Donkey Kong 64 Cartridge Not Working!! Can It Be Repaired??!!

[@NordicDan]

It's amazing just how many bad solder joints you can find on old hardware when you look closely with a good scope. I hadn't seen the one you use before but it's a big improvement over my scope. Was glad to see you linked it and I already added it to my Amazon list for electronics gear lol

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Yeah it is kinda crazy! I wonder if it’s just not enough solder from the factory or just how the cartridge was handled over the years. Glad I was able to help with the links! That microscope is amazing!! Thanks for your comment!! 🐺😁

[@AltoonaYourPiano]

Really awesome! I'm showing my age but I kind of expected you to sound like Wolfman Jack, haha. I've had cartridges seem to not work but when I shift position they do, so I fold up a piece of paper and use it to "position" the cartridge. I'm also showing my age with this, but I discovered this trick when getting my Atari cartridges to work again back in the 80s just as a desperation means to get it working again because it was a game I couldn't find anymore (after 1986 or 1987, it became harder and harder to find new copies of existing Atari games, and in 1989-1991 they were only in bargain bins and by 1992, only at flea markets).

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thank you!! I apologize I had to look up who Wolfman Jack was!! I definitely don’t sound like that, but I have been told that I sound like Bob from Bobs burgers!! I have had the same thing happen with Nintendo cartridges where you have to put them in just right for them to work. I have not messed around with an Atari yet. I did buy my first one not long ago (it doesn’t work) and I will be doing a video on it eventually. Thank you for sharing your Atari cartridge experience!! I will definitely have to try that when I get the Atari up and running!! Thank you so much for your comment!! 🐺😁

[@AltoonaYourPiano]

@@wolfmanrepairs I discovered the folded piece of paper trick on my own since I grew up poor and we couldn't get new games when one broke down. Which sadly meant that my copy of Kaboom which broke when I was 9 wasn't replaced until I was an adult (at least I got to enjoy it for awhile). That and one other game I had used the Atari paddles. The game penalized you if you lost a bucket because it was the bottom bucket that disappeared, making it so much harder. Hearing the howling wolf intro brought me back as it kinda reminded me of the old Wolfman Jack intro.

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Necessity is the mother of invention!! That’s pretty awesome you were able to get them to work like that!! I will have to check out the Kaboom game and Wolfman Jack!! 🐺😁

[@AltoonaYourPiano]

@@wolfmanrepairs Kaboom was a fun game, came out in 1981 made by Activision. I'm glad I got to enjoy it for several months before the cartridge got stuck and part of it broke off when I took it out (not sure how that happened). There's a few computer games I remember from when I was in my 20s that are very similar to that, one was called "Walnuts" another was called "Mad Bomber", the "Mad Bomber" game was a far more forgiving variation of Kaboom.

[@wolfmanrepairs]

That stinks about that cartridge!! Those games sound like a lot of fun!! I’m going to have to check them out!! 🐺😁

[@MarcusMiranda]

Awesome quick repair! I'm amazed by the crisp clear image your microscope produces! Way to go and keep it up!

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thanks so much!! I agree that microscope is pretty awesome!! I’m glad your enjoying my videos!! 🐺😁

[@williamgregory5843]

Dude in my 18 years of repairing carts and consoles i have never ran into as many bad solder joints as you XD. I have no idea how you do it.

[@wolfmanrepairs]

I’ve really gotten lucky. All of the cartridges I buy are from eBay and most of the time they don’t have pictures of the board so I really have no idea what I’m getting into. But it really is so much fun to investigate and save this stuff!! Thank you for all your comments and support! 🐺😁

[@LITTLE1994]

Nice save. I have the cartridge too AND the exact same N64 as yours, as well.

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thank you!! That’s awesome!! After this repair I finally have a jungle green set. Thank you for your comment!! 🐺😁

[@ksredsfan]

nice repair for an awesome retro game btw got you another sub man

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed the video!! Thank you so much for subscribing and commenting!! I really appreciate it!! 🐺😁

[@shredaholic86]

Another great watch!

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thanks so much!! Glad you enjoyed!! 🐺😁

[@Yotta_Flops]

New Subscriber! Looking forward to seeing more of your vids!

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thank you for subscribing!! I really appreciate it!! Much more content to come!! 🐺😁

[@mattr8893]

Another fantastic video. Thanks for sharing such valuable information.

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!!🐺😁

[@mediatour8898]

Sick fix bro! Subbed

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Glad you enjoyed the video!! Thanks for subscribing I really appreciate it!! 🐺😁

[@elizabethedd4879]

Hey! I just borrowed this game from a friend. It hasn’t been played in years. I can play up until I need to go into the cave/mountain then I get a black screen with no sound. I have cleaned the cartridge and council with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab but no luck. Any suggestions?

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Hi!! I’m not sure why the game crashes like that when you reach the cave/mountain. I would try polishing the pins on the cartridge with brasso. Also I know this game requires the expansion pack maybe the connection for the expansion pack is dirty. You could try cleaning that too. It’s just like cleaning a cartridge. If you can I would also try another console see if that makes a difference. If it does the same thing on another console there’s definitely something wrong with the game. It could be anything from a bad solder joint to a corrupted rom chip. If your friend is cool with it I would take a look at it for you. 🐺🐺😁😁

[@elizabethedd4879]

@@wolfmanrepairs thank you so much! I will give this a try tonight!

[@wolfmanrepairs]

@elizabethedd4879 awesome!! Hope it helps fix your game!! 🐺🐺😁😁

[@elizabethedd4879]

@@wolfmanrepairs so when I told my coworkers yesterday that the game didn’t work, another one said I can borrow their game to see if that one worked. It does the exact same thing. I just bought the expansion pak on Friday at a used game store. Tried cleaning that too and there is no difference. My TV is decently old so I don’t think that would be an issue. What do you think? Could it be the expansion pak?

[@wolfmanrepairs]

It sounds like the expansion pac could be the issue here. Is there anyway you could borrow your friend’s expansion pac or console? If you could borrow both you can try the game on their console with their expansion pac first then pop your expansion pac into their console and see if it has the same behavior. 🐺🐺🐺😁😁😁

[@patracioppo8046]

Good job !

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thank you!! 🐺😁

[@IDKBRUH2007]

You got a new sub

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Awesome!! Thank you so much for subscribing and commenting!! I really appreciate it!! 🐺😁

[@frozerinosrepairs]

Thank you for sharing :)

[@wolfmanrepairs]

Thanks so much for your comment!! Glad you enjoyed it! 🐺😃

[@gassy.republicans87]

11:54 ummm yes you are

[@wolfmanrepairs]

🤣🤣🤣 did you break something more than it was broken already?? 🐺🐺🐺🤣🤣🤣

[@phazonclash]

Someone was angry after that cartridge 🤣 Not that surprising, the game is kinda tedious and boring

[@wolfmanrepairs]

🤣 Yeah I bet someone tossed it across the room! Thanks for your comment!! 🐺😁