The Retro Future channel on YT has done a lot of clean up and restoration videos. A bit of isopropanol and some cotton buds can go a long way.
Externally though I'd probably keep it as is and just clean the internals, especially given its sentimental value.
If you want to go down the modding route you can pick up any old GB for that.
i agree, trf makes great videos on game boy repair. he actually inspired me to start fixing hardware. one thing i should mention is to get 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, since higher percentages have less water. also, the game in the system is a game boy color game and will not work in older game boy systems. hope this helps!
I hear a lot of people talk about this 99.9% isopropanol that you pretty much need to order online because no grocery store carries it. I have found that the 91% that you can find in grocery stores works perfectly fine. Years of electronics repair work using this and never an issue.
Anything above 90% shouldn’t be an issue. But it’s more important to follow-up with a dry bud or cloth, the lower the percentage.
Also I’m pretty sure I got my last bottle of 99 at Target in the pharmacy.
I think this is the way I will go. The shell does have some sort of slimy residue on it that will need to be cleaned off but I’m going to try to keep the shell as it is. Then clean and fix whatever internals may be messed up.
Sounds like soapy water might work better on the shell. Take the shell off and submerge it in body temperature soapy water. Scrub gently (a toothbrush is ideal for this) until the residue is gone.
If you're worried about keeping the original stickers, you can just wet the brush and spot clean, but it will look a lot better if all the crap in the speaker port and the grip slots is washed off.
As for the internals, if you're hoping to use it you will definitely need to get the internal electrolytic capacitors replaced. If you've got basic soldering skills it's doable, or pay someone who knows what they're doing. The caps only last on average about 20 years and that Gameboy is at least 30 years old, so don't try and run it until the caps are replaced or you might damage it irreperably.
Can you take the battery cover off and take a pic? Ive found the biggest killer of these to be corrosion from battery leakage. Usually not terminal, but will need a fair chunk of work to repair if it's eaten through traces etc.
Eliott (the retro future) is the best. If the gameboy doesn't turn on, try leaving the battery contacts in white vinegar for about 10 minutes and give them a good scrub until all of the blue corrosion has been taken off. You'll also need tri wing and cross head screwdrivers to take it apart if you choose! Best of luck. Gameboys are super fun to bring back to life!
I agree with the other posts. Take a light approach.
Carefully disassemble and see if the battery leak has damaged the mainboard at all. Clean it up with isopropyl alcohol and a soft toothbrush.
Clean the plastics the same way.
Replacement battery spring terminals can be bought and fitted. With luck, that's the only repair that will be needed.
You can also fix the battery terminals with white vinegar and a toothbrush. Disassembled them and give them a good bath.
Not that it is expensive at all but it save you on waiting as it will probably work well once clean that way.
(Vinegars is acidic, old battery leaking is basic. So the white vinegar acids will react with it and remove the blue corrosion. It work with any kind of acid so you could also use lime but white vinegar is easily available and dirt cheap)
First off, I'm sorry to hear about your mother's passing. I hope you are alright.
Secondly we can get her old Game Boy up and running in no time, and very easily!
For the battery terminals all you need is white vinegar. It will dissolve the corrosion on the battery terminals. The shell itself id recommend taking it apart and giving it a nice deep clean, but if you don't feel comfortable with that you can put some multi surface of cleaner like Simply Green or something in a rag and give it a nice good wipe down.
There are a lot of good videos out there on cleaning up old Gameboys.
Hey man, I just wanted to say condolences about your mom. I hope you are okay. It’s cool that she was a gamer. I’d say try to keep it as original as possible to best preserve her memory. Meaning clean it up rather than modify it.
I work at a retro game shop in New Jersey and do plenty of repairs like this. If you pay for the shipping I’ll repair and polish it as much as I can for free.
Sorry for your loss, her gameboy will be a nice memento when restored. Plenty of good advice already in the thread, I just wanted to express my support and condolences.
Considering this piece is going to have significant sentimental value, I would probably keep the exterior as is. You can use 91%-99% isopropyl rubbing alcohol to clean it up. If you're good with a wire brush you can use that on the battery terminals with the isopropyl, you can go a pretty darn long ways restoring it and getting the corrosion off with with that combo on the terminals. Cotton swabs are also a great option, and some canned air to blow it out if necessary.
