Hacking Ewin 2 Pro miniSD

[sfg]

So, I've got an Ewin 2 Pro miniSD, which according to what I've read should work on the GBA, but I can't make it boot.
It boots on the DS, both in GBA and DS mode but my GBA SP shows a screen with the old Gameboy logo (like a GB or GBC game is inserted) and instead of Nintendo at the bottom there is a black box.
Now, I've never tried my GBA with GBA games, only with GB and GB, so I'm wondering, is it possible that it's broken and only the GB/GBC mode works? If I turn it on with no cart inserted then the regular GBA boot screen appears.

Finally, I've read that since this Ewin is a Supercard clone I can use the SC firmware, and launching the update tells me that I have version 1.63 but when pressing A to update it says "Read flash id error! Please turn off. 2e00".

 

[sfg]

OK, I figured out why it was not booting on the GBA. It was because the cart was pushing down the switch that puts the GBA in GB/GBC mode.
So now the only problem remains using the SC firmware... if it's of any use, of course.

And another problem, I patched the games with the SC tool (the Ewin one makes all games show only a white screen), but they can't find their saves. Saving and loading works while in the game, but if I restart they're not found anymore.

 

[DanTheManMS]

I believe after 1.63 the SC team started doing some special encryption on the firmware to block SC clones from doing exactly what you're trying to do. As long as you're using the correct patcher software, you should be fine (especially for GBA games since 1.70 and beyond only addressed DS issues).

If it truly is a Supercard clone, then after saving in-game you will need to press L+R+Select+A (should bring up a menu) in order to backup the updated SRAM to the *.sav file on your card, since it does not do this automatically. Alternatively, if this doesn't work, use the "quick power cycle" method of saving: save in-game, then power off and power on QUICKLY (within a few seconds of powering off). Go to the "Saver" tab in the firmware and navigate to the *.sav file. Press A twice. The save file should be updated correctly now.

 

[sfg]

Hey, thanks!

Well, it is a Supercard clone, but slightly modified as it has a battery for example. And the saves work if I do the power off, power on and then update the .sav file. It's not necessary to do it quickly. However, if I do the key combo it doesn't seem to have any effect. Can't make real-time save work either. It saves, but after loading it just leaves me with a white screen. Don't care about it, but I was just trying.

 

[DanTheManMS]

The Supercard MiniSD (the only one sized like a standard GBA cart) also has a battery in it. The only real purpose for the battery is so that you don't have to power back on immediately, as you discovered.

Try the various patch options to see if you can get the button combination working. If not, it's not a terribly big deal, but it would be handy.