Will I definitely lose my save state while replacing the battery?
Most Game Boy games (and by that I mean the pre-Advance time) are saved into the cardridge and powered by a battery so that this memory will not vanish.
In a future, far far away, the battery empties, which will lead to a loss of the save state as there is no power source to hold the save state in the memory.
A solution is to replace this little battery and have a saveable game again. So I'm now playing Dragon Warrior Monsters and achieved pretty much everything in the game. I know I will play that game again (as I replay it often since release).
My fear is that I will lay back the cardridge until digging it out again. By that time the battery may already be empty (never replaced it since I bought the game).
What are my options if I want to replace the battery precautionary and keep my save game?
(This may include tinkering tips, extra hardware or a simple "won't erase your save game anyway".)
I ask this question specifically for the "pre-Advance" GameBoy cardridges:
Best Answer
There are ways you can copy the backup data from the cartridge to your computer.
It'll cost some money in buying the hardware to do that, but IMO it is way safer than replacing a battery while the device is on.
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Answer 2
The accepted answer is flat out wrong, problems with it include:
- It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to access the cartridge while it is inserted into a Gameboy. It will be easier with a Gameboy advance as it will stick out some.
- Gameboy cartridges are very difficult to open; they use a proprietary screw that is exclusively used by Nintendo. A specialty tool can be obtained from specialty suppliers, but they are necessarily pricy.
- The battery back-ups in Gameboy carts are soldered in, you cant replace one without a soldering iron.
So even if you bought the tool, disassembled the cartridge and inserted it into your Gameboy, your not going to be able to de-solder the battery and solder in a new one!
If you want to replace the battery you will need to power the volitile memory with an external power source while you change the battery.
Years ago I tried replacing the battery in a Gameboy cart. I did a lot of research to find the correct replacement battery and read the tutorials. I had to cut it open because i didn't have the proper tool. After I replaced the battery the save file still didn't work. In my case it may not have been the battery.
I suggest you try this with an expendable cart first, or find/buy a way to get the save off the cart first.
Answer 3
Technically what you need is that the memory unit to be constantly powered by some electricity. So what you could do is use some wires connecting the + and ? contacts on the cartridge to another battery while you take out the old one and replace it with the new battery. So for this you have A ? the old battery that is running out of juice, B ? the new battery with full capacity, C ? the secret hacky battery connected to the cartridge with wires, which do not obstruct the process of replacing battery A with B.
I never tried this myself, so it might not even works because of too much voltage in the two simultaneously connected batteries (B + C, because B is at full charge, and C… enough to keep the save alive), although it should probably not cause any harm if you use the battery C with less than full remaining power. That way the total sum of all battery power (first A + C, then B + C) should not reach 200% battery power. This is all just a theory, but from the sound of it it's basically the same as changing batteries while having the cartridge powered on by a working Gameboy.
Answer 4
Buy a Mega Memory Card.
I am surprised nobody answered with the most practical answer yet.. Copy your save onto the Mega Memory Card, then copy it back after the battery replacement.
I also heard of a more complicated solution involving connecting the new and old batteries at the same time.
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