Hacking Oldies Can you re-flash N64 Action Replay Professional Cheat Cartridges on Windows 10

[Spider_Man]

Hi,

I have to say I have been very unlucky trying to source an N64 Action Replay Professional cheat cartridge off eBay that actually works.

I was wondering if it is possible to re-flash the Action Replay ROM to the cheat cartridge, I know these cartridges came with a port on the back to connect them to your PC and there's software out there that allows you to re-flash/update your Action Replay firmware and connect directly to it and scan for cheat codes.

But as these were released years ago, I don't know if its possible to do so on Windows 10.

I can find online male DB25 connector that are USB conversion to work (in theory) on modern PCs, but I am not sure if this would allow me to connect to my Action Replay cartridges and run the software to then re=flash my Action Replay cartridges and hope it fixes them.

Has anyone else manages to fix their Action Replay cheat cartridges, or is anyone able to do so that is located in the UK.

Thanks

 

[mrgone]

Probably won't work.
Printer connector (db25) adapters to usb are specifically for printers and chances are slim to be usable under modern windows

 

[Kwyjor]

I can find online male DB25 connector that are USB conversion to work (in theory) on modern PCs

The "DB25" doesn't particularly matter – what matters is if it's a serial port or a parallel port. And as noted in the other post, most USB-to-parallel-port adapters are useful for printers only and do not offer full parallel port emulation.

If you did somehow have a Windows 10 machine with a real parallel port (such as with a PCI card), you would need a special driver to provide user access to the parallel port – see for instance https://groups.google.com/g/psychopy-users/c/hbIO2wHK1KU?pli=1 and https://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/inpout32/ . But those are sort of out of date and might not work with Windows 10 anymore. https://ucon64.sourceforge.io/ucon64/faq.html#4 also suggests "giveio64".

You could just use a "live" Linux distribution on a USB stick – I expect ucon64 supports the cartridges in question. But you'd still need the right hardware.

ETA: According to https://ucon64.sourceforge.io/ucon64/hardware.html , ucon64 does not support such devices.

 

[Spider_Man]

thanks for the comments, so it might just be easier to try my luck again and buy another one

 

[Kwyjor]

so it might just be easier to try my luck again and buy another one

I expect it would be easier to find a 20-year-old PC on the curb somewhere.

 

[master801]

Definitely not.

Datel's software for the N64 Action Replay (or GameShark - they're the same thing) only works for 95 / 98 / ME.

Not even XP works, so it would definitely not work on Windows 10.

I've already answered this question with other forms of solutions not requiring Datel's archaic buggy software.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/n64-loc...ith-a-japanese-exclusive.640004/post-10250036

 

[ILuvGames]

thanks for the comments, so it might just be easier to try my luck again and buy another one

I've been doing some research and there is a solution for you I hope. The original page is gone but here is an archive of it using the following waybackmachine link :-

http://web.archive.org/web/20220613...ameshark/resources/transfering-codes-over-usb

I don't know if there was ever any updates to the mappar software linked there, but after a few redirects it will donwload. It does indeed run in Windows 10 and one of the extra things it can do is reflash the cartridge firmware. I don't have a cartridge to test it on but I assume that it works.

 

[bobmcjr]

For what it's worth, a PCI parallel/serial combo card worked for me (I'd imagine a PCIe card would too).

And I was able to use it successfully with a Gameshark via a Windows 98 VMware's VM on Windows 7 with an added parallel port device.

 

[Spider_Man]

Thanks guys, ill keep investigating.

I came across a random page that mentioned apparently an alternative using ED64 to flash cheat cartridges, but cant see anything on that, though I know it does something to them from past experience my son inserted my ED64 into my N64 a while back which had my other AR device plugged in.

Thinking ED64 was Mario64 (he was only 7) and boom, bye bye that AR - so I just recently decided to replace it and found one on v3.20 and turns out it came stuck with its led on 8. and tested all games on it and nothing.

