Hardware EZ-Flash IV: Problems Flashing to NOR

[SuperMew98]

Hi everyone,

I've had my EZ4 for about 6 months so far, and everything has worked fine, but today, I ran into a problem. I wanted to play Yu-Gi-Oh! - Ultimate Masters - World Championship Tournament 2006. Being that it is 32MB, it can only be played when written to the NOR. So that's what I did. I've written games to the NOR in the past and they've worked flawlessly (Mother 3, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - Duel Academy, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: RRT). This time, when I wrote it to the NOR, it almost finished writing, except it sat at this text:

Writing...
245Mb

I turned off my GBA, since there was nothing I could do. When I turned it back on, it showed the name of the game I had previously written to the NOR, which was Duel Academy.

Can anyone help me figure out how to write to the NOR correctly?

Thanks in advance,
SuperMew98

P.S.
The card's firmware is v1.740, and for some reason, I can't update it. The v1.760 ezfla_up.bin is in the root of the card, and I hold R down on startup. It only shows a box at the bottom of the screen saying "fat initial 0" for about a second, then goes away and continues with the boot process (no black screen and no updating).

P.S.S
I purchased my card from nds-card.com and the back says EZ402 2006.03

 

[migles]

install the last firmware on it.

that problem usually happens if you are using the 1.74 (or 1.75) firmware
1.76 solves that issue

what micro sd are you using?

 

[SuperMew98]

I am using a SanDisk 2GB Mini SD, no adapters. It's worked fine in the past up until now.

And whenever I try to install the latest firmware on it, it doesn't do anything except show a box at the bottom of the screen saying "fat initial 0" for a short bit, then disappears and continues to load the firmware on the card already (1.740).

 

[TecXero]

I am using a SanDisk 2GB Mini SD, no adapters. It's worked fine in the past up until now.

And whenever I try to install the latest firmware on it, it doesn't do anything except show a box at the bottom of the screen saying "fat initial 0" for a short bit, then disappears and continues to load the firmware on the card already (1.740).

You got the latest kernel from the website and copied it to the root of your mini SD? Make sure the contacts are clean.

 

[migles]

are you by any change trying to update it in NDS MODE?
other than trying to format the sd card with panasonic formatter and put ONLY the update file or using another sd card i don't know what else can you do to update it
however that 254mb is a known problem of 1.74...

 

[SuperMew98]

You got the latest kernel from the website and copied it to the root of your mini SD? Make sure the contacts are clean.

Yes, I got kernel 1.760 from ezflash.cn. I haven't cleaned the contacts in a while, so I'll try to do that.

are you by any change trying to update it in NDS MODE?
other than trying to format the sd card with panasonic formatter and put ONLY the update file or using another sd card i don't know what else can you do to update it
however that 254mb is a known problem of 1.74...

I am updating it with a GBA SP only, and I even tried using my GBA, but both did the same thing.

 

[lordgoober]

it's funny. I think the NOR on my original ez-flash IV is beginning to croak. I can't load the large games on there and the smaller ones I load in are beginning to glitch out when in NOR but are fine when loaded from the file system.

 

[SuperMew98]

Just for the heck of it I loaded a really lightweight homebrew game (115KB) into the NOR, and it copied to it perfectly, loaded just fine, and I didn't see any glitches.

 

[TecXero]

Just for the heck of it I loaded a really lightweight homebrew game (115KB) into the NOR, and it copied to it perfectly, loaded just fine, and I didn't see any glitches.

Yeah, that's a known issue with older kernels when loading 32mb games. It's only beyond 254mb where it has problems. That's why we recommended you update your kernel. Not sure why you can't update, though. Either bad connection somewhere, FS errors, or it's not stored in the right spot with the right name. You're using FAT16, right? Not sure if it has troubles with FAT32, as I've never used FAT32 on mine.

 

[SuperMew98]

I formatted the card as FAT using XP's built-in formatter. Should I try the Panasonic one migles was talking about?

The file ezfla_up.bin is on the root of the card, and I hold down R when I start up the Game Boy.


I can also make a quick video showing how I'm trying to update the card, and how flashing to the NOR doesn't complete.

 

[TecXero]

I formatted the card as FAT using XP's built-in formatter. Should I try the Panasonic one migles was talking about?

