Hacking M3i Zero and EZ-Flash V 3 in 1 No Rumble

[skorpien]

Hi all,

I hope this isn't an obvious question (I've searched with no luck) but I'm wondering if any of you would be able to help.

I have an M3i Zero (pre GMP-Z003) and an EZ-Flash V 3 in 1 slot 2 card.

I used to be able to set the rumble feature on the EZ-Flash and be able to use it with my NDS games that support it. It was a while ago so I'm unsure what exactly I did to get it to work, but I think it was fairly easy.

A few years have passed since then, and I've had to reformat my SD card and load the system onto it again. Now when I go into the 3-in-1 expansion pack program (3in1_ExpPack_Tool) I can't switch the mode to rumble. Only PS-RAM and NOR are available.

I have tried this with the M3 Real and M3 Sakura with no luck.

I have downloaded GBA ExpLoader (latest version) and tried that as well. It will allow me to switch to the rumble feature, but when I press A to confirm and soft-reset, it hangs.

I've tried to press X in Sakura to bring up the options to enable soft-reset on the GBA ExpLoader NDS file, but that also results in my card hanging.

I'm at a loss. Not sure what I need to do. I'm SURE I had this working previously, so I'm thinking there must be a way to do it that I'm forgetting.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

Regardless of how old you think this is, it still covers everything about teh 3in1: http://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-tell-which-version-of-the-3in1-you-have.130659/
Your answer can be found in there.

I suggest you use 3in1 instead of "3 in 1" when you do a search on forums like gbatemp. The search function here has a 3 char requirement that is mandatory when doing a lookup.

 

[skorpien]

Thanks so much for the link and search advice. I'll be sure to give it a thorough read.

Edit: I tried downloading and patching the GBA ExpLoader file linked in that thread. The patch made it able to run, and it would allow me to navigate to the rumble feature, but when I pressed A to select and reset, it hangs.

I've tried an alternate method mentioned (gbaldr) but all of the download links are dead...

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

check the download section here, on filetrip.

 

[skorpien]

There doesn't seem to be anything that works. I've search the entire download section for M3i with no luck. There are plenty of 3in1 utilities that give me the option to choose the rumble feature but they all seem to get stuck on the soft reset part. There is even one that simply states "Soft reset is invalid" and refuses to load.

I know I can enable soft reset on a per-game basis, though I can't find any way to do so globally. Each NDS game ROM has the option in M3 Sakura to turn on soft reset, but when I try to access the options screen to enable soft reset on the 3in1 utility (any one) the top screen goes black and it freezes.

Thank you for your help how_do_i_do_that, it's really appreciated. I feel like I'm being a bother and the M3i Zero isn't the most capable (or really liked) card out there. I'll just do without the rumble feature, or if I really want it later I can purchase a card that will work with it.

Edit: I found a standalone rumble patcher and was able to patch the NDS ROM to enable rumble! It took a bit of searching but I was able to find a live link online and it's working perfectly I don't mind patching each game separately. Plus this has the added benefit of always having it enabled and not having to enable the rumble feature every time I want to use it before launching the game.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

The 3in1 is loaderless, that means you can't use alot of the features like softreset etc that you can find on a full gba flashcart. Your limited to the save patching and a few fix patches.

The M3 group took a bad turn for the worse when they sent a C&D to a homebrew dev a few years back, it went downhill for them pretty fast after that.

If you got the link to the standalone rumble patch, I would like to get it so I can update most of the links. Also tell me what 3in1 do you have to get that patch working.

 

[skorpien]

Yeah, they really shot themselves in the foot with the whole Rudolph incident. Really foolish move on their part...

I'm fairly certain I have the EZ5C11. I wasn't able to physically open it to confirm, but I was able to make out a large(ish) four digit number printed on the PCB right below the battery, and of the four models listed in the link you provided only the EZ5C11 matches that.

I'll PM you the link. I'm not sure as to rules on posting links in here, so I hope you don't mind.

Edit: You have PMs turned off... And I think the no posting links rule applies to only the ROMs themselves...
http://www.hacken.cc/useful/NDS_Software/EZ5/3in1/3in1_rumble_patcher.zip

I got it from this page:
http://www.ezflash.cn/discuz/archiver/?tid-5737.html

But as it's in Chinese, I figured I'd share the direct link.

Edit 2: I ended up taking mine apart and can confirm that it is indeed the EZ5C11 version.