I really have no luck lately, i mean like last couple of years haven't been a twat lately, fighting cancer, no immune system and stem cell transplant then safe to leave isolation from hospital to come home and boom covid - so yea while everyone moaning about been isolated.... dude I've just spent months already isolated in a room on my own, to then be released and there's this covid crap. phfff! stop moaning lol.

then find all the chemo has left permanent damage, neuropathy, no strength, can barely walk, constant pain, lose balance a lot, so all i have is time on my hands and just want to enjoy the good old days making cheat codes for the older systems.

then everything i seem to buy never bloody works, action replay pro on n64 son killed it, equalizer randomly stopped working (no led at all), had purchased an action replay pro (PS1) but its code generator seems to be shagged because it will never find valid addresses that work**, then this action replay pro v3.20, doesn't work.

** when finding the basic known values, you end up with 3 results and it took me some time to realise why nothing i scan for will give any working results, I then noticed the 3 results will always be the same addresses regardless of the game, so somehow it has a defect.

though, i know on the PS1 you can make custom boot memory cards that let you play backups without moding your console, i had a spare clone cheat card and it also let me flash it to this.

I have an archive disc and it will let me reflash the ROM of cheat carts to the cheat cartridge. now I have a 50% working Action Replay for the PS1, its loaded cheat list seems to work, but its game trainer doesn't (but that was the purpose of me buying these).

Do i risk using this to reflash the ROM to the cheat cartridge and hope it fixes the issue or knowing my luck it kills it completely.

I sometimes feel I am cursed.

I am on the hunt for an Action Replay or Xploder (or any cheat device really) for the GBA but seeing the scalper collector prices on FleaBay its like, £100+ and risk it not working is a lot of money to have another dead paperweight lol

And obviously I'm left crippled and unable to work, I don't have the spare money I used to have when I could work.

 

[master801]

I came across a random page that mentioned apparently an alternative using ED64 to flash cheat cartridges, but cant see anything on that, though I know it does something to them from past experience my son inserted my ED64 into my N64 a while back which had my other AR device plugged in.

iirc, that method you're talking about with the ED64 is only used to unlock the Action Replay if the wrong key code is used.

i.e. Action Replay key code was set to Yoshi's Story but you have no games compatible with the Yoshi's Story key code. The ED64 would be flashed to Yoshi's Story (or any compatible game) and the Action Replay would unlock with it attached. Of course assuming the Action Replay isn't hard bricked.

This video explains the key code problem. Specifically at 5:47.

Other than that, it doesn't tell or show on how to actually repair the damn thing other than the piggyback method (which isn't a very good method, anyway.)

though, i know on the PS1 you can make custom boot memory cards that let you play backups without moding your console, i had a spare clone cheat card and it also let me flash it to this.

Yep, but it renders the memory card basically useless other than a very rudimentary "modchip" (think FreeMCBoot for the PS2, but both way less functional and useful.)
https://unirom.github.io/installation/#installing-via-freepsxboot

Do i risk using this to reflash the ROM to the cheat cartridge and hope it fixes the issue or knowing my luck it kills it completely.

Why not. You have a bunch of other backup methods available. Hopefully you have a bunch of blank CDs laying around to try different flashers though.

You might find this useful. Although be warned there are a bunch of dead links.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180819230305/http://xianaix.net/museum.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20180819071313/https://xianaix.net/filez.htm

I am on the hunt for an Action Replay or Xploder (or any cheat device really) for the GBA but seeing the scalper collector prices on FleaBay its like, £100+ and risk it not working is a lot of money to have another dead paperweight lol

Unfortunately, there seems to be no other option.

I found this open source recreation for the Action Replay v3, but it requires the custom Datel ASIC that will need to be salvaged from an existing Action Replay v3.
https://github.com/RWeick/GBA-Action_Replay-REF1512B

EDIT: Other recreations that don't use a custom ASIC. But they may need the FPGA/CPLD to be flashed and there seems to be no dump of that available...

https://github.com/RWeick/REF1638-GBA-Action-Replay
https://github.com/RWeick/GBA-Codebreaker-FCD-0022
https://github.com/RWeick/REF1479-GBA-Gameshark-V1.0
https://github.com/RWeick/Madcatz-GBA-Carabiner-Gameshark

 

[ILuvGames]

Another way you 'might' be able to go is to use a db9 to db25 converter like this :-

https://www.its-online.co.uk/shop/cables/serial/startech-com-db9-to-db25-serial-adapter-m-f/

If so, you might be able to connect a usb to db9 adapter to it and it may work how you want it to.

