3DS cartridge freezes upon boot-up

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

I have a 3DS game that, when inserted, appears on the menu, but won't boot up (it comes to the "Nintendo 3DS" screen (example below) and then freezes).  For a short time, opening the "Manual" gave me the message "The Game Card was removed", even though its still inserted, but then that started booting up just fine. The contacts look about as good as my other titles, that work without any issues. Has anyone else had a problem like this and if so, is there a way to fix it?

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 540]

Unfortunately that game might just be defective. There isn't a whole lot (to my knowledge) that you can do about a 3DS card dying. I suppose inspect it closely for damage, but unfortunately it might just be bad.

Have you tried it on another system/firmware?

Edited November 20, 2023 by SNESNESCUBE64

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

1 hour ago, SNESNESCUBE64 said:

Have you tried it on another system/firmware?

So the system I used was a later model (2DS XL). I just tried it out on an original 3DS and a few things to note:
-When it asked for a system update (the game came out a few years after I last used this system), an error came up and the system reset itself. I tried a different copy of the same game and it updated just fine.
-With the update added, I put the problem game in, ran it, and it got past the "Nintendo 3DS" screen... only for "An error has occurred." screen to appear.
-I just tried it on the 2DS again and its getting the same result/error as on the old 3DS now.

I don't know what to think at this point. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by AverageOliver98

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 540]

I don't think there's a whole lot you CAN do at this point. Something is wrong with game itself. Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with the tricks of fixing these. If you just bought it, try to get a refund. 

[greenthunder | 115]

What game is it? Certain games had faulty manufacturing that caused them to fail early. Though it's also apparently possible to just insert the cart and let the system idle for a while to make it run a memory refresh on the cart, but if it's beyond the point of no return the refresh won't help.

[phart010 | 1,707]

When all else fails, reflow the solder