Hi everyone,

I'm facing a really weird problem and hope you can help me.

I own a white 3DS XL console which is about 3 years old. All games I own so far (3DS and DS) work fine.
Now I bought 2 pre-owned games, Lock's Quest (DS) and Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS).
I checked both games - they work fine on my brother's red/black 3DS XL. Both 3DSXL have the latest update.

When I try running them on my system, I get the following error messages when starting:
- Lock's Quest: Error Has Occurred. Hold down the Power Button to turn the power off.
- Harvest Moon: The game card has been removed. Press HOME to get back to the Home menu. (or something similar)

And, to make it even more confusing:
- Lock's Quest used to work until this morning on my 3DSXL. Now, when trying to start, it makes two quiet mechanical clicking noises in the lower left (like when turning power off/on) and shows the error message.
- I can open Harvest Moon's manual from Home screen without any problems.

If my system should be broken, I don't understand why there are two different error messages, why Lock's Quest used to work and why all my other games work fine. I tried reformatting the system, didn't change a thing.
On the other hand, if both games should be broken (which i consider quite improbable), I don't understand why they work on my brother's device.
Of course I don't have any warranty any more. But I wouldn't know which parts to send for repair in the first place...

I didn't do anything unusual to my 3DSXL, neither dropped it nor used any software hacks/flashcards. I tried exchanging the two SD cards between the devices - no effect.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem?
Do you have any idea on how to figure out what the problem is - or even how to solve it?

Thanks a lot in advance!
Sonja

I have a used game (Mahjong Cub3d) that will play in one 3DS but act flaky in another.

Used games can behave oddly. I think your system is fine.

Try cleaning the cartridge slot of your 3DS and the game cartridges.

Use a q-tip and some Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (90%) to clean the contacts.

Yea as Kinvara stated most likely dirty cartridge or the slot itself i had a similar issue and used a q-tip started working as normal again

Hey, thanks for your replies!



Luckily I managed to fix the problem by following instructions given in a youtube video called "3ds won't play games FIX!!!" (sorry I can't post links yet).



So basically, I put a folded piece of paper on the backside of the game card together with it into the card slot.

I guess the contacts are now pressed together more tightly - everything works fine now.


Cheers, Sonja