Hey i need some help and some info about what to do with my Ez flash. I just got it used and am going to replace the battery and need some info. I heard i need to do a softmod to my GBA and GBA SP before using and i have to do things like soft reset and put it in certain settings so the saves stay on the cart forever. PLEASE HELP!
Guide on using the EZ-Flash client to patch ROMs: http://gbatemp.net/threads/ez-flash-iv.291109/
A nice clear skin that includes the latest (best) firmware for the ez-flash iv: http://ezflash.sosuke.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17257
A few other considerations: http://gbatemp.net/threads/ez-flash-iv-is-being-discontinued.339309/page-5#post-4602928
There is no 'softmodding' the GBA console, its basically:
-Update the cart with the latest launcher (firmware), this also includes the skin you see when you boot the cart
-Patch (the save type) of your ROMS using the EZ-Flash IV client
-Copy the ROMs and save files onto your miniSD card (see my 'considerations' link above for restrictions like a maximum of 79 files per folder)
-Play games
The game's saves are stored in battery backed SRAM until the cart is rebooted (powered off and on, or soft reset), when it then writes them back to miniSD. If the battery in the cart is flat then powering off then on will cause the save to be lost. To avoid this you can soft reset (L+A+B+Down) after saving within the game itself. This will reset you back to the EZ-Flash IV menu and write out the save without ever cutting the power, so the save is not lost.
A nice clear skin that includes the latest (best) firmware for the ez-flash iv: http://ezflash.sosuke.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17257
A few other considerations: http://gbatemp.net/threads/ez-flash-iv-is-being-discontinued.339309/page-5#post-4602928
There is no 'softmodding' the GBA console, its basically:
-Update the cart with the latest launcher (firmware), this also includes the skin you see when you boot the cart
-Patch (the save type) of your ROMS using the EZ-Flash IV client
-Copy the ROMs and save files onto your miniSD card (see my 'considerations' link above for restrictions like a maximum of 79 files per folder)
-Play games
The game's saves are stored in battery backed SRAM until the cart is rebooted (powered off and on, or soft reset), when it then writes them back to miniSD. If the battery in the cart is flat then powering off then on will cause the save to be lost. To avoid this you can soft reset (L+A+B+Down) after saving within the game itself. This will reset you back to the EZ-Flash IV menu and write out the save without ever cutting the power, so the save is not lost.
Edit: Accidental Double post, site seems to lag after hitting post and I stupidly hit it again.
Have a read, try and google any issues. Post back if you get stuck
Have a read, try and google any issues. Post back if you get stuck
The battery is not rechargeable, so needs to be replaced if flat. I believe some of the very early units may have had a rechargeable but the majority do not.
You can see the battery type once you open the cart, it should be a CR2025 as shown here: http://s186.photobucket.com/user/trikon000/media/IMG_140102.jpg.html
Use the cart, save in a game, power the console off for a few minutes then power it back on. If you see a message that it is writing the save to miniSD when you power on and the save is still there next time you launch that game then the battery is fine.
It if fails to write out the save or load it the next time you launch the ROM then the battery is most likely flat. You'd need to replace it or ensure you always soft reset after playing.
To replace the battery you need to open up the cart (they generally have a bit of super glue holding them together, crap quality case), de-solder the existing battery and solder in a replacement.
Why would you need to exchange the battery? I also got my EZ Flash IV and its brand new, unless you got it used from another person don't put another battery in it because the one already in lasts for 2-5 years (max).
Any more info please reply.
Any more info please reply.
Have you tested to see if the battery is working as I said in my previous post? As yepi69 says there is no need to replace it if it is working.
As per my first reply, the battery only holds the save until it is written back to the miniSD card when the GBA is turned off and on (or soft reset). After this the save is safely stored on the miniSD and wont be lost even if the battery fails in a few years time.
Soft resetting is resetting the GBA without ever cutting power. Turning the GBA off then back on with the power switch is a 'hard reset' as it turns power off completely.
The EZ-Flash client can add a 'soft reset' key combination to games, so that when you press the combination of keys (L+A+B+Down) while playing a game, it resets back to the ez-flash IV menu without ever cutting power. This allows the save to be written back to the miniSD card even if the battery in the EZ-flash is flat, as the console is powering the cartridge the whole time.
Test it out and see if the battery is working, I think you're worrying about issues before you even have them yet
Read the links from my first reply, test, google any issues. If you get stuck let us know and someone will be able to help.
