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by engi_nerd 4143 days ago
When your troubleshooting procedures remind your customers of their (erroneous but widely practiced) methods of making NES cartridges work, you might have a problem.
1 comments

I don't know about NES, but at least with the N64, I swear by blowing into the cartridge. Works at least 75% of the time, and the other 25% by wiggling the cartridge a bit in the hopes of getting it to reseat better.
It works -- but what you're really doing is fixing an intermittent electrical connection by introducing moisture. Over the long term that's a recipe for corrosion.
We used q-tips with alcohol in my house to avoid this very issue. Cleans the contacts really good with no corrosion issues.