Tama not hatching, can't set time

So, I got some batteries for my original 97 p1 tama and put them in. But it won't go past the egg stage. It has been over 30 minutes. I also am not able to press any buttons to set the time or anything-- all the buttons do nothing. Is there a separate battery that controls the internal clock or something that may have died??

There's no separate battery for the clock, no. Have you tried pressing the reset button on the back, and then trying to set the time with the B button as normal after that? Sometimes installing new batteries can cause unintended glitches - that's why the instructions for devices like this usually suggest that the user press the reset button after putting in fresh batteries.

If that fails, I wonder if the buttons have just accumulated a bunch of grit and gunk underneath the due to age, and simply need cleaning?

Yes, I tried resetting a couple times, and it still is just stuck on egg screen and doesn't let me set the clock with B button. It's been in the original plastic casing inside the box so I can't imagine it getting TOO dirty, but I'm not sure what else it could be. Is there a guide for cleaning it?

I would try cleaning it as Penguin-keeper stated. It could be that you can't set the time because the B button isn't actually making contact. It happened to a friend of mine a couple of months ago where her C button wasn't working AT ALL, no matter how hard you press on it. I've revived more than one of my (and also my friend's) Tamas by doing the recommended cleaning. Here's a detailed guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ8IKn33OMA That guide is for the Connection series, but they should be quite similar. Just work slowly and diligently  

Oh, and be very careful when you pry both sides of the shell open so you don't rip the speaker wires, everything is explained quite nicely in that vid. Best of luck!  

Thanks so much for the link to the guide! I was afraid to take apart my tama on my own without knowing what I was getting into. I followed the guide and cleaned the contacts (everything looked clean but idk!) and now it seems to be working. The buttons aren't SUPER responsive but for a toy from 1997, I can't complain It's working well enough for me to have fun. Thanks again for your help!

Awesome!! REALLY happy to hear it worked after your efforts   Enjoy your vintage Tama   As for the buttons not being SUPER responsive, it's hit and miss unfortunately from my experience, but at least you still end up with it being usable. When I took apart my (and also my friend's) V4s and cleaned them, the buttons feel almost like a new Tama, did the same procedure for my Tamagotchi Friends, and I can't say I had the same results, but at least it became usable (they weren't working AT ALL before the cleaning).

Just to be sure, you did also clean the underneath of the buttons with a cotton bud and contact cleaner/alcohol, not just the contacts on the circuit board? If you did, there isn't really anything else you can do I imagine (except maybe switching in a different set of buttons that fit from another Tama that's a similar model), but just putting it out there just in case. Either way, glad it's in a state where you could still have fun with it at least 

Yup, I cleaned off the contacts and the bottoms of the buttons  Now I'm having a problem with my JP p1 that I ordered... the screws are stuck so I can't open it up and put new batteries in it The batteries that it came with seem to still be functional but who knows how long they'll actually last, having been in there for 25 years.

Ah dang, you did everything right, then there isn't really much else you can do except put in buttons from another vintage Tama that will fit  

Regarding your screw issue, the Japanese vintage Tamas (and probably even later versions like the Akai, Japanese Connection, etc) use JIS screws (JIS means Japanese Industrial Standard). While a Phillips will 'fit', it won't fit as perfectly tight as a JIS screwdriver will, and every time it slips, it will slightly strip the screw head, making it even more difficult to attempt opening up the Tama again. This was by far one of the best investments I've ever made for cleaning my Tamas and opening them up:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00E55DL4I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (this is the handle)

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B0751K53BJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (these are the precision bits)

The most important bit is that black bit (the number 0) in the 2nd link. It's a perfect fit for the vintage Tamas (and also for screws under the backplate for the Connection series, and also what I used to open up my Tamagotchi Friends to clean it). I had a similar issue like yours with my Mesutchi which I got last Christmas which came new in box, but one of the screws was just dead stuck in there after all these years (Mesutchi is also a vintage from 1997). Try as I might with the Phillips, I couldn't get it to budge a millimetre, and each attempt was stripping the screw even worse. So, I ordered that set (only took like 4 days to get here), pressed firmly into the screw, and it was a piece of cake to get it out. Literally something which was beyond frustrating became such an easy task when you've got the right tools to work with. If you want some further reading about this subject: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tamazone/stuck-tamagotchi-screws-guide-t22127.html

Oh, and get those batteries out of there asap once you manage to open it. Although they still work, they might be leaking, which will eventually start causing corrosion on your battery contacts. Best of luck  

I think that your tama is too old, because its the first tama wave that was from '97, So Kuchipatchi I Pod, the tama is too old

Sorry for taking a while to get back to you but thank you 321Boom for the advice. I didn't know it was a different type of screw! I don't have the means to get the 'driver right now sadly so I'll just have to hope the batteries aren't leaking for now.