lamphorn

Maybe some more experienced Game Boy Advanced players have some adivce-

I bought a used copy of the Zelda: A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advanced and played quite a bit into the game. Then, one day when I turned it on, I got some sort of "file error" message and all game files were deleted. WTF???

I haven't started again for fear of losing my progress again. Does anyone have any insight into this problem? Is it worth starting over cause it's just a rare glitch? Or is this a problem used Gameboy games have?

thanks

PixyJunket

Check the back of the game, does it say NINTENDO or does it say something like NINTONDO or NINTENTO? If it's a bootleg game, they're not very reliable. If it's the real deal you may need to clean the contacts since you got it used. Takes a Q*Tip and dip it in some isopropyl alcohol and clean the contacts a few times until the Q*Tips stop picking up grime. That's a start, at least.

lamphorn

They spelled Nintendo right. Thanks for the tip. I'll have to get my hands on some alcohol.

Jeremy517

Where did you get the game? Even if Nintendo is spelled right, it could still be a bootleg. The real test is to hold it up to a light, and look on the inner edge next to the connector to see if there is an imprint of a serial number. If not, it is a bootleg.

lamphorn

It looks legitimate. I didn't know there was such a thing as a bootleg game cartridge.

I got it at E.B. Games.

Goldberg74

Take it back to EB Games, they have a lemon law don't they?

lamphorn

Well, good news. I didn't have any alcohol on me, but I rubbed the connectors with a QTip and put the game in. Amazingly, instead of the three blank game spaces I'd been looking at, my saved game is back! I've played it and it's as if nothing had ever gone wrong. Very strange, but very welcome.

PixyJunket

That's not strange at all, that just means it wasn't getting a connection to battery due to that particular contact being dirty. Go get some alcohol (90% or above), it's less than a dollar for a bottle and you should really clean any used cartridge games you get before sticking them into your machine.