How long will they last?

From: Starling <starling_at_umr.edu>
Date: Fri Mar 28 21:20:33 1997

Yes, "bit rot" is a indeed an actual problem for cartridges and machines
that use EPROMs. I've been collecting Atari 2600 and other videogame
cartridges for a while now and collectors in that community have been
dealing with it for a while.

I'm not an electrical engineer, but as I understand it, it's not an
actual problem with the hardware of the machine itself. It's just that
the magnetic alignment in the EPROM (erasable programmable read only
memory) disintigrates. However if you have a backup of the chip, it can
be re-programed using an EPROM burner.

I know that for Atari 2600 cartridges, only prototype and low-quality 3rd
party cartridges were made with EPROMs in them. I'd be surprised if any
machines actually use EPROMs to store the ROM kernels, but perhaps they
do. If so, a list of affected machines should be made. Perhaps I should
crack open the cases on the machines in my collection when I go back to
Texas and see if any of them have EPROMs in them.


> While I'm at it... What are some other concerns
> along these lines. What should we be planning
> for as these machines grow 5, 10, 15 years older?

I've always wondered about the use of electrolytic capacitors in
computers. I believe that these buggers go bad after a while and need to
be replaced. Is this true?

I've also always been concered about floppy disks going bad. Do they
have a definately lifespan? If so, it might be hard to find new 5.25", 8"
or 3.25" (a la Amstrad) disks on which to copy ailing files.

chris starling
Received on Fri Mar 28 1997 - 21:20:33 GMT