Replacing Batteries on Gameboy Color Games!

This thread is archived.

  • So tomorrow I have to go buy some supplies. Why? My Gold, Silver, and Crystal cartridge batteries died. ;A; I lost all my save data, but at least I know I can fix it. Weirdly enough, Blue and Red haven't died yet, but it's sure to happen soon. XD

    Have any of you had to replace the internal batteries of your Gameboy games yet?

  • I've never heard of such a thing. D:

  • If memory serves, they're just watch batteries and are easy to find. The hard part is getting the screw bit to open the casing. I don't think you can find it in stores, you'll have to resort to the internet.

  • [QUOTE=ULTIMATE KASUMI;4486568]I've never heard of such a thing. D:[/QUOTE]

    Allow me to explain to the best of my ability. XD The thing is, all the Gameboy Color cartridges (Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal) have an internal battery in the cartridge. These batteries have a lifespan of approx. 15 years. This year, the batteries are supposed to all start to die. Right now my Gold, Silver, and Crystal are all dead, but Red and Blue still work for a while. If the internal battery is dead, you can still play the game, but it cannot hold any save data. When you first turn it on you'll notice that it says new game, even if you previously had save data. When the battery dies, all your hard work dies with it. :(

    If you replace the battery correctly, you can restore the save feature. However, all your save data is still lost, sadly. But at least you can start a new file, one that saves your game. As mentioned in my below response, you can use watch batteries (2025) to replace the old battery. There's tons of good tutorials on YouTube as well. :3

    [QUOTE=Mesoian;4486577]If memory serves, they're just watch batteries and are easy to find. The hard part is getting the screw bit to open the casing. I don't think you can find it in stores, you'll have to resort to the internet.[/QUOTE]

    Yeah, I believe they're 2025 batteries. I've heard 2032 work as well, but 2025 are preferred as they a better fit in the board.

    Yeah, the screw on the back was why I couldn't change out the batteries last night. ;_; Today I'm heading to the hardware store to see if they have a small enough dremmel drive to get the darn thing open. If I can't find one at Ace, I'll be heading to Amazon.com!

  • My batteries for those games died years ago. If it's that easy to change, then I'd go to the effort to change it to be able to play the best Pokemon games ever (Gold/Silver/Crystal).

  • [QUOTE=UNIT0918;4487131]My batteries for those games died years ago. If it's that easy to change, then I'd go to the effort to change it to be able to play the best Pokemon games ever (Gold/Silver/Crystal).[/QUOTE]

    I'd reccommend changing them out. ^^ It's really easy~ The only thing is you need a special drive/dremmel/I'msobadwithtoolnames to get the cartridge open. Using regular screwdrivers to try and pry it open can damage the cartridge so that sucks. Lucky for me, my dad bought the tool for himself anyways so I had the right equipment. The batteries are easy to find, they're just your average watch batteries (2025). If you're looking for some nostalgia, I'd definitely reccommend taking some time to swap the batteries. ^^

  • Certainly not just gameboy games. Any of the old cartridge games have them. NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. Used to replace the batteries all the time back in the old days.

  • [QUOTE=Otaking97;4497970]Certainly not just gameboy games. Any of the old cartridge games have them. NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. Used to replace the batteries all the time back in the old days.[/QUOTE]

    Really? I didn't know it applied to other systems. :) I only knew about it being done for Gameboy and GBA cartridges. Thanks for the extra info!

    Also, a side note to anyone who will be changing the cartridge batteries on a Gameboy cart, DON'T use a typical small flathead or screwdriver. There's a certain drive to use to get the weird screw off without damaging it. If you use a normal screwdriver, there's a chance that you'll flatten out the edges, and make it practically impossible to take it off without ruining the entire cartridge. If anyone is curious about the heck I'm talking about, PM me or something and I can give pictures of the device/the screw I'm talking about.

  • [QUOTE=Otaking97;4497970]Certainly not just gameboy games. Any of the old cartridge games have them. NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. Used to replace the batteries all the time back in the old days.[/QUOTE]

    The reason for this is because the cartrages had save features that required the internal battery to be continuously going, this is generally why when the battery runs dry the game can no longer save till the battery is replaced.

    I say generally because my Gold, Silver, and Crystal all still work despite the game telling me everytime I play them that their internal battery has run dry.

    Red still works too for now, haven't touched yellow or blue in a while though so their internal batteries might be done.