Hacking EZFlash IV -- DS + GBA?

[Entroper]

I have a couple different EZ Flash IV models that I've been using for Game Boy Advance, but I've never given any thought to setting them up for DS roms as well. However, I've just been gifted a 3DS...


- Is there anything that would prevent me from having both a GBA and a DS setup on one card, simultaneously? (I'd probably opt for the microSDHC model.)

- What files do I need to make DS roms function, and where do they need to be placed on the card? Can I just make a \DS directory and put everything there? Is there any file placement I need to avoid?

Thanks!

 

[orangy57]

you need to flash the ds with flashme to run nds files on gba, which requires buying nopass device of some kind, or having a ds flashcart

also they removed the ability to use ds mode on the ezflash iv a long while ago. It's easier just to get a 10 dollar ds flashcart and use them both for their respective systems

 

[FAST6191]

If you have one of the older models it was not so long ago that it was removed, though it will mean you don't have SDHC. Newer ones can not be done. I imagine it would be physically possible but nobody has or is likely to put the time in for it.
Also yes you will need some method to force DS mode to boot from the GBA slot, so something with nopass functionality or a flashme modified DS. I like flashme as it can get rid of the health and safety screen and allow you to boot custom wireless ROMs more easily (recently some more was discovered there but flashme does it right out of the box).

The bigger problem is to work from the GBA slot saw fairly extensive patching needed compared to DS slot stuff and the EZTeam stopped updating that some time after the DS slot stuff became dominant. That would have been around April 2009. Anything past about May 2009 will then will probably not work and it is not the sort of thing you want to do yourself.

 

[Entroper]

Thanks, I didn't even think about that. I've literally never used a DS, nor watched anyone play one. Doesn't seem like using my miniSD EZFlash would be worth the trouble; being limited to non-high capacity cards, I suppose it probably can't hold more than a couple DS games at a time anyway.

It's easier just to get a 10 dollar ds flashcart and use them both for their respective systems

Is there such a species? Can you recommend one?

 

[orangy57]

Thanks, I didn't even think about that. I've literally never used a DS, nor watched anyone play one. Doesn't seem like using my miniSD EZFlash would be worth the trouble; being limited to non-high capacity cards, I suppose it probably can't hold more than a couple DS games at a time anyway.



Is there such a species? Can you recommend one?

DS Flashcarts have been around for years, and are cheaper than GBA carts for some reason

There's the R4i Gold 3DS RTS, which is like 11 bucks and is the second cheapest flashcard around
they also load games instantaneously rather than having to be saved to PSRAM or NOR flash memory like GBA flash carts have to.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

DS Flashcarts have been around for years, and are cheaper than GBA carts for some reason

There's the R4i Gold 3DS RTS, which is like 11 bucks and is the second cheapest flashcard around
they also load games instantaneously rather than having to be saved to PSRAM or NOR flash memory like GBA flash carts have to.

The reason DS flashcarts and retail games are cheaper in terms of hardware is because alot of the hardware need is internalized into the DS itself instead of the DS cart/flashcart, unlike the GBA where everything needed was in the cart.
If you ever looked at a PCB of a DS game you will notice that it is very barebones and has very little other that the ROM chip and the chips used for save and communications with the DS.
Things like the RTC, RAM, rumble (this was externalized to the slot2), etc can basically can be found in the DS hardware when it handles a DS game.