Hacking AKAIO/Official and DSI closing glitch

[Chris_Skylock]

I just received a PM that contains a problem with his Acekard 2i and his DSi. I'll translate every single line as best as I could for you to understand in english.

Ang "glitch" in detail:
hindi namamatay yung dsi ko pagnasa AKAIO MENU at kahit na anong homebrew, isarodo ko yung top screen at buksan, hindi mag shu-shutdown. Pero mag load nang laro at isarado mo yung top screen, PATAY ang dsi ko.
EXCEPT, pag nasa game ako at nag save sa savespot at sa biglang sinarado ko yun screen pag katopos icomfirm na na-isave ko na yung game, ay hindi mamatay yung dsi at pagbinuksan ko ang top screen ay gumagana payung dsi at andoon pa ako sa save spot , PERO, pag umalis ako sa area na iyo (ni load na nang dsi yung next screen/area), sarado ko yung top screen at mamatay nang kusa yung dsi ko.

ang kababayan mo,
slone

The 'glitch' in detail:
The DS will not shut down when it's in AKAIO MENU and even in homebrew, when I close the top screen and open it, it will not turn off. But if I resume my gameplay and closed the top screen, my DSi will be closed.
EXCEPT, if I save it in the savespot and I suddenly closed the top screen after I confirmed that I saved the game, it will not turn off and when I open the top screen, the game resumes, BUT if I move in that area (my DS will load the next screen/area), close the top screen and it will turn off.

My response:

If this is an acekard issue, try the official firmware maybe it's AKAIO.

Im sure sa software ang defect pag mga ganyan kasi if compare sa other products, namamatay din phone ko since i updated it to the latest version - im talking about nokia 5320 and 4.13 firmware.

Im sure it's a software issue as the defect is similar to other products like the ones on my phone since I updated it and it's shutting down. Im talking about the nokia 5320 and 4.13 firmware

his reply

QUOTE

kabayan Chris, thanks sa suggestion mo at gumana yung official Acekard firmware sa "closing the top screen glicth". Ngayon pwede nang i sarado yung top screen kahit saan sa game na hindi mamatay yung dsi ko (tried sa Zelda, Castlevania Eclesia at Metalslug 7) pero sa Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow ay namamatay parin (check ko na lang sa iba games).

Oo nga, firmware para sa mga bagong cards na nasa karton at hindi sa blister pack na naka package ang problem at hindi hardware ang may sira (hwid 44 ang unang labas na acekard 2I na nasaloob nang see thru blister pack na nag stop na nang production at cardboard box naman para sa hwid 81 cards na nag simula sa manufacturing about 3 to 4 months ago) . Napadala dahil ako sa usap-usapan na "load AKAIO than the official firm ware" dito sa gbatemp.

At least now mababa na ang chance na magiging glitchy ang pagsarado ng screen pag in-game. my only regret ay hindi ko muna papaandarin yung AKAIO firmware (baka maayos nina Normatt at Smiths ito), dahil nasanay na ako sa sobrang easy to use ito (medyo slow nga konti yung official firmware pero okey na rin)

Oh well, problem kinda solved (sana tigasin yung hinge nang dsi, 'cus medyo marami rin akong itetest na games). But don't get me wrong, it still is a Big Improvement than having the nagging feeling that I own a bad card and for that I am grateful. Again I would like to thank you Chris, for your suggestion.

hello fellow chris, thanks for the suggestion and it works when i load the official acekard firmware when the "closing the top screen glitch". today I can close the top screen anywhere in the game when I turn off my DSi (i tried Zelda, Castlevania Eclesia and Metalslug 7) but on Castlevania Dawn of sorro, it's turning off (I'll check the other games)

you're right, the firmware for the newer cards are in box and not in blister pack that are packaged the problem and not hardware that are defective (hwid 44 are the first acekard 2i that are in the see through blister that were not in production anymore and hwid 81 that are in cardboard box that are in manufacturing about 3-4 months ago). since the AKAIO is most talked here in GBATEMP, I didnt used the official right away.

atleast i got a low chance that my acekard is glitchy when i close it in-game. my only regret is that I cant use the AKAIO firmware at the moment (May Normath and Smiths can fix this), because Im used to it for it's sooooooo easy to use. (even the official firmware is slow but it's just ok).

