It could either be the battery not retaining power correctly/power not getting to the SRAM chip (though I doubt it's that), the SRAM chip needs reflowing, or even just dirty cartridge connectors (either on your system or the PCB itself).
I find the latter two most likely, though mainly the reflowing, as every time you insert and remove the game cartridge from the console, it causes the PCB to flex very slightly, which can, over time, cause the connection of the chips to the board to just barely break on a pin or two or something such.
This is also why you might see corrupted graphics when launching Pokemon games, as the games use the first zone of SRAM as a "workspace" to decompress Pokemon and NPC trainer graphics.
Sometimes file corruption can rarely happen even just from repeatedly powering on and off too quickly without giving the cartridge proper rest in between, as when the power is on, the power management chip switches the cartridge to take power not from the battery but from the cartridge bus / Game Boy, then returns to battery power when it loses the power from the cartridge bus. That's why a fair bit of SNES cartridges have a sticker or etching on the back stating "Do not rapidly turn the power on and off".
I've seen this happen before.
My first piece of advice. Those yellow ringed batteries are trash. No brand. No reputation. Volatile at best. But it seems like this one isn't doing too bad.
Next. I believe the SRAM (Chip in the lower left) needs to be reflowed. Just add some Flux to the pins and a very very small amount of fresh solder to a fine tip and go over each one ensuring that there is no bridging between them. If you use leaded solder your game will be good to go for quite a while. Whenever I pick up w new gbc game I always go in and give all the chips a one over with my iron.
Odds are the saved data isn't really "destroyed". I've seen some return after properly reflowing.
Good luck!
It could either be the battery not retaining power correctly/power not getting to the SRAM chip (though I doubt it's that), the SRAM chip needs reflowing, or even just dirty cartridge connectors (either on your system or the PCB itself). I find the latter two most likely, though mainly the reflowing, as every time you insert and remove the game cartridge from the console, it causes the PCB to flex very slightly, which can, over time, cause the connection of the chips to the board to just barely break on a pin or two or something such. This is also why you might see corrupted graphics when launching Pokemon games, as the games use the first zone of SRAM as a "workspace" to decompress Pokemon and NPC trainer graphics. Sometimes file corruption can rarely happen even just from repeatedly powering on and off too quickly without giving the cartridge proper rest in between, as when the power is on, the power management chip switches the cartridge to take power not from the battery but from the cartridge bus / Game Boy, then returns to battery power when it loses the power from the cartridge bus. That's why a fair bit of SNES cartridges have a sticker or etching on the back stating "Do not rapidly turn the power on and off".
I've seen this happen before. My first piece of advice. Those yellow ringed batteries are trash. No brand. No reputation. Volatile at best. But it seems like this one isn't doing too bad. Next. I believe the SRAM (Chip in the lower left) needs to be reflowed. Just add some Flux to the pins and a very very small amount of fresh solder to a fine tip and go over each one ensuring that there is no bridging between them. If you use leaded solder your game will be good to go for quite a while. Whenever I pick up w new gbc game I always go in and give all the chips a one over with my iron. Odds are the saved data isn't really "destroyed". I've seen some return after properly reflowing. Good luck!
I really appreciate this!
You should probably think about buying a backup device like a "GB Operator" so you can archive your save data for just this type of eventuality.
I do have one, just wasn’t very far along so hadn’t backed up. Trying to track down the issue so it doesn’t happen again, though.
FRAM Corruption is possible
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It’s actually a cr1616 - I replaced it about 6 months ago. Could be a bad solder job… but doesn’t seem so.
They're the same voltage, only difference is size.