Hacking M3 Expansion save and cheat questions

[absinthee]

I searched and didn't find anything on this so I decided to ask.

Is it possible to convert no$gba GBA save files for use with the M3 Expansion cart?
That might not make sense, so here's what I'd like to do. I've been playing Pokemon - Sapphire (for the GBA) on no$gba for a while. I just got an M3 Expansion (for use with my M3i Zero) and would like to convert/transfer my Sapphire no$gba save so that it works on my DS. Is this possible?

My other question is about the cheat function for the M3 Expansion. I decided to test out the cheat function on some GBA games, but it doesn't seem to work. I downloaded the GBA cheat files found here: http://cheats.gbatemp.net/GBA/
I enabled cheats, selected the correct file and started the game. It gave me a screen to select the cheats I want, which I did (and yes, I made sure that the enabler code was on) and started the game. The game ran fine, but none of the cheats worked? Is there something special I need to do in order to get them to work?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Magmorph]

No$gba saves should work on the M3 with no conversion.

 

[absinthee]

I tried the save and it didn't work. I made sure the names matched and that they were in the same folder. No luck.

 

[powered_by_tux]

The M3 GBA expansion requires save games to be 128 KByte in file size, regardless of whether the extra space is really needed by the game. Most emulators only use 64 Kbyte by default. If the emulator does not automatically expand the save game to 128 KByte, you will have to find a way to manually expand the save game. I have written a small tool that can do this but you might not find it easy to use.

 

[absinthee]

Ah, ok. Thanks for the info, powered_by_tux. Where can I get the tool you wrote? It doesn't matter if it's difficult to use, I'll get it to work.

 

[powered_by_tux]

I have uploaded it here: http://www.2shared.com/file/VJkpnuud/JHexTool.html

A short explaination how to get it to work:
1. Install Java if you do not have it yet. It is needed to run some great apps, so it is always worth installing. You also get a plugin for your browser to run Java applets.
2. Download the file above and double click to execute it.
3. Choose "File", then "Open" and navigate to your GBA .sav file. Alternatively, you can associate this tool with all .sav files.
4. In the "Padder" tab type "128" and choose "KiB" from the drop down list to the right. Finally, press "Pad".
5. A new file with the same name but the extension ".pad" will appear in the same folder as your save game resides. It will be exactly 128 KByte in size. Move it to your M3 card and remove the extension ".pad". Run it on the M3 and see if it works.

 

[Magmorph]

Try opening it in Touchpod instead of Sakura. It should do the work for you.

 

[absinthee]

Magmorph, I've been using Sakura for so long that I had actually forgotten Touchpod was an option.

Thanks for the tip, too. Touchpod converted it to the larger size without any problems. It also seems to load GBA games twice as fast as Sakura...

Powered_by_tux, even though Touchpod worked for me I'll still be trying your method. Why? Just to see if it works.

Thanks for the save help, guys.