Hacking Problems updating my EZ-Flash Vi

[desvaters]

So, once again, I found my NDSi and wanted to play some games. Because my shoulder buttons are broken, I wanted to use the EZ-Flash Vi with my other device, a NDSi XL. But that didn't work, so I formatted the MicroSD Card and tried to install the newest Kernel (3.0 ob8) on it, but it didn't work. Next I tried to use the older Kernel (2.0), but now the system looks completely different. I tried to install a newer firmware (v104), but it says I at least need v101 to install it. Now, my first problem is, where do I get firmware v101, I couldn't find it anywhere. And second, how do I install the newer Kernel?

EDIT: After copying ez5isys.bin and renaming it to ez5sys.bin, the NDSi says that "this kernel cannot be used on this flashcard. Only use for ez5i H705/805 that used new firmware."

 

[FAST6191]

Yeah 2.0 and the 3.? line looked rather different. If it does look different you were probably already on the 3.0 line but more on that later.

The DSi and 3ds updates broke support for the EZ5i. I don't know what goes right now for loading old flash carts (at one point you could flash an old compatibility layer to them).
There are also some hacks such that you can dodge flash carts.

http://www.ezflash.cn/download/ has some things, though seemingly not the v101 firmware right now. That said I am not sure you need to go back/up to that.

Generally speaking
There were various flavours of EZ5 model, the final one being released being the EZ5i / EZVi (older being the original, the new years edition aka NYE and plus).
It had a few sub revisions of hardware, though the 705 and 805 are the only ones that made it out of China (there is a super rare one given to testers and one or two made it out as an error and were replaced and were never meant for wide distribution).
The EZ5i eventually gained a new firmware line (that is to say the thing running internally on the cart, rather than the kernel which is what selected games from a menu and did all the other things that menu did) which were all v10? rather than two digit versions from before. Updating was a bit complicated there. Said new firmware also meant the EZ5i was the only one to be compatible with the 3.? line of kernel which had a bunch of nice features then and actually to this day.

As mentioned above the DSi and 3ds updates to block flash carts eventually found a method that blocked the EZ5i and most other flash carts entirely (the Supercard DSTwo managed to work around it, everybody else made new carts but that mostly just meant various things with R4 in the name). It was very near the end of the DS lifetime as well but there were a few games, including the pokemons black and white 2 as well as pokemon conquest, released after that which won't work because at that time the EZTeam also stopped adding new games to the support list.

Later 3ds later still the DSi were hacked though (they were not at the time, not for a while actually and especially in the case of the DSi) so you could flash old DS compatibility layers and possibly get it working again (don't know if there was ever a fully hacked version to run whatever you like), run DS ROMs from the handheld's own SD card and do some other things.

Back on topic flashing old firmwares like that to the EZ5i has a nasty habit of bricking things so I am not sure where you were at, what you did and what you got to. Be very careful and read what goes when you do that. If you have access to a DS or DS lite then do things on that too.
As you asked though it seems most of the code is still up on the EZFlash site
http://www.ezflash.cn/zip/EZVi_kernelV3_OB1_Firmware_V101.7z

Naturally the directory is restricted but
https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.ezflash.cn/zip/*
Showcases a lot of what is there, and probably archives it as well (I just loaded the links directly and they worked).
Might have to mirror all that actually as there some rare files there that I might not even have on random hard drives here (source code for a few things too).

 

[desvaters]

Yeah 2.0 and the 3.? line looked rather different. If it does look different you were probably already on the 3.0 line but more on that later.

The DSi and 3ds updates broke support for the EZ5i. I don't know what goes right now for loading old flash carts (at one point you could flash an old compatibility layer to them).
There are also some hacks such that you can dodge flash carts.

has some things, though seemingly not the v101 firmware right now. That said I am not sure you need to go back/up to that.

Generally speaking
There were various flavours of EZ5 model, the final one being released being the EZ5i / EZVi (older being the original, the new years edition aka NYE and plus).
It had a few sub revisions of hardware, though the 705 and 805 are the only ones that made it out of China (there is a super rare one given to testers and one or two made it out as an error and were replaced and were never meant for wide distribution).
The EZ5i eventually gained a new firmware line (that is to say the thing running internally on the cart, rather than the kernel which is what selected games from a menu and did all the other things that menu did) which were all v10? rather than two digit versions from before. Updating was a bit complicated there. Said new firmware also meant the EZ5i was the only one to be compatible with the 3.? line of kernel which had a bunch of nice features then and actually to this day.

As mentioned above the DSi and 3ds updates to block flash carts eventually found a method that blocked the EZ5i and most other flash carts entirely (the Supercard DSTwo managed to work around it, everybody else made new carts but that mostly just meant various things with R4 in the name). It was very near the end of the DS lifetime as well but there were a few games, including the pokemons black and white 2 as well as pokemon conquest, released after that which won't work because at that time the EZTeam also stopped adding new games to the support list.

Later 3ds later still the DSi were hacked though (they were not at the time, not for a while actually and especially in the case of the DSi) so you could flash old DS compatibility layers and possibly get it working again (don't know if there was ever a fully hacked version to run whatever you like), run DS ROMs from the handheld's own SD card and do some other things.

Back on topic flashing old firmwares like that to the EZ5i has a nasty habit of bricking things so I am not sure where you were at, what you did and what you got to. Be very careful and read what goes when you do that. If you have access to a DS or DS lite then do things on that too.
As you asked though it seems most of the code is still up on the EZFlash site


Naturally the directory is restricted but

Showcases a lot of what is there, and probably archives it as well (I just loaded the links directly and they worked).
Might have to mirror all that actually as there some rare files there that I might not even have on random hard drives here (source code for a few things too).

Hey, thank you very much. With the firmware V101 you sent me the link to i was able to upgrade my EZVi to the newest Kernel and firmware. Also, now I know why the cart works with my DSi but not my DSi XL: DSi has firmeware version 1.4, but DSi XL has 1.4.5E, so it doesn't work with it.
My biggest problem is that my DSi's shoulder buttons are broken, so I wanted to use the XL (it's bigger and the buttons work). But do you think it is worth downgrading the system or do you know any method to fix the shoulder buttons?

 

[FAST6191]

I have not kept up with DSi fixes but shoulder buttons usually amount to taking it apart, cleaning them/squirting some contact cleaner in there (don't use automotive stuff -- they are designed to go through engine grease which is not the inside of your DSi, or at least I hope not), probably to then repeat it again in a few months and then a few weeks after that. At which point various means of replacement are considered.

Downgrading the system is tricky. It is also not the firmware on the system as much as the DS backwards compatibility layer which might also be hacked these days (DSi and 3ds specifics are not my thing I am afraid).