Dead "Sonic the Hedgehog"-cart (FIXED - got a new cart)

[metrolf]

I got Sonic for the Mega Drive yesterday, a very dirty cart. However I have cleaned this extensively and it's now like new. So I tested it, but all I get is a black screen, just as if switching on the console without any game plugged in. I changed the caps as well, just to be sure, but that didn't do anything.

I'm pretty sure it's not the console; it's not very used, the cartridge-slot has been cleaned and I've tested with the other games I have. One of them is an EA-game, Buck Rogers, Genesis version. These are not region-locked so it works. Another is Castlevania, Genesis version, which is region-locked, but still boots up and stops at the Konami-logo, as it should.

This leads me to believe that the issue is the cart itself. Any thoughts or possible solutions?

[eidis]

 Hi Metrolf !

Make sure that the Sonic cart is not tied to a different region. You could also try replacing the mask ROM with an EPROM.

27C4096 for 4Mbit games (Sonic 1)
27C8192 for 8Mbit (Sonic 2)
27C160 for 16Mbit (Sonic 3 / S&K)
27C320 for 32Mbit (S3&K although you'd need to build your own complex PCB w/ SRAM circuit)

Note: EPROM info by Calpis of Assemblergames

A guide can ge found here:

[GUIDE] Make a Reprogrammable Genesis Cart
http://www.epforums.org/showthread.php?63960-GUIDE-Make-a-Reprogrammable-Genesis-Cart

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[metrolf]

Hi, thanks for the reply!  The guy I bought the game from originally refused to give me a refund because when I said I opened the game and cleaned it etc. he said that since it had been "tampered" with, he could not give me a refund  However, today he found another copy of Sonic and asked if I wanted that instead. Somehow that was okay, but a refund was not... I'm confused  This other cart worked tho, so problem solved!

However that is a cool guide and I'll check it out for sure, love this kinda stuff