Hardware Involving Pokemon GBA emulation on a PC and on an EZ 3 in 1

[Calypzo]

Okay, so I have a problem. I hope I made that obvious. Anyway, here's some background;


I own a CycloDS Evolution and an EZ Flash 3 in 1. I am perfectly happy with these and they both work perfectly.

I recently started playing Pokemon Fire Red on my EZ 3 in 1, but seeing as I am lazy/a cheater/whatever else anyone would like to say I wanted to use cheats. Personally, I find it more fun with them.
I know that the EZ 3 in 1 does not support use of cheats. I also have vba which does support cheats. What I would like to do is open my save file from the EZ 3 in 1 with vba, apply the cheats I want and then return to playing on my DS for portability.

However, I have found no way of opening the .sav files my EZ 3 in 1 produces to load in vba. I've tried importing battery file, and it just acts like there's no save. I have tried somethign I heard about removing the first 16 bytes with a hex editor, also to no avail. I've found links to a save file converter, however it had no support for vba files.

Is there a blindingly obvious answer that is staring me in the face? Should I save/have saved using a different method? Is there some kind of transfer/conversion method I know not of? It's be lovely if someone knew and could point me in the right direction.



If there is no way to make this work, I am considering buying a GBA/Slot 2 flashcart. So then I'll just play GBA games with that. Could somebody recommend one to me? Bearing in mind that it needs Real Time Clock for Pokemon games. Ideally it would use MicroSD, as they are smaller and I can get hold of them easily.

I was considering either the M3 Perfect or M3 Perfect Lite. Is there much difference? The main thing I was thinking was, "Perhaps I should get one that would also work in a GBA" because my first DS (A DS lite) got a crack in the hinge and I am worried about it breaking. For thsi reason I got a second DSL, but if that also broke then I would not be able to use the M3 lite.


So yeah, that's all I can think of to say right now. If anyone has a solution for my vba EZ 3 in 1 save file problem, that would be great. If not, any advice on the second problem would also be gratefully accepted.


Many thanks in advance, Calypzo.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

Change the save size in VBA to 128KB before importing.

What does a hinge have to do with playing gba games. Change the GBA screen to the touch screen in the DS settings.

As for a gba flashcart with RTC, your a day late and a pound short. Nobody sells them anymore. You can use a M3 GEP, which is a slot2 with RTC. You will need to use gba exploader to load any games to it. The only downside to it is that it will not work in a GBA/SP/micro, it is a slot2 ONLY device.

If you absolutely need it to work in a GBA, you can still get your hands on a M3 perfect CF here:
http://shop01media.com/info.asp?ProductID=16228

The M3 GEP is this: http://shop01media.com/info.asp?ProductID=38418

The M3 perfect line stores the save data in DAT files, not usuable by VBA or the 3in1.

If you want other links to who sells the GEP, I list them here:
http://gbatemp.net/t221500-m3i-zero-ezflas...p;#entry2764774

 

[Calypzo]

Okay, so I tried what you said with vba. I opened it, and went Options > Emulator > Save Type > Flash 128K. This was the only option I could find that sounded like what you said.
I then proceeded to open the game and then File > Import > Battery File and chose the .sav
They were both named the same, but it didn't work. It just reset, and then loaded as though there were no save coming up with the message about the 1M sub-circuit board not being installed.

Now I just think I must have done something wrong. Are there any other options that have to be on just the right setting? Or did I not change the save size for vba correctly?


EDIT: Okay, so I managed to get this working, thank you
However, all I did was change the save type and then open the .gba I had on my 3 in 1 and it got the save file somehow? Anyway, I managed to apply the cheats I wanted, but I am not sure which method to use to save to return the game. I did an in game save and export battery file, both to no avail. When I try File > Save... it gives me a .sgm which I don't believe I can use.

So now, I guess, the question is how do I get vba to create a save file I can use on my 3 in 1.


Thanks for all your help so far