Hacking Booting Slot-2 from an Acekard 2

[xenon]

(Already posted on the EZFlash board, without much success)

I have an Acekard 2 in Slot-1 and an EZ4 Lite in Slot-2. In theory, the Acekard 2 can boot a Slot-2 device in either DS or GBA mode (at list with the Bliss kernel). If I set it to GBA, it boots the first game in my NORFlash, rather than the EZ OS. I would prefer the opposite, but I can just remove the Acekard as a workaround, no big deal. But if I set the Acekard to boot my EZ4L in DS mode, I just get two white screens. Is it the same for everyone else? By the way, the AK2 seems to recognize my EZ4 Lite as a 3-in-1.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Minox]

I had the exact same problem, but I flashed my DS to not have to remove my Ak2.
I still don't understand why it doesn't work though.

 

[[M]artin]

I'm a bit confused, but seeing as I ran into a problem similar to this a while ago, maybe I can throw in my two cents...

I have a Supercard Lite in my Slot-2, but whenever I wanna run it, I just choose "Run GBA Game" at the DS startup menu instead of running the Acekard 2 and it boots the SCL just fine. Dunno if that's what you're talking about...

 

[Minox]

artin]
I'm a bit confused, but seeing as I ran into a problem similar to this a while ago, maybe I can throw in my two cents...

I have a Supercard Lite in my Slot-2, but whenever I wanna run it, I just choose "Run GBA Game" at the DS startup menu instead of running the Acekard 2 and it boots the SCL just fine. Dunno if that's what you're talking about...

That works, but using the Ak2 as passme isn't working.

 

[heyyouguys]

I also would like to know how to use the AK2 as a passme device.

 

[Minox]

It does work as a passme device if you use Ysmenu, but not with the official/Bliss's loader which is what most user want to use.

 

[[M]artin]

^ Ah yes, that's what I couldn't get to work as well.

Although, I've never understood why you'd need the AK2 to act as a Passme other than to boot NDS roms from the Slot-2, which the AK2 can do...

I suppose it comes in handy for development and whatnot too...

 

[Minox]

artin]
^ Ah yes, that's what I couldn't get to work as well.

Although, I've never understood why you'd need the AK2 to act as a Passme other than to boot NDS roms from the Slot-2, which the AK2 can do...

I suppose it comes in handy for development and whatnot too...

I myself use it for homebrew that needs much space or for homebrew that requires to be run from slot 2 flashkarts.

 

[science]

I just used my Acekard RPG to boot my Supercard Mini into DS mode, you think it would work on the AK2 aswell

 

[Swip]

I don't have a slot 2 but I think you have to go to the properties of the slot 2 then change the boot mode to pass me.

 

[Destructobot]

The standard workaround for this sort of thing is to get a Superkey rom (freely available in the SCDS1 service packs) and use it to boot the slot 2 cart in DS mode. There is also an app called gbaswitch.nds (google it) that will boot a slot 2 cart directly in GBA mode, this may get around the issue of booting the game in NOR instead of the EZ-IV menu.

 

[heyyouguys]

The standard workaround for this sort of thing is to get a Superkey rom (freely available in the SCDS1 service packs) and use it to boot the slot 2 cart in DS mode. There is also an app called gbaswitch.nds (google it) that will boot a slot 2 cart directly in GBA mode, this may get around the issue of booting the game in NOR instead of the EZ-IV menu.

I have tried the superkey rom with the bliss/ak2 menu and it does not work for me and my sclite. The gbatswitch.nds is fine for going to slot2 for gba but you could do that when you turn on your ds prior to selecting the AK2.

Why doesn't the AK2/Bliss software act as a passme/superkey when ysmenu software does?

 

[xenon]

I didn't expect so many replies!

So, let's try to answer:

artin)]Although, I've never understood why you'd need the AK2 to act as a Passme other than to boot NDS roms from the Slot-2, which the AK2 can do...
How exactly do you do that? If I select Slot-2 from the AK2 main menu, I don't browse my Slot-2 card, I boot its NOR content.

I don't have a slot 2 but I think you have to go to the properties of the slot 2 then change the boot mode to pass me.
That's what I did. I get two white screens.

Destructobot

The standard workaround for this sort of thing is to get a Superkey rom (freely available in the SCDS1 service packs) and use it to boot the slot 2 cart in DS mode. There is also an app called gbaswitch.nds (google it) that will boot a slot 2 cart directly in GBA mode, this may get around the issue of booting the game in NOR instead of the EZ-IV menu.

I didn't know about these, and I gave them a try. The Superkey ROM gives me a dozen seconds of the "Loading" screen, followed by two white screens. gbaswitch.nds boots the NOR, as well.

I have no proof other than user science being able to boot his Supercard Mini from his Acekard RPG, but I suspect the problem might be that my EZ4 Lite is detected as a 3-in-1 expansion rather than a proper, standalone Slot-2 card. Unfortunately I couldn't find a way to hack/alter that.

 

[Minox]

I've found a rather annoying workaround:
If you remove your EZ4 while the Ak2's OS is running and then plug it in again the passme function will work.

 

[xenon]

Wow, it works! Thanks. A cleaner solution would be welcome, though.

 

[Nalin]

That's odd. It works on my M3 Perfect Lite using bliss' osmenu. I just set it to PassMe mode. Could it be a problem with the 3-in-1 integration?

 

[Minox]

That's odd. It works on my M3 Perfect Lite using bliss' osmenu. I just set it to PassMe mode. Could it be a problem with the 3-in-1 integration?

It's probably the Norflash and PSRAM that's fucking it up, since both EZ4 and EZ 3-in-1 has those.

 

[xenon]

Or maybe it's the lack of distinction between an EZ4 and an EZ3-in-1. You can't really boot a 3-in-1, right?

 

[Minox]

Or maybe it's the lack of distinction between an EZ4 and an EZ3-in-1. You can't really boot a 3-in-1, right?

Actually you can launch the Gba-games from Bliss's custom OS and then play it through the EZ Flash 3-in-1.

 

[xenon]

Yes. I meant that the 3-in-1 does not have the ability to act as a standalone Slot-2 cart for DS games, so the concept of booting it in NDS mode (with the AK2 acting as a PassMe) doesn't technically make sense, and I was wondering whether this could be the source of my issue, since my EZ4 gets detected as a 3-in-1. If the AK2 fails to boot other standard Slot-2 carts as well, my hypothesis is probably wrong.