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Have you ever tried playing one of your favorite SNES games, only to have nothing but a solid black screen appear? Have your SNES games suffered weird graphical glitches, sudden game-crashing resets and picture freezing lock-ups? If you’ve ever owned or played the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, you may have experienced one or more of these extremely frustrating problems before.

It’s common knowledge now that these and most other SNES problems are usually caused by dirty game cartridge contacts resulting from the natural process called oxidation. Over time, as those metal contacts are exposed to the air, they become more and more oxidized through the interaction of oxygen molecules with the metal. Unfortunately, the end result of this in the case of game cartridge contacts is that layers of filthy-looking grime build up on the metal, literally suffocating its ability to communicate with the SNES effectively. That caked-on gunk greatly interferes with the electrical conductivity of the metal contacts and their ability to accurately relay the game data from the cartridge motherboard to the system through its internal 62-pin connector. If that filth is not removed from the contacts, the system can't read the game data very well, and they either play with all kinds of problems, or they won't play at all. While SNES games are generally not as temperamental about working as their NES predecessors, they are still susceptible to all the same problems, if they aren't taken care of properly and too much oxidation builds up on their contacts.

Over the years, millions of frustrated SNES owners have tried using a wide variety of different substances to clean their game contacts with varying degrees of success. Having heard about and tried most of these techniques myself, I can personally assure you that almost all of them are only minimally effective, overly tedious, and too time-consuming to be worth the effort. All of them, that is, except for one method.

There actually is a little-known way to get your old SNES games really clean, and cleaned so well that they will play again just like when they were brand new! It is entirely possible to restore your games to perfect working order, and I will tell you in detail exactly how to do this better and easier than you ever thought possible! Just follow my simple step-by-step guide and you'll have your whole SNES game collection in fabulous condition again in no time!

Before opening any SNES game cartridge, you need to have a special screwdriver bit. Unlike NES carts, which can have some variation in screw number and type depending on the game, officially licensed SNES cartridges always have two specialty screws on either side of the front of the cartridge. These special screws require a unique 3.8mm security bit to remove, which is the exact same bit needed to open most NES games. Unfortunately, this is not a bit that you will find anywhere in your local hardware store, but it is extremely easy to find these for purchase online. Many ebay and Amazon sellers offer this NES & SNES game-opening bit for purchase and they aren't very expensive, usually running anywhere in the range of $5-$7. Many sellers also offer package deals with a 4.5mm bit used for opening other systems and games, and/or screwdriver handles as well, if you don't already have a power screwdriver or handle to use with the bit. You can often get both as a set for around $10, and it's a good investment if you have a bunch of old games and systems to clean/repair, because you'll likely need both.

While it is possible to clean a SNES cart without opening it, I highly recommend ordering one of these bits to make the job much, much easier. Without it, you're pretty much relegated to using Q-tips to get into that very small opening in the cartridge bottom and clean the contacts, which is far more tedious, far more time consuming, and will never result in the contacts getting as clean as they could be by opening the cartridge to remove the motherboard. Take my advice and buy the bit: you'll save yourself A LOT of time and grief.

It's important to note at this point that once you open the game, if there are any broken plastic pieces inside the cartridge, DO NOT IMMEDIATELY THROW THEM AWAY. If they came off one of the two stair-shaped tabs or the two bottom-edge pieces on either side then you've got to glue them back into place as best you can. Ordinary super-glue works fine for this. Those four pieces are essential because they lock the motherboard in place, and if any of them are missing when you put the game into your SNES, the board will go askew, only partially insert into the 62-pin connector, and the game won't play no matter how clean it is. So don't get rid of any broken pieces until you know they're not from one of those holding tabs.

Once you've removed the screws and opened the cartridge, take the game's motherboard out to make it easier to clean. Now to clean the contacts you're going to need just a couple supplies.

The first thing you'll need is a few clean rags or small pieces of cloth. They don't have to be anything huge though. I've found that something about the size of your hand or even smaller is actually preferable and easier to work with, so you may want to cut up anything that's fairly large into smaller pieces.

