I'm sure this has happened to many of you, your precious Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal or any other GameBoy game has stopped saving any of your data. Well, there is a way to make them work again! Since many people seem to have this problem, and I have done this many times before, I decided to write a guide to help others get their games working again. While this guide is mainly for Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, this will work with any GameBoy game that uses a battery to save. Read on!

BEFORE ACTUALLY ATTEMPTING THIS, PLEASE READ OVER THE ENTIRE GUIDE FIRST!


^If you don't know what a GameBoy cartridge looks like, you fail.^


Tools/Supplies

Obviously you are going to need the game that doesn't work anymore. You are also going to need a new battery to save the data. The G/S/C games use a CR2032 battery (It is round and flat, much like a watch battery). The European version uses as CR2025. Most other GameBoy games use a CR1616. If you want to be sure about the right battery to get, open the game, look at the battery and find out.The batteries can be purchased at any store that sells batteries (like Wal-Mart, Target, Radio Shack, etc). You are also going to need a pair of pliers (that can get into a small space), some scissors, a small flat-head screwdriver, and some electrical tape (regular tape works fine also. I prefer the electrical, but you may have easier access to regular tape so go with whatever floats your Floatzel).

^These will be helpful^


Opening the cartridge

Take a look at the back of the cartridge and you will see a screw (which in this case is a security bit).

^Security bit is the round thing^

As you can tell, you can't open this with any normal screwdriver so this is where the pliers come in handy.

^IT'S GOING TO OPEN ME!^

Lay the cartridge down on a flat surface. Using the pliers, grab onto the security bit. The sides are flat so grab onto those instead of the corners. With the pliers un-tighten the screw. If you are having trouble and the pliers keep slipping, I find the best thing to do is push down on the pliers while you are turning it. It may also help if you try turning the cartridge instead of the pliers. If you are still having trouble you may want to look into purchasing a 3.8mm security bit online.

Once you get the security bit out, you can now take the cartridge apart. The front of the cartridge (the one with the label) needs to be pushed towards the bottom of the cartridge before you can pull it off.

^Notice how the front was moved towards the bottom of the cartridge before it can come off.^

Once you are inside you will see the battery (the round shiny thing in the upper right of the board).

^Cartridge on the left is my already fixed Gold cartridge. The one on the right is from an un-modified Donkey Kong cartridge that will be used for demonstration in the next few steps.^


Removing the battery

Take a look at the battery. Notice the polarity (the positive + side is facing down while the negative - side is facing up).

^The battery with my small screwdriver ready for attack.^

Those metal tabs are what is holding the battery in place. If you notice, there are two very small circle indents on the tab. Those are the two points where the battery is connected to the tab. Next we are going to pry those out. When doing these next few steps use caution, this is the hardest part of the entire project. Make sure those metal tabs stay with the board. If you break the tabs off the board, they will have to be re-soldered back on which many of you probably don't have the proper equipment to do.

^A Kirby's Block Ball board where I accidentally ripped one of the metallic tabs off the board while trying to get out the battery. Avoid doing this!^

First we are going to get the top tab off the battery. Those two small circle indents in the center of the tab are going to be your main points to get to in order to pry of the tab. I find the easiest way to do this may to be start on the right where there is a small gap to wedge in your small screwdriver.

^Start your prying adventure here.^

Don't worry if the tab gets bent out of shape and you put a few scratches in it(and the battery), your main goal here is to not break the tabs off (and not snap the board in half!).

^Screwdriver making its way to the two contact points. You may have to use a little force on the screwdriver to get it off.^

Once you get that tab off, lift off the top tab and then the battery.

^If you got this far then you are half done with the hardest part.^

But what's this? Yep, ANOTHER tab. Take this one off the battery as well. This one may be a little harder then the first one since it is under the battery. Like before, pry to the small circle points and get them off the battery.

^The second metal tab.^

If you did everything correctly, the battery should be completely out. By now those metal tabs are pretty deformed so use your pliers and straighten them back out.

^At least if you have to change the battery again you don't have to do any more prying.^


Installing the new battery

Now we are going to put the new battery in. Remember the polarity where the positive + side is facing DOWN. Take a small piece of tape/electrical tape and tape the positive + side of the battery to that second tab. BE SURE THE BATTERY IS ON THERE NICE AND TIGHT, IF THE BATTERY MOVES AT ALL WHILE ON THE TAB YOUR SAVE DATA WILL BE LOST! If you want to use the tape to wrap around the battery and tab that is fine, only one or two times around is enough. Try not to go crazy with wrapping the battery, otherwise it won't fit within the cartridge. If you have any excess tape on top, use some scissors to cut them off.

