SuperFW: a custom firmware for Supercard

[Lucas_091]

Maybe you disabled Built-in patch or setting Fast rom loading if on OG GBA

Yes! I fiddled around with those settings and finally got it to work, thanks a lot!!

 

[Tsila]

I found the problem u need to disable in-game menu

Strange, i have in game menu and it works, maybe random SC bug. Good it works now

Post automatically merged: Jun 30, 2025

I regularly view compat list but didn't find game that crash like AW2 and MAP. Is there other games besides NES classic as those have complex antipiracy that crash at start or ingame?

 

[sam2895]

Strange, i have in game menu and it works, maybe random SC bug. Good it works now

Post automatically merged: Jun 30, 2025

I regularly view compat list but didn't find game that crash like AW2 and MAP. Is there other games besides NES classic as those have complex antipiracy that crash at start or ingame?

Some games have slow down like metroid zero mission , naruto ninja council 2 and mario kart also there is a background glitch in dragon ball z taiketsu

Post automatically merged: Jun 30, 2025

Some games have slow down like metroid zero mission , naruto ninja council 2 and mario kart also there is a background glitch in dragon ball z taiketsu

NES classic with in-game menu or without it the same whitescreen.

 

[Davou]

Hi, I'm running into a weird issue when saving GBC games.

Everything works fine if I don't turn the GBA off while playing the GBC game. I can play and save without issues.
But if I power off the GBA while the game is running and turn it back on, the save file for the last played GBC game is completely lost.

If I exit the game properly via the Jagoomba menu and then turn off the GBA from the menu, the save is preserved.

I attempted manually backing up the save files, but restoring them before launching the game has no effect.
I opened up my SuperCard SD and noticed there is NO BATTERY inside, so SRAM is likely volatile.
I also tried enabling manual handling of save files, but it didn’t seem to change anything—especially for GBC games.

My hypothesis is as follow:

• When the GBA powers on, the SuperCard loads a blank SRAM (because there's no battery).
• This empty SRAM is then written over the actual save file for the last played GBC game.
• The manual save/load options might not apply properly to GBC emulation.

For GBA games (I tried with advance war) I can enable direct save and disable autosave and it works fine.
Is there anything I could do ? I can play if I'm carefull but I'm scared to loose many hours of gameplay because of one mistake

 

[sam2895]

Hi, I'm running into a weird issue when saving GBC games.

Everything works fine while the GBA is powered on. I can play and save without issues.
But as soon as I power off the GBA and turn it back on, the save file for the last played GBC game is completely lost.

If I exit the game properly via the Jagoomba menu and then turn off the GBA from the menu, the save is preserved.

I attempted manually backing up the save files, but restoring them before launching the game has no effect.
I opened up my SuperCard SD and noticed there is NO BATTERY inside, so SRAM is likely volatile.
I also tried enabling manual handling of save files, but it didn’t seem to change anything—especially for GBC games.

My hypothesis is as follow:

• When the GBA powers on, the SuperCard loads a blank SRAM (because there's no battery).
• This empty SRAM is then written over the actual save file for the last played GBC game.
• The manual save/load options might not apply properly to GBC emulation.

Is there anything I could do ? I can play if I'm carefull but I'm scared to loose many hours of gameplay because of one mistake

Can u send a picture of u r supercard pcb?

 

[Davou]

Sure, here it is

 

[sam2895]

Sure, here it isView attachment 514145View attachment 514146

Try to quit the emulator don't turn off the gba and switch it off then turn it on again .
Try this:
For SRAM games you can select Manual as saving method and then use the In-game menu to manually save the game while playing.

 

[Tsila]

Some games have slow down like metroid zero mission , naruto ninja council 2 and mario kart also there is a background glitch in dragon ball z taiketsu

Post automatically merged: Jun 30, 2025

NES classic with in-game menu or without it the same whitescreen.

I didn't mean slowdown or glitch. Just game that crash at start or later ingame.
As i said, nes classics have complicated antipiracy measures so they're a no go

 

[davidgf]

Hi, I'm running into a weird issue when saving GBC games.

Everything works fine if I don't turn the GBA off while playing the GBC game. I can play and save without issues.
But if I power off the GBA while the game is running and turn it back on, the save file for the last played GBC game is completely lost.

If I exit the game properly via the Jagoomba menu and then turn off the GBA from the menu, the save is preserved.

I attempted manually backing up the save files, but restoring them before launching the game has no effect.
I opened up my SuperCard SD and noticed there is NO BATTERY inside, so SRAM is likely volatile.
I also tried enabling manual handling of save files, but it didn’t seem to change anything—especially for GBC games.

My hypothesis is as follow:

• When the GBA powers on, the SuperCard loads a blank SRAM (because there's no battery).
• This empty SRAM is then written over the actual save file for the last played GBC game.
• The manual save/load options might not apply properly to GBC emulation.

For GBA games (I tried with advance war) I can enable direct save and disable autosave and it works fine.
Is there anything I could do ? I can play if I'm carefull but I'm scared to loose many hours of gameplay because of one mistake

The manual can help you: https://superfw.davidgf.net/docs/usermanual/troubleshooting/#bad-cart-battery
There's even a test to check for battery (without the need for a screwdriver )

 

[sam2895]

Hi, I'm running into a weird issue when saving GBC games.