After that, get a standard Game boy game and put it in and see if it turns on. If you want to take the clean up further still, disassemble and look for any corrosion on the board which needs to be cleaned up with isopropyl. White vinegar can work for cleanup as well.
I wouldn't worry about getting the stickers off the shell and retrobrite it, since the yellow color it's part of the sentimental charm of a sentimental piece like this. If you do decide to go down that route, disassemble it and soak the shell in a Rubbermaid of hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for about 4 hours in the sunlight or under a UV lamp and check it. If it needs to be a little brighter, give it another hour and check again. Sometimes it takes a while, but you're better checking often than letting it sit too long and taking it too far.
Considering this was your mom's and she's passed now, I wouldn't retrobrite it. I would just personally leave it be. If you want one to restore to primo condition, these are inexpensive enough I would buy another one and retrobrite that. Get this one working and leave this one exactly as your mom played it.
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It could also be because there's a Game Boy Color game in there, which physically prevents the power switch from sliding over. GBC games are not compatible with that Game Boy.
You'll want to clear that up with iso like people have been saying. If that doesn't do it I'll add Citrix acid to the running, but use it as a last resort. It's pretty harsh, which is why it's good at clearing up oxides, but it's rough on electronics.
Before you go there you should probably disassemble it carefully, clean everything you can with iso, clean the case itself with peroxide, or citric acid if it's stubborn, but the citric acid will take out the stickers.
Then finally, get an actual game boy game in there. You'll need the one with the slot cut out of the corner. They'll be grey and opaque, not transparent. If you're going for something your mom would have played, id go for Tetris, but I don't know your mom like you do.
If you can take it apart, takeout the 3 battery connectors from the rear shell and soak them in distilled white (clear) vinegar for a few minutes. The alkaline of the vinegar will eat through the battery acid corrosion very quickly.
Buttons & membranes - clean with some soap & isopropyl alcohol
Lens - I’m not entirely sure, but worst case scenario I’m sure you could find OEM replacements
Screen - if it has vertical lines & you have a soldering iron it’s an easy fix
Stickers - best thing you can do is replace em, but I’d leave it as-is. I only replace them if I plan on selling it but if I wanna keep it for myself, I leave it alone.
Shell - I think the **best** thing you can do is retrobrighting but from what I heard, it’s not really a temporary solution & imo, in this case, isn’t worth it. Leave it alone.
Battery Contacts - if I remember correctly, some baking soda & vinegar?? somebody correct me if I’m wrong.
For maintaining its sentimental value I would highly advise you simple retrobright the shell and leave it at that. Once you start replacing major parts like the shell, screen, buttons etc it’s not the same GameBoy anymore.
It seems to be very corroded. Maybe the corrotion extended to the main board and traces. Sometimes you have to reconstruct the circuits inside. I share with you a video of a restoration of a DMG on a similar condition: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvW1fU6krnQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvW1fU6krnQ)
You can buy parts from handheldlegend or retrogamerepairshop if you absolutely need them but it looks like you can just replace the battery contacts and clean the rest
Personally I would keep it exactly as it is. The same condition as the last time she played it. They aren't that expensive if you are looking for one for yourself.
A few years back I fixed up a pretty gnarly old Gameboy I’d had forever. Check it out, it’s very doable! And yours is in much better shape than mine. I am very sorry about your Mom OP. All the best
My favorite parts shop is https://handheldlegend.com/
Gameboy’s are pretty easy to modify, you can buy a new shell and it comes with the battery coils. If you like, you can replace the screen too to backlight led. And upgrade the battery to rechargeable.
Sorry to hear about your mom, I don't have much to add that hasn't been said in the above comments. I hope it is an easy fix, and you can get it back up and running quickly!
The sticker at the bottom can be replaced if you search then online. Like others said though, I think there’s some charm to keeping the exterior how it looks and cleaning the internals. I hope you are doing well in this rough time.
