Troubleshooting

If a Cart64 cartridge shows a red screen that says "This cartridge cannot start", the code on it tells you why. Most problems are fixed by making the cartridge again on cart64.com and copying it to the flash cart again.

Red screen codes

The player checks the cartridge in this order when it starts and shows the first problem it finds.

Code 1: not a Cart64 cartridge

The player could not find a Cart64 game inside the file. The file was changed after it was made, or only part of it was copied.

What to do: make the cartridge again on cart64.com and copy the new .z64 to the flash cart. Do not edit or patch the .z64 afterwards.

Code 2: made for a different player version

The game inside was packaged for a different version of the Cart64 player than the one in this file.

What to do: make the cartridge again on cart64.com, which always uses the current player, and replace the old file on the flash cart.

Code 3: header size wrong

The description of the game inside the cartridge is damaged.

What to do: make the cartridge again and copy it again. If you copied over a network or a card reader that gave errors, try another way.

Code 4: ROM size wrong, or past the end of the cartridge

The game inside has an impossible size, or the .z64 file ends before the game does. This usually means the file was cut short while copying.

What to do: check there is free space on the SD card, copy the file again, and safely eject the SD card before taking it out. If it still happens, make the cartridge again.

Code 5: the GBC game is damaged

The game inside does not match the checksum Cart64 stored when it made the cartridge, so some bytes changed after it was built.

What to do: copy the file to the flash cart again. If it keeps happening with fresh copies, make the cartridge again, and try another SD card.

Code 6: cartridge type not supported

The game uses a cartridge chip this player does not run, such as MBC7 (tilt), the Game Boy Camera, HuC1, HuC3, TAMA5 or MMM01. cart64.com refuses these before building, so this usually means the file was made another way or with an older tool.

What to do: check the compatibility list. This game cannot be played with Cart64 yet.

Code 7: not enough memory

The game could not be loaded into the console's memory. Most large games load in pieces and do not need extra memory, but this one does.

What to do: fit an Expansion Pak in the top of the console and start the game again.

Messages on cart64.com

"That file is too small to be a GBC game." The file is not a Game Boy game. Check you picked the right file, with a .gbc or .gb name.
"That file is not a GBC game size (32 KB to 8 MB)." The file is bigger or smaller than any Game Boy cartridge. It may be a zip, a save file or a different system's game. Unzip it first if it is in a .zip.
"This game uses special cartridge hardware Cart64 does not support yet." See code 6.
"The Cart64 player file is damaged. Reload the page." The download of the player was interrupted. Reload the page and try again.
"Out of memory building the cartridge." Close other tabs or try a computer instead of a phone.

The picture is small

The cartridge was made with Sharp, which shows the game at exact 1x pixels in the middle of the screen. Make it again with Fit, which is 1.5x bigger and smoothed. See picture settings.

The game does not save

Check the game card on cart64.com: "Saves: none" means the original cartridge had no battery save, so neither does the copy.
Check the flash cart's save type for the file matches the game card: SRAM or FlashRAM. See flash cart save settings.
Many flash carts write the save to the SD card when you press Reset or go back to the menu. Press Reset and let the menu load once before switching off.

The in-game clock is wrong

The clock in games like Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal runs only while you play. Time does not pass while the console is off yet. Set the time again in the game if it asks.

Check the file name ends in .z64. Some systems hide extensions or add one.
Make sure the SD card is formatted the way your flash cart needs (see its manual).
Update your flash cart's menu or firmware if it is old.

The game runs slowly

Most games we tested run at full speed, some slow down briefly in busy scenes, and a few currently run slower. The tested games list shows which. Speed work is ongoing.

An original Game Boy game has odd colors

Original Game Boy games play with a fixed color palette. That is expected.

Still stuck?

Write to [email protected] with the red screen code, your flash cart and the game's cartridge type from the game card. Please do not send game files.