Everything works fine if I don't turn the GBA off while playing the GBC game. I can play and save without issues.
But if I power off the GBA while the game is running and turn it back on, the save file for the last played GBC game is completely lost.

If I exit the game properly via the Jagoomba menu and then turn off the GBA from the menu, the save is preserved.

I attempted manually backing up the save files, but restoring them before launching the game has no effect.
I opened up my SuperCard SD and noticed there is NO BATTERY inside, so SRAM is likely volatile.
I also tried enabling manual handling of save files, but it didn’t seem to change anything—especially for GBC games.

My hypothesis is as follow:

• When the GBA powers on, the SuperCard loads a blank SRAM (because there's no battery).
• This empty SRAM is then written over the actual save file for the last played GBC game.
• The manual save/load options might not apply properly to GBC emulation.

For GBA games (I tried with advance war) I can enable direct save and disable autosave and it works fine.
Is there anything I could do ? I can play if I'm carefull but I'm scared to loose many hours of gameplay because of one mistake

For SRAM games you can select Manual as saving method and then use the In-game menu to manually save the game while playing. (https://superfw.davidgf.net/docs/usermanual/troubleshooting/#bad-cart-battery )

 

[Davou]

The manual can help you:
There's even a test to check for battery (without the need for a screwdriver )

Thanks for your reply, but I’ve already tried those solutions.


When I save in-game and then exit using the Jagoomba menu, I get sent back to the home screen, and the SuperCard automatically saves the previous savestate. So that part works fine—I can save the game and safely back it up afterward.


The real issue is with GBC games specifically:

I can’t disable automatic saving when rebooting.

Unlike GBA games, I can’t access any save-related settings before launching a GBC game—pressing A just launches the game instantly.

It also seems to ignore the global preferences. For example, I set "Savegame Save" to Manual, but it still saves automatically when I reboot or exit the game.
On top of that, the SuperFW in-game menu (A+B+select for me) doesn’t work with GBC games. The only thing I can access is the Jagoomba menu via L+R.

So my concern isn’t really about saving the game—it's that if I accidentally turn off the GBA while in-game, I lose everything. Since there’s no battery in the SuperCard, the SRAM clears when the GBA is powered off. And because GBC games force an auto-save on boot, it ends up overwriting the save file with a blank one from SRAM.

 

[erikas]

Can anyone explain what i'm doing wrong with pokemon? It loads fine fresh, but when theres a save, sometimes it loads sometimes i get a white screen. Once i get white screen it won't boot again.

 

[sam2895]

Can anyone explain what i'm doing wrong with pokemon? It loads fine fresh, but when theres a save, sometimes it loads sometimes i get a white screen. Once i get white screen it won't boot again.

Are you using original kernel or superfw ?
Some pokemon games have issues with original kernel

 

[xy1154]

Thanks for your reply, but I’ve already tried those solutions.


When I save in-game and then exit using the Jagoomba menu, I get sent back to the home screen, and the SuperCard automatically saves the previous savestate. So that part works fine—I can save the game and safely back it up afterward.


The real issue is with GBC games specifically:

I can’t disable automatic saving when rebooting.

Unlike GBA games, I can’t access any save-related settings before launching a GBC game—pressing A just launches the game instantly.

It also seems to ignore the global preferences. For example, I set "Savegame Save" to Manual, but it still saves automatically when I reboot or exit the game.
On top of that, the SuperFW in-game menu (A+B+select for me) doesn’t work with GBC games. The only thing I can access is the Jagoomba menu via L+R.

So my concern isn’t really about saving the game—it's that if I accidentally turn off the GBA while in-game, I lose everything. Since there’s no battery in the SuperCard, the SRAM clears when the GBA is powered off. And because GBC games force an auto-save on boot, it ends up overwriting the save file with a blank one from SRAM.

SuperFW is designed with Supercard miniSD in mind, which is a variant of Supercard with SRAM battery. Thus it might behave differently on Supercard SD, an older variant that doesn't come with SRAM battery. Issues with Flash or SRAM saves have been observed on it as well.

 

[TheBunnyNetwork]

Mother 1+ 2 keeps deleting my progress after 24-48 hours i always write sram to save what could be the problem ,i keep a backup of the save on my pc but it hsppened twice do far

 

[erikas]

Are you using original kernel or superfw ?
Some pokemon games have issues with original kernel

SuperFW. Why else would i comment on this thread?

 

[sam2895]

SuperFW. Why else would i comment on this thread?

If u r using hacked rom look at davidgf superfw website

 

[Tsila]

SuperFW. Why else would i comment on this thread?

maybe you are not using direct save option, try using it and ewram oc off if OG gba. And enable save config for the game

 

[sam2895]

Hi, everyone for those have problem with mother 3 on v 0.17 the solution is downgrade to v 0.14 creat a save file after that u can load save on v 0.17

 

[SooraMaru]

Hi, everyone for those have problem with mother 3 on v 0.17 the solution is downgrade to v 0.14 creat a save file after that u can load save on v 0.17

Is it not valid if I do it in an emulator, skipping the screen where you name the characters?