Finally got my N64 Gamesharks fixed

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

This is just a post to express the joy I have after finally fixing my N64 gamesharks. Ive had a handful of gamesharks that Ive somehow acquired over the years, only one of which I think I purposely bought and all of them were bricked. 

For those unaware they are prone to getting bricked when something goes screwy in the software like using the wrong combination of cheats, trying to enter custom cheats, etc

One of the more common “fixes” for a bricked (though if this method works it was never really bricked) gameshark was to use certain games to unlock it. The TLDR explanation of this is that there are a handful of different CIC chips in games. The gameshark remembers the type of CIC of the last game used with it and lock it to that type.  If you try a different game with a different CIC type, it won’t work. The fix for that is to try a game from every CIC type. Well lucky me I have a complete N64 collection, but unlucky me as that was not the problem and they were all truly bricked.

So the only option left was to reflash the gamesharks firmware. Which is a whole ordeal where you need a native parallel port computer, a true parallel port cable (usb to parallel will not work) and a specific model of gameshark. About two years ago I went down the rabbit hole and it didn’t pan out.

But tonight I finally finished putting together a Sanni Cart reader that Ive had parts for, sitting here for a year. I was able to reflash all of the gamesharks and now they work perfectly. After YEARS I can finally go and casually play Goldeneye with paintball and dual guns like I did as a kid!

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Good job with the long game fix.  I remember that about the softlock/softbrick of the things due to the CIC.  I remember getting a couple about a decade ago that didn't work and even then it was a kind of known fix.  I stumbled on a random post online and I started with Mario 64, one came back, then I went to another game, might have been Wave Race, Smash or Kart, but then the other came back too.  It's pretty weak they're that finicky, but at least, short of it really being blown out you can fix it, if you have the right cart.