EzFlash Air Simple Theme - Pre-alpha

[m45t3r]

So I combined the source code release of EzFlash Air with the Simple theme for EzFlash Omega DE to create my own version.

Keep in mind that I wouldn't even classify this as alpha. It is mostly untested (it boots and I can write games to NOR flash and launch a few games, but I didn't test it deeply), and the only reason that I want to do that is because I am interested of implementing some kind of write NOR verification because I think the EzFlash Air is corrupting ROM during writes (that would explain the multiple reports of graphical glitches and ROMs crashing). My idea here is to verify the NOR writes and retry if they fail a checksum, this should make sure that we are correctly writing to NOR flash. However, I didn't get that far yet.

The only reason I used the Simple menu as base is because it was easier to make it to work instead of the source code release from EzFlash, that is definitely not the same as the released 1.04, because there are multiple bugs in the source code that are not present in the released version. Keep in mind this is not a full port, and maybe it will never will.

I would recommend this mostly for developers that want to get something more usable than the source code release from EzFlash, or if you are a very adventurous user. But keep in mind that I will not accept any feature requests or complaints about bugs for now, or even (especially) if this bricks your hardware (it shouldn't, I flashed this dozens of times already, but still you never know).

It is here: https://github.com/m45t3r/air-kernel-simple/releases/tag/v0.0.1. "ezairkernel-light.gba" is untested, I am currently using "ezairkernel.gba" that is the dark theme. Rename either file to "ezairkernel.bin", put at the root of your SD card and hold R during the "Ez-Flash" boot screen.

 

[metroid maniac]

If you got an open source kernel to build and boot on EZ Air that's enough to catch my attention.

 

[m45t3r]

If you got an open source kernel to build and boot on EZ Air that's enough to catch my attention.

Definitely interested in what you're going to do, because as I said my main objective here was mostly getting this to work in a minimal state to implement the only 2 features I care:
- Verify NOR writes to make sure they're correct (like I said in the OP)
- Implement Delete All (since Format All is too slow)

But yes, just to confirm in case it is not clear: it is working.

 

[metroid maniac]

Definitely interested in what you're going to do, because as I said my main objective here was mostly getting this to work in a minimal state to implement the only 2 features I care:
- Verify NOR writes to make sure they're correct (like I said in the OP)
- Implement Delete All (since Format All is too slow)

But yes, just to confirm in case it is not clear: it is working.

My interest in the Air kernel is adding support for fragmented flash like on SuperChis i.e. ability to delete ROMs in any order.

 

[m45t3r]

My interest in the Air kernel is adding support for fragmented flash like on SuperChis i.e. ability to delete ROMs in any order.

Oh, this would be sweet, and it would remove my need to add a Delete All (the only reason I want is to make it easier to reorganize the rom list without needing to format).

BTW, keep in mind that I am having some issues when I add too many features I get a blank screen (this is one reason why I couldn't get the verify NOR writes to work yet). I think there is some hidden size limit in the FW/kernel.

 

[sam2895]

My interest in the Air kernel is adding support for fragmented flash like on SuperChis i.e. ability to delete ROMs in any order.

could it fix the games crash?

 

[sam2895]

Just test air-kernel simple looks cool awsome work

 

[hmbm]

So I combined the source code release of EzFlash Air with the Simple theme for EzFlash Omega DE to create my own version.

Keep in mind that I wouldn't even classify this as alpha. It is mostly untested (it boots and I can write games to NOR flash and launch a few games, but I didn't test it deeply), and the only reason that I want to do that is because I am interested of implementing some kind of write NOR verification because I think the EzFlash Air is corrupting ROM during writes (that would explain the multiple reports of graphical glitches and ROMs crashing). My idea here is to verify the NOR writes and retry if they fail a checksum, this should make sure that we are correctly writing to NOR flash. However, I didn't get that far yet.

The only reason I used the Simple menu as base is because it was easier to make it to work instead of the source code release from EzFlash, that is definitely not the same as the released 1.04, because there are multiple bugs in the source code that are not present in the released version. Keep in mind this is not a full port, and maybe it will never will.

I would recommend this mostly for developers that want to get something more usable than the source code release from EzFlash, or if you are a very adventurous user. But keep in mind that I will not accept any feature requests or complaints about bugs for now, or even (especially) if this bricks your hardware (it shouldn't, I flashed this dozens of times already, but still you never know).

It is here: https://github.com/m45t3r/air-kernel-simple/releases/tag/v0.0.1. "ezairkernel-light.gba" is untested, I am currently using "ezairkernel.gba" that is the dark theme. Rename either file to "ezairkernel.bin", put at the root of your SD card and hold R during the "Ez-Flash" boot screen.

I'm also very interested in the implementation of NOR validation. Good luck with your implementation! I'm rooting for you!

 

[m45t3r]

I'm also very interested in the implementation of NOR validation. Good luck with your implementation! I'm rooting for you!

Don't expect me to work on this anymore. EzFlash Air NOR seems to be very low quality, I am almost for sure bricked my flashcard just by rewriting the firmware a couple of times (it wasn't a lot either maybe a couple of dozen writes while testing firmware changes).

Now every time I try to write a new firmware I get a different amount of bugs, because each time I write to NOR flash it corrupts different amount of bytes (I know this exactly because my NOR verification code). Also games crashes or get corrupted graphics.

So this is an alert for any EzFlash Air owners: avoid doing unnecessary writes to the NOR flash, and if you start seeing random firmware/game corruption you probably corrupted your NOR flash and AFAIK there is no fix for that.

 

[sam2895]

I threw that garbage i.e flash air and bought new superchis