The second thing you need is, of course, the cleaning substance itself. People have tried many different products to clean SNES games over the years, from rubbing alcohol, to Windex, to contact cleaners, to 'specially made cartridge cleaner' solutions and pastes, and even sandpaper! I can tell you from personal experience that none of these things really works all that well to clean your games, and some of them will do more harm than good in the long run. However, there is something that is leagues above these other products at removing the built-up oxidation on cartridge contacts and being completely non-harmful to your games. It is a wonder-product so common, so simple, and so obvious that you will be stunned you never thought of trying it to clean your games before. I absolutely guarantee that what I am about to reveal is the best cartridge-based game cleaning substance on the planet, and once you try it and see how incredibly well it works, you'll never even think about using anything else to clean your games again! The secret identity of the ultimate game cleaner is...

Any household metal polish is the secret weapon that will have your SNES games back in tip-top shape faster than you can believe. Trust me, there is nothing out there that will remove those built up layers of grime on a game's contacts as quickly, as easily, and as effectively as metal polish. Brasso and Noxon are two of the leading brands I've used and I've found that they perform equally well. You can't go wrong with either of those, but any brand of metal polish should do as long as it treats the same 7 metals those two work on. A single bottle tends to go a long way, and you can probably do at least 30+ SNES games with just one unless you've got a bunch that are extremely dirty.

Before you begin using the metal polish, you should take a few minor precautions. Open the windows in whatever room you're in, or better yet, use it outside if you can. You might want to wear a dustmask if you find that the vapors bother you. You may also want to wear a pair of disposable gloves if you have sensitive skin. It washes off easily enough with soap and water, and I've never had skin irritation from it, but that might not be the case for everyone.

When you're ready to start cleaning your game, just apply some metal polish directly to the contacts, take one of your cleaning rags, and start scrubbing the length of the contacts back-and-forth with some good pressure. You'll notice right away that the metal polish is removing tons of filth and grime on the contacts, and the cloth is turning dark black or gray, depending on how dirty the game was when you started.

Once the cloth is almost totally soiled, dispose of it, put some more metal polish on the contacts, and start scrubbing again with a clean cloth until that one is completely dirty. I recommend repeating this cycle several times to get your game as clean as possible. Make sure you do the contacts on both sides, whether separately or simultaneously. You want to keep up the scrubbing as long as it takes until those contacts are nice and shiny and showing no visible signs of filth. I've found this usually takes at least 2-3 small cloths per game to achieve, and more may be necessary depending on how badly oxidized the game was to begin with. In my experience, many games are so badly oxidized that it seems you hardly ever reach a point where there's zero gray color coming off on the cloth.

Don't worry too much about that though. It's almost impossible to get them perfectly 100% clean, but so long as you don't stop until there's just mostly light-gray color on your rag, it's almost always more than enough to make it work. Buff the contacts with another clean cloth, and wipe any excess polish off that may have wandered onto other parts of the circuitboard using your rag or Q-tips.

Step 3. Reassemble Your Clean SNES Game and Test It

Now comes the fun part! Set the cleaned game's motherboard back in the front half of the cartridge casing just like it was before so that the plastic tabs go into the notches on the sides of the motherboard. You can't get this backwards because there's only one way that it can go in there. Now put the back half of the cartridge casing on.

At this point, I recommend NOT screwing the cart back together because just in case the game doesn't work, it's a pain to have to uncscrew the cart again to clean the board. Just put the screws in a little cup or something and set them off to the side for a minute. Now take your game cartridge, hold it together firmly, insert it into your SNES, and press the power switch.

If the game works, then congratulations! You've just restored one of your favorite SNES titles and you can look forward to years of flawless play from your like-new game. Go screw the cartridge back together. It'll likely be many years before it ever needs cleaning again so long as you take care of it.

Keep it in a case or one of those clear plastic dust covers whenever it's not in your SNES to minimize the effects of oxidation. In case it doesn't work, don't panic. Some games can just be really stubborn about starting up even when their contacts look all polished and shiny. Most of the time all it will need is a bit more cleaning to make it work. If it still refuses to play after additional cleaning, there are a few things that could be causing the problem:

1. The game's motherboard itself could have a more serious problem, likely stemming from failure of a particular component, severe physical damage, or liquid spilled inside the cartridge. If any of these are the case, the game may or may not be fixable. All of these situations are extremely rare though.
2. The problem could be with the SNES itself. Try cleaning several games and testing them. If none of them will play, then the problem is definitely your SNES. It is usually the case that some of the pins in its 62-pin connector have become bent-out-of-line and/or too oxidized. Fortunately, these issues are also easy fixes. In a future hub, I'll explain how to fix these problems and get your SNES back in business and running like a dream.

