Hacking Gonna get a 3in1

Harsky

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Saw a cheap 3 in 1 for sale on a site and since I still have a backlog of GBA games to finish, I suppose it can't hurt to get it. Some questions.

What is the difference between NOR and PSRAM?
 

moozxy

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I don't know exactly but in my experience of using it, NOR saves the game onto the 3-in-1 which essentially turns into the GBA cartridge allowing you to save etc. If you load a game in PSRAM it is only temporary and you cannot save.

As far as I know you can only save one game at a time on your 3-in-1.

Currently have Metal Slug Advance on my 3-in-1 so I can save my progress and I load the other GBA game I'm playing atm, Street Fighter through PSRAM since save isnt necessary in that game.
 

Fat D

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NOR is semi-permanent storage. it takes longer to write to, but the game can then be run without ever writing it in there again unless you flash another game to NOR. NOR has double the capacity and double the SRAM allocated, so it is the only way to run some games. When turning on the DS, the 3-in-1 defaults to a GBA cartridge with the NOR game.

PSRAM on the other hand is volatile storage. It was originally used only for browser RAM and stuff like that, but Rudolph's tool (and some other new GBA loaders) make use of it as space for GBA games, as well. It is faster to write to and more suitable for playing many different games instead of primarily a single one. It however has the disadvantages that it is half the size of the NOR (but still fits most games) and that the allocated SRAM is bank 2 (and 3, but it can't be used for technical reasons), not banks 0 and 1. Since it does not use the default banks, it can't do bank switching, so it can only use one bank instead of two. but very few games use two banks.
 

moozxy

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^ Ohhh so that's how it works
happy.gif
 

Harsky

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So if I choose to put more than one GBA, which option will be the best? And do I really have to patch the GBA roms before playing?
 

Fat D

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non-SRAM-saving games will have to be patched. If you play one game for a longer time, then the other, I suggest using NOR. However, If you decide to play each game just for a short time and then use a different one, I'd prefer using PSRAM whenever possible.

Many starts of one game - NOR
Continous switching of games - PSRAM
 

Harsky

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But what are the chances the saves will get overwritten when I choose to play a new game when I'm halfway through one of the game I'm playing?
 

moozxy

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What I said before about you not being able to save in PSRAM mode was a lie, sorry lol. It was cos I had forgot to patch the rom I was testing it on.
Anywaay once you get your 3-in-1 assuming you will use Rudolph's 3-in-1 tool, you create a folder on your SD card called GBA where you keep your roms and another folder called SAVE where the saves will be stored. So far none of my saves have disappeared and I can switch between games easily.

Oh and I'm using a program called GBA Tool Advance by coolhj to patch my roms, it's pretty good since it can do a number of other things such as trimming and fixing the ingame clock.
 

Fat D

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NOR saves get stored in 2 banks entirely different from the one bank PSRAM saves are in. And saves are recovered from the SRAM and put on the DS Card when a new game is written.
 

Beware

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Patching all your games with the EZ4 Client will solve any saving issues. Always make sure to backup your saves if you're going to use PSRAM and Rudolph's 3in1 Expansion Tool. If you use NDStation then you don't have to worry about losing saved data since it handles all saves the same. Plus NDStation supports compression.
 

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