Possible to back up NES save data?
Possible to back up NES save data?
I'm new here and I'm not sure if this is the right forum so I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place. Recently I've started collecting retro video games and managed to run across my mom's copy of Zelda when cleaning up our old house. My mom passed away a few years ago, she's the reason I'm a gamer and the game meant a lot to her and a lot to me as well. The surprising thing was that when I put the cartridge in my NES her save data was still there. I fear the battery dying and I was wondering if there's a possible way to back up the data that's on the cartridge? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've enjoyed this site greatly so far and the community seems fairly helpful.
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fastbilly1
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Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
Welcome to the site. There are several ways to backup NES game data, and this is one of the best causes I have heard.
If you know how to solder and want a project, try getting a copy NES from Retrozone:
http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.ph ... ucts_id=36
He is currently sold out but if you can find one, and have a spare NES you can hackup, you can do lots of neat stuff with it.
Sadly the retrode does not support NES games officially yet. So unless you find a CopyNES, or someone who has one that can do it for you, I would make sure to power up the game once a month or so and leave it running to make sure the battery charges.
If you know how to solder and want a project, try getting a copy NES from Retrozone:
http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.ph ... ucts_id=36
He is currently sold out but if you can find one, and have a spare NES you can hackup, you can do lots of neat stuff with it.
Sadly the retrode does not support NES games officially yet. So unless you find a CopyNES, or someone who has one that can do it for you, I would make sure to power up the game once a month or so and leave it running to make sure the battery charges.
Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
ok, so putting the game in will help keep the save file intact? I'm sorry for my ignorance, I'm really getting into a fair amount of this and while I have been getting my hands dirty lately taking apart old systems for friends and putting in new batteries for gameboy games I'm still unknowledgeable about somethings. The link you gave is great btw I'll have to check back to see if they get them back in stock.
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fastbilly1
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Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
Retrousb is ran by a guy called Bunnyboy - his work is excellent.
But yeah, leaving the cart in the console that is running will recharge the save battery.
But yeah, leaving the cart in the console that is running will recharge the save battery.
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Hobie-wan
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Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
fastbilly1 wrote:But yeah, leaving the cart in the console that is running will recharge the save battery.
You're confusing yourself. The DC has a rechargeable battery in the console that holds the time and things, but batteries in the carts are plain old coin batteries and not rechargeable.
One could get a bit and open up the cart to check how the battery is doing though. They start at 3.3 volts and I have several NES and SNES games that still put out around 3 volts after all these years. Most of the ones I've dealt with that were dead had gotten wet or been exposed to extreme temps in someone's garage or whatnot.
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Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
I don't know if a device is available to back up the data, but I see no reason why it wouldn't be possible. It's just SRAM after all.
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fastbilly1
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Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
Hobie-wan wrote:fastbilly1 wrote:But yeah, leaving the cart in the console that is running will recharge the save battery.
You're confusing yourself. The DC has a rechargeable battery in the console that holds the time and things, but batteries in the carts are plain old coin batteries and not rechargeable.
One could get a bit and open up the cart to check how the battery is doing though. They start at 3.3 volts and I have several NES and SNES games that still put out around 3 volts after all these years. Most of the ones I've dealt with that were dead had gotten wet or been exposed to extreme temps in someone's garage or whatnot.
Hmm, I must be confused then. I thought the battery could trickle charge off the console.
Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
I was going to suggest a Retrode with a NES plug-in adapter, but it appears nobody's made one yet. Too bad - they seem to have made them for lots of other systems...
Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
^ It's harder with the NES because there's a million mappers.
Yes, you can check the battery with a volt meter and see how much life is left. I checked the battery in my Zelda cart a few years ago and was shocked to see it was well over 3 volts. It didn't appear to me to have been changed, and even if it had it was quite a few years since I acquired it. Those batteries can actually last a long time, given the right circumstances.
Like Hobes said, the battery does not get recharged. And actually, if you want to be sure to keep that save file, I wouldn't power on the cart needlessly. The NES is some what finicky when it comes to carts with SRAM, the SRAM can become corrupt. If you read the back label of a cart with a battery inside, it says to hold reset while powering off the console. I suggest you do this, it'll prevent the console from corrupting the SRAM.
Sorry two say, the CopyNES is the only option I'm aware of for dumping NES SRAM. The Retrode would be great, if an adapter ever becomes available.
Yeah, you can email him and ask if he can give you an estimate when the CopyNES will be back in stock. Right now, his site has a banner that says "Working to get products back in stock" so it probably wont be too long. But if you're curious, you can find his email toward the bottom of the FAQ. I emailed him a few times some years back with simple questions like that and he was actually pretty fast to respond.
Hobie-wan wrote:One could get a bit and open up the cart to check how the battery is doing though. They start at 3.3 volts and I have several NES and SNES games that still put out around 3 volts after all these years. Most of the ones I've dealt with that were dead had gotten wet or been exposed to extreme temps in someone's garage or whatnot.
Yes, you can check the battery with a volt meter and see how much life is left. I checked the battery in my Zelda cart a few years ago and was shocked to see it was well over 3 volts. It didn't appear to me to have been changed, and even if it had it was quite a few years since I acquired it. Those batteries can actually last a long time, given the right circumstances.
kotetamer wrote:ok, so putting the game in will help keep the save file intact? I'm sorry for my ignorance, I'm really getting into a fair amount of this and while I have been getting my hands dirty lately taking apart old systems for friends and putting in new batteries for gameboy games I'm still unknowledgeable about somethings. The link you gave is great btw I'll have to check back to see if they get them back in stock.
Like Hobes said, the battery does not get recharged. And actually, if you want to be sure to keep that save file, I wouldn't power on the cart needlessly. The NES is some what finicky when it comes to carts with SRAM, the SRAM can become corrupt. If you read the back label of a cart with a battery inside, it says to hold reset while powering off the console. I suggest you do this, it'll prevent the console from corrupting the SRAM.
Sorry two say, the CopyNES is the only option I'm aware of for dumping NES SRAM. The Retrode would be great, if an adapter ever becomes available.
fastbilly1 wrote:Retrousb is ran by a guy called Bunnyboy - his work is excellent
Yeah, you can email him and ask if he can give you an estimate when the CopyNES will be back in stock. Right now, his site has a banner that says "Working to get products back in stock" so it probably wont be too long. But if you're curious, you can find his email toward the bottom of the FAQ. I emailed him a few times some years back with simple questions like that and he was actually pretty fast to respond.
Re: Possible to back up NES save data?
well I e-mailed him and got a reply back. He said he doesn't have an estimate on when things will come back in and when I enquired about maybe another method of retaining the save data he suggested asking on the forums. Is there a way to possibly keep the power flowing to the cart while replacing the battery? I'm just trying to make sure I can preserve the save file.