 

[Kwyjor]

You could ask them if that converter has the MSC7705 chip in it.

Of course it doesn't. That is a passive device with no chips whatsoever in it.

If so, you might be able to connect a usb to db9 adapter to it and it may work how you want it to.

As I said in my post above, "db9" and "db25" is a meaningless distinction. You can't magically convert a serial port into a parallel port. That would be like buying a PS/2 to USB adapter and trying to plug a USB drive into it.

 

[ILuvGames]

Of course it doesn't. That is a passive device with no chips whatsoever in it.

As I said in my post above, "db9" and "db25" is a meaningless distinction. You can't magically convert a serial port into a parallel port. That would be like buying a PS/2 to USB adapter and trying to plug a USB drive into it.

Well, it's obvious you know better than I do so I stand corrected.

Post automatically merged: Sep 22, 2023

Right, i'm gonna try this one more time before I give up. According to the link below, Cables Unlimited used to do a cable with that chip in it. He reports that it works. He also mentions the part code for it (USB-1475). Newegg do indeed stock that cable but I don't know if it still works as their part code for it is USB-1475-06.

https://flybacklabs.com/tag/gameshark/
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16812339143

 

[Spider_Man]

thanks for the info guys, ive just remembered, i might be in luck.

i used to work for a publishing company about 10 or so years ago and when it closed down i was allowed to take anything i wanted, all the owners cared about (based in london) was that the office got cleared without any cost at all.

so i took all the computers and printers etc and still have them under my stairs, and i am pretty sure my old tatty rag a bones machine might be there.

this is how cheap the owners were (politicians btw)
I worked from a laptop and when it died they moaned about buying a replacement and considering i was the web designer and did adverts for clients to run in our magazine, you'd think it be important to give me something to work with.

but no, so I ended up raiding the back office (where we dumped all our old stuff and back issues of our magazine) and i managed to slap together a tower just good enough to do the job.

when i say tower, it was literally a bare metal frame with no sides or anything, salvaged parts from other "dead" or old machines with enough ram and hard discs and a burner and it did the job.

they only ended up having to replace it when it came to the next pat testing and the tester laughed at it because it looked like it was about to die and obviously demanded it should never be used ever again as it was illegal to do so and failed all safety laws.

then i got a new AIO pc built into a screen.

but I am pretty sure back then these scraps were from when we had XP so it just might have the right port on the back of the tower, hopefully i have the right cable too from a printer, if not, ill buy one.

daft question, but can we still buy these ports as pci e cards, maybe i can slap windows xp onto a usb and dual boot it without having to mess about creating a partition on my main drive to install xp.

off topic, if i had a semi bricked 3DS (its a JAP console) can I use either StarGate or an r4 3ds v4.3 card to boot and try recover my nand backup or force the console to just boot luma cfw installed to the console perminently?

 

[Kwyjor]

daft question, but can we still buy these ports as pci e cards

https://www.google.com/search?q=pcie+parallel+port

But if the aforementioned "USB to parallel cable with MosChip MCS7705 controller" works, then you might as well stick with that – if you can find one. (I'm kind of surprised there is such a thing.)

maybe i can slap windows xp onto a usb and dual boot it without having to mess about creating a partition on my main drive to install xp.

Windows XP is likely to have similar problems to Windows 10/11. If you're going to set up something else, you might as well go with Windows 98. (Not sure if Windows 98 would support a PCIe card, but then Windows XP might not do that either.)

off topic

Maybe save off-topic stuff for another thread..?

 

[ILuvGames]

https://www.google.com/search?q=pcie+parallel+port

But if the aforementioned "USB to parallel cable with MosChip MCS7705 controller" works, then you might as well stick with that – if you can find one. (I'm kind of surprised there is such a thing.)

Windows XP is likely to have similar problems to Windows 10/11. If you're going to set up something else, you might as well go with Windows 98. (Not sure if Windows 98 would support a PCIe card, but then Windows XP might not do that either.)

Maybe save off-topic stuff for another thread..?

