Hacking 3 in 1 save issue... battery related I think

[Arphahat]

I just recently bought a 3 in 1 and think it is great. I am encountering a strange problem and think I have a notion about what is happening, but I wanted some input first.

Using Rudolph's tool, I load a game into NOR. I play for a bit and then save the game. I restart the DS and backup to a SAV file. Then, I go about my business. Later, when I come back, I've noticed that it lists the cart info as being blank or corrupted. Trying to restore from the SAV file does not work. What does seem to correct the issue, though, is if I load a different ROM into NOR, and then reload the original ROM into NOR. Then, I can restore the SAV (although it seems to do this for me) and play normally.

My guess is that my save battery is bad. I've seen a picture of an open 3 in 1 somewhere and it looks like it is just a watch battery of some sort, so it shouldn't be hard to replace. Although, I'd rather not have to screw around and go through the effort, especially if someone thinks that there is another problem instead.

Thanks.

 

[Arphahat]

Well, I've opened the 3in1 and used a multimeter to check the battery. It is about 3 volts (it ranged from 2.8 to 3.3) which is the correct voltage for the CR1220 (the battery the 3in1 uses).

I am also seeing problems where I start a game (Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap), it detects the save OK. I play for a bit and then try to save and it fails. It had been working for quite awhile. Trying to recover by loading a new game into the NOR and then loading the original game no longer seems to work as it once did, but occasionally, it will fix itself when I use Rudolph's tool.

I got authorization from DealExtreme to return it for a new one. But, I was hoping for some insight. Is this a broken 3in1, like I suspect it is? Or, could it be possible that something else is going on?

 

[roguetrip]

Did you SRAM patch the roms with GBATA 0.7, i've never experienced issues with saves using the 3in1. other than some games headers include ":" which won't let you copy from the SD card to the OS due to syntax error.

 

[KaliKot]

try using NDStation to see if it has the same problem

first patch using gbata then patch your gba rom with ndstation to turn it into a .nds file

run it from the slot-1 menu and try and see if it has the same problem

it could be just the rom header i think

 

[Arphahat]

I used the GBATA .7a to patch the ROMs.

I'll try the NDStation to see if it helps, but I don't think the problem is with the ROM header. I can, and have been, successfully saving and loading this Zelda save for quite awhile. Occassionally, when I would start up the Rudolph's tool, I would notice that the Save Game info was listed as Corrupt or empty. After starting the game, it would tell me all three save slots were corrupt. It occurred regardless of whether I was accessing it through the tool, or through the Slot 2 on on the menu.

I think the important part I am trying to emphasize is that I have been able to save and load, but then I will lose the save from memory, and it won't let me load it back in (using the Y button to copy a save from file to memory). Occasionally, I can "jump start it" by loading another ROM into memory and then loading this one again.

Another thing that will happen is that I recover the save by doing the above, I start the game and can load the save and even copy it to another slot (Zelda has 3 save slots in game), but when I try to save a bit later on, it tells me it cannot save properly.

I'll post again after I try the NDStation, but I would be surprised if it helps.

edit: Actually, does the NDStation use the 3in1 save location? It doesn't seem to... If not, can I copy my existing SAV into the NDStation packaged game?

It looks like I can load and save the game with the NDStation packaged file. Then, I can load via the slot 2 option and it will still retain the file and save properly. However, if I then open Rudolph's tool, it still lists the save as empty. Does the NDStation save to the microSD card instead of the battery backup? I am using the R4 as my slot 1, in case that helps.