DS Repair?

Lindsay Lohan

So lately (meaning for the past year or so) my DS Lite has loved to freeze. It frequently will freeze midgame and often when I boot up will fail to recognize a cart is present at all. I've tried compressed air, tried cleaning my carts but it still occurs. Along with that, the same games play just fine in my son's 3DS. Is the cartridge slot replaceable at all or is there something I can do that might make it spring back to life?

To be fair it's a launch DS Lite, has been hinge repaired twice now, and has had a very good life. It's signed by Gabe/Tycho/Wil Wheaton and dated for Pax East 1 so if it's dead it will be retired to a display shelf and proud of its long life. If it's dead I'll also probably end up seeing if someone on craigslist will swap my PSPGo for another DS of some form (XL would be sweet) and go from there - is the Lite the only model with hinge crack issues? Any known issues on the DSi/XL I should watch for if I go that route?

Nackmatholn

Looking at guides online tells me that the DS Lite's cartridge carriage is soldered onto the motherboard itself. So, if you are handy with getting into the guts of your handheld, I would look at pricing a replacement motherboard? Or just retire the poor fellow in a nice display box.

Motherboard would be about $40 USD, and a used DS would run $50 - $70.

The DSi seems to be pretty solid, my girlfriend hasn't broken hers yet. My launch 3ds makes me miss the DS lite though... for some reason the 3ds cramps my hand up bad, DS lite doesn't, but it's hiding in a box since I moved...

If you go the repair rout I highly recommend using guides from iFixit, as their guidance helped me resurrect a PSP-1000 and my older mac book many times.

Lindsay Lohan

I don't mind soldering but I have particularly fat/large hands and that I tend to get shaky working on small things like handhelds. I found replacement cartridge slots and they're like $5 but I'm really not sure if I want to try tiny soldering. I may go the attempted trade route if that's the case.

jclast

Lindsey Lohan wrote: »

I don't mind soldering but I have particularly fat/large hands and that I tend to get shaky working on small things like handhelds. I found replacement cartridge slots and they're like $5 but I'm really not sure if I want to try tiny soldering. I may go the attempted trade route if that's the case.

So, did you end up trading it or trying the solder? If the solder, how did it go?

Lindsay Lohan

I retired it and bought a 3dsxl. I'm gong to hang it on my gameroom wall at some point.