Saturn Memory card keeps wiping all my saves, why?

[rossdaboss]

I've had the Memory card since the late 90's and I've always had a problem with it wiping all my saves. I always thought it was either a dodgy card or the fact I was using it on a modded console.

I got my hands on another card recently and tried it on another a different modded console and the same thing happened.

What causing this to happen? Is it the games I'm playing or is because I'm using the pal cartridge in ntsc mode?

[mick_aka]

Is it an original Sega cart or another make?

[NeoGeoNinja]

Apr 21, 2013 20:56:23 GMT rossdaboss said:

I've had the Memory card since the late 90's and I've always had a problem with it wiping all my saves. I always thought it was either a dodgy card or the fact I was using it on a modded console.

I got my hands on another card recently and tried it on another a different modded console and the same thing happened.

What causing this to happen? Is it the games I'm playing or is because I'm using the pal cartridge in ntsc mode?

I TOO HAVE ALWAYS...
had this problem. Different Saturns, different carts etc.

The key is, as far as I can ascertain, if you put your memory card in the Saturn... NEVER EVER remove it from that slot - turned off or on. Just leave it in.

If you want to play games using the AR4+1, just buy ANOTHER Saturn to do that. I'm not even remotely joking btw

[rossdaboss]

Yeah it's an official sega one. I currently have 4 of them so I might as well test them all out and see if I can pinpoint the fault. I also think I had the same problem with my AR4+1 as well.

Every now and then you plug the cart in and go to memory manager and all the saves are gone. It's a right pain in the ass.

[Tatsumaru]

Same thing happened to me today, my action replay 4 in 1 is acting really weird, it isn't booting up the action replay anymore, and the last time it did, I noticed it had wiped out all my saves.
And the ST Key isn't working aswell, only the ram expansion is working.
The 3rd parties hardwares are really unreliable, it's a shame.

[MIK]

As Neo said,

With the official ones once in the machine keep them there and do not remove if you can help it. They are temperamental. They can hold data for years even and one day out of the blue it will/may mess up for no real reason and it's done it to most of us who have had the machines for a long old time. I have 2 official ones and have not escaped the bug and I use my Saturn's with the highest of respect and regard. Always go back to the main menu of all games before opening up the lid to remove the disc, and all this before shutting down.



Best thing you can do right now is to get a Pencil Rubber/Eraser and give the gold pins of the cartridge a good clean with it. Just rub the cart pins with the pencil eraser and blow the excess crap away it leaves behind. This will clean the pins up as good as new removing all grease and shit you can't see so your Saturn has the best chance of maximum contact with it as if it was brand new all over again!

Hope this helps a little.

[captainkael]

hey MIK does this work on all cartridge games as well?

[rossdaboss]

Yeah the rubber/eraser method works great on all cart games.

I'm going clean my memory card and keep it permanently in the saturn for a few months and see what happens.

[captainkael]

so just a regular pencil eh? I got quite a few genesis games in need of a revive

[Yart]

This is the reason I bought a floppy drive for my Saturn. It's an expensive accessory, but totally worth it. Backup to multiple disks and you'll never have any problems.

Out of the four Saturns I've owned and used, all the save cartridges I've used on 'em have been wiped multiple times. :/

[MIK]

Yeah a bit late. Indeed a normal old school pencil rubber/eraser will clean all forms of cartridge game pins and bring them back up like new. Even handhelds such Gameboy if you can get one in there. If it looks dead or plays up a bit there is every hope of bring it back to life in most cases from just cleaning the pins with one of these.

[MIK]

Apr 23, 2013 1:34:06 GMT captainkael said:

so just a regular pencil eh? I got quite a few genesis games in need of a revive

Really is worth getting a Megdrive/Genesis cart tool opener so you can do it properly. The same screws were used on the official Saturn memory cart in the UK... They are self tapping screws so let them go back in under their own weight, do not force. If it goes tight as in bites a little then take it back out and keep trying or try the other screw. They go back in real easy really when you have the sweet spot, but can be a little fiddly.

[Tatsumaru]

Another good way to clean up the cartridges is wet the point of a swab with isopropil alcohol and and clean up the cart, you'll be amazed of how black with dirt your swab will be if it has been a long time you haven't properly cleaned the cart.

[captainkael]

haha not gonna lie I have never cleaned a single cart I have purchased in my life. All the ones I got new as a kid work perfect... but those used games are a different story

[zyrobs]

I've never had carts go wrong or need cleaning on my MD, SNES, C64... but I had the connection lost twice mid-game on my Saturns, and once an Action Replay ended up killing itself (worked after re-flashing, but lost all saves).