Hacking m3Real GBA Expansion Pak Questions

Pharrit

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Ok, i've read a couple of topics already about the GBA pak not saving properly. I tired setting RTS, changing patching and stuff and it still will not save anything. Now i saw it was mentioned that you have to let the batt on the pak charge so I plugged in the cart without the slot-1 inside and still nothing, Anything else I can try or do I have to buy a new one at this point?
 

g6team

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Also be sure to turn the M3 Real back on after you exit from a GBA game. You need to re-enter the GBA menu, from there you will see 'processing...." this is when the save from sdram is transfer to the main storage.
 

Comazon

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I was going to make a thread like this since I have the exact same problem. I've tried reading guides but have had no success.

I can get a "processing data... keep power on" message, but that happens while the main menu loads, not the GBA menu (not sure if that makes any difference).

Also, I feel really n00bish for asking this, but doesn't the M3 Real have to be turned on again if I want to use the GBA expansion pack again, since the pak doesn't work standalone?
 

ignite339

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Well what he meant was that when the M3 Real is turned on after you shut off a GBA game, the save is transferred from the expansion card to the MicroSD card before the GUI is loaded.
 

Comazon

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Ah, so I'm assuming that means I'm doing it correctly (unfortunately).
frown.gif
 

g6team

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I apologize I guess when you turn the console back on the transfer process has already begin. If that doesn't work have you also tried re-charging it?
 

Fun_Zephyr

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Hmmm, I have never had an issue with the M3 Real and the GBA Expansion Pak. I have had one for several months and I have been able to save and RTS for my GBA games.

However, I did notice with my Castlevania game that sometimes if I did an in game save that when I loaded up next time sometimes it would not have my ingame save there any more. What I ended up doing was every time I did a save I would also do a RTS - that way if my in game save did not work I could still easily load my RTS. Never had an issue with a RTS load.

However, I am curious, when ignite339 said "Well what he meant was that when the M3 Real is turned on after you shut off a GBA game, the save is transferred from the expansion card to the MicroSD card before the GUI is loaded."

Does thsi mean that if you took out the M3 chip and placed another chip in - say the Cyclo - that the saved game would never reach your M3? And that being the case does it copy the fiel to your Cyclo memory card?

OR does it mean if the M3 is not there it gets it next time you put the M3 in?
 

Pharrit

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How exactly do you recharge it?

I have turned it off and reset and i get "save data corrupt" and even when i try to save the game it says that its corrupt.. I have tried using the RTS but it keeps crashing the game. I've tried it on POR, RiverCity Ransom, Pokemon, and Gunstar Heroes.. Anything else?
 

Comazon

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g6team said:
If that doesn't work have you also tried re-charging it?
If recharging requires leaving Slot-1 empty, then no I have not. I'll give it a shot right now and post how it fares when it's done.

As for RTS, it works only during the same session the save was created. If I turn off and on the Nintendo DS again and then try to load the save, I will be met with a colorful wall of static, freezing my DS.
 

Fun_Zephyr

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When I RTS for a GBA game using M3 Real and GBA Expansion Pak I can load previous sessions no issues. I am using tehir stock standrd software - meaning downloaded form their site, no modifications etc.

I have a GBA folder on the root of the memory card
I then have several different folders in teh GBA folder depending on the game genre
Turn on NDS
Click on the GBA icon (2nd Icon)
Click on the Game I wish to play
Ensure RTSave Switch is Enabled
While playing the game I press L+R+A+B and it bring up the RTS menu. I click save.
Once saved and back at the game screen I turn the NDS off
Later on I turn NDS on and follow exactly as I did above but once the game is loaded I push +L+R+A+B and select laod and away I go.

I do not have to platy that game as my next game. I have several games on the go at athe moment where the RTS has been used. I can go to any of these games at any time L+R+A+B and select laod and the games loads from where I left off and away I go. Never had an issue.

If I try and do a load from a game that I have no RTS then it shows a screen of the last RTS I did and crashes - but still all RTS work next time I use them from the correct game.

Can those who are having issues confirm if what I have explained above is what you do?

P.s. I have no idea what is meant by "Are you recharghing it" The only thing I have ever recharged is my NDS when wither the battery is dead flat or when it goes red. Other than that no recharge ever done. What specifically is being referred to to be recharged?
 

Toni Plutonij

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QUOTE said:
P.s. I have no idea what is meant by "Are you recharghing it" The only thing I have ever recharged is my NDS when wither the battery is dead flat or when it goes red. Other than that no recharge ever done. What specifically is being referred to to be recharged?
When you first get your Real with expansion, some of expansions don't work well if you don't recharge its battery first..So it's advisable to connect your NDS onto power supply with GBA expansion placed in slot-2 and leave it for several hours to recharge the battery (in the future, battery is recharged while you play games)..

