Hardware Broken EZ-Flash 3in1

[Passa]

Well I'm a little gutted.. I think my EZ-Flash 3in1 is broken. If I load up GBAExploader, it shows the list of roms but if I switch to NOR mode then back to PSRAM mode with the shoulder buttons, the software freezes and either shows an empty list or a garbled list of roms.

At first I thought it was a microSD issue but I had only loaded up GBAExploader because booting directly to slot 2 wasn't working (my save was gone). It gave me no option to store my SRAM save once I loaded up GBAExploader either.. and when I load games onto the PSRAM or NOR now, while they do boot, my save games are not transferred on even though I specify them to be.

So faulty SRAM or what? I bought the unit from DealExtreme, should I bother trying to get a replacement? (kind of stinks since I bought it about 2 months ago..)

EDIT: Just tried my brother's EZ-Flash, his worked fine, stuck mine into his DS and loaded up GBAExploader again.. and it freezes if I switch to NOR mode and back (I think that's because it tries to check if there is a save in the SRAM). I was mucking around with the GBA support in the Cyclo menu just before this happened.. related possibly? Could it be that it just corrupted my SRAM and I can fix it somehow?

 

[Destructobot]

Could it be that it just corrupted my SRAM and I can fix it somehow?

It's possible. I've created a blank SRAM.BIN file. Download it and place it in the folder where GBA ExpLoader keeps its save files, then start GBA ExpLoader and press Y in PSRAM mode to write the file to SRAM. This will completely blank out the SRAM, which should fix any problem that might be caused by corrupted save management data (it will also erase any saves that haven't been backed up to a file yet).

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?download=2721

 

[Passa]

Thanks for the help mate, that fixed the issue. But now it seems my EZ-Flash wants to stuff up some more so now it deletes saves stored in the SRAM at random.. so I save in-game, then load it up a while later and my save is gone.. but GBAExploader says the save file is still there (and no longer has any issues/hanging).

Probably unrelated to my previous problem though.. I'm guessing a dying battery? I got the unit from DealExtreme so recently, am I better off sending it back for a replacement or trying to replace the battery myself? (assuming that is what's at fault)

EDIT: What on earth.. so the game save was not working when I load the game up on NOR.. then I open GBAExploader and back up the 'save' file which still exists for some reason, load it up in the PSRAM and it works.. ?!!

 

[Destructobot]

Have you been using clean roms? You should be with GBA ExpLoader. Patching games with the EZ4 Client will cause save problems, and I'm guessing that the 3in1 tool that they released to replace it will as well.

 

[Passa]

They're definitely clean roms, and it's happening with all the games I've tried. But here's where my brain implodes:

It works if I load the game through the DS menus normally rather than booting through my Cyclo menu. This would explain why the saves were intact after backing up through GBA_Exploader (which also boots the NOR loaded games correctly). So.. there's something wrong with the way my Cyclo boots the games?..

A similar thing happens on my brother's Top Toy DS actually, his boots GBA games off his EZ-Flash with lag whereas they run silky smooth if you load them up through the DS menu. What's going on?