Ez flash save corrupted

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

I have installed the latest version of the firmware ezjunior-fw5-0918. I have also turn auto save on and set the RTC to the correct time. When i start a new game of Pokemon Crystal / Silver / Yellow and save after 5 sec and click on the reset button and off the console and turn on. Launching the Pokemon games result in corrupted save.

The things i have tried,
1) Replaced a CR1220 battery with a new one (tested to have 3.2V)
2) Use IPA to clean the contacts of the cart
3) Downgraded to FW4 and tested the save, but still corrupted.

Any ideas how to resolve this? Or should i be sending this back to the vendor?

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

To add on i have also formatted my SD card to fat32, 32kb allocation. But stll cannot save properly.

RAHelllord · Sep 26, 2022

Double check that the MicroSD is genuine using a tool like h2testw by having it write and read from the entire card. If that test fails the card is corrupted.
At the same time it is recommended you use at least a Class 4 MicroSD for the Junior, if your card is slower than that it can lead to problems.
I've used a Toshiba, Samsung, and SanDisk card in mine without any trouble, I would personally recommend getting a cheap SanDisk Ultra from a reputable seller for a few bucks over a random no-name card.

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

I am using a SANDISK ultra 8GB though but I will test it with the h2testw tool. Thanks

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

Output of the test, seems like no issue with SD card

Warning: Only 7611 of 7612 MByte tested.
Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 11.4 MByte/s
Reading speed: 22.6 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

I realised that the file size created by ezflash is not exactly 32kb though. @EZ-Flash2 do you have any idea whats going on?

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

I have tested both 1.4 and 1.5 firmware.
- 1.5 firmware causes save corruption on most games i have tested, mainly the Pokemon games lines and Zelda Link Awakening DX.

- 1.4 firmware causes corruption on Pokemon games
- Games that does not require RTC seems to be much stable.

RAHelllord · Sep 26, 2022

I would suggest you double check that your roms are good, if the checksum is proper and they haven't been tampered with they should work perfectly. If they don't it might be that the Junior has a defect.

Also, do you have a different gameboy? Like a Game Boy Advance or SP that you could try flashing the firmware on? I remember early revisions of the Jr had a glitch when trying to use a very specific Game Boy Color revision, maybe updating the firmware on a game boy advance might make it work on your GBC correctly as well.

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

RAHelllord said:
I would suggest you double check that your roms are good, if the checksum is proper and they haven't been tampered with they should work perfectly. If they don't it might be that the Junior has a defect.

Also, do you have a different gameboy? Like a Game Boy Advance or SP that you could try flashing the firmware on? I remember early revisions of the Jr had a glitch when trying to use a very specific Game Boy Color revision, maybe updating the firmware on a game boy advance might make it work on your GBC correctly as well.

Thanks ! I am now able to have a good save. but i am now thinking is it the problem with GBC or because my battery is not full charge.

RAHelllord · Sep 26, 2022

YYHH01 said:
Thanks ! I am now able to have a good save. but i am now thinking is it the problem with GBC or because my battery is not full charge.

Low battery charge could be a problem, but it usually shouldn't be. If you need some good rechargeable batteries I can recommend the black eneloop pro from panasonic. Just be sure to get a proper charger for them with overcharge protection if you do want to go that route. That way they will last for as long as possible without degrading too quickly.

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

After testing, I realised my GBC might be the problem. I have no issue running the cart on my GBASP. but while running it on GBC my saves are corrupted.

I used an adapter and batteries while testing the GBC.

RAHelllord · Sep 26, 2022

Maybe the cartridge slot is dirty? You could try getting one of those 1UP cart slot cleaner thingies and clean the pins with it. Alternatively try using some canned air or a dust bomb to clean it out a little.

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

RAHelllord said:
Maybe the cartridge slot is dirty? You could try getting one of those 1UP cart slot cleaner thingies and clean the pins with it. Alternatively try using some canned air or a dust bomb to clean it out a little.

Hmm, i am able to read other carts perfectly fine. And i have done a cleaning recently so i dont think the cart reading is the problem though.

YYHH01 · Sep 26, 2022

So right now just loading the save and game from the GBC result in glitching whereas GBASP = perfectly fine.
Check the screen shots below.

Anyone face this issue before?

YYHH01 · Sep 29, 2022

After days of testing, this is my conclusion for ezflash JR.