RTS must be enabled in the menu right before you start the game, and than when you are in the game, you use combination that Fun_Zephyr mentioned for Real Time Saving of the game..If you try to load save that isn't previously made, the game will crash!!
If you get "save data corrupted" try formating your microSD, and placing all the files back on, some of files probably got corrupted, and that's the reason why your RTS and saving doesn't work..

QUOTEHowever, I am curious, when ignite339 said "Well what he meant was that when the M3 Real is turned on after you shut off a GBA game, the save is transferred from the expansion card to the MicroSD card before the GUI is loaded."

Does thsi mean that if you took out the M3 chip and placed another chip in - say the Cyclo - that the saved game would never reach your M3? And that being the case does it copy the fiel to your Cyclo memory card?
Yes, the save transfer from expansion to micrSD is done at the booting of GUI, the GUI actually transfers that save so if you took out expansion, save of the game wouldn't get to microSD and M3 Real! But if you replaced your slot-1 while you leave your expansion in, say take out Real and put CycloDS you save wouldn't try to get transfered to CycloDS because it isn't expansion who starts the transfer, but GUI of M3 Real..

If you can get your Real to play GBA games, than it should also save a game, if it doesn't work for some of you, than you must be doing something wrong..It work everything for me just as everything works for Fun_Zephyr..
 

Pharrit

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Well, I tried formatting, putting the games back on. Still didn't work. I have now also replaced the games with new fresh copies and it still doesn't work.. It just one day stopped saving.

Therein is the problem, I don't understand why I can play the game, but not be able to actually save the game. I originally thought maybe the game isn't being auto-patched, but i have the patch option on always. Reason is that I switched firmware and it just stopped working. I have formatted since and replaced the firmware back to a way older version which worked and its still not good to go.. Anything else? I'm pretty sure i'm not just "doing it wrong" since there isn't much way to do anything else other then what everyone in the world is doing.
 

Toni Plutonij

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This sounds like your battery on expansion died..If it games play, and you can't save (after all that stuff you tried) it looks like your battery drop dead..Try to replace it (I'm not sure, but some soldering might be required), and then try to save..
If this isn't about battery, I don't know where problem could be..It obviously works, but not all good..
 

Comazon

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In my specific case, I've been using the out-of-the-box firmware without upgrading (which is M3 Manager V2.9 X version), even though I probably should. I might have been able to save GBA games earlier, but have no way of knowing since all I did was play NDS games.

I have tried RTS multiple times (just as Fun_Zephyr describes it), and it has crashed every time. However, I did notice something interesting. When I try to load the game, I can sometimes make out the image of my original game behind the static.

I think this means that my games are being saved, but somehow become corrupt down the road. Would a dead battery be able to partially save these games, or is it probably something else?

(Off-topic: Thanks a lot to those trying to help me/us out.)
 

Pharrit

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I think the problem is that the batt is having enough power (because of the power in the DS) to run the games, but saving take alot more power and thusly will attempt the save, but the batt dies and thus, corruption.. That would explain why it crashes and all the static.. Atleast, thats what i've surmised from all this.. Now the question, anyone have specs on how to replace the batt to see if thats the culprit?
 

Toni Plutonij

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Replacement of a battery isn't that much of a problem as finding the exact right battery..You have to open expansion, locate the battery (it's the big round metal disc), and take it off..It might be soldered, so you'll have to un-solder it first..When you do that, I think it will be enough if you just replace the battery without soldering it (but if you solder it, you'll make far better contact)..And that would be it..
I've searched a bit, and couldn't find any "officially" guides to it..Noone wrote their experience on something like this..
Maybe if you could try to charge it once more..Just leave it in your NDS while on power supply for several hours..
 

eidelon13

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i'm having the same problems with my gba expansion.rts seems to be ok but with some games it doesn't save at all when you restart without rts.i think it's not a battery issue since some games save properly regardless of rts or not.some games that i tried that are not working with no rts are: castlevania circle of moon, hamony of dissonance, aria of sorrow, sigma star, final fantasy tactics, fire emblem and fe sacred stone.oh and drill dozer.some say that it's due to the .0 and change it to .sav file. it doesn't work at all.seems to be a firmware issue??
 

thedicemaster

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the rts function is somewhat like the soft-reset.
on some games it works fine, on some it causes glitches, and on some it completely crashes.
 

Comazon

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Toni Plutonij said:
Maybe if you could try to charge it once more..Just leave it in your NDS while on power supply for several hours..
I tried that again last night, but it didn't have any effect. I have a friend who has the GBA expansion pak as well, so today I should be able to test if that's the real issue for me or not. If it turns out to be something different, I'll make sure to let everyone know.

Edit: It isn't. His expansion pak worked fine. I guess I'll try to fix it before shelling out the money for a new one, though I don't get the feeling I'll be able to.
 

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