Hardware Have I killed my EZ Flash IV?

[how_do_i_do_that]

Doesn't actually matter as long as your EZ-IV has a working miniSD slot and the update mode works.

If you put the ezfla_up.bin on the root of the microSD and boot from a SP with the R button held down. If it doesn't work, you got yourself a brick because you used the EZ-III writer. You option after that is to get a new one and throw away the screwed up one.

 

[kuwanger]

If it doesn't work, you got yourself a brick because you used the EZ-III writer. You option after that is to get a new one and throw away the screwed up one.

It's funny you say that because I've been rather curious if it's possible to unbrick an EZ IV. I haven't bricked my own, but I did use my F2A linker to dump the first 32MB of the EZIV. The results were apparently that the first 256KB or so are the flashing program to flash on the ezfla_up.bin, the next 2MB or so is the ezfla_up.bin, and the NOR space starts at the 0x1400000 mark. I assume the exact offsets have more to do with the F2A linker program getting a lot of junk than there being around 18MB of empty NOR space on the EZIV.

In any case, if someone has an EZ IV they've bricked, then I'd presume one could simply reflash on that first 256KB part then do the standard ezfla_up.bin update. So, anyone have a bricked EZ IV who wants to give that a try?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

The original files and method for unbricking a EZ-IV was on a blog which has long since been deleted. You can dig through the forum on sosuke to see if it was mirrored there.

 

[FAST6191]

Apologies for the upcoming info dump, I do not have that much to offer here but something might be of interest.

Not that it is strictly relevant here but if my memory serves (and it has not been brilliant these last few days) the EZ4 used a NOR- SRAM chip for the loader and well SRAM and then another bigger NOR chip for the NOR that we all call the NOR section.

I did once mess around with the loader section patching in a few parts of the header- either tweaking a few ASCII strings or straight up copying the header from the EZ4 loader to the old EZf3me (darkfader made a quick loader for DS homebrew on the NOR) and somehow managed not to brick my cart.

Likewise the EZ3 loader assuming the hardware holds is just in one of the subdirectories of the EZManager program- perhaps a bit of patching and poking around can see you using the EZ4 one instead.
On that matter as well it might take a bit of digging but cory1492 did once dump the very first EZ4 loader (the one that still had the EZ3 fishes skin), it barely works for anything but it might help if you can find it.
There is also a EZ3 standalone reformatting tool called EZcheck http://ezflash.sosuke.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=531
I have not poked around it yet but it is a barebones flashing tool for the EZ3 that sets a basic loader on the EZ3, it is standalone so I assume there is a payload in the exe itself if it comes to that level of fiddling.

@how_do_i_do_that if you find some unbricking stuff do share- I only know of what I wrote up above (cory1492's stuff)

re Yoshi island NOR- you should be able to write any GBA rom to the NOR these days just by pressing select on the rom when it is on the mini/micro SD. Before you might have had to pad it.

If any of you need something from a working EZ4 (I have an EZ4 miniSD and a plain EZ4 lite) I still have my EZ2 linker and software working here, it is only the first style EZlinker though so it might not be ideal (there were three main types- 1 for the old EZ1/2, one for the EZ3 and another that you could "program" to use either).

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

I didn't make a copy of that info it seems. I spent some time digging through the files I got. It is like the rest of the old internet stuff, deleted. I even tried the wayback machine, site wasn't archived either.

 

[cory1492]

On that matter as well it might take a bit of digging but cory1492 did once dump the very first EZ4 loader (the one that still had the EZ3 fishes skin), it barely works for anything but it might help if you can find it.

Definitely took a bit of digging, but once I found the code from march 2008 I realized I've had it up on my site all along

I did actually do a full recovery tool for at least the early EZ4's (for use on a slot1 with dldi/dldi support internally), which should work on the others produced since - provided you can get a dump of a matching revision. The one included was my own Ez4 deluxe's bootstrap.

ez4_OSfull_tools_v1.zip
Source included, though it was originally compiled for an now ancient version of devkitpro/libnds - the binaries should still work, but keep in mind I never had any of the "lite" versions of the EZ4 to play with.

 

[jiraspiom]

My card is EZFlash IV Lite. I need help.

 

[Schlupi]

My card is EZFlash IV Lite. I need help.

Shiiiit, your EZ Flash IV is dead anyways. try Cory's tools, and get back to us.

 

[Mbmax]

On that matter as well it might take a bit of digging but cory1492 did once dump the very first EZ4 loader (the one that still had the EZ3 fishes skin), it barely works for anything but it might help if you can find it.

Definitely took a bit of digging, but once I found the code from march 2008 I realized I've had it up on my site all along

I did actually do a full recovery tool for at least the early EZ4's (for use on a slot1 with dldi/dldi support internally), which should work on the others produced since - provided you can get a dump of a matching revision. The one included was my own Ez4 deluxe's bootstrap.

ez4_OSfull_tools_v1.zip
Source included, though it was originally compiled for an now ancient version of devkitpro/libnds - the binaries should still work, but keep in mind I never had any of the "lite" versions of the EZ4 to play with.

Here is the dump of the EZ4 miniSD (GBAsized) in case someone need it : http://www.mediafire.com/?q9aw1qqqu6a8s3p

Once the EZ4 is unbricked with cory1492's tool, i advice to update again the bootloader (ezfla_up.bin) from the gba mode (holding R key).

 

[kazoola]

I have the exact same problem as the original poster; but I haven't tried the passpatch as the link is down. Can anyone reupload the passpatch_ez4 please?

 

[alphamule]

http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/flashcart-files/download-ez4-os-tools-10-f27302.html

Check the same folder on Filetemp.net since I think it's there.

 

[FAST6191]

alphamule linked it but I will also mention I dumped every loader there were save for the lite compact and stuck them up on http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/flashcart-files/download-ez4-bootstrap-collection-10-f27581.html in case you need a good one to go to.

 

[alphamule]

Well I posted that also because the previous OS tools link was dead, yes. Guess what the first thing I did when I got an eCube 1Gb cart working... heh, loaded the older EZFA tool and backed up the first 256Mb of it.

Oddly enough, that might have been redundant because it seems that eCube's come from the factory with no firmware at all (other than CPLD?). They depend on multiboot code writing to the NOR Flash memory.