Need help compiling NDS homebrew / Backing up GBA eeprom save file

[Syrion]

Long story short: I need help compiling the .nds file for the NDS homebrew app PathogenBackup. The source code is up on GitHub including a "makefile" file, and my understanding is that I should be able to compile it using devkitPro, but I just couldn't figure it out. Documentation says devkitPro comes with "Programmer's Notepad" preconfigured for compilation based on the makefile, but my installation didn't include that tool and installing it seperately didn't help me, either. Can anyone help me with that, please? I was unable to post the URL here, but it's easily found via Google.

Long story: I want to backup the save file of a very specific GBA cartridge, namely Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Germany). As I've got a DS Lite with a flashcart I just used "GBA Backup Tool" to backup the game's save file like I did before with other games (successfully). Unfortunately, the save file for THPS3 created by GBA Backup Tool is blank and unsurprisingly doesn't work with either an Everdrive or emulator. I've read elsewhere this happened for other people on other games as well and may somehow be related to the game's save type, eeprom. I tried all other backup tools I found, namely: NDS Savegame Manager (doesn't support eeprom) and Eepinator (didn't create a backup). Lastly, I came across PathogenBackup, a little tool specifically created to backup eeprom saves, which unfortunately doesn't have an .nds-file available for download, "only" the source, with me unsure how to compile it. And that's where I'm currently left in my endeavor to backup this game's save file.

Is anybody here able to help me, please?

 

[banjo2]

Have you tried GodMode9i?

 

[Syrion]

Thanks for the reply! I hadn't tried Godmode9i, I wasn't even aware that it was available for the DS Lite.
I was able to use it, although only when started through TWiLightMenu, as otherwise it didn't seem to have access to the SD card. I was able to dump the GBA rom along with the save file. Unfortunately, while the save file is definitely larger than what GBA Backup tool creates (64kb vs 512b) it still seems to be blank. Opening the file with a Hex editor doesn't show any values, and it doesn't work in an emulator, either.

I've read that eeprom saves need to be converted as they are byte-flipped when backed up, so I also used the visual basic script that comes with GBA Backup Tool to convert it, but it still doesn't work.
At least with TWiLight Menu I was now also able to use eepinator to backup the save file, and it too creates a 64kb save file, which, too, seems to be blank and unusable. Saves created via mgba and Everdrive alike are 8kb in size and show clear values like (flipped) character names in the Hex editor.

Oof, what's wrong with this cartridge?

 

[Uncia]

Long story short: I need help compiling the .nds file for the NDS homebrew app PathogenBackup. The source code is up on GitHub including a "makefile" file, and my understanding is that I should be able to compile it using devkitPro, but I just couldn't figure it out. Documentation says devkitPro comes with "Programmer's Notepad" preconfigured for compilation based on the makefile, but my installation didn't include that tool and installing it seperately didn't help me, either. Can anyone help me with that, please? I was unable to post the URL here, but it's easily found via Google.

Long story: I want to backup the save file of a very specific GBA cartridge, namely Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Germany). As I've got a DS Lite with a flashcart I just used "GBA Backup Tool" to backup the game's save file like I did before with other games (successfully). Unfortunately, the save file for THPS3 created by GBA Backup Tool is blank and unsurprisingly doesn't work with either an Everdrive or emulator. I've read elsewhere this happened for other people on other games as well and may somehow be related to the game's save type, eeprom. I tried all other backup tools I found, namely: NDS Savegame Manager (doesn't support eeprom) and Eepinator (didn't create a backup). Lastly, I came across PathogenBackup, a little tool specifically created to backup eeprom saves, which unfortunately doesn't have an .nds-file available for download, "only" the source, with me unsure how to compile it. And that's where I'm currently left in my endeavor to backup this game's save file.

Is anybody here able to help me, please?

In the GBA Backup Tool folder there is a subfolder called "EEPROM_cnv", which contains a tool called EEPROM_cnv.vbs. Did you try running that and applying it to the eeprom save file you got from GBA Backup Tool? As far as I know, you need to use that script to make an EEPROM save usable on an emulator, and I'm not sure if you already did that as you didn't mention it in your steps.

 

[godreborn]

I compiled it for you:

 

[godreborn]

it seems to work. it's reading the game as golden sun:

 

[Syrion]

In the GBA Backup Tool folder there is a subfolder called "EEPROM_cnv", which contains a tool called EEPROM_cnv.vbs. Did you try running that and applying it to the eeprom save file you got from GBA Backup Tool? As far as I know, you need to use that script to make an EEPROM save usable on an emulator, and I'm not sure if you already did that as you didn't mention it in your steps.

I did try that after the original post, but it didn't work. I tried with other save files and found out I could open them with a hex editor and, indeed, some bytes were swapped, which is what the vbs script fixes, as far as I know. But, I wasn't able to get a non-blank save file from THPS3, so far, so that unfortunately didn't help in this regard.

I compiled it for you:

View attachment 286797

Thank you! I won't be able to test it for a few days, but I'll check it out as soon as possible. Thanks again! I hope that maybe this one will be able to crack Tony Hawk's

 

[Pk11]

According to the README, PathogenBackup does SRAM saves, not EEPROM, so it won't work for your game.

GodMode9i didn't used to support anything but SRAM either, however support for everything else (including EEPROM) has since been added in recent commits so using the latest nightly it should work.

If it doesn't let me know how so and maybe attach the save an I can try fix it.