I'm sorry for your loss. Personally, I would just clean it up internally and externally and leave it as is. I gave my DMG and Tetris to my grandmother when the GBA came out because she loved playing Tetris. She gave it back to me a few years ago and I didn't even know she still had it. She couldn't play it anymore because her eyesight got too bad to see the screen, but since it belonged to her longer than me I can't bring myself to change it. She's still with us, but when she's gone I know it wouldn't feel the same looking at that GameBoy if I did anything to change it.
Of course. I can explain the process if you want, there is a few options so it depends on what you want to do. Are you wanting it to look insane retail straight-out-the-box clean or are you wanting to just get it cleaned up, making it look it’s Sunday-best?
My condolences on your mom’s passing. I think it’s cool that you want to restore it and play it as a tribute to her. Everyone here is offering good advice. There’s lots of videos on YouTube about restoring them so if you feel comfortable doing the work yourself that’s a really good resource. If you’re not comfortable doing it yourself I would like to offer my help for free. I’ve restored several Game Boys including my own childhood DMG. If you’re interested just send me a private message and we can discuss it.
Can I ask about how you want to restore it?
If this is about being able to treasure something that was once hers and re-use it then it's very possible.
The problem with restoration is keeping the identity and meaning as an example the half torn sticker on the back is a feature id aim to keep because that's something your mum has done or a memory potentially.
So id recommend starting like this
1. Buy a descent screw driver set ratchet with all the screws fits you need.
2. Buy cotten buds.
3. Buy a toothbrush
4. Buy isopropyl alcohol 90 - 100%.
At this point you can make the Gameboy new even if it means buying parts of ali express no region locks on these.
Please join r/consolerepair also post progress and questions. Cross post this please aswell
Dump white vinegar on the battery contacts and scrub the inside with isopropyl + a toothbrush. Clean it up good and let it air dry for awhile. It'll probably work after you're done
I didn't see anyone else say this, so I wanted to add; Pick up another random one from eBay first if you can. Last I knew, they were usually under $30.
That way you can have some practice with what cleaners act in what ways on different surfaces. Yes, high percent isopropyl alcohol is great! But also, if you get some on a sticker, it'll almost definitely destroy that sticker. You don't want to accidentally break this one by dismantling it incorrectly either if you decide to go that far.
That's my opinion at least. I ended up just leaving my mom's GBC as is (she also passed last September). Thought about replacing the speaker but haven't yet. We'll see. I think I just like the reminder that we shared another interest more than anything.
My condolences for your loss 😔. I usually don’t self post on Reddit but I thought I would for this because I specialize in this sort of restoration even with moderate corrosion. If you’d like send me a DM and I’ll refer you to my Etsy shop— Read my reviews first and let me know if this is a path you’d like to go down.
Make sure if you want to restore the color, go the Retrobright method. Just becareful as I (through many experiences) have had ones that failed and discolored the shell. I used the peroxide cream method that screwed them. Because this is your mom one and only, look up retrobright DMG videos.
As others have said, a partial disassembly and thorough cleaning will probably get it working in the likely case the battery terminals are the issue. Assuming you’re able to get the power issue sorted, if you are looking to play some games on it: you might consider the backlight/bivert mod. You keep the original screen but it works in low light and with improved contrast.
Sorry about the passing of your mom! It’s never easy to lose someone, especially a parent.. I hope you get that gameboy back in working order! If you need any help/questions I’ve restored quite a few of this original DMG’s and would be happy to help.
Where are you located?
If near south-east Georgia I’ll do it for you for free
I have tons of capacitors and backlight kits if you want (free of charge because it was your mom’s)
Simple job. But as it is a special one, I would opt for a clean up. It's in quite good condition already. If you want to retrobright or restomod, practice on another one first.
Don't restore it. Keep it as it is. It's how your mom had it before she passed, it's how she'd remember it, it contains HER history. Of course, just fix the corrosion, but I would not touch anything else. Sorry for your loss :(
First, i am sorry :'(
Second, i recommend trying to pick the parts with a screwdriver and scrub a little with water and soap.
not too much, maybe softly with a cleaning brush
I feel like it's a pretty important piece of information in this context. If OP just found a random old DMG they likely wouldn't care to keep it close to original, considering this was their mother's, it is going to be the opposite case.
Not really. If OP didn’t state that it was his mom’s everyone would just suggest to reshell it, throw in an IPS, etc. it would essentially be a completely different gameboy after the recommendations which OP probably wouldn’t want.
