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Hacking Datel Action Replay DSi "USB Device Not Recognized" on multiple PCs

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Hey everybody.

I've been going through all my old flashcarts and cheating devices lately to update them and get them working as much as possible, and didn't have any issues with my GBA Action Replay or R4i 3DS. Right now, I'm trying to get my Action Replay DSi (microSD version) working, but I've run into an error whenever it is plugged into my computer.

A Windows pop-up appears when I plug it in, stating; "USB Device Not Recognized" and that the device has malfunctioned. Despite that, it still installs a generic Unknown Device driver for it. If I try to update that driver to the actual Action Replay DSi driver, it ignores it entirely.

At first, I thought it might be a Windows 7 compatibility issue, so I switched over to an old Windows XP desktop but it shows the same error when the AR is plugged in.

The AR DSi works perfectly fine in an actual DS/DS lite, but not a DSi as the firmware is out-of-date. I even entered a code manually and everything worked fine- it just can't connect to a PC properly. I've looked through all of Codemasters/Datel's support articles for the AR DSi, and most just state to check the drivers, update the firmware, or reset the device- but both a firmware update and device reset require the AR DSi PC software to actually recognize that it's connected.

So, I'm at a loss of what to do now, and can only assume that something's wrong with the USB connection.

If anybody has any tips I could try to get it working, though, I'd appreciate it- manually entering codes is a pain.
 
That is because the device comes with 32bit drivers on the disc. Install it on a comp with windows XP or in a VM with XP as the guest OS.

If you don't have a comp with XP then you will want to go through this guide on setting up devices in VM. If your not particularly observant, the Action Replays are treated the same way as a flashcart.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/using-virtualbox-to-manage-legacy-gba-flashcarts.275407/



---

The drivers don't work with USB 3 ports, even if you got a system that says it has backwards compatibility. You need a system with USB 2 or lower.
 
Last edited by how_do_i_do_that,
how_do_i_do_that said:
That is because the device comes with 32bit drivers on the disc. Install it on a comp with windows XP or in a VM with XP as the guest OS.

If you don't have a comp with XP then you will want to go through this guide on setting up devices in VM. If your not particularly observant, the Action Replays are treated the same way as a flashcart.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/using-virtualbox-to-manage-legacy-gba-flashcarts.275407/



---

The drivers don't work with USB 3 ports, even if you got a system that says it has backwards compatibility. You need a system with USB 2 or lower.
Click to expand...
Hopefully this will work thanks for the help :)
 
Goto post #3, link to a guide there. You substitute the Action Replay for Elink listed in the guide. You can ignore the parts that ask you to have the AR in the DS.

If you got only 2GB of RAM, your already screwed since you will want 2GB for your guest OS to run smoothly.

I don't upgrade my versions of windows to know if you can even install virtualbox on a 32bit version of windows, I will have to assume you got a 64bit version windows 10. That guide is for 64bit OS users only.

If your wondering if there is XP Mode for windows 10, there isn't one.
 
Last edited by how_do_i_do_that,
how_do_i_do_that said:
Goto post #3, link to a guide there. You substitute the Action Replay for Elink listed in the guide. You can ignore the parts that ask you to have the AR in the DS.

If you got only 2GB of RAM, your already screwed since you will want 2GB for your guest OS to run smoothly.

I don't upgrade my versions of windows to know if you can even install virtualbox on a 32bit version of windows, I will have to assume you got a 64bit version windows 10. That guide is for 64bit OS users only.

If your wondering if there is XP Mode for windows 10, there isn't one.
Click to expand...
Im plugging it in but it won't show up as anything at all. there isn't anything there.
 
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I usually only get this error whenever I'm getting a short circuit on a USB port.

It's possible you may have a faulty cable, I've plugged an AR into my PC before and while it didn't install a driver I didn't get that error message either.
 
WeTheTurtles said:
Im plugging it in but it won't show up as anything at all. there isn't anything there.
Click to expand...

YoshiB said:
I usually only get this error whenever I'm getting a short circuit on a USB port.

It's possible you may have a faulty cable, I've plugged an AR into my PC before and while it didn't install a driver I didn't get that error message either.
Click to expand...

The both of you two are just giving vague replys to what you are doing and not giving anything important. I'm not a mind reader, that means your gonna have to give more detail than usual. As for things like "my PC", it doesn't tell me anything about your OS or what version your running or if your on a laptop, etc.

Answer these questions, that way I have a starting point to where you are and what you are doing.
  • What version of windows are you running and is it 32bit or 64bit. Your gonna have to tell me how much RAM you got to use. If you don't know, you can find it on the system property page.
  • Do you have virtualbox installed or some other VM. You need to install the ext pack if you got virtualbox installed to have access to USB devices.
  • Do you have XP as a Guest OS setup in the VM. And what Service Pack is it on. You will need to have 2GB to reserve for the Guest OS if your running a 64bit OS and got 4GB or more of RAM to use. Otherwise it will run slow as crap and take forever work with.
 
Last edited by how_do_i_do_that,
how_do_i_do_that said:
The both of you two are just giving vague replys to what you are doing and not giving anything important. I'm not a mind reader, that means your gonna have to give more detail than usual. As for things like "my PC", it doesn't tell me anything about your OS or what version your running or if your on a laptop, etc.

Answer these questions, that way I have a starting point to where you are and what you are doing.
  • What version of windows are you running and is it 32bit or 64bit. Your gonna have to tell me how much RAM you got to use. If you don't know, you can find it on the system property page.
  • Do you have virtualbox installed or some other VM. You need to install the ext pack if you got virtualbox installed to have access to USB devices.
  • Do you have XP as a Guest OS setup in the VM. And what Service Pack is it on. You will need to have 2GB to reserve for the Guest OS if your running a 64bit OS and got 4GB or more of RAM to use. Otherwise it will run slow as crap and take forever work with.
Click to expand...
I have windows 10 64bit 4 gigs of RAM I have virtualbox from the link you gave me with the ext pack installed and I have winxp as a Guest OS.
but the unknown device wont show up in the usb connections.
 
The first time I saw such an error, I had plugged a bad USB cable into my USB hub. There was a short between the power and ground lines in the cable. In other words, the cable was useless as it was not able to power devices.

Try getting a different cable and using that. May or may not solve the problem.

This was on Windows 7. Whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit should not matter, they handle problematic USB the same way.
 
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