Hardware Need help with some old GBA flash carts.

[GreatCrippler]

So, I have been getting on another GBA flash cart trip lately, and have been wanting to set up some of my old carts. I just use an old Laptop with XP SP 2 to manage them, so that part is easy. The question is, I have an old EZ 2 powerstar. I do not have the little flash linker box it would have originally come with for flashing the games over. I have a different one for an EZF Advance 3, and I imagine if I dig, something potentially for an old flash 2 advance. Wondering if I can use this without the type that came with it?

@how_do_i_do_that @FAST6191 (Sorry to tag you guys, but I figure if anyone knows it would be you guys.)

 

[GreatCrippler]

Or I can just experiment, and find out for myself. >.>

 

[migles]

Or I can just experiment, and find out for myself. >.>

i fouind this, is it relevant?
http://www.gameboy-advance.net/flash_card/compare.htm

 

[GreatCrippler]

i fouind this, is it relevant?
http://www.gameboy-advance.net/flash_card/compare.htm

Not specifically. Just trying to clarify if I can actually use a different linker box than the one it would have come with. Or if I can even plug the cart in and run a usb to the computer and do it that way. I won't get a chance to check until later in the week. I will report back on this thread at that point in case anyone else ever has the issue. Kind of a dated problem. I had just hoped that since we have good GBA experts on this site that someone might know.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

The use of a different linker app tends to fall in the no category for the vast majority of gba flashcarts. The small minority of gba flashcarts that use the older multiboot hardware and software tend to support what you want to do.

and

If you got the EZ-Flash III usb writer, you can use that to write to a EZ-Flash II powerstar. There is a program in the folder to change the driver mode from EZ-Flash III to EZ-Flash II.

and

If you have this EZF Advance cable and this EZ-Flash II powerstar, your going to be limited to dumping 32MB of the NOR and parts of the SRAM as a RAW dump.

Most usb cables are keyed to read and write to specific NOR/NAND, hacking the drivers and app to support something else is doable. But the people who can hack it likely do not have flashcarts and linkers to be able to test just a hack. You might have better luck trying to buy a writer from someone off the trading section or off ebay if you don't already have a writer.

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Side note: The tagging feature didn't seem to trigger the alert for some reason. If I had to guess, it was likely before or during the website skin update. If not, a mod might have to look into the alert function and tagging.

 

[GreatCrippler]

The use of a different linker app tends to fall in the no category for the vast majority of gba flashcarts. The small minority of gba flashcarts that use the older multiboot hardware and software tend to support what you want to do.

and

If you got the EZ-Flash III usb writer, you can use that to write to a EZ-Flash II powerstar. There is a program in the folder to change the driver mode from EZ-Flash III to EZ-Flash II.

and

If you have this EZF Advance cable and this EZ-Flash II powerstar, your going to be limited to dumping 32MB of the NOR and parts of the SRAM as a RAW dump.

Most usb cables are keyed to read and write to specific NOR/NAND, hacking the drivers and app to support something else is doable. But the people who can hack it likely do not have flashcarts and linkers to be able to test just a hack. You might have better luck trying to buy a writer from someone off the trading section or off ebay if you don't already have a writer.

---

Side note: The tagging feature didn't seem to trigger the alert for some reason. If I had to guess, it was likely before or during the website skin update. If not, a mod might have to look into the alert function and tagging.

The box I have is actually from an EZF Advance III, not an EZflash 3. I assume a knockoff of some kind. The linker box is blue, as is the cart. I do have the cable from a Flash 2 Advance also. I will try the linker box I have. Worst case scenario nothing happens, and I have to figure something else out. I appreciate the help. I probably won't get a chance to try it until Wednesday, but I will report what I find. I can also take a picture of what I have next time I am at the office. I can't seem to find a picture of it online.

 

[GreatCrippler]

Yea, Definitely still stuck. Here's what I have. Just got the EZ cart and the 16m cart in the mail. (Regular GB cart was an add on haven't even messed with it yet) I have to driver for the F2A cable, and it works fine, but plugging in the GBA cart is not giving me anything in the ezclient (Says no cart) I have tried hooking up the blue box, but I can't even find the driver for the EZF Advance 3. I assume because it's a bad obscure piece of crap and was dirt cheap in the first place. Do I have any options? Pic included.

@how_do_i_do_that (no idea if the flag will work this time, but I couldn't message you.)

 

[FAST6191]

A 1 gig EZ1? That is rare.

There was a piece of software called littlewriter way back when which could supposedly handle the EZ1, though it was just software and not anything else really. Theoretically you might be able to hack another linker (I don't think any carts did anything exotic and if you can fire pins it should go through), or figure out the chips and build your own, but for the effort of doing that you might as well make something which flashes them from the DS. http://reinerziegler.de/GBA/gba.htm#Here is a has a tiny bit more, the old littlewriter site had very little either and was closed source. You could try the EZClient program as well but if memory serves it was written in C++ (or at least all the DLL exports I did were that)

The EZF Advance III was its own cart (various variations on the theme of EZ seemed to be the R4 of the GBA era).

I should also say that the older type of EZ3 linker might not work for this, and being an EZ1 I am not sure about the later type of EZ linker for the EZ3 either (long story short the EZ3 linker got a revision, hence the program called EZmode in the EZClient/EZ3Manager programs, and the same linker was also used for the last batches of EZ2). If it is not a ridiculous price then by all means pick up any EZ3 linker you can get if you are collecting this sort of thing. If it works it works, if it does not then you will not have a hard time shifting it on if that is what you want to do (or you have one of the best ways of dumping GBA games).

 

[GreatCrippler]

Thanks so much for the info and help. I will continue to mess with what i have. I couldn't for the life of me get a driver to work for that blue box. Just says usb bridge in the device manager. Next step i guess is to see if anyone has a linker box but doesnt have their cart any longer. Still... Can't beat the deal i got, even if it is a headache and a half.

 

[GreatCrippler]

A better pic of the cart in question. I can't even get the blue box (From the EZF III pictured above) to recognize on my XP SP 2 laptop. Driver just stays at "USB Bridge" and won't install. I know it worked before, because the EZF 3 still has the original games I flashed onto it. Sorry to continue to post about this, but I am really excited to have the cart, and I would love to be able to fully use it.

 

[GreatCrippler]

Well, slight update... I dug out the old laptop that I used for the EZF 3 ages ago, and sure enough it still reads, and works fine. That said, pluging in the EZ Flash 2 does not show up. I can kind of get it to detect in little writer, but that doesn't have an appropriate size option, so I am a little afraid to flash anything over. Is there a way to hack the box now that I have it working?