You don't have to do any modifications to your GBA or GBA SP whatsoever. Here's how to get started:
- Plug in your miniSD card to your miniSD->SD adapter (Typically included with miniSD), and insert the card into your SD card reader on your computer. Make note of the drive letter windows gives to the drive. (For example, mine is set to X:\.)
- Open "My Computer" on your desktop or start menu, and right click on your card drive. Click 'Format'. Choose FAT (not FAT32) Formatting and click OK.
- Download the EZ Client software. Extract the .zip to any location. Link: http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/flashcart-files/download-ez4-client-2009-04-03-f31119.html
- Open the EZ4 software, click 'Config', and change the "Send Path" to your miniSD Card's path. (e.g, "X:\GBA\")
- Click 'Open' to select your GBA file. (Note: I will not be providing links to these for obvious legal reasons.)
- Click 'Send' to write it to your card. It is necessary to move the roms/programs to the card in this manner so that EZ4 Client may patch it accordingly. Do not just drag and drop backups from your computer to the card. They will not work properly.
- Remove the miniSD card from your PC and insert it into your EZFlash IV cart, and insert the cart into your GBA.
- Power on the GBA! It will boot to your EZFlash IV menu. From there, just select the game or file you wish to play.
- Download the newest kernel. You'll need to extract the "ezfla_up.bin" file from this archive. Example Link: http://www.sosuke.com/ezflash/viewtopic.php?f=13&p=75546
- Copy the EZ4 Kernel file, "ezfla_up.bin" to the root (top) directory of your miniSD card. Do not use the EZ4 Client to do this.
- Remove the miniSD card and insert into your EZFlash IV. Insert into your GBA.
- Hold the R trigger as you turn on your GBA. Hold the R button down until you see the kernel updating process begin. Do not turn the power off until the update process reaches 100%. It should reset by itself when finished.
- Reinsert your miniSD card to your computer, and delete the "ezfla_up.bin" file from the card.
Lastly, even if it seems like your cartridge isn't working, try pressing the SD card more firmly into the cartridge. Also consider inserting the cartridge in as lightly as possible (so as to make contact, but not put too much pressure on the inner circuit board that it may possibly be jarred out of position).
Hope that helps.
These instructions were slightly modified from: http://ezflash.sosuke.com/wiki/?title=EZFlash_IV_Tutorial
An example of a soft reset is when you press A, B, SELECT, and START all at once. As Count Duckula already explained, EZ Flash can also insert a custom soft-reset -- this is a quick way to "exit" completely out of a game, and go back to the game selection menu within EZ Flash. You should choose a key combination different from the built-in A+B+SELECT+START, though (and avoid any 4-button combinations naturally used within a game).
You will inevitably (like I did) run into issues that were likely discussed way back when EZ Flash IV was still being updated. To save you some trouble, you may also want to look at the Known Issues section in the link I provided above, as well as in this other link: http://ezflash.sosuke.com/wiki/index.php?title=EZFlash_4
Even miniSD cards are starting to become harder to find. Most of the sellers that are in the US charge high prices. The ones that are cheaper (under $10) tend be be oversees. I recommend buying 2 if you can. If you have a lot of ROMs, keep in mind that only about 80 files can be viewed by the EZ Flash menu within any one single folder. (Technically, you can have as many files as you want, but EZ Flash can only properly display about 80 of them.) So what I do is place my ROMs on several miniSD cards and swap them depending on what types of games I like to play.
Yeah but even with folders, you can only fit so much in 2 GB =)
Would anyone have a working EZSkinner???
That one off of FileTrip gives me "Unzip.ocx" error when I try to run in Win7 Ultimate.......
That one off of FileTrip gives me "Unzip.ocx" error when I try to run in Win7 Ultimate.......
OCX are files associated with the visual basic runtimes. http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Fo...e-831d-c574640fca1a/vb6-runtime-for-windows-7 covers a way that might get it working.
Alternatively the ez4skin.exe file in there is cory1492's program for making skins which EZSkinner uses. Being made in some flavour of C it should work though it will not have the preview and easy selection options of EZSkinner.
Re: 2 gigabytes.
The average GBA game is 16 megs or less. Even assuming it formats as something like 1900 megs and those games take the full 16 (no trimming, no 8 meg games that is still north of 100 games).
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