Oh well. problem kinda solved (i hope the strenghten the hinge of the DSi, 'cus i have to test a lot of games). dont get me wrong, it's still a Big improvement than having the nagging feeling that I own a bad card and for that I am grateful. Again I would like to thank you Chris, for your suggestion.


-----


Even though he loaded the official one, the problem is still there but it was lessen. When I suggested he use the official firmware is that it may fix the problem as it might be similar to other products when it suddenly is turning off. Im no expert at this so I need some more suggestions. The Bug tracker is not reponding so Im posting this instead

 

[Another World]

this is really hard to read, so many run-on sentences. what does he mean there is a closing glitch? you mean he can't put the dsi into sleep mode?

-another world

 

[Chris_Skylock]

when he saves while closing the lid, it's fine but when he move the character, the dsi shuts off. sorry for the sentences as I tried to translate from filipino to english

 

[Another World]

your saying there are games that save when the lid closes? or are you saying he saves, and then puts the dsi into sleep mode by closing the lid, right away? has he waited for the save to finish writing? sleep mode might cause the writing of the save to stop and thus error the firmware, forcing a reboot.

otherwise i'm still really confused =P

-another world

 

[slone]

slone here, pardon my english if it sounds a bit iffy. I didn't post this glitch here because I taught I got a bad cart, but it seems there was another case similar to mine posted here that I recently stumbled across. Here is the link:
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=146739

With the AKAIO 1.4.1 PROPER firmware, the glitch happens after, while playng any rom game, I close the top screen to put the dsi in sleep mode. Normally, it will just temporarily shut the screen off and freeze the game (The blue LED on the upper left of the dsi is still lit so that to show the unit hasn't been fully powered off) but doing so on my HWID 81 springloaded acekard 2i, it turns the dsi completely off. I tinkered around and found out that the only time it doesn't shut down when I close the lid, is right after I save a game via a save spot (eg, Castlevania Order of Eclesia's save rooms). But when I leave the save spot (or more precisely, when the flashcard loads another room, screen, message, etc.) I close the lid and the dsi unit automatically turns itself off.

The glitch rarely happens when I loaded the latest Acekard official firmware (Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow and SPRUNG, from what I tested, suffered from this glitch, the rest of my games normally resumes after I open the top screen).

By the way, I am using a unupdated US dsi (ver 1.2U firmware) with a HWID 81 Acekard 2i card (springloaded sd slot version).
My micso sdhc is a 4gig Apacer class 6 formatted with the Panasonic Formatter.

It's not really a big deal but it can be very inconvenient when your trying to save your dsi's battery life. Hopefully there is a solution to this rather than buying another flash cart.

Edit: Yes, Another World, I let the flashcart/game finish the game saving procedures as not to damage the flashcart and corrupt the microsd. A scenario, for example: I load castlevania: order of eclesia without any cheat what so ever and play until I reach a save spot (usually a room with a statue). I'll then choose to save the game then after the screen confirms that my game is already saved, I close top screen and the dsi will properly enter sleepmode, then open the screen again and again to check if it still enters sleep mode properly and it will always never shuts down the dsi. After doing this test inside the said save spot room, I move my character outside the save room (the game will close the screen showing inside the save room and then show the screen outside of the save room with my character just standing near the entrance to the said save room), I close the top screen to see if it enters sleep mode, the sytem completely shuts down (upper blue led power indicator turns off).