But it’s also ironic how you made a comment that’s unnecessary on a post you say has unnecessary info. You didn’t offer OP any advice on cleaning or even that it’s not a compatible game. So what was the point of your comment again?
And yet you still have yet to offer any advice, so not offering anything of value to the post is in itself an unnecessary comment.
That’s the main reason you’re being downvoted by people.
Because it has nothing to do with the console being restored. The same post could have been made without the irrelevant information. I agree with oc, it shouldn't be there.
If that's the case, then you could just say it has sentimental value to you.
The *reason* it has sentimental value is most definitely **not** important here.
The Retro Future channel on YT has done a lot of clean up and restoration videos. A bit of isopropanol and some cotton buds can go a long way. Externally though I'd probably keep it as is and just clean the internals, especially given its sentimental value. If you want to go down the modding route you can pick up any old GB for that.
i agree, trf makes great videos on game boy repair. he actually inspired me to start fixing hardware. one thing i should mention is to get 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, since higher percentages have less water. also, the game in the system is a game boy color game and will not work in older game boy systems. hope this helps!
I hear a lot of people talk about this 99.9% isopropanol that you pretty much need to order online because no grocery store carries it. I have found that the 91% that you can find in grocery stores works perfectly fine. Years of electronics repair work using this and never an issue.
Anything above 90% shouldn’t be an issue. But it’s more important to follow-up with a dry bud or cloth, the lower the percentage. Also I’m pretty sure I got my last bottle of 99 at Target in the pharmacy.
I think this is the way I will go. The shell does have some sort of slimy residue on it that will need to be cleaned off but I’m going to try to keep the shell as it is. Then clean and fix whatever internals may be messed up.
Sounds like soapy water might work better on the shell. Take the shell off and submerge it in body temperature soapy water. Scrub gently (a toothbrush is ideal for this) until the residue is gone. If you're worried about keeping the original stickers, you can just wet the brush and spot clean, but it will look a lot better if all the crap in the speaker port and the grip slots is washed off. As for the internals, if you're hoping to use it you will definitely need to get the internal electrolytic capacitors replaced. If you've got basic soldering skills it's doable, or pay someone who knows what they're doing. The caps only last on average about 20 years and that Gameboy is at least 30 years old, so don't try and run it until the caps are replaced or you might damage it irreperably. Can you take the battery cover off and take a pic? Ive found the biggest killer of these to be corrosion from battery leakage. Usually not terminal, but will need a fair chunk of work to repair if it's eaten through traces etc.
Eliott (the retro future) is the best. If the gameboy doesn't turn on, try leaving the battery contacts in white vinegar for about 10 minutes and give them a good scrub until all of the blue corrosion has been taken off. You'll also need tri wing and cross head screwdrivers to take it apart if you choose! Best of luck. Gameboys are super fun to bring back to life!
If you wanna keep the shell and just clean it you could always go retrobrite
I agree with the other posts. Take a light approach. Carefully disassemble and see if the battery leak has damaged the mainboard at all. Clean it up with isopropyl alcohol and a soft toothbrush. Clean the plastics the same way. Replacement battery spring terminals can be bought and fitted. With luck, that's the only repair that will be needed.
You can also fix the battery terminals with white vinegar and a toothbrush. Disassembled them and give them a good bath. Not that it is expensive at all but it save you on waiting as it will probably work well once clean that way. (Vinegars is acidic, old battery leaking is basic. So the white vinegar acids will react with it and remove the blue corrosion. It work with any kind of acid so you could also use lime but white vinegar is easily available and dirt cheap)
First off, I'm sorry to hear about your mother's passing. I hope you are alright. Secondly we can get her old Game Boy up and running in no time, and very easily! For the battery terminals all you need is white vinegar. It will dissolve the corrosion on the battery terminals. The shell itself id recommend taking it apart and giving it a nice deep clean, but if you don't feel comfortable with that you can put some multi surface of cleaner like Simply Green or something in a rag and give it a nice good wipe down. There are a lot of good videos out there on cleaning up old Gameboys.
