The Leapster L Max won't play the game cartridges anymore. The games and activities on the hard drive do work.

Try this
Ensure that a cartridge is not inserted
Hold down the Hint (?) button while turning the unit on. Continue to hold the Hint button down until the LEAPSTER menu appears.When the LEAPSTER menu screen appears, press the A button.Touch each of the crosshairs that appear with the stylus, Restart unit

You have to make sure that your Cartridges is clean. Try to vacum of blow both of the cartridge hole and also the place where you put the cartridge, Sometime very small tiny dirt will makes that the cartridge cannot be recognise by the console.

Instead of 1 starter game and a few demo game that you get from Leapfrog Connect, you can also get more downloadable games for your Leapster 2. You can get it here:
leapster-2.blogspot.com

Leapster L-Max recalibrates differently. I was trying to use the instructions and it kept asking for a blue button. For the Leapster L-Max push B, A, Hint, and Home when you turn it on. Do not have a cartridge in the player or it will think it is a regular Leapster. Once it says calibrate screen it will say to press A, then wait until a target appears in the upper left hand corner, touch it and you should hear a sound, then a new target appears in the lower left hand, repeat actions, then lower right hand screen, and finally the upper right hand screen. If it stops at any time and doesn't get more arrows, try it again or turn it off and see if the pen works. It may take several times to get it working again.

its not recognizing the game, contact is probably dirty. take an eraser and rub the contacts of the cartridge and get them super clean, blow out ALL the debris and that should fix it.
good luck!

blow into the cartridge and blow into where you put the cartidge in there is most likely dirt inside those two areas.

Thank you...Fixed it by bloing into the port and into the cartridge....seems dust may have affected it.

Blow real hard in the cartridges slot, then insert it in the leapster. This used to happen with old NES games.

Buy another one from the same store and just swap them.

my daughters leapster will not show a pix and it is very faint

HI my son has a LEAP frog MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NOTHING OBSTUCTING THE CONTACTS( metal on the game and the cartdridge meet)


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