Well, here is a solution! Everytime you turn on your game after saving, the file won't stay saved! Here is a quick and easy guide with FAQs (and pictures) to help you out.
First of all, here are the tools you will need. You may be able to use something similar, but here is what I used. Remember, you will need to buy a new battery.
- Tweezers
- A G/S/C cart.
- CR2025 battery.
- Electrical tape.
- A very thin, but very sharp knife.
Those are the only tools you need, besides your hands and brain. First and formost, I should mention that you need to be gentle with your game. Do not tamper around in there, because you could hurt your game.
Okay, lets begin!
Step one: You will need the tweezers for this step. Carefully, try to unscrew that nazi nintendo screw out of your game. Yes, this is a pain in the ass, I know. It took me 3 minutes to get my blue version's out, but 30 minutes to get Silver version's out. Remember, lefty loosey righty tighty! Here's a picture of the awesome screwdriver my brother made me. It makes things a lot easier.
Step two: Okay, now you should be able to get inside of the cart. Be care when opening this thing, and be gentle. Slowly and carefully slide the front panel down, and pull it off. THIS is what the inside of a gameboy cart looks like! See that large battery? That is our objective.
WARNING: Don't be stupid like me, and forget which side was up, and which side was down. We don't want to put the new battery in backwards!
Step three: Thought the hard part was over when you got your cart apart? wrong - it begins now. Your objective now is to remove the battery without breaking off the tabs that are holding it in. This means, you must break the solder. *CAREFULLY* slip the knife under the first tab, so it is between the tab and the battery. Firmly, but gently, lift up and try to break the solder without bending the tabs. Do this for the bottom tab as well.
These tabs connect the battery to the main game. Although it might seem like you'll break the tab off while trying to detach it from the battery, it actually takes a lot of force to break the tab off of the cartridge or snap it in half. You MUST make sure these tabs are touching the new battery if you want your game to actually save again. If you do break off one of the tabs during this step, there is still a way for you to fix your game.
If you know an adult who knows how to use a soldering iron, he or she can solder in a metal wire where the broken tab was located. You can then tape the wire to the battery and it will work just fine. However, if you do not have any experience with a soldering iron, DO NOT TRY TO SOLDER THE WIRE IN YOURSELF. YOU CAN GET BURNED AND DAMAGE YOUR CARTRIDGE BEYOND REPAIR. You can also use a soldering iron to get the tabs off of the battery in the first place; use the soldering iron on the little dark dots (solders) on the tabs. -Frost
Step four: Okay, now you have your dead battery out. It is wise to save the battery for reference, if you forget what kind of battery it takes. Get your new battery, and put it in it's place. Be sure both tabs are touching, and cut a thin but somewhat long piece of eletrical tape, and wrap it around the battery and tabs tightly, as shown:
Now, put the cart back together, and screw it back together, but I suggest leaving it loose, incase you need to do this again in ten years.
FAQs:
Q.: Does this work with Red/Blue/Yellow as well?
A. Yep! If you didn't notice, I took the pictures using a silver cart, -and- a red cart. I had already secured the battery in Silver version, so I did it with Red version instead. (I plan to replace it's battery too.) They take the same kind of battery!
Q. Okay, I'm going to try this. Will my saved data come back if I replace the battery?
A. Nope. you will start fresh and new. The saved data that you had before can never be recovered. Sorry!
Q. How much do these batteries cost, anyway?
A. I bet you're guessing they're really expensive. Well, they aren't! My brother bought a two-pack of them for $2.50. They were energizer, grade A material, and they cost us less than $5.
Q. Okay, no matter how much I try, this screw is NOT coming out.
A. It will eventually. I had to cripple both screws in my games to get them out, lol. If you are unable to do it, try asking an adult, or another person.
Q. I'm afraid I'm going to ruin my game. Can I just ask Nintendo to do it?
A. They won't do it. You have nothing to lose doing this. Its not like your game saves anyway, so why not risk it? It took me a long time to finally attempt this with my games, and I managed to fix one of them.
Q. Does this work with other Nintendo games?
A. Yes, it does ! It works for the old GB games as well. Just remember to check the battery type; some are a bit smaller. I've replaced the batteries in Super Mario Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land 2.
Q. Can I take my working battery from my Blue version and put it in my Gold version?
A. Yep! Its not recommended, because once you take that battery out of one game and put it in another, you lose your file. No, you can't load Blue's saved data on Gold version and the other way around. Does not work.
Q. How does this battery thing work, and does it work with the advance generation?
A. Well, back when Nintendo still had glitchy games, they used different programming methods for RBY/GSC vs. RSE/LGFR, as well as some hardware differences. RBY/GSC save to a battery, and the advance generation saves to a flash chip. So, I don't think you should have this issue with your advance generation games. If you do, you may want to e-mail
Nintendo about that. There is however, a battery present in RSE, probably to keep track of the time. I'm sure that is replaceable aswell, but no guarantee, because I haven't tested it yet. (I can't find my GBA screwdriver...) There is no battery present in FRLG, so don't even try to rip that apart.
Q. My question is not on here. What do I do?
A. Post in this thread or PM me, and I'll try to answer it for you. =)
Enjoy!