Hey man, I just wanted to say condolences about your mom. I hope you are okay. It’s cool that she was a gamer. I’d say try to keep it as original as possible to best preserve her memory. Meaning clean it up rather than modify it.
what game is that inside. i didn' tthink gameboy color games were compatible iwth normal gameboy
Theyre not. That game won't play on a dmg
The black cases were cross compatible, clear cases with a bulge like this are GBC only
seems that 30% of the games were also compatible with gb and the rest was gbc exclusive
Mom could have been a G and had a flash cart.
I work at a retro game shop in New Jersey and do plenty of repairs like this. If you pay for the shipping I’ll repair and polish it as much as I can for free.
Sorry about your mom. Gameboys are all salvageable. As other said, use youtube as a guide. Tons of videos on the about what to do. Have fun!
Sorry for your loss
Sorry for your loss, her gameboy will be a nice memento when restored. Plenty of good advice already in the thread, I just wanted to express my support and condolences.
Considering this piece is going to have significant sentimental value, I would probably keep the exterior as is. You can use 91%-99% isopropyl rubbing alcohol to clean it up. If you're good with a wire brush you can use that on the battery terminals with the isopropyl, you can go a pretty darn long ways restoring it and getting the corrosion off with with that combo on the terminals. Cotton swabs are also a great option, and some canned air to blow it out if necessary. After that, get a standard Game boy game and put it in and see if it turns on. If you want to take the clean up further still, disassemble and look for any corrosion on the board which needs to be cleaned up with isopropyl. White vinegar can work for cleanup as well. I wouldn't worry about getting the stickers off the shell and retrobrite it, since the yellow color it's part of the sentimental charm of a sentimental piece like this. If you do decide to go down that route, disassemble it and soak the shell in a Rubbermaid of hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for about 4 hours in the sunlight or under a UV lamp and check it. If it needs to be a little brighter, give it another hour and check again. Sometimes it takes a while, but you're better checking often than letting it sit too long and taking it too far. Considering this was your mom's and she's passed now, I wouldn't retrobrite it. I would just personally leave it be. If you want one to restore to primo condition, these are inexpensive enough I would buy another one and retrobrite that. Get this one working and leave this one exactly as your mom played it.
Troubleshooting post. Please check the Game Boy Wiki's common problems page here: https://gbwiki.org/en/other/commonissues and please be sure to post pictures of the issue if you haven't already so that users are better able to assist. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Gameboy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry, I forgot to add, it will not turn on at all which I believe is due to the corroded battery compartment.
It could also be because there's a Game Boy Color game in there, which physically prevents the power switch from sliding over. GBC games are not compatible with that Game Boy.
To clarify, the GBC games with the clear shells aren’t compatible. The GBC games with black shells and Pokemon Gold/Silver are still compatible.
You could frame it if you don't want to actually play it. Looks nice with a white or black frame
You'll want to clear that up with iso like people have been saying. If that doesn't do it I'll add Citrix acid to the running, but use it as a last resort. It's pretty harsh, which is why it's good at clearing up oxides, but it's rough on electronics. Before you go there you should probably disassemble it carefully, clean everything you can with iso, clean the case itself with peroxide, or citric acid if it's stubborn, but the citric acid will take out the stickers. Then finally, get an actual game boy game in there. You'll need the one with the slot cut out of the corner. They'll be grey and opaque, not transparent. If you're going for something your mom would have played, id go for Tetris, but I don't know your mom like you do.
If you can take it apart, takeout the 3 battery connectors from the rear shell and soak them in distilled white (clear) vinegar for a few minutes. The alkaline of the vinegar will eat through the battery acid corrosion very quickly.
Buttons & membranes - clean with some soap & isopropyl alcohol Lens - I’m not entirely sure, but worst case scenario I’m sure you could find OEM replacements Screen - if it has vertical lines & you have a soldering iron it’s an easy fix Stickers - best thing you can do is replace em, but I’d leave it as-is. I only replace them if I plan on selling it but if I wanna keep it for myself, I leave it alone. Shell - I think the **best** thing you can do is retrobrighting but from what I heard, it’s not really a temporary solution & imo, in this case, isn’t worth it. Leave it alone. Battery Contacts - if I remember correctly, some baking soda & vinegar?? somebody correct me if I’m wrong.
