My kids have had 4 DS systems. They left one open and sat on it, busting the hinge. We then had to superglue it in the open position until we got another one. That one met the same fate, except this time I dropped it down a flight of steps. My sons MarioKart version has lasted several years, and my daughters DS Lite is actually really rugged. More like an Advanced SP. As far as the screen not calibrating, I called Nintendo about that one time and they said that over time grime and dirt build up up under the lip where the screen goes under the plastic that makes up the DS housing. It's like there is a stylus pushing down on that part of the screen all the time making calibration impossible. You need to get something that is very thin and see if you can get that gunk out from under that lip. Taking special care not to scratch your screen of course.

@ nine0nine

if you have a broken hinge and it's on warranty, nintendo give you a straight replacement free of charge, apart from postal costs of course.

even the D pad huh?. ouch, maybe its time to put the old girl down.. *sniff* ... *sniff* ='(

Blowing on it will probably work.

Usually its just a clog up of dust that will stop the buttons from working... that or dead skin cells that seeped in with sweat.

I find I had to actually encase my lips around the button(s) and blow in at medium pressure for my buttons to work again. I have a FatDS by the way.

If someone walked in on me they may have thought I was taking my "love" for the DS a little too far :p

Hey,

I had this happen to my DS Lite recently, I could feel the L button about to sink in and not spring back they way it should, my heart was filled with fear, but luckily it's immune system prevailed and it seems to be fine now.

My old DS Phat's L button broke. I went to Best Buy and got a new DS Phat for free. I also have a DS Lite!