Hacking Problem with DSTT/Ewin Expansion Pak combo

[seeveebee]

I'm new to the whole flash cart thing, so there might be something easy I'm overlooking. Basically, I'm trying to use the ewin expansion pak with my DSTT. I have the ewin loader set up on my card, and it loads up fine, but then when it does I get "Please insert EWIN SDRAM expansion card! Press A to retry." (Yes, I have a NDSL and yes I h ave the expansion pak inserted, I'm not THAT new

) I've tried reinserting it, I've tried cleaning the connectors, but the pak just came today. Is it bricked, or am I missing another file? I didn't patch the roms I put on, but I thought I read that DSTT automatically patches everything for you. I'll try to do that (although I'm not positive if I'm using the Ewin tool correctly since it asks for .nds files and I'm trying to play my .gba games).

Oh, I also just click on the .nds Ewin Loader, although I have tried GBA Mode (and PassMe, in case I got the two mixed up).

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, I don't want to have to send my pak back to minionlinestore. Thanks.

 

[redact]

see link for help with using expansion pack

 

[seeveebee]

Thanks for the link, but I already read the review before I purchased the cards. It doesn't say too much about the software or how to load it up, just says to get the Ewin Loader, which I did.

One other thing to add is that I turned on the NDSL with just the pak in and it says that there is a DS Option Pak inserted, so the pak isn't bricked, I guess.

Anyone else have any ideas why the Ewin Loader isn't recognizing the expansion pak but the NDSL is?

 

[Bri]

I run the GBA Loader (.nds file) from the slot 1 device. You should only get that error message if the Ewin cart isn't in slot 2 when you run it. It sounds like your Ewin cart may not be working properly, or maybe you're not using the most recent loader.

-Bri

 

[seeveebee]

Bri,

Thanks for thr response. So you don't patch or trim or anything, you just load the .gba files onto your DSTT and use them straight with the loader? I am using v1.4, I believe that is the most recent loader.

Are there any games I can load onto my DSTT that require the expansion pak in order to work? Perhaps if there is a game that won't play without it, I can discern whether or not the card is working.

 

[chin261]

latest gba loader is v1.6

 

[Bri]

seeveebee,

The expansion pack is used to play Game Boy Advance (.gba) games. It is also required for the Opera Browser (which it uses for extra memory). If you're only loading .nds files, you don't need it.

I've actually only used it for the browser (I've never tried any .gba games). But in principal, you don't need to patch or trim anything.

However, the error you're seeing is not normal. You should be able to launch the GBA loader from the DSTT without that error as long as the cart is in the slot.

Get the latest loader here.

-Bri

 

[seeveebee]

Bri,

I think the problem is solved, although I don't know if it is temporary or not. After cleaning the connectors in the pak and the ndsl a couple of times and trying over and over again, it finally worked. I switched it on and off a couple of times and it worked, then I took the pak out and put it back in and it didn't. So I first turned on the ndsl and then stuck in the pak while the OS was already loaded up. This seems to work best.

I don't know if it will work 100% of the time, but I'll probably upgrade to the latest loader and continue to test it to see if it needs to be sent back or not.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Bri]

Definitely upgrade to the latest loader first, but it definitely sounds as though your expansion pack isn't making proper contact. You might look at the alignment of the contacts and compare them to another slot 2 cart if you have one. Sometimes there are manufacturing defects where the contacts aren't exactly in the right place. You might also try wiggling the cart back and forth and see if that helps at all. But it sounds as though you may need to send it back and get a new one. Like I said, mine works every time without any problems so unless there's something wrong with the slot on your NDSL, then the cart is probably bad.

-Bri