*Important tip: For the optimal results, it is always best to clean or replace your SNES's internal 62-pin connector before putting newly cleaned games into the system. If the SNES's pin connector is badly bent and/or heavily oxidized, cleaned games still may not play in it until it is either replaced or cleaned, and a dirty pin connector can transfer oxidation to clean games and vice versa. Therefore, it's a good idea to clean all your SNES games and replace or clean your SNES's pin connector at the same time to minimize future problems.

• Yeah, seriously

  Brasso is not meant for electronics

  You'd be surprised what wonders a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol will do

  for your old games

  And uh yeah, don't SCRUB

  You might end up doing more harm than good by SCRUBBING

  jesus

• Holy. Jesus. Mary and Joseph. DO NOT do this to your Snes cartridge, or in fact any other type of gaming cartridge. Metal polish should only be used as THE last resort, once only and not at all if possible.

  Use some simple rubbing alcohol and a tiny cotton bud and gently clean each contact, using an up and down motion, NOT a side to side one and try not to get any on anything but the contacts.

  Use another cotton bud and dry it and then you're done.

  Whoever wrote this article must really like destroying old gaming cartridges.

  Jesus wept.

• Really Brasso? Really... you talk that highly of yourself and your knowledge and experience and your end result is brasso LMFAO Dude brasso is gritty it is corrosive! It actually lightly Sands as you wipe and as it will look nice and shiny at first after about a week it will start to dull again and after repeated this step a few times or to bush abrasion. You will have completely ruined you games for ever! So before you go giving horrible advice acting like a genius who discovered the holy grail. Do less rambling and more research! I can vouch for this in many ways as also in my line of work we have to keep our brass on our uniform looking VERY polished and shiny! The newbies always come in using brasso and have to polish there brass everyday before guard mount. I do mine about once every couple weeks! Again just wow lol

• I recently purchased a SNES at a local video game store. When I brought it home and tried the console out and tried 4 games out, 3 works but one didn't. I cleaned the contacts and connectors still no luck and having a blank screen. Game is Super Mario Allstars that doesn't work. I even used Brasso to clean the cart and no luck. Any suggestions is highly appreciated it.

• this is a great guide. everyone should know about the power of brasso when restoring old carts!

  btw - blakes a ronmor

• This actually restored my Super Mario World! However i really disliked having to read through all of the crap in order to find the steps to clean my game. This whole entry should be shortened to a few steps, not a blog style entry that gives me a headache to read

I just put 2,400 vintage games (and an emulator to run them) into an NES cartridge for about 30 bucks. Computing power has finally become small (and inexpensive) enough to make such a project possible. What a wonderful time to be alive. :)

The basics of what I'm calling the Pi Cart (great name, eh?) involve a Raspberry Pi Zero (or Pi Zero W), an old NES cartridge, a small USB hub and adapters of various sizes. Unless you want to get crafty or save a few bucks on adapters, no soldering is required.

This guide will show you how to build your own PiCart. When you're done, you will be able to connect the Pi Cart to your TV or monitor and get playing.

Update: Be sure to check out my new guide for the Super GamePad Zero, a similar project where I put a Pi Zero into an original SNES controller ;)

I also made a build video. Watch it, then read the full guide below!

Full Pi Cart build video

• Super Gamepad Zero: RetroPie in an Original Super Nintendo controller

The completed project

Just as the great prophecy prophesized, first a finished photo of the finished product.

Gather your materials

Raspberry Pi Zero W

For this guide, we'll be using a Raspberry Pi Zero W, which -- if you're not familiar -- is a very small $10 computer built by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Many people have had trouble locating a Raspberry Pi Zero since until recently supplies have been extremely limited; however, Pimoroni and other distributors have them in stock. You can also use the regular Raspberry Pi Zero as it is only $5, but it lacks the handy WiFi and bluetooth support. Either one will work just fine, but I recommend the W!

Adapters

Because the Raspberry Pi Zero requires the use of HDMI and USB adapters one of the most difficult parts of this guide was finding and ordering (and often reordering) adapters that would fit inside the NES cartridge. To make it easier for you, I've linked to the exact parts I used at the top of this guide.