The file ezfla_up.bin is on the root of the card, and I hold down R when I start up the Game Boy.


I can also make a quick video showing how I'm trying to update the card, and how flashing to the NOR doesn't complete.

It wouldn't hurt formatting it with the formatter from Secure Digital, it's recommended overall but shouldn't effect this. It's possible your SD is going bad.

 

[migles]

I formatted the card as FAT using XP's built-in formatter. Should I try the Panasonic one migles was talking about?

The file ezfla_up.bin is on the root of the card, and I hold down R when I start up the Game Boy.


I can also make a quick video showing how I'm trying to update the card, and how flashing to the NOR doesn't complete.

i really recomend using it.. it solved issues on the past with a memory card, and if i remember it was on ez iv.. but i am not really sure if it was on the ez iv or the wii... but its the official formatter from the people who enforce the standards of sd cards... i always use it...

as for the NOR doesn't completing, i already told you that is the 1.74 issue.... i had it... i had that exact problem, i thought i had a defective card but it was just software problem.

in the website you can read that issue... http://www.ezflash.cn/downloads/

EZ-FLASH IV /Lite/Compact
EZ4 Kernel 1.76 DOWNLOAD
fixed the halt at 254Mbit when writing a 256Mbit game
improved the compatibility
improved the saver

(note 256Mbit=32MegaBytes)

 

[SuperMew98]

I formatted the card just for the heck of it. Didn't do anything, but I didn't expect it to.

@migles: I know that it's an issue with 1.74, but the problem is I can't even update to 1.75 or 76.

Here's a video of what's happening:


I'm sorry about the poor camera quality.

 

[TecXero]

I formatted the card just for the heck of it. Didn't do anything, but I didn't expect it to.

@migles: I know that it's an issue with 1.74, but the problem is I can't even update to 1.75 or 76.

Here's a video of what's happening:


I'm sorry about the poor camera quality.

You have to hold R while booting up the system and nothing else.

 

[SuperMew98]

I was only holding R, I was using my other hand to hold the Game Boy down.

 

[migles]

I formatted the card just for the heck of it. Didn't do anything, but I didn't expect it to.

@migles: I know that it's an issue with 1.74, but the problem is I can't even update to 1.75 or 76.

Here's a video of what's happening:


I'm sorry about the poor camera quality.

you should press R at boot and the black screen should appear
it will not work if you open it on the menu..
try to press start and boot it..

 

[TecXero]

I was only holding R, I was using my other hand to hold the Game Boy down.

The layout of the screen that it first booted into in your video looked different than mine, but maybe it's just a slightly different model. I'd go a head and try a different SD. Mini SDs have some age on them at this point and wouldn't surprise me if it has a few bad sectors. Try a micro SD with an adapter.

 

[SuperMew98]

you should press R at boot and the black screen should appear
it will not work if you open it on the menu..
try to press start and boot it..

Black screen didn't appear. I opened it from the menu, showed EZPDA at the bottom of the screen for a split second, then went to a white screen. Should I transfer this to my EZ4 using the transfer tool?

The layout of the screen that it first booted into in your video looked different than mine, but maybe it's just a slightly different model. I'd go a head and try a different SD. Mini SDs have some age on them at this point and wouldn't surprise me if it has a few bad sectors. Try a micro SD with an adapter.

I bought a Micro SD with a Mini SD adapter before I got just the Mini SD. When I put it in and started it up, it couldn't find the card at all.


Should I look into buying an EZ4 Micro SD from http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?PageNo=2&ProID=576? That's the same website I got my current one from.

 

[migles]

Black screen didn't appear. I opened it from the menu, showed EZPDA at the bottom of the screen for a split second, then went to a white screen. Should I transfer this to my EZ4 using the transfer tool?


I bought a Micro SD with a Mini SD adapter before I got just the Mini SD. When I put it in and started it up, it couldn't find the card at all.


Should I look into buying an EZ4 Micro SD from http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?PageNo=2&ProID=576? That's the same website I got my current one from.

is that micro sd bigger than 2gb?

you dont need to get another ez iv.. you are just having bad luck with sd cards
i also have a issue with some cards..

 

[SuperMew98]

The Micro SD is exactly 2GB.

What brand/type is yours?

Mine's a SanDisk 2GB Mini SD.