^Battery taped to the second tab.^

Now, before you push the battery back down, put another piece of tape (bigger then the other one) on the bottom. Now push the battery back down. Place the first tab over the new battery and using that piece of tape you just applied, tape up the tab. Again, make sure it is nice and tight so you don't lose data. Once it is taped up, wiggle the battery a little bit to make sure it doesn't move on the tabs.

^Getting ready to tape down the second tab.^


^On the left is my Gold cartridge and the one on the right is the Donkey Kong cartridge I used for these instructions.^


Test drive

And now for the easy part, making sure it works. Put the top of the cartridge back on, but don't screw it back together yet. Pop it into your GameBoy, turn it on and start a new game. Once you get to a point where you can save, save the game. After it saves, shut off the GameBoy and leave it off for at least a minute. Power it back on, and if you see the continue option then congratulations it works! Screw it back together and the game is good to go. If not, make sure you put the battery in properly and that it is in nice and tight and isn't moving.


Questions

Q: Why does the Gold/Silver/Crystal battery die so quickly compared to other cartridges?
A: In addition to saving data, the battery is used to keep track of the clock. Since clocks are always ticking away, the battery is always being used to support the clock.

Q: Wait, so wouldn't that mean my Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald data will be lost also!?
A: Luckily, no. While the clock does still run on the battery, the data there is stored to the flash memory. So even if the battery dies, you are only going to lose time-based events and none of your monsters. Replacing the clock battery uses the same procedure as this, only with a different battery.

Q: Uh, remember the part about not breaking off the tabs? Yeah, I broke one off and I can't solder
A: In that case you will need to find someone who can solder the tabs back on. If you are careful enough, you might be able to just tape the tab back onto the solder joint (that gray bubble thing the tab was on).

Q: I got the time working, but it seems to be off. Any way to reset it?
A: Yes there is. First, using this calculator enter your character's name (case sensitive, read tips section for special characters), your trainer ID, and the amount of money you have on hand. This calculator will give you a password. Next turn on your G/S cartridge and get to the title screen (which has Ho-oh or Lugia on it). Press Select+Down+B (at the same time) and you will be taken to the password screen. Enter that password that you got and the game will let you reset your time.

If you still have any questions or something is unclear, please ask so we can keep these classics alive.

Hmm, I should try this on my friend's copy of of Silver.

This is going to help more than the PM you sent me, Yoshi.

I'm probably going to get a security bit set for $10 tomorrow because the pliers we have are too big.

Luckily, my crystal version still has its original save file, as of about 2 weeks ago when I turned it on for old times sake, the clock is a bit fubar, but beyond that, its fine.

Yoshi.

The tabs ARE NOT COMING OFF of my battery. Do I need an even skinnier screwdriver?

If you do happen to break the tabs off, it seems to work fine taping them on. Soldering is MUCH stronger though.

A always prick my fingers on the solder on the tabs! It gets quite painful if you keep doing it. ._.

Also, European G/S/C games use CR2025 batteries, not CR2032.

HOLY CREPES! Hmm, can I transfer my most valuable pokemon from my crystal game to one of the newer gens? I need to play that thing to see if it works.

Also, I should do the battery thing for my gold. I'm guessing an eyeglass screwdriver would be best. now for them pliers...

well that's just not fair!

i knew how it works. i saw a video of it. its cool. your game will never die out only the file which is the sad thing

Cool, might try this on the gold I never use.

Thank you Yoshi! This was a huge help.

My Gold and Silver saves again. If only Nintendo knew about this flaw before they released G/S/C.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

If any of you have cartridges that have not yet lost their ability to save, look for an item called a "MegaMemory Card" for GBC. Back up your save file in there before replacing the battery, and once you've finished the process, restore the save file to the cartridge, and your game will be good as new without losing your saved data!

Wow Yoshi. You really know everything! I saved my silver game thanks to you!

THt'a Cool!!!! XD

I should probably mention that, despite European cartridges saying "CR2025" on them, they do in fact support CR2032 batteries, and they last longer than CR2025s.

And thus, Shiny Umbreon was mine once again. :3 Thank you!

This is pretty cool, I should do it with my Silver, which stopped saving years ago. Any chance this will work with Blue as well? ("Luckily" my copy of Yellow still works, but I haven't done much with Yellow besides glitching.)