It's just a bugger that you have to have that specific controller in that kind of cable or it reportedly won't work. Still, at least NewEgg have that cable or a variant of it. I couldn't find it or the Tera Grand/Viewcon cable for sale anywhere else online.

Post automatically merged: Sep 22, 2023

@Spider_Man Good luck. Hope it works for you. I noticed that the mappar software contains libusb-1.0.dll so if you a need a driver file for the usb cable if that is what you try in the end, I guess that's it. It is still being updated so here is a link to the latest version of it should the included one not work or work well :-

https://github.com/libusb/libusb/releases

 

[Spider_Man]

thanks, i really apreciate all the help and advice, saves me wasting money on having to keep buying action replay cards that for god knows why end up not working for me, file a report with ebay and this seller had a video of it working so maybe its bad luck or they knew in advance it was messing up and made the video before selling it.

 

[ILuvGames]

thanks, i really apreciate all the help and advice, saves me wasting money on having to keep buying action replay cards that for god knows why end up not working for me, file a report with ebay and this seller had a video of it working so maybe its bad luck or they knew in advance it was messing up and made the video before selling it.

Maybe they tried to update the firmware and fucked it up with a bad/or the wrong cable.

Post automatically merged: Sep 22, 2023

@Spider_Man I was looking at the Nintendo 64 Gameshark Wiki. It's a very comprehensive guide. They recommend using Windows '98 SE or a VM running it as being the easiest and less error prone version for doing what you are going to do.

https://gameshark.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_64

 

[master801]

daft question, but can we still buy these ports as pci e cards, maybe i can slap windows xp onto a usb and dual boot it without having to mess about creating a partition on my main drive to install xp.

You can try using a PCI card, but I can't guarantee it'll work. If you get one cheap enough and don't mind wasting money, you could try it anyway.

Here's a (boring) technical explanation of why the MosChip 7705 USB adapter cable works for GameShark: https://ppcasm.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-parallel-port-problem.html

off topic, if i had a semi bricked 3DS (its a JAP console) can I use either StarGate or an r4 3ds v4.3 card to boot and try recover my nand backup or force the console to just boot luma cfw installed to the console perminently?

Don't use either.

The Stargate card is not recommended since much better options exist and it will only boot ntrboot once flashed for it (this means it's basically useless.)

Get a Ace3DS X - This comes with ntrboot pre-flashed and can also be used as a DS flashcart.

ntrboot: https://3ds.hacks.guide/ntrboot
Basic unbrick guide (requires ntrboot): https://3ds.hacks.guide/ctrtransfer

 

[Spider_Man]

You can try using a PCI card, but I can't guarantee it'll work. If you get one cheap enough and don't mind wasting money, you could try it anyway.

Here's a (boring) technical explanation of why the MosChip 7705 USB adapter cable works for GameShark: https://ppcasm.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-parallel-port-problem.html


Don't use either.

The Stargate card is not recommended since much better options exist and it will only boot ntrboot once flashed for it (this means it's basically useless.)

Get a Ace3DS X - This comes with ntrboot pre-flashed and can also be used as a DS flashcart.

ntrboot: https://3ds.hacks.guide/ntrboot
Basic unbrick guide (requires ntrboot): https://3ds.hacks.guide/ctrtransfer

Thanks, Ill copy paste this and save into a TXT file on my desktop FIX 3DS DIP SHIT, because my memory is really bad this is something I really need to get done but like many things I need to do, I forget then months later when I am really bored and nothing to do, end up wanting to play my 3DS then remember its fucked.

Life at the moment is like groundhog day but in like chapters, one moment ill be this constantly then back to something else, I barely the person I used to be before having cancer, its literally changed me into something else struggling to cope with the constant pains and body becoming crippled, its mentally hard to keep up the person I was.

Stuff like this back then would like water off a ducks back, but not now, I spend more time having to read which most cases I find it hard to even understand what I am reading and have to read the same few words over and over. I used to love poking around making cheat codes and now its a distant memory.

So, I will save all of this to my desktop to avoid asking it again in a few months time as I now try save money to then buy this card.

But thank you all for helping me with this, fingers crossed I can get it fixed and when I am on a very low down day, ill have this to try distract me from my other mind and thoughts stairing at walls because Ive never been a person interested in watching TV.