1) If you are using a modded GBC with IPS screen. Your saves will most likely get corrupted during the saving process into the SD card. Chances are the power draw from the cart is way too much for your GBC to handle. ( I have tested with new AA batteries / DC adapter both produces the similar corrupted save results)
1a) In order to determine if the problem is with my modded GBC, i have tested it with the GB Everdrive clone and saving of games and reading it seems fine with no corrupted saves.
2) Works extremely well on a GBASP with modded IPS screen and battery mod. RTC is working well as well.

Lastly, hope that a future update of the firmware will solve the issue for GBC. Else most likely i will need a voltage regulator for the GBC.

The tests above, I have used both 1.4 / 1.5 firmware and produces the similar results.

Haibuu · Sep 30, 2022

@YYHH01, I'm having a similar issue, I suggest trying one thing.

1st, I isolated the voltage concern by trying it with a power adapter, lithium non-rechargeable batteries, rechargeable batteries, and IPS modded and non modded GBC, same results.

2nd, Iike you I also tried 1.4 and 1.5, also tried multiple SD cards and formats.

32kb Pokemon saves get consistently corrupted on my EzFlash batch.

There's one Pokemon version that stores 64kb files and it works just fine, you can try Pocket Monsters - Crystal Version (JP), based on what you tried, I think saves will work there, they do for me

.

mattcurrie/gb-save-states modded Pokemon Red game, which stores 1024kb saves also works for me, but it requires a little extra work to get it patched.

So far my conclusion is that it's got something to do with writing 32kb files on GBC.

YYHH01 · Sep 30, 2022

Haibuu said:
@YYHH01, I'm having a similar issue, I suggest trying one thing.

1st, I isolated the voltage concern by trying it with a power adapter, lithium non-rechargeable batteries, rechargeable batteries, and IPS modded and non modded GBC, same results.

2nd, Iike you I also tried 1.4 and 1.5, also tried multiple SD cards and formats.

32kb Pokemon saves get consistently corrupted on my EzFlash batch.

There's one Pokemon version that stores 64kb files and it works just fine, you can try Pocket Monsters - Crystal Version (JP), based on what you tried, I think saves will work there, they do for me .

mattcurrie/gb-save-states modded Pokemon Red game, which stores 1024kb saves also works for me, but it requires a little extra work to get it patched.

So far my conclusion is that it's got something to do with writing 32kb files on GBC.

Hey thanks for sharing me this info. I have tested and you are right, I was able to play Pokemon Crystal JP on GBC and was able to save it without corruption. Seems like the RTC code written to the Pokemon Crystal EN has some issues. @EZ-Flash2 any idea whats happening to your product?

YYHH01 · Oct 9, 2022

Hi all, so after all the test, my conclusion and review of ezflash jr is :

Cons :
1) Power consumption of this card is way higher than everdrive
2) RTC games will work on a GBASP but does not currently work on GBC with CGB-06 motherboard (this is my motherboard model and I do not have a spare one to test)
3) Uses CR1220 battery to maintain RTC, which will require a change after 2-3 years
4) Firmware does not get updated frequently (seems like the dev decide to focus more on EzFlash omega DE instead)

Pros:
1) Battery retainer allows swapping of CR1220 and using good quality batteries
2) Allows firmware update (that is if the dev decide to put focus on this again)
3) Cost is priced close to a flash cart sold by insideGadgets

After much thoughts, I have decided to just flash my own games with BennVenn's joey jr and rtc flashcart due to
1) The lack of support and firmware update from @EZ-Flash2.
2) My original intention of buying ezflash jr was to play rtc games on a GBC but this objective was not achieve,

Haibuu · Oct 11, 2022

I kept testing as well.

My GBC motherboard is CGB-CPU-05
Got a different EzFlash Jr card and ran into the same issues on both cards.

However on my tests it's not only RTC games what don't save correctly. Pokemon games without RTC, like Pokemon Red, also fail.

Hopefully this can be solved in a future Firmware update @EZ-Flash2

ghjfdtg · Oct 12, 2022

The amount of issues reported, the silence about firmware updates from EZ-Flash and these rather shocking power usage results lead my decision for getting an Everdrive GB and i don't regret it. Quite frankly they are too expensive now with krikzz raising the price again recently. I got mine before the war started.

Ez flash save corrupted

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