I dont believe that it is a battery problem as said on the post linked. Whatever the battery's charge is, I try these test on AKAIO
and the result are the same (even when the dsi is plugged into a electric wall socket, charging or fully charged).

thanks for listening out my problem.
slone

 

[Another World]

your english makes more sense than the translated tagalog =P.

have you tried this sleep mode issue with a retail ds game? it could be the dsi and you won't know until you use a retail game on it. you should attempt to try the same retail cart for the rom that is giving you issues. have you tried other rom dumps? have you verified that the roms are clean dumps by CRC value? have you tried the other DMA modes on akaio? the default quick-save mode has some glitches, perhaps the old DMA mode would work or the no-DMA mode. castlevania games are very tempermental when it comes to media. it could be your microsd. i believe (without reading again) the OP said you tried different ROMs? just double check by trying 10 or so roms. try those same 10 roms on the official firmware. also try them on akaio with the different dma modes, with all patching off (soft-reset, cheats, rumble, etc).

-another world

 

[slone]

Yup, I tried it on my original ds Castlevania games,Zelda PH & Mariokart (all bought used from Gamestop via a American friend of mine) and the dsi properly goes into sleep mode. Tried different rom dumps (trimmed and clean ones) and the results are the same (most of the glitch happens with AKAIO loaded) when I try to enter into sleep mode. I’ll do some more tinkering with the ones you suggested.

Anyways, thanks for your reply, Another World. If anything, it is only a mild issue, no biggie, I’ll just keep the screen open and properly shutdown my dsi when I’ll stop playing. If sleep mode starts to get to me and I happen to like the game, the simple solution is to buy a legit copy of the game (brand new, or used for that matter). But for the sake of improving AKAIO, I’ll try to delve deeper into this issue and post significant findings that I’ll encounter (while trying not spam this board as I respect this site more than other noobs, fanboys filled forums)

who knows, maybe it's the fact that there are 2 kinds of acekard 2is in circulation, the hwid 44s and the 81s , thus not all new 81s are properly optimized.

Thanks again,
slone

 

[slone]

SOLVED: AKAIO/Official and DSI closing glitch

.

After taking Another World's advice, even upgrading the language glitch thingie for the hwid 81s that Acekard recently fixed to rereading the AKAIO WIKI, trying the tips and tricks written there on updated AKAIO loaders (global settings, putting all patches at default, using no cheats whatsoever, etc). The answer was DMA Mode and I did what was written in the AKAIO Wiki section DMA Mode, and found the answer there.

To quote the AKAIO WIKI for those who are also encountering this glitch :

"DMA Mode

Games are loaded via DMA mode by default, which enhances performance in many games. AKAIO on the R.P.G. uses DMA on the microSD at all times with currently is no way to turn it off. On the AK2 DMA is active when the "Loading" text turns red or green.

As of v1.4.1 the new DMA-QuickSave mode has been made default. You can see that this mode is working when the "Loading" text turns green. This new mode fixes video and sound glitches which occur in older patching modes, and offers faster save writing/reading support.

The original DMA mode can be accessed by holding "X". You can see that this mode is working when the "Loading" text turns red. This uses the same patching method as holding "A" but with the benefit of DMA.

If you encounter a problem with a particular game, you can disable DMA mode by holding the "A" button while loading. In this case the "Loading" text will stay blue.

There is no way for users to force the execution of the old DMA mode or the non-DMA mode either globally or on a per-ROM basis. DMA-QuickSave will always run unless the user inturrupts its execution by pressing one of the above mentioned buttons. However, some problem ROMs have been preset through the loaders to access a particular DMA mode. This behavior is normal and can not be overridden. There is currently no collected list of the ROMs which have a preset DMA mode.

For games that are problematic with DMA mode, please make sure to first update the loaders to the most recent version. Updated loaders can be found at the Loaders Download Page or via Wi-Fi Update from within AKAIO. If you notice a problem even with the latest loaders, please visit the AKAIO ROM Compatibility Page. Add your problematic game as needed by following the on-site instructions".

