17th October 2005, 3:44 PM
17th October 2005, 4:02 PM
There really aren't that many Xbox games that I really want to play again, at least not many that I probably wouldn't just start a new game on anyway. Still, that's a pretty dumb thing to do.
17th October 2005, 4:04 PM
Yes, it is. The point about harddrives is good too... at least with PC you can back up your harddrive, and with cartridge games that have batteries it's just the game saves... but the xbox hdd can have more than just gamesaves on it... and those batteries last quite a bit longer than the average harddrive anyway. :)
17th October 2005, 4:25 PM
Wow, that's kind of shocking. I never considering the necessity to back up my Xbox data even though I back up my computer files once a week (my computer is 6 years old so I'm waiting for the inevitable HD failure). I'm playing through GTA:SA right now, and it's tough thinking that all of this work could be gone, and that if I ever want to go back and get 100% completion I will have to lug out my hefty Xbox, knowing that eventually that data is going to be gone anyway.
17th October 2005, 4:35 PM
Yeah, that's something to think about. Good find.
17th October 2005, 4:55 PM
Of course, this is true for everything... as I said cart batteries die, or memory cards mess up... but memory cards seem to last a really long time, and cart batteries last many years. Harddrives... they just don't last as long... and backing it up? It's easiest for memory cards on newer consoles, since there are backup things that back them up to PC... older systems it is of course more of a problem. So singling out the Xbox is kind of unfair... it's just more centralized in one place and on an even more unstable memory system (a spinning disc).
... that said, thinking about all those old carts with batteries in them that will eventually die isn't fun either... and the only way to back those things up is to get a not-very-legal backup thing... at least with N64 there's the dexdrive, but backing up oncart save is just as hard as it is for SNES I think...
However, the key here is that this system supports the old games... but not their saves or data. At least with those other systems, they're just for the old system... but here they are keeping compatibility working gameswise (to at least some degree) but breaking the gamesaves and dooming them to eventual death. Not nice. Sony and Nintendo aren't doing this.
On a related note, non-transferable save files are evil... this includes things like F-Zero GX, those games he mentioned for xbox, and the N64 memory card save system (which has no "move file" option without a dexdrive which of course I dont have). (oncart saves? Those aren't as bad because you'll be keeping the cartridge, while with memcards you may want to get rid of an older one if you get a new one and want to transfer everything to it...)
... that said, thinking about all those old carts with batteries in them that will eventually die isn't fun either... and the only way to back those things up is to get a not-very-legal backup thing... at least with N64 there's the dexdrive, but backing up oncart save is just as hard as it is for SNES I think...
However, the key here is that this system supports the old games... but not their saves or data. At least with those other systems, they're just for the old system... but here they are keeping compatibility working gameswise (to at least some degree) but breaking the gamesaves and dooming them to eventual death. Not nice. Sony and Nintendo aren't doing this.
On a related note, non-transferable save files are evil... this includes things like F-Zero GX, those games he mentioned for xbox, and the N64 memory card save system (which has no "move file" option without a dexdrive which of course I dont have). (oncart saves? Those aren't as bad because you'll be keeping the cartridge, while with memcards you may want to get rid of an older one if you get a new one and want to transfer everything to it...)
17th October 2005, 5:45 PM
Wouldn't an Xbox harddrive last a lot longer since it's not used a much as a normal PC harddrive?
17th October 2005, 6:02 PM
"Legal"? Um, it's perfectly legal to get a backup if you own the game. Still, that old save that you have saved data in your brain attached to won't be there forever.
The solution for me is just to open up the old carts that use batteries and replace them. I've only had to do that once so far. One of these days I'll find a way to make the swap without losing an electrical connection. Some sort of life support system...
Now, replacing old cart batteries is NOT just as easy as sliding it out and sliding a new one in. At least, not in the carts I've seen. Too many don't just clip the batteries into place, they seem to actually punch or solder them into place. By "punch" I mean it's like stapling only without adding any metal. It sort of forces some of the metal from the sleeve around the battery INTO the battery to hold it in place. Anyway, either way you have to more or less bend the little metal holder out of place in order to get the battery out. The hardest part of the exchange makes itself apparent here. You have to get the metal sleeve back INTO place so it will actually be able to hold the new battery.
Anyway, your local Radio Shack should have whatever odd battery the cartridge requires.
GR: That's true. My PC is on 24/7 (not my moniter though). My XBox can go for a month without a single power-up (same is often true for all my current gen consoles).
I must add that I have never had a hard drive die on me. I really don't upgrade my PC that often either. Maybe I tend to just luck out and replace my HD right at the point where things are starting to go wrong, or I just know how to pick HDs. I will say this, I hold no illusions about my HDs lasting forever. I'm just saying I wouldn't call their failure "notorious". Sure it'll eventually happen, but that's true for any moving part.
The main issue I tend to have is with routers. I have no idea why those things always seem to fail on me.
The solution for me is just to open up the old carts that use batteries and replace them. I've only had to do that once so far. One of these days I'll find a way to make the swap without losing an electrical connection. Some sort of life support system...
