Hacking How to make your SD card to EZ-FLASH OMEGA(DE) recovery-able?

EZ-Flash2

Official EZ-FLASH Stuff
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,103
Trophies
3
XP
3,444
Country
China
EZ-FLASH OMEGA(Definitive Edition) have a safe mode. It is used to recovery or do some diagnose. It can be accessed by power up the console with SELECT key pressed.

Sometimes the user accidentally enters this mode and clicks Update Loader even they don't read the warning text, but there is no Loader content on the SD card, then the Loader on the flash card is rewritten by the empty data on the SD. Finally, They get a flash card boot into a blue screen with a No Loader Found infinitely.

We have written a tutorial to recover the loader and provide a recovery image file before. You can access it here, the OMEGA uses this image, Definitive Edition uses this image, the tutorial suits with both card, just different image file.

One disadvantage of this tutorial is that it will make an SD card temporarily unusable and you will need to backup and re-copy the data.

Now we offer new recovery data, you can make an SD card with recovery data from the one you are using now, without any data loss.

If you can't understand the below instruction. Please do not try it, it may cause data loss of your SD card.


Theory:

When you press A in the Update Loader of the safe mode, the recovery kernel will read data from the offset 0x200 of the SD and write it to the flash card's loader. This loader data is not available on the general user's SD card (only on our mass-produced SD cards), this tutorial will put the loader data on a general user's SD card.

Preparation:

Download the recovery data, This is for the OMEGA, This is for the Definitive Edition
SHA1(omega.bin)= a742bb2d9074bea229923aae9563e63cce02e34b
SHA1(DE.BIN)= 0c13deff474cd6be924c0e0c81f0f8a64a0f2217



Tools to use:

Windows: HxD(free) WinHex(commercial)
macOS: Hex Fiend(free)

They will be called as Hex Editor in next section.

Instruction(sorry for the lack of screenshots):

Plug SD to computer, use the HEX Editor open the physical drive (not logical drive) of the SD card( you must open the Hex Editor with Administrator or enter the Administrator password depends on different OS).

Ensure you open the SD card with read/write mode instead read-only.

In Hex Editor's EDIT menu, you may find the MODE, choose OVERWRITE.

Use Hex Editor open the recovery data which you downloaded before(I think you already extracted them, not the zip file). select ALL, then copy them.

Go back the SD window(tab) of the Hex Editor. go to offset 0x200, then Paste the data to the SD, save the change, close Hex Editor, eject SD card, now you have a SD card with recovery data.

Do not use recovery data on non-corresponding card, this will cause you can not upgrade the kernel and firmware in the future.
 
Last edited by EZ-Flash2,

Valanduin

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 21, 2021
Messages
1
Trophies
0
Age
26
XP
23
Country
United States
I had trouble with writing to the sd card in HxD, I couldn't find overwrite and it wouldn't let me copy the data, but I did find an easier solution. I just used balena etcher (a tool specifically for writing disk images to flash media) to write the provided disk image instead. This is much more user friendly because etcher provides a GUI that lets you select a drive, then disk image, then it does everything on its own without a ton of other settings that could be confusing. I double checked that the image started at the correct address in HxD afterwards and once I confirmed that it was correct I was able to recover from the stuck in safe mode issue as described in the guide.
 

Dimensional

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
1,008
Trophies
1
Age
34
Location
Texas
XP
2,747
Country
United States
It may be easier if you instead create a custom disk image that can be written to the SD using tools like DD for Linux, and Etcher for Windows and Mac. That way the data will almost always be the same and there doesn't need to be advanced editing of the partition data of the SD.
 

sechsterangriff

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 29, 2021
Messages
4
Trophies
0
Age
39
XP
65
Country
Portugal
Just got a new EZ FLASH OMEGA DE but I think it's DOA. It's stuck in safe mode on boot up with the message no_loader_found.
I've tried everything to recover it: disk images, write directly to the card using HxD as described in this tutorial, all this with multiple sd cards. After updating it's always stuck on this same screen.

IMG_20210729_221035.jpg

On the second option I get the messages:
"read S71 ID OK"
"read S98 ID OK"
"END"

Any ideas about what I may try? Thank you!
 

