them the love they deserved!
This is hilarious. Well done JJ 😊
@@thomdijkstra6809 thanks, Thom!!
I don't have an NES anymore - but when I did, I always blew on the cartridge and it worked every time. Then came SNES and then PlayStation -- my last and final console before becoming strictly a PC user.
@@IvanFazekas sounds like you’ve had an incredible gaming journey! Just promise me you’re not blowing on your PC to fix it now. 😄
@@BitbyBit_Official maybe just on the keyboard to get the food crumbs off :3
I actually had to leave the front door open and wedge the black plastic sleeve on top of the cartridge to get it to work
Honest to God, when I first read your comment, I thought you literally meant your front door. That’s no fun during winter! 😂
Fun fact: when you go HAAAA and instead of blow on it, it will always work most of the time because the moisture clings to the pins and make the connection when installed but installed dry with all the gunk it will not work.
@@heathkill4821 HAAAA: the ancient gamer technique passed down through generations. 😂
As a kid I called the phone number on the back of the game, the nintendo hotline and asked them how to clean the cartridge. A guy on the phone told me to use rubbing alcohol and a q tip, i'll never forget talking to nintendo lol
That’s amazing! Imagine having Nintendo themselves guide your cartridge care. That's what I call true VIP treatment!
I actually stopped blowing in the cartridge. I have IPA and a toothbrush to clean all of my games that I have. Not to mention that I have an AVS now so I don't have to worry about the "FLAW" that the NES had.
Now that’s next-level cartridge care. IPA, a toothbrush, and an AVS? Your games are living the luxury life, my friend!
2:14 That's what she said. 😂
@@Captaraknospider I was waiting for this. 🤣
I always used a Q tip and alcohol with a very low amount of water to clean them.
Job well done!
I always assumed I was blowing the dust off so it would get a better connection to actually work.
@@DustinCondon 99.99% thought and did the same, my friend. But if you ever find yourself in a cartridge malfunction situation again: you know what to do!
Not just a Nintendo thing. Pretty much any cartrige-based game console had this issue, although I believe the NES to be the most notorious. I actually used to lick the contacts and wipe them off using my pinky finger. Never had an issue.
Funny you mention this! I actually had this in the first draft of the script, but in my quest for a shorter video I dropped quite a few lines. But you're absolutely right!
Man, great content and with only 191 subs (192 now 😊).
Thanks so much! I had some video editing practice before starting this channel. 😄
Stay tuned for more!
Awesome vid! ❤
i lick it it taste like metal pizza
@@KabutoRyu Pizza, huh? Mine tastes like childhood mistakes and dust. 😂
If you push the cartridge in and not click it downward it works because the tabs aren't bent inside the Nintendo @@BitbyBit_Official
Ah yes, that thing that I knew I shouldn't do, but ultimately always seemed to work, and so just kept on doing it anyways. It never seemed to make anything any worse for wear either. But then again, I was also into the habit of randomly giving all the cartridges in the house an isopropyl q-tip cleaning and wipe down once in a while. So that may have helped keep the wear and tear down in its own way as well, since whatever may have been sprayed into the cartridge via blowing, was eventually being cleaned out again. Damage most likely already done... but again, they all continued to work just fine for the most part.
Why the most part? Well... sibling dropping a tv on one of the consoles definitely helped nothing for the game in it. Ol' CRT, 20". Was not a good day. Legend of Zelda Link to the Past still worked though, the console too... somehow. But the game logic was wonky now and then as well now and then for LttP, and other games would just abruptly reset now and then. Everything was fine prior to the TV experiencing gravity. And seemed to fine still for a while, but then that all started to happen soon after as well.
The one that probably was spray damage though from blowing on the cartridge, was our Majora's Mask cart. While the previous sibling did still get to play this one later on, after a thorough grounding no less, ultimately that one cartridge did eventually start doing weird things of its own. No other games had any issues. Everything else worked fine seemingly. But MM... nope. My brother decided to name Link, Elmo. Yes, that Elmo. He got nothing but ocarina's in all of his slots after being turned into a deku scrub. And it was repeatable on that cartridge, but no other copies I've tried with over the years just to see if it would happen again.
We figured we must have damaged it from blowing into it too often. He mostly took the blame on this one though at the time, because all other cartridges aside from the CRT incident still worked fine with our Sega for instance. And I was the only one doing any blowing into cartridges back then. But... my brother has always been a bit of a sprayer, even while talking. So it was an easy one to figure out at that point. Especially since I had not done an iso cleaning in a while.
Wow, thank you for sharing your story! I really appreciate the detail. You took me on a nostalgic journey there. It’s amazing how resilient those old consoles and games could be (a CRT drop and still working? Incredible!). And poor Elmo the Deku Scrub, haha. But I’m sure it’s a memory you will never forget.
Thanks again for taking the time to write this comment. It’s clear how much these moments mean to you. I love hearing stories like this!
@@BitbyBit_Official Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the CRT gravity experience was astonishing for us as well, in more ways than one. 😂
Lucky for us, it was one of the cheaper units I guess, cause it was a bit lighter than the usual CRT. But not that much lighter. I think what ultimately saved it, was that the drop was minimal, being on what was essentially the height of a bed side table. Still enough to get a good drop going, but... just enough to not finish it?
@@ManuFortis Seriously, your CRT pulled off a proper save. Amazing that it survived that drop. Guess it was just the perfect mix of ‘not too heavy’ and ‘not too far.’ Gotta love the durability of old tech!
@@BitbyBit_Official Yeah, it managed to roll a natural 20 on a d20 full of 1's.
To blow... or not to blow. What did you do?
You might think blowing works....but it just the position in the nes....if a game does not boot....you can adjust the game forward backward or side to side...then reset...you can .do this while game is down and power is on, electrical contact cleaner is your friend
Couldn't have explained it better myself!
well, it did work so there.
There's no denying it!
Like anybody will follow that, we all blow in those cartridges regardless of the warnings
I guess you're right. It’s like an unspoken gamer tradition at this point.
Nah. Blowing definatly worked.
If I pulled the cartrige out of my sega and just put it back in, it never worked, but as soon as I blew on it, even to this day, then it works.
No amount of anyone telling otherwise is gonna change those facts.
Hey, if it works, it works! Sometimes gamer instincts are just better than the science!
you got a thumbs down for your false information. but got a moment for your efforts.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Would you be so kind to let me know which information you are referring to? Love to hear your thoughts!
Cuz i was 8 years old and it worked
Case closed!
Edited to add - I typed this before watching the video! lol No, I NEVER did that! I still do not do that! Never blown in a cartridge slot because it will corrode the terminals! I used the tip of my finger to remove any dust and crap on the thing seeing as skin has not as much moisture on it vs blowing air from your MOUTH! It also has oils, that can slow down corrosion. From my decades of playing cart games - first one was in about 1987. Before then was from cassette or I had to literally type in the game computer code by hand for 30 minutes from a book with the game and its code on its pages to type out. One mistake and retype it from scratch! Long story less long - Do not blow on carts it will corrode them, use a fingertip or FAR better use isopropyl alcohol on a cotton "Q" tip style proboscis.
@@Defensive_Wounds a true cartridge connoisseur! I bow to your wisdom.
…and your patience with typing. 😄