End quote.


-"This new mode fixes video and sound glitches which occur in older patching modes, and offers faster save writing/reading support"-.
I never really tought about this (big mistake on my part) because every thing was going smoothly (graphics, sounds, and even the in-game loading speed) and it wasn't mentioned in the Wiki (the screen closing/auto shutdown issue).

-"If you encounter a problem with a particular game, you can disable DMA mode by holding the "A" button while loading. In this case the "Loading" text will stay blue."-

Having tried what was written under that section as I had a hunch that it's about memory accesing between the loaded games and the flash cart, I loaded any games in the micro sd (via AKAIO) and the sleep mode works properly for all games loaded.

Sorry to have taken your time on this one , Another World, and thanks for your help.

slone

 

[Chris_Skylock]

Just a note that Im not a good translator from local to english. Another Acekard 2i problem solve. another points to buy one.

 

[Another World]

so what is fixing the issue is not using DMA at all? or are you using the old DMA mode with the "red" loading text?

-another world

 

[Kroganwrex]

I have the exact same problem. Playing games on my acekard 2i on my dsi, it shuts down completely when the lid is closed on certain games. I tested it with 20 roms and 20 retail games and there was a 0% power off rate with the retail games and about 40% when using ak2i.

 

[Tokiopop]

Well, if I'm not getting a MacBook I'll be getting a new DSi in the next 2 weeks, so I'll test it myself. Although I've had no problems with the DS Lite.

 

[Another World]

I have the exact same problem. Playing games on my acekard 2i on my dsi, it shuts down completely when the lid is closed on certain games. I tested it with 20 roms and 20 retail games and there was a 0% power off rate with the retail games and about 40% when using ak2i.

please retest using the other dma mode and no-dma and let us know what fixes it.

-another world

 

[slone]

"so what is fixing the issue is not using DMA at all? or are you using the old DMA mode with the "red" loading text?

-another world"

I fixed the issue by holding the A button ( to disable the dma mode). The "loading" text stays blue. Though the games doesn't shut down when you close the lid, the in-game performance (loading times, framerates slowdown,etc) suffers a bit when I disable DMA. As for the old DMA mode (holding the "X"button while loading, red "loading" text), the problem still is there when I close the lid (it shuts down the dsi).

Kroganwrex-
"I have the exact same problem. Playing games on my acekard 2i on my dsi, it shuts down completely when the lid is closed on certain games. I tested it with 20 roms and 20 retail games and there was a 0% power off rate with the retail games and about 40% when using ak2i."

I would suggest you hold down the "A" button on your dsi when you load a game.
Eg, When I load Zelda: PH, I hold down the A button just before The dsi screen turns black with a blue "LOADING" message splashed on the screen, at that point I'm still holding down the A button until the game completes its loading.

In short: NEVER release your hold on the A button during the whole game loading process.

Thinker around with the different DMA modes to suit your needs as I am sure it is a DMA issue.

To anyone who reads this topic and owns a Acekard 2i cart / dsi setup , can I ask if you experience this glitch? And if your Acekard 2i is a HWID 44 or a HWID 81?. I just wannna see if the card version is a factor to this problem.

slone

 

[rl3n]

Thank you very much! I earlier wrote that my battery caused the problem. It really seemed so, as changing it made the glitch disappear for a long time. today I reexperienced the glitch, but holding the a-button fixed it.

btw, I'm using a dsi with acekard2i (AKAIO 1.4.1, HWID 81)

 

[rl3n]

Thank you very much! I earlier wrote that my battery caused the problem. It really seemed so, as changing it made the glitch disappear for a long time. today I reexperienced the glitch, but holding the a-button fixed it.

btw, I'm using a dsi with acekard2i (AKAIO 1.4.1, HWID 81)

 

[Kroganwrex]

Oh and just to clarify, this problem only ever occured for me when the battery was lower than half. On a full charge/when charging, this Never happens.