EZ-Flash2

Official EZ-FLASH Stuff
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,103
Trophies
3
XP
3,444
Country
China
Just got a new EZ FLASH OMEGA DE but I think it's DOA. It's stuck in safe mode on boot up with the message no_loader_found.
I've tried everything to recover it: disk images, write directly to the card using HxD as described in this tutorial, all this with multiple sd cards. After updating it's always stuck on this same screen.

View attachment 271610

On the second option I get the messages:
"read S71 ID OK"
"read S98 ID OK"
"END"

Any ideas about what I may try? Thank you!


Since the diagnose info said no error occurred. Is there an error in the recovery operation?

If you still can't recover after several attempts, please contact your dealer for warranty.
 

sechsterangriff

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 29, 2021
Messages
4
Trophies
0
Age
39
XP
65
Country
Portugal
Since the diagnose info said no error occurred. Is there an error in the recovery operation?

If you still can't recover after several attempts, please contact your dealer for warranty.
No, no error. Once the loader update reaches 100% it just goes straight back to the safe mode menu.
 

createthiswaste

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
7
Trophies
0
Age
21
XP
34
Country
United States
I had trouble with writing to the sd card in HxD, I couldn't find overwrite and it wouldn't let me copy the data, but I did find an easier solution. I just used balena etcher (a tool specifically for writing disk images to flash media) to write the provided disk image instead. This is much more user friendly because etcher provides a GUI that lets you select a drive, then disk image, then it does everything on its own without a ton of other settings that could be confusing. I double checked that the image started at the correct address in HxD afterwards and once I confirmed that it was correct I was able to recover from the stuck in safe mode issue as described in the guide.
When I did this it says "Missing partition table" before I did everything else and now my cartridge says "bad NOR ID" do you have a fix for this?
 

EZ-Flash2

Official EZ-FLASH Stuff
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,103
Trophies
3
XP
3,444
Country
China
When I did this it says "Missing partition table" before I did everything else and now my cartridge says "bad NOR ID" do you have a fix for this?


We updated the recovery image and recovery data of Definitive Edition to compatible with the new revision(No major changes were made, only that the S71 chip which used to store the kernel data changed to a new suffix batch and the loader needed to be updated to accommodate the new chip id).

I think you used the old version of the recovery file, which caused the loader to downgrade, so the chip could not be recognized.

I updated the files on the server today.

You can download the recovery image or recovery data make a new recovery SD, and update the loader. then update the kernel without any bad nor id, if you operate correctly.
 

pfero

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 3, 2020
Messages
21
Trophies
0
Age
54
XP
150
Country
Antarctica
A simple command on linux to do this without messing with hex editors would be:
dd if=DE.BIN of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=1 seek=512 conv=notrunc status=progress
Replace DE.BIN with your binary and /dev/mmcblk0 with your SD card.
 

bigboytt

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Dec 12, 2021
Messages
1
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
34
Country
United States
I made an account just to say how absolutely terrible this explanation is from the developer.
Assuming you have omega.bin downloaded.. I kept this file on my desktop.

Using HxD on Windows:

Open Physical Drive:
  • In the toolbar, select "Open disk" or press Shift + Ctrl + D
  • Highlight your SD Card Removeable disk
  • DESELECT the "Open as Readonly" option in the bottom left and click OK
Then Open the Omega.bin file in a new tab within HxD -- Ctrl + O or File -> Open... and select.

Your layout should look like this:
1639323416241.png


  • Click the omega.bin tab, Select All and Copy.

In the directions above it says to paste this copied data in 0x200. That is located here, but your values will most likely be 00's (screen shot taken after successful fix):

  • look for the Sector 1 line, paste in the first cell to the right of "000000200".
1639324335844.png


And that is how I fixed my EzFlash Omega.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Takokeshi

EZ-Flash2

Official EZ-FLASH Stuff
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,103
Trophies
3
XP
3,444
Country
China
I made an account just to say how absolutely terrible this explanation is from the developer.
Assuming you have omega.bin downloaded.. I kept this file on my desktop.

Using HxD on Windows:

Open Physical Drive:
  • In the toolbar, select "Open disk" or press Shift + Ctrl + D
  • Highlight your SD Card Removeable disk
  • DESELECT the "Open as Readonly" option in the bottom left and click OK
Then Open the Omega.bin file in a new tab within HxD -- Ctrl + O or File -> Open... and select.