USB Hub

The USB hub is only necessary if you want to use more than one controller. I decided to install one in my Pi Cart since it was inexpensive and I'd like to be able to play 2-Player games with my buddies. Because USB hubs draw a bit more power, I recommend using an AC adapter that is at least 2A (linked above).

NES Game Cartridge

Don't destroy a good game -- I was found some crappy NES games for $2 each at my local gaming store. If you don't have such a store near you, you can find an inexpensive cartridge on eBay (hint: NES sports games are generally very inexpensive since most were terrible).

I went with a copy of Back to the Future because it's terrible (thanks LJN).

Gut the NES cartridge

Nintendo used proprietary security screws on their cartridges. I recommend spending a few bucks on a security screwdriver, but if you want to save some money you can also make your own (though I didn't have much luck with this approach).

Remove the 3 security screws and marvel at how small its contents actually are. Then, you can toss aside the old cartridge board. But before you do..

Fun fact: On the board you can see the famous NES 'lockout' chip -- this is the chip that Nintendo rationed to game developers to ensure that only 'authorized' developers could release games for the NES. Companies like Tengen (an Atari subsidiary) were able to get around this (illegally) by successfully petitioning the U.S. Patent Office for documents that detailed how this chip worked.

By controlling the quality of the games that could be played on the NES, Nintendo was able to pull the video game industry out of the video game crash of 1983. Tengen was sued by Nintendo and the U.S. Patent Office changed how they handle the secrecy of software patents as a result of this case.

Install RetroPie

RetroPie is a software package for the Raspberry Pi that will ultimately run our games for us. I've written a separate guide on installing RetroPie since it has several steps, but it doesn't take long. You can even set up your Raspberry Pi without a keyboard, mouse, or monitor if you wish!

Since there's no real reason to install a WiFi adapter on your Pi Cart, simply use the USB drive approach for installing ROMs rather than transferring them over your network.

If you're using a Pi Zero W, which has onboard WiFi, you can connect your PiCart to the Internet to transfer ROMs over your network. But you already knew that! :)

• RetroPie: Build your own Raspberry Pi retro gaming rig

• How to set up your Raspberry Pi without a keyboard, monitor, or mouse

• How to add ROMs to RetroPie using a USB drive

• The Raspberry Pi Zero W adds Wi-Fi, bluetooth to the mix

Test your system

Before we begin putting everything into the cartridge, we need to test our connections to make sure everything is in working order. Connect the Micro USB and Mini HDMI adapters to your Pi. Then, connect your USB hub, USB controllers, and HDMI cable. Lastly, connect your AC Adapter. Your Pi will now boot and you should be able to see the RetroPie UI. Shut everything down safely (as mentioned in my other guide).

Widen the cartridge opening by removing the opening cross-supports

To mount our various ports in an accessible way, we're going to remove a piece of the cartridge housing near the opening.

Using a razor blade or Dremel, remove the cartridge opening 'cross-support' from both halves of the cartridge. To easily remove this cross-support, I scored it several times on each side using my box cutter and then snapped the piece off using a pair of pliers.

Cross supports removed

Ditch the USB hub casing and LED

The USB hub I used is housed in a plastic casing; we don't need that, and it takes up a lot of space. Using a flathead screwdriver (or your fingernail), pry open the casing and toss it.

If you're handy with a soldering iron, now would be a good time to shorten the hub's USB cable or solder a Micro USB cable directly to the hub. I decided not to do this out of laziness.

One more thing -- the USB hub I used has a pretty tall LED that gets in the way when trying to close the cartridge. Use a pair of pliers or clippers to carefully remove this LED (you don't need this one and it isn't visible with the case shut anyways). You can also desolder it if you wish.

Secure the USB hub in place

To secure the various ports/adapters, I'm going to use hot glue. Superglue or Gorilla Glue will also do, but I want to be able to remove these easily if needed. Most people don't know you can use a drop of acetone to break the hot glue's grip on your board. Thanks /u/jsprada!

Using hot glue, glue the USB hub in place. Don't recess the ports too far into the cartridge or it may be difficult to plug USB devices into it! I installed the hub so that the USB ports are flush with the edge. Bonus: the USB hub I used fits perfectly between the cartridge opening and a back support (see photo to see what I mean).