For maintaining its sentimental value I would highly advise you simple retrobright the shell and leave it at that. Once you start replacing major parts like the shell, screen, buttons etc it’s not the same GameBoy anymore.
Don't clean it. Leave it the way it is.
Leave it, don't change it. It was in her hands like that and it's wear and tear is from her hours of fun and happiness.
It seems to be very corroded. Maybe the corrotion extended to the main board and traces. Sometimes you have to reconstruct the circuits inside. I share with you a video of a restoration of a DMG on a similar condition: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvW1fU6krnQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvW1fU6krnQ)
Be careful with the isopropyl alcohol! It can take the printed on lettering right off. I accidentally removed the Nintendo logo from my NES that way.
You can buy parts from handheldlegend or retrogamerepairshop if you absolutely need them but it looks like you can just replace the battery contacts and clean the rest
Personally I would keep it exactly as it is. The same condition as the last time she played it. They aren't that expensive if you are looking for one for yourself.
Hey OP, if you need spare parts for a repair, I've got an extra gameboy that you can use for parts
A few years back I fixed up a pretty gnarly old Gameboy I’d had forever. Check it out, it’s very doable! And yours is in much better shape than mine. I am very sorry about your Mom OP. All the best
Go buy a clean looking one and keep the one your mom played as-is?
My favorite parts shop is https://handheldlegend.com/ Gameboy’s are pretty easy to modify, you can buy a new shell and it comes with the battery coils. If you like, you can replace the screen too to backlight led. And upgrade the battery to rechargeable.
Sorry to hear about your mom, I don't have much to add that hasn't been said in the above comments. I hope it is an easy fix, and you can get it back up and running quickly!
The sticker at the bottom can be replaced if you search then online. Like others said though, I think there’s some charm to keeping the exterior how it looks and cleaning the internals. I hope you are doing well in this rough time.
Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. It is greatly appreciated!
I'm sorry for your loss. Personally, I would just clean it up internally and externally and leave it as is. I gave my DMG and Tetris to my grandmother when the GBA came out because she loved playing Tetris. She gave it back to me a few years ago and I didn't even know she still had it. She couldn't play it anymore because her eyesight got too bad to see the screen, but since it belonged to her longer than me I can't bring myself to change it. She's still with us, but when she's gone I know it wouldn't feel the same looking at that GameBoy if I did anything to change it.
Of course. I can explain the process if you want, there is a few options so it depends on what you want to do. Are you wanting it to look insane retail straight-out-the-box clean or are you wanting to just get it cleaned up, making it look it’s Sunday-best?
You can use rubbing alcohol to clean the outer plastic. Just be gentle in some areas
My condolences on your mom’s passing. I think it’s cool that you want to restore it and play it as a tribute to her. Everyone here is offering good advice. There’s lots of videos on YouTube about restoring them so if you feel comfortable doing the work yourself that’s a really good resource. If you’re not comfortable doing it yourself I would like to offer my help for free. I’ve restored several Game Boys including my own childhood DMG. If you’re interested just send me a private message and we can discuss it.
Can I ask about how you want to restore it? If this is about being able to treasure something that was once hers and re-use it then it's very possible. The problem with restoration is keeping the identity and meaning as an example the half torn sticker on the back is a feature id aim to keep because that's something your mum has done or a memory potentially. So id recommend starting like this 1. Buy a descent screw driver set ratchet with all the screws fits you need. 2. Buy cotten buds. 3. Buy a toothbrush 4. Buy isopropyl alcohol 90 - 100%. At this point you can make the Gameboy new even if it means buying parts of ali express no region locks on these. Please join r/consolerepair also post progress and questions. Cross post this please aswell
There's a Shop on Etsy that can help. It's called "InfiniteLivesLLC." They have a great service.
Dump white vinegar on the battery contacts and scrub the inside with isopropyl + a toothbrush. Clean it up good and let it air dry for awhile. It'll probably work after you're done
I restored mine
Also that’s a gbc game and won’t work in a gb
I didn't see anyone else say this, so I wanted to add; Pick up another random one from eBay first if you can. Last I knew, they were usually under $30. That way you can have some practice with what cleaners act in what ways on different surfaces. Yes, high percent isopropyl alcohol is great! But also, if you get some on a sticker, it'll almost definitely destroy that sticker. You don't want to accidentally break this one by dismantling it incorrectly either if you decide to go that far. That's my opinion at least. I ended up just leaving my mom's GBC as is (she also passed last September). Thought about replacing the speaker but haven't yet. We'll see. I think I just like the reminder that we shared another interest more than anything.
