GBARunner2 on YSMenu won't load save files it created

[damnitdinkles]

Hey, I've been a lurk for the last few years and did a search for GBARunner2 and didn't find the answer I was looking for, so figured I'd ask.

I've had an original R4 card since 2011 and would use it all the time on my DS Lite for the DS and GB/GBC games, which was fine until the touchpad went out and the batteries in my GBA cartridges all began dying. I was gifted a 2DS last year and found out the original R4 card wouldn't boot on it and took the plunge and bought a new one- the incentive to also be able to boot GBA games on it was definitely a main factor for me.

I bought an "R4 SDHC RTS Lite 2021" on eBay. I used the "The Ultimate R4 Card Setup 2020+ | Time Bomb Removal, Skin Customization, and GBA Support!" by Anton Retro on youtube and the links they listed (formerly had the link listed but would not allow me to post with it).

Now here's where I can't find a post that answers my specific question/problem- When I followed the instructions on the main video linked above, it worked almost perfectly. It boots the YSMenu, loads the DS ROMs saved in the Games files, and boots all the emulators, and runs most of the ROMs (any game it hasn't booted I'm assuming something is wrong with the ROM itself since it was only one or two that wouldn't boot).

I have not moved any save files onto the SD Card and I am booting everything as a brand new game as I prefer to play from the start anyways. When I start a new game on GBARunner2 it works fine and allows me to save, but when I close out by either quitting, navigating to the Home Screen or just turning off the DS and then load the emulator for GBARunner2, it does not recognize that there is a save file. It only does this on GBARunner2, all other emulators appear to be loading the saved files it created fine.

When I plug the SD card into my computer it recognizes that there is now a save file on the card. GBARunner2 is saving the save files into the same folder as the GBA files are being loaded from.

I saw in a post someone suggest using EZ 3-in-1 to patch it but cannot find any information on how to install that patch specifically. I posted on Reddit and someone suggested making sure I have the most current version of GBARunner2 and reinstalling it, but when I did that, the YSMenu stopped allowing me to boot the emulator entirely, though was still booting the DS Games and all other emulators and ROMs, so I went back and reinstalled everything from scratch.

Right now I'm back to the same original problem- DS and GB/GBC games boot and run and save fine. GBA boots, but treats as a new save for all ROMs every time I load the ROM on the emulator. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Pk11]

Hmm, have you tried unresolvedsymbol's GBARunner2 DSL Enhanced fork? It's slightly better than the current official build on flashcards. Also maybe try both the arm7dldi and arm9dldi builds if you only did one as it varies by flashcard which works better.

It also looks like that guide uses an all in one premade pack which could be causing issues, one of the reasons using video guides are strongly discouraged when modding consoles and such. Reinstalling YSMenu from the official download may help. (your card should use the R4i-SDHC YSMenu folder I think)

Another thing that may help is loading nds-hb-menu, TWiLight Menu++, or GodMode9i to load GBARunner2 instead of loading it directly from YSMenu. I don't think that's the problem in this case, but some homebrew work better from those than directly from YSMenu.

Alternatively, since you said this is on a 2DS, you might want to just install CFW, it's very safe these days and there are better ways then GBARunner2 to play GBA games that way. (Virtual Console injects, open_agb_firm, and if you're on a New 2DS XL mGBA)

 

[damnitdinkles]

Hmm, have you tried unresolvedsymbol's GBARunner2 DSL Enhanced fork? It's slightly better than the current official build on flashcards. Also maybe try both the arm7dldi and arm9dldi builds if you only did one as it varies by flashcard which works better.

It also looks like that guide uses an all in one premade pack which could be causing issues, one of the reasons using video guides are strongly discouraged when modding consoles and such. Reinstalling YSMenu from the official download may help. (your card should use the R4i-SDHC YSMenu folder I think)

Another thing that may help is loading nds-hb-menu, TWiLight Menu++, or GodMode9i to load GBARunner2 instead of loading it directly from YSMenu. I don't think that's the problem in this case, but some homebrew work better from those than directly from YSMenu.

Alternatively, since you said this is on a 2DS, you might want to just install CFW, it's very safe these days and there are better ways then GBARunner2 to play GBA games that way. (Virtual Console injects, open_agb_firm, and if you're on a New 2DS XL mGBA)

I just tried the GBARunner2 DSL Enhanced, both versions and on each I receive a pop-up;

"[Rom loading failed] load from errcode=-1 Please reset system",

Which is the same error I received when I plugged in the ones from the standard download page for the GBARunner2 files. I think it's because it doesn't have a bios file to add when I install it, but the one from the other folder I have does.

I just tried the official download for the ysmenu and when I launched the cartridge, it becomes a white screen with a red outline of an sd card that says "? MENU" in red when I used the on for r4i-SDHC, but didn't experience a problem with the R4 SDHC one.

I have no experience with nds-hb-menu, Twilight Menu or GodMode9i, but Twilight Menu had instructions listed on it for me to follow so I gave it a shot-

So I installed the Twilight menu as instructed and then dragged and dropped the folder for the R4SDHC ysmenu, as that was the one that was running originally, but received the same white screen I described above- with the red outline of an SD Card that says "? MENU" in red. I deleted and reinstalled Twilight and added R4i SDHC instead. Same deal.

I'd like to avoid CFW if possible since I do own 3DS games digitally and don't wanna brick it, but I did just look at mGBA and see no instructions on how to use it so I'll look at it a bit more tomorrow.

If you have any more suggestions, I would really appreciate it, thanks!