Hacking DSision2...

[CannonFoddr]

Hi, I have a 4 Gb SDHC card, I have tried before (Fat16 and Fat32) with previous releases and I can confirm it doesn't work, when you select a game the screens go blank and nothing else but YSMenu works fine on its own with the SDHC and seeing as DSision uses YSMenu to launch the games you would assume it would work ?!?

When you say 'Previous releases' - how far back ??
Have you tried the one on Page 22 dated 'Feb09' ?? - there's apparently been quite a few changes to DSision coding since the one found in the GBA download section
I had tried earlier versions but always found them slow - but the Feb09 one was a lot faster

If you have already tried the Feb09 one - then I can only guess that DSision just doesn't like SDHC cards regardless of whether it's FAT16 or FAT32

Spinal: just had a thought
I remember on one of the threads it's mentioned that DSision autopatches 'Homebrew' yet 'Commericial' is done by YSmenu.
Since YSMenu is 'homebrew' is it being patched by DSision ?? - could this patching be the reason for it not working right with SDHC cards + DSTT ??
I don't know WHY it could cause problems with SDHC cards yet works fine with standard SD cards - but could this be a possibility ??

 

[sacha78580]

Kermit -> I'm i your situation to with micro SDHC but my linker is a fake DSTT and unfortunatelly i'm arriving to began run homebrews on 4 go SDHC
For exemple with DSOrganize i can see the logo and the cow-like but just after i got a message error witch is saying me that my card is not dldi patched :S
Sorry for horrible english

 

[WoobiE]

I'm not using a SDHC but a normal 2gig card and no problems at all. I'm using an actual earlier build of DSsision2 and never had any problems at all.

 

[sacha78580]

Yes, there is the problems for us.
I had à 2gb card too and it runs perfectly
But for me the problem is with the dstt.dat, i've tried tqo : one show white screen when lauching à .nds the other arrive too lauch .nds but the .nds dn't open properly because it says that i didn't had a Chism loader :/

 

[CannonFoddr]

Yes, there is the problems for us.
I had à 2gb card too and it runs perfectly
But for me the problem is with the dstt.dat, i've tried tqo : one show white screen when lauching à .nds the other arrive too lauch .nds but the .nds dn't open properly because it says that i didn't had a Chism loader :/

Can you tell me what program you are trying to run & are you trying to launch on a 2Gb SD card - or a larger (4gb/8gb/16gb) SDHC card ?? (it's not clear in your post)

If you are trying to run on a SDHC card - then the problem is I believe DSision2 CANNOT run on SDHC cards (with a DSTT or DSTTi cards anyway) for some reason - until Spinal & Co. can figure out why it won't work then we're stuck with only using standard SD cards (By the way Spinal - If you want a BETA tester for DSTTi & DSi combo + 2Gb SD/8GB SDHC, then I can help

- but not with programming though

)

The CHISM loader is basically referring to 'DLDI patching'
- If you are trying to run Homebrew software then I'm guessing that the homebrew you are tying to run is one of the tempermental ones that need patching first - I believe DSsion has it's own DLDI patching built in for homebrew launching so the 'chsim loader' shouldn't be missing.
- If it's a commercial ROM that you are trying to load - Have you got YSMenu set up right (are all the YSMenu files in the ROOT directory ??) - as DSision uses this for Commercial launching

I'm also a bit puzzled when you say 'dstt.dat'

- there shouldn't be a file on your card called that

If you follow the setup shown in http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=130181 then you should only have the files shown in step 7 (apart from the '*.nds' files you've added that is) - I'm guessing you are in fact talking about the 'TTMENU.DAT' file.

If so I have the same (sort) of problem when using ON A SDHC card
> Using the TTMENU.DAT from the 16Feb09 download (see pg22 post 325) I ALSO get 2 'white screens' & nothing else - but it works fine on a standard card (except that it seems to forget I've selected 'Boxart' - The NeoFlash version works OK though - just want the flash screen removed)
> When using the TTMENU.DAT Spinal posted for me (pg29 Post 412) I get the 'Black on top/White on bottom' effect BUT it then seems to lock up (The screens don't swap round & I don't get the progress bar normally associated when YSMenu launches)

Yet IF I start up YSMenu (as my firmware) it works fine on a SDHC card launching ROMS/Homebrew - so I'm guessing the problem arrises when DSision starts up YSmenu, but it only happens on a SDHC cards. This is why I sugggested that possibly DSision is 'patching' YSMenu (because it's homebrew) & that's causing YSMenu to freeze

 

[CannonFoddr]

Spinal (& Co)