Now, replacing old cart batteries is NOT just as easy as sliding it out and sliding a new one in. At least, not in the carts I've seen. Too many don't just clip the batteries into place, they seem to actually punch or solder them into place. By "punch" I mean it's like stapling only without adding any metal. It sort of forces some of the metal from the sleeve around the battery INTO the battery to hold it in place. Anyway, either way you have to more or less bend the little metal holder out of place in order to get the battery out. The hardest part of the exchange makes itself apparent here. You have to get the metal sleeve back INTO place so it will actually be able to hold the new battery.
Anyway, your local Radio Shack should have whatever odd battery the cartridge requires.
GR: That's true. My PC is on 24/7 (not my moniter though). My XBox can go for a month without a single power-up (same is often true for all my current gen consoles).
I must add that I have never had a hard drive die on me. I really don't upgrade my PC that often either. Maybe I tend to just luck out and replace my HD right at the point where things are starting to go wrong, or I just know how to pick HDs. I will say this, I hold no illusions about my HDs lasting forever. I'm just saying I wouldn't call their failure "notorious". Sure it'll eventually happen, but that's true for any moving part.
The main issue I tend to have is with routers. I have no idea why those things always seem to fail on me.
17th October 2005, 6:12 PM
Quote:"Legal"? Um, it's perfectly legal to get a backup if you own the game. Still, that old save that you have saved data in your brain attached to won't be there forever.
Nintendo says it's not, but I don't think that they're on the strongest legal ground... it's certainly illegal to download someone else's backup (see: roms of games, even ones you own), but your own backup? I certainly would think that that's okay. But what do I know, it's illegal to give people copies (over the internet) of TV programs that you can watch over the air (on the networks, let's say) and legally make copies of... now that makes no sense...
Quote:The solution for me is just to open up the old carts that use batteries and replace them. I've only had to do that once so far. One of these days I'll find a way to make the swap without losing an electrical connection. Some sort of life support system...
I haven't had any cart batteries die on me yet... but yes, I've read about how to do it. It varies depending on the platform, and yeah, it usually seems to involve soldering... not something I've ever done.
Quote:Wouldn't an Xbox harddrive last a lot longer since it's not used a much as a normal PC harddrive?
Possibly, but harddrives on average just don't last as long as battery-backed media, much less solidstate media (EEPROM, etc, like later, non-battery-backed cart-save N64 games and the like)... though yes, battery-backed titles are definitely second on the list. Well ahead, I would expect, of stuff like N64 games that save with EEPROM or memory cards (the ones that don't use batteries, at least... I know some consoles' memcards do, actually)...
17th October 2005, 8:40 PM
No, they just say it's unauthorized. Meaning, Nintendo doesn't approve.
17th October 2005, 10:59 PM
I was talking about that part of the liscence in the manual in Nintendo's games that says something like 'backups are not needed, do not make them ever'...
18th October 2005, 4:11 AM
Liscense? That's just a part of the manual. Console games don't HAVE liscenses. And yeah, I know what you mean, and it still stands. They only say "copies are unauthorized!", in very scary terms, without actually saying they are illegal, because they aren't.
18th October 2005, 11:08 AM
And it's just Nintendo-published titles. Third-party titles (and PC games I believe), generally don't have that warning...
18th October 2005, 2:10 PM
Without having read any other comments, I can say this truly doesn't bother me. I know my HD will fail someday, just like my memory cards and catridges have already done in the past. My Super Metroid catridge did it to me a couple years ago...at first I was outraged but then I thought how insignificant and silly it was to get mad over. It just happens and life goes on. They're only games afterall.
The thousands of hours I've racked up on my hundred or so games spanning across several systems will one day be gone, and I don't care. I've already played through them, and if by some chance I want to play through them again then my old save doesn't matter anyway.
Having said that, I'm sure one or two of you is making a humongous deal out of this. Carry on.
The thousands of hours I've racked up on my hundred or so games spanning across several systems will one day be gone, and I don't care. I've already played through them, and if by some chance I want to play through them again then my old save doesn't matter anyway.
Having said that, I'm sure one or two of you is making a humongous deal out of this. Carry on.
18th October 2005, 3:00 PM
Sure they're just games but they're EXPENSIVE.
28th October 2005, 1:54 PM
Yeah, but you don't need to buy a whole new copy of the game, just a watch battery.
As for my XBox? What shall I do? I really don't know actually. I think I may end up "hacking" the thing just to get the files from the old system onto my PC, then undoing the hack so I can still use the old thing on XBox Live. From there, I can only hope the 360 will allow transfering saved data between the system and the PC. No console has done this yet (officially), but it would be a nice gesture...
As for my XBox? What shall I do? I really don't know actually. I think I may end up "hacking" the thing just to get the files from the old system onto my PC, then undoing the hack so I can still use the old thing on XBox Live. From there, I can only hope the 360 will allow transfering saved data between the system and the PC. No console has done this yet (officially), but it would be a nice gesture...