A note on cartridge orientation: I suggest you mount your components in the cartridge half that doesn't contain exterior screw holes. This will make it easier to open and close the case without things getting in the way.

Secure the remaining ports in place

Glue the female HDMI and Micro USB ports into place. I originally used hot glue to secure the ports, but I was worried that the ports might come loose (the ports are very smooth and hot glue doesn't work as well when adhering strictly to smooth surfaces), so I ended up using a bit of super glue instead.

Secure the Pi Zero

I chose to used double-sided foam tape for this. It's a bit easier to remove than hot glue and will provide a bit of shock absorption as well.

Pay attention to where you mount your Zero -- certain areas will make it easier to route your cables. I tried a few different configurations and the location in the attached photo is definitely most convenient.

Connect the Micro USB adapter and route your cables

This part will become obvious to you after completing the previous steps. The challenging part is routing the cables in a neat way -- check out the attached photo for help.

There are two Micro USB ports on the Pi Zero -- the top one is for the AC adapter input, the other is for the USB hub. They're labeled, but be sure to connect them correctly.

Connect the tiny Micro USB adapter connector to the hub and then connect it to the remaining USB port on your Pi.

Just take your time and everything will fall into place.

Reassemble your case

If you kept our cables neat, this is easy. Make sure they aren't in the way, close the cartridge, and put the three security screws back in.

All reassembled!

From the outside (and even while holding it), you can't even tell there's a Pi in there -- let alone 2,400 games.

Protect your ports

You may want to pick up an NES cartridge dust cover to keep your ports nice and clean.

READY PLAYER ONE!

Connect everything to your TV or monitor (connecting the power adapter last) and get playing!

Notes and future plans

There were a few notes I wanted to add to this guide that didn't seem to fit anywhere in particular:

Heat dissipation

The Raspberry Pi Zero doesn't get very hot (it would be a different story if this were a Pi 3). The ports we installed in the opening of the cartridge actually cover less than 50% of the total surface area of the opening, providing plenty of ventilation. I've been using the Pi Cart for a very long time and it's barely become warm to the touch.

Power button

It doesn't have one! In order to lower cost while promoting an interest in electronics and programming, the Raspberry Pi Foundation decided not to include a power button. However, you don't want to simply unplug your Pi while it's running as this can corrupt the SD card. No worry though -- you can simply shut down the Pi through the RetroPie menu before unplugging it. I also wrote a separate guide to show you how to add a Raspberry Pi power button.

Internet

The Pi Cart doesn't need the Internet -- after installing the RetroPie image, simply install RetroPie ROMs via USB to transfer ROMs to your Pi Cart.

Consoles the Raspberry Pi Zero can emulate

The big limitation on which consoles/games you can emulate is actually the Pi's GPU. The Pi Zero can pretty much emulate every game for every system up to (but not including) the N64. However, there are thousands of titles for the NES, SNES, Genesis, Atari, and countless others -- not to mention nearly every arcade game ever -- that you won't have time to miss the newer systems.

Planned Raspberry Pi and Pi Cart guides

I have a few more guides planned for the near future related to the Pi Zero, so stay tuned:

• Install a status LED: this will blink while booting, stay solid while booted and turn off when it's safe to unplug. done!
• Build a Game Boy Zero: similar to the Pi Cart but in an original Game Boy, you can play this one on the go.
• Build a Pi Cart in a smaller form factor (looking at you, Game Boy or Game Gear cartridge).

Anyone interested in a PCB for this?

I'm toying around with building a printed circuit bord for the ports that will fit directly into the cartridge slot with cables preattached (and no cutting required) -- if you might be interested in ordering one of these, post in the comments below so I can gauge interest and decide whether to proceed. :)

Super Nintendo Game Cheats

Questions? Comments?

Post below! I'd love to hear them.

• How to add a power button to your Raspberry Pi

• How to add ROMs to RetroPie using a USB drive

• Build a simple Raspberry Pi LED power/status indicator

Mini Super Nintendo Game List

Next: Add a bluetooth controller (Optional)

Sit back on your couch and play retro games the modern way by using a bluetooth gamepad with RetroPie.

• How to use a wireless bluetooth controller with RetroPie