- another thought just came to me while typing out the last post

When using SDHC cards could there be some type of 'flag' or memory address that is used only for such cards & that DSision is not using this - so when YSMenu launches the info it expecting to see is 'wrong' & that's why it locks up

Not sure if I explained that right - maybe this explains it better

Say for instance - When using a SDHC card, a memory location (let's say #12345678) is set to '1', yet with a normal SD card it is set/defaults to '0'
When YSMenu launches it 'looks' at this address/flag & depending on what there 'patches' nds files accordingly (e.g. SD card - patch using FAT16 method / SDHC card - patch using FAT32 method)

If DSision doesn't 'set' this flag correctly then when YSMenu starts up it 'sees' a '0' & tries patching using FAT when it should be doing it as FAT32
This might explain the 'Black-on-top/White-on-bottom' screens - YSMenu is trying to patch but not succeeding

When using SD cards (the flag is '0') YSmenu succeeds FAT16 patching & that's when the screens 'flip' round (Black-on-bottom/White-on-top) & YSMenu launches (Progress bar)

You mentioned once that 'some people don't have this trouble' - however what is their setup ? (DSLite/Phat or DSi/Flashcard/Firmware/memory card etc) - it may be this 'flag' is unique to DSTT cards & not R4's & that why us DSTT card users have trouble - perhaps a new thread could be started asking this question, what do you think ?

EDITED: I've jumped the gun & started a new thread @ http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=151318 for hardware combo's

 

[spinal_cord]

I've just noticed (I seem to be the first to do so, or at least mention it), after all this time, I have the left and right mask images the wrong way round! I'm not sure if I should fix this, or leave it be. I don't want to edit my skins, so I guess for now skinners just need to remember that the left images is for the right, and the right image is for the left .

 

[leinad]

Spinal (& Co)

- another thought just came to me while typing out the last post

When using SDHC cards could there be some type of 'flag' or memory address that is used only for such cards & that DSision is not using this - so when YSMenu launches the info it expecting to see is 'wrong' & that's why it locks up

Not sure if I explained that right - maybe this explains it better

Say for instance - When using a SDHC card, a memory location (let's say #12345678) is set to '1', yet with a normal SD card it is set/defaults to '0'
When YSMenu launches it 'looks' at this address/flag & depending on what there 'patches' nds files accordingly (e.g. SD card - patch using FAT16 method / SDHC card - patch using FAT32 method)

If DSision doesn't 'set' this flag correctly then when YSMenu starts up it 'sees' a '0' & tries patching using FAT when it should be doing it as FAT32
This might explain the 'Black-on-top/White-on-bottom' screens - YSMenu is trying to patch but not succeeding

When using SD cards (the flag is '0') YSmenu succeeds FAT16 patching & that's when the screens 'flip' round (Black-on-bottom/White-on-top) & YSMenu launches (Progress bar)

You mentioned once that 'some people don't have this trouble' - however what is their setup ? (DSLite/Phat or DSi/Flashcard/Firmware/memory card etc) - it may be this 'flag' is unique to DSTT cards & not R4's & that why us DSTT card users have trouble - perhaps a new thread could be started asking this question, what do you think ?

EDITED: I've jumped the gun & started a new thread @ http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=151318 for hardware combo's

kermit, in DSision we are somehow "abusing" a feature of YSmenu. I dont think Yasu intended the autoboot feature to be used for other menus

ysmenu.nds should find out all the parameters ( if its SD or SDHC, FAT16 / FAT32 ) itself, because the feature is tought to be used stand-alone without anything before it ...

 

[spinal_cord]

Have you tried using the autoboot feature of ysmenu, without using dsision?

patch ysmenu with the ttds dldi, and rename it to ttmenu.dat, drop it onto your cart. Edit ysmenu.ini to autoboot a file.

 

[CannonFoddr]

kermit, in DSision we are somehow "abusing" a feature of YSmenu. I dont think Yasu intended the autoboot feature to be used for other menus
ysmenu.nds should find out all the parameters ( if its SD or SDHC, FAT16 / FAT32 ) itself, because the feature is tought to be used stand-alone without anything before it ...