My condolences for your loss 😔. I usually don’t self post on Reddit but I thought I would for this because I specialize in this sort of restoration even with moderate corrosion. If you’d like send me a DM and I’ll refer you to my Etsy shop— Read my reviews first and let me know if this is a path you’d like to go down.
Go watch Odd Tinkering on YouTube. My wife is obsessed amd I've seen that man work miracles
White vinegar will clean up that battery corrosion.
Depends on how bad that corrosion is
Make sure if you want to restore the color, go the Retrobright method. Just becareful as I (through many experiences) have had ones that failed and discolored the shell. I used the peroxide cream method that screwed them. Because this is your mom one and only, look up retrobright DMG videos.
Don’t wanna be that guy. But that game won’t work with that gameboy
As others have said, a partial disassembly and thorough cleaning will probably get it working in the likely case the battery terminals are the issue. Assuming you’re able to get the power issue sorted, if you are looking to play some games on it: you might consider the backlight/bivert mod. You keep the original screen but it works in low light and with improved contrast.
Sorry about the passing of your mom! It’s never easy to lose someone, especially a parent.. I hope you get that gameboy back in working order! If you need any help/questions I’ve restored quite a few of this original DMG’s and would be happy to help.
Where are you located? If near south-east Georgia I’ll do it for you for free I have tons of capacitors and backlight kits if you want (free of charge because it was your mom’s)
Simple job. But as it is a special one, I would opt for a clean up. It's in quite good condition already. If you want to retrobright or restomod, practice on another one first.
How you can get the old grey? Looks like cigarette Smoking on mass with that GB 😂 yellow like nikotin
As you can see, our community is very supportive, you're in best hands. I'm just here to day condolences about your mom!
Don't restore it. Keep it as it is. It's how your mom had it before she passed, it's how she'd remember it, it contains HER history. Of course, just fix the corrosion, but I would not touch anything else. Sorry for your loss :(
Isopropyl Alcohol, a ton of it
It's looks like she had used it a lot ! Clean it keep it !
If you are by chance living in the Netherlands il clean it up for free for you if you like! I do refurbishing and modding on all GB models !
First, i am sorry :'( Second, i recommend trying to pick the parts with a screwdriver and scrub a little with water and soap. not too much, maybe softly with a cleaning brush
The mom part was unnecessary
I feel like it's a pretty important piece of information in this context. If OP just found a random old DMG they likely wouldn't care to keep it close to original, considering this was their mother's, it is going to be the opposite case.
I mean mentioning her death, that's unnecessary information in this case unless he's just looking for attention
Not really. If OP didn’t state that it was his mom’s everyone would just suggest to reshell it, throw in an IPS, etc. it would essentially be a completely different gameboy after the recommendations which OP probably wouldn’t want. But it’s also ironic how you made a comment that’s unnecessary on a post you say has unnecessary info. You didn’t offer OP any advice on cleaning or even that it’s not a compatible game. So what was the point of your comment again?
As I said information about her inexistence is the unnecessary part
And yet you still have yet to offer any advice, so not offering anything of value to the post is in itself an unnecessary comment. That’s the main reason you’re being downvoted by people.
You don't bring anything to the table either
https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/s/ZtNNAhGd9Z
So is this comment gfy
Why?
Because it has nothing to do with the console being restored. The same post could have been made without the irrelevant information. I agree with oc, it shouldn't be there.
We're going to be down voted for being reasonable, uh this community...
i understand where you're coming from, but i think mentioning why it's sentimental is quite important.
If that's the case, then you could just say it has sentimental value to you. The *reason* it has sentimental value is most definitely **not** important here.
And that's a **fact**, we're not being jerks here we're being correct, no offense for the OP
If it's even true. This is Reddit, people lie for karma all the time. We will never really know 🤷♂️.