Your layout should look like this:
View attachment 289413

  • Click the omega.bin tab, Select All and Copy.

In the directions above it says to paste this copied data in 0x200. That is located here, but your values will most likely be 00's (screen shot taken after successful fix):

  • look for the Sector 1 line, paste in the first cell to the right of "000000200".
View attachment 289414

And that is how I fixed my EzFlash Omega.


I don't see what's so terrible. This is a very simple operation for those who have experience.

For the common HEX editor on multiple systems, there is no difference in the basic operation process.
 

GBAK

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Mar 19, 2022
Messages
1
Trophies
0
Age
28
Location
USA
XP
23
Country
United States
Yeah, I did all of that for my Omega Definitive edition. This guide is crap. There is basically no solving this unless you have sheer luck.
 

LugiaMasterO1

New Member
Newbie
Joined
May 2, 2022
Messages
1
Trophies
0
Age
28
Location
California
XP
23
Country
United States
Thank God i found this guide i got immensely lucky i tried this and fixed my EZ Flash Omega especially with the guides some people have placed however there are some key things that were left out or unsure if my situation was a tad bit different anyway i attempted the above methods with zero luck i even formatted the SD card

I re did the process only to find myself stuck on that blue page feeling hopeless i downloaded the latest firmware (guess mines was outdated lmao) still didnt work and i figured id be one of the unlucky few that has to buy a replacement EZ Flash but then i decided to select the first option and do the update loader what do ya know it worked i just held down the R button and the firmware updater popped up and thats when my game began working again perhaps thats all the guy above needed to do?

i almost lost hope but yeah not sure if updating the loader was the last thing needed to be done despite seeing not to do so? perhaps dont do it if the game already loads fine? and only do it if its stuck in safe mode? i dont know but either way these steps helped me out in the end so theres that at least
 

Takokeshi

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2022
Messages
532
Trophies
0
Location
-
XP
1,046
Country
Antarctica
Sometimes the user accidentally enters this mode and clicks Update Loader even they don't read the warning text, but there is no Loader content on the SD card, then the Loader on the flash card is rewritten by the empty data on the SD.
Well, that is absolutely fantastic design, isn't it? I don't suppose you could add some kind of integrity checks before these types of operations?
 

Divineheresy88

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2018
Messages
120
Trophies
0
Age
35
XP
677
Country
United States
Why can't you just add a download link for a loader file to add to the SD card? The hex method didn't work for me and now I have a dead card unless a loader file is avaliable to download.
 

EZ-Flash2

Official EZ-FLASH Stuff
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,103
Trophies
3
XP
3,444
Country
China
Why can't you just add a download link for a loader file to add to the SD card? The hex method didn't work for me and now I have a dead card unless a loader file is avaliable to download.
In the third paragraph there is another tutorial. There is indeed a loader file available for download.
 

Divineheresy88

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2018
Messages
120
Trophies
0
Age
35
XP
677
Country
United States
In the third paragraph there is another tutorial. There is indeed a loader file available for download.
Except the .bin file doesn't appear as a loader file so it doesn't work. I flashed my sd card and did the hex editor (which is ridiculous to expect your average user to know how to operate), and nothing worked. I'm gonna make the move to Krikkz and get an everdrive, this is just terrible customer support.
 

EZ-Flash2

Official EZ-FLASH Stuff
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,103
Trophies
3
XP
3,444
Country
China
Except the .bin file doesn't appear as a loader file so it doesn't work. I flashed my sd card and did the hex editor (which is ridiculous to expect your average user to know how to operate), and nothing worked. I'm gonna make the move to Krikkz and get an everdrive, this is just terrible customer support.

These are two different repair methods:
PDF+IMG method, you need to erase the entire SD card to create a recovery SD card with the contents of the loader.

BIN way does not need to erase the contents of the SD card, but the need to use hex editor, I also explained that this is for advanced users, the average user can use PDF + IMG way, there have been many users use this method to repair their card.

If you have tried two methods, have not repaired your card, still shows NO LOADER FOUND, you may need to select the "test card" option inside the safe mode to see if there is an S71 error, if so, you can contact the dealer to replace or refer to my signature's repair guide.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ozito

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    Sicklyboy @ Sicklyboy: *teleports behind you* "Nothing personnel, kiddo" +1