Hacking Random Freezing while playing games

[billy3]

Hi,

I have:
SuperCard DSOne v3 (SDHC) - I think the firmware is from 2009.05.23
A-Data 4GB Class 6 SDHC card - the speed setting in the DSOne's OS is set to (autodetected) 30 (I've tried with speeds set to 5 and 25 as well).
DS Lite

I've had the above 3 for about 1 year now. They've been working perfectly fine up until about 2 weeks ago.

For the past ~2 weeks, my DS has been freezing up on me while playing (Suikoden Tierkreis US is what I'm playing at the moment). It'll play fine for about 5-10 minutes, but then I'll get the 1st freeze. After that it'll usually freeze before it gets to the game's intro screen or within 2 minutes (doesn't matter whether I do a soft or hard