Super nintendo wont save levels?

[ImnoGuru]

Hi and thanks for taking a look at my thread. 
I dont know if this comes under computer games but here goes OK.

My super nintendo or SNES wont save the games. I have all the right bits and it used to save the levels, (lets say DOOM for example.) Just recently it did save the levels... then, all of a sudden, now it doesnt AND the levels that were saved, are gone???
This would have to be a gamers nightmare  in the early days, but I've played these things so many times I can just about remember the codes for the levels of by heart. ( not quite.. I have them written down hehehehe.)

Yes, it is a misspent youth and I am trying to reclaim my younger days by playing these games, but I also found out that these consoles are "WORTH A FORTUNE" today.

I have changed controllers but that didnt improve it at all. They all have a slide in container that has the memory chip in it. It is also where the rumble pack inserts.

Is it the controller/memory chip in the console unit at fault do you think?
I mean after all it is, what, 35 years old, so something is sure to wear out sooner or later.

Thanks for looking at least. ImnoGuru. 

[BC_Programmer]

Hi...

the SNES doesn't save games- that is, the console doesn't.

What allows you to save SNES games is battery-backed RAM.

It's kept 'alive' in much the same way as a Computer's CMOS RAM, in fact it uses the very same battery type. The battery is inside the cartridge and unsurprisingly can get old and be unable to keep the SRAM data, which can cause it to get corrupted or simply dribble away.

Reading the rest of your post, you aren't talking about a SNES (Super Nintendo) but rather a Nintendo 64 console. (third generation console) Thankfully, the above is the same case for those as well. Perhaps more so.

1. Some N64 games have Battery-backed memory on the cartridge. This includes games such as Super Mario 64.
2. Other games use Controller Packs for game saving/loading. This includes the game you mention, Doom.
3. Controller packs use Battery-Backed memory as well.

Depending on the type of controller pack, you should be able to take it apart and replace the battery. Each one I've seen has used a standard CR2032 battery, just as you would use for a Computer's CMOS battery. Once you replace that the controller pack should work again for saving and loading. It's actually better that the controller pack fail in this way rather than a cartridge, since the controller packs often used a more typical Battery holder, whereas the cartridges often had the batteries soldered in place.

[ImnoGuru]

Ok, a battery that lasts 35 years wow!! 
Dont you just wish they could produce one like that for electric cars?

BC_Programmer, you might be able to tell me then, what is the unit in the front top of the console? It is under a removable panel on the 64 console.
Oh and how is it removed. Do I need a special tool to remove it safely?

Just so I understand correctly then, the game cartridge has the battery in it, not the controller/handpiece or the insertable 256K memory unit?
and to change the battery, I need to disassemble the game cartridge.

[reddevilggg]

Firstly, BC is right. the SNES does not save games, the cartridges do. You'll have to change the battery in the cart. See this - http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/pictures-how-to-replace-an-snes-cartridge-save-game-battery

Secondly, the removable panel on the top of the N64 has a 'expansion pack' which takes the machines RAM to, i think, 4MB. If the pack is black/grey, it is what comes with the machine. The expansion pack is red. It does come with a tool to remove it, but i've done it before with the handle end of a thin flat spoon.

Some N64 games (like Super Mario 64) are saved in the cartridge, but others (like Micro machines or Shadowman) need to be saved on a memory card that you insert into the controller. I think i still have three memory cards :-)

[BC_Programmer]

Ok, a battery that lasts 35 years wow!! 

1978? What? You have a Nintendo 64. Those were released ~1996, making the console at most 17 years old. The SNES is around 22 years old, and the NES is around 27 years of age. The only console that is 35 years old is the Atari 2600, which you do not have. (Or maybe you do, but it's certainly not the Nintendo console you are referring to)

BC_Programmer, you might be able to tell me then, what is the unit in the front top of the console? It is under a removable panel on the 64 console.
Oh and how is it removed. Do I need a special tool to remove it safely?

It's the Memory. It comes with 4MB of RAMBUS memory. The default has 4MB- it is called the "Jumper pack". It is rather featureless. The memory can be expanded to improve graphics or for some games was needed to work, and expands the console's memory to 8MB. It has a bit of red plastic along the top. There is no reason to remove it unless you are replacing it with another one.

Just so I understand correctly then, the game cartridge has the battery in it, not the controller/handpiece or the insertable 256K memory unit?
and to change the battery, I need to disassemble the game cartridge.

I thought I was rather clear :/

1. Some N64 games have Battery-backed memory on the cartridge. This includes games such as Super Mario 64.
2. Other games use Controller Packs for game saving/loading. This includes the game you mention, Doom.
3. Controller packs use Battery-Backed memory as well.

Doom is one of the N64 games that uses the Memory pack.

[ImnoGuru]

Firstly to BC_Programmer. yes you are right...Not 35 years at all.
See what alcohol and late nights do to my mathematics. My kids were all into the games so they would have been about 10 through to 16 or so..
Sorry everyone for that gaff.
I would have been about 35 at the time they came out, is where my confusion came from.
You also did explain it very well. I was just reiterating my understanding of what you said. 
BC_Programmer this unit is definitely a Nintendo 64 that my Doom failed to save.

I also have several others around ranging from Snes, Playstations and WII.

To reddevilggg, great link thanks.  I just had a closer look at the cartridge and decided to open an old one first so if I didn't do it correctly it wouldn't really matter. ( I chose Tetrisphere.)

My units looks like they have the original expansion packs then, and I recently found a supplier of the memory cards, rather inexpensive, on Ebay. I'd be happy to pickup a couple of them for their price.

[BC_Programmer]

Just to be clear re: the Expansion pak, it is only needed for certain games; it plugs into the console. You either have the jumper pack (included, sounds like you do) or you have the Expansion pack (which doubles the memory). I'm confused because you said "expansion packs" plural :/ Which makes me think you might be referring to the Controller Pack (the memory cards that go into the controllers). the Expansion pak is required for a half dozen games (Donkey Kong 64 and Perfect Dark being two specifics I can recall). Doom 64 doesn't use the extra memory for anything, just fwiw.

This Wikipedia article on N64 accessories might clear it up.

For saving games it's either on the game, or uses a Memory Card on the controller.

The game in question, Doom, uses the Memory Card.

If the games are not saving or being persistent, than it's likely the battery on the memory card is dying. You could of course just get another memory card(s) (make sure it's a Controller pack memory card for an N64 and not the expansion pack, though!), but you can also just replace the battery; it's a standard CR2032.

In that regard we can see the link reddevilggg posted; his posting goes under the original notes about the game being an SNES game, as well as using on-cartridge SRAM. I've found that controller packs typically require no extra work; you take it apart and the battery has it's own holder that you can slip a new battery into, and the game should store your saved files again. N64 games (the ones that have battery-backed SRAM on the cartridge, anyway) are often more tricky to deal with because the cartridges are smaller.

(Sidebar on the linked topic: The recommendations for replacing a battery I've seen attempt to be more "future-proof" in that they typically recommend replacing that entire portion with a CR2032 battery holder; so the battery can be easily replaced, which seems reasonable).