I think I know what you are implying about the 'abusing feature' - yet must disagree on the 'should find out...itself....feature is taught to be used stand-alone' etc
If that was so - WHY have the 'feature' in the first place ??
The only reason I can think of for having the Autoboot feature is so that once you boot to YSMenu you automatically start a particular Homebrew everytime - a File launcher for example. All Spinal is doing is changing the order of booting up - Launch file selector THEN use YSmenu for patching as necessary

All I'm saying is that there's SOMETHING DSision2 is doing that YSMenu doesn't like when used on a SDHC card, since I'm sure there IS something:-

> If you boot straight into YSMenu & start Homebrew or ROMS - it works fine on an SDHC card
> If you boot into DSTT firmware then start YSMenu then use YSMenu to start Homebrew or ROMS - It works fine on a SDHC card
> If you boot into DSision then start YSMenu, It locks up - with either 2 white or Black[top]/white[bottom] screens, depending on which 'TTMenu.dat' you use
This even happens if you press after starting YSMenu to bypass the 'writting to Auto_Boot line' function.

I'm can only guess at the process that DSision goes through when you start anything,but it may go something like this:-
1) DSision determines if '*.nds' file is Homebrew or ROM
- How it does this I have no idea. Is it the way the *.nds is coded (a header file), or perhaps where in memory it's stored ?!?! (Homebrew stored @ #2048 while ROMS stored @ #1024)
2) IF '*.nds' is Homebrew - Patch it & run
3) IF '*.nds' is ROM - Write path into YSmenu.ini 'auto_boot' line
4) Run 'YSMenu.nds'

There's something in this process that YSMenu doesn't like - but what is it ???
All I'm doing is posting 'brain storming ideas' that may help Spinal & Co. figure it out

 

[SifJar]

i have a question. have you tried setting YSMenu as default firmware and setting it to autoboot DSision? dunno if that would help at all, jus a suggestion as from my reading the problem occurs because DSision is run before YSMenu. I dont have a compatible cart to try it with and have no experience of YSMenu, just scanned your comments and thought of this.

 

[sacha78580]

SifJAr, il will try it in few minutes.
Thanks for the thought

 

[CannonFoddr]

i have a question. have you tried setting YSMenu as default firmware and setting it to autoboot DSision? dunno if that would help at all, jus a suggestion as from my reading the problem occurs because DSision is run before YSMenu. I dont have a compatible cart to try it with and have no experience of YSMenu, just scanned your comments and thought of this.

Unfortunately yes I have - but what happens is that the Auto_boot line is 'wiped clean' as soon as DSision starts up, then when you select a program to run - 'Auto_boot' is rewritten with path of program & locks up as usual (On SDHC), if I try it on SD card - everything same as 'normal' except when I switch off & then back on - YSmenu starts up the last program.

I'm guessing that the 'TTMenu.dat' file that come with DSision is used to clear out 'YSMenu.ini' auto_boot line on startup, since we start YSmenu first - the line is never wiped clear
Thanks for the suggestion anyway

 

[sacha78580]

Ok. Thanks anyway

EDit: I've tried the older version of Dsision and its the same problem

2nd edit: Do you think it could be fix ?

 

[spinal_cord]

So what happens when the autoboot line is set, but you dldi patch ysmenu and rename it to ttmenu.dat ?
What should happen, it ysmenu will be used as the ttds firmware, and the autoboot line should kick in too.
Does it still lock up if you do that?

 

[sacha78580]

What are you meaning by "you dldi patch ysmenu " ?
You mean ti patch dldi ysmenu with what ?

Edit:
I patch manually ysmenu with the tt dldi and no results

 

[spinal_cord]

1. manually patch ysmenu with the tt dldi
2. rename ysmenu.nds to ttmenu.dat
3. set the autoboot line in ysmenu.ini to something
4. boot up the card, see what happens. does it freeze the same way?

 

[sacha78580]

Yes it freeze same way :/
NB : Commercial om's don't show whites creens, it just shows the same screens before lauching the game

 

[CannonFoddr]

Spinal: not sure if what you saying was meant for me - but I've given it a try on my SDHC card

So I've DLDI patched YSMenu (with your DLDI from post 391 pg27) & renamed it,Changed YSMenu.ini 'Auto_Boot=/DSision_2.nds' so that it starts up DSision straight away & started up

This is what happens:-
> Black screen[top]/White[Bottom]
> Colours flip so that Black[Bottom]/White[Top]
> Progress bar shows along bottom
> Neoflash screen pops up for a second & DSision starts up normally
* Note: I checked YSMenu.ini @ this point & 'AUTO_BOOT=/'
> Choose a Commercial ROM
> Both Screens are White & stays White even after waiting a minute
* Note: I checked YSmenu.ini after this & 'AUTO_BOOT=ds games/Brain Age.nds'

> Repeated this for a Homebrew game (Video Game Hero) - & YSmenu.ini shows 'AUTO_BOOT=/'

 

[sacha78580]

Kermit - > Can you post the url of the dldi please (i'm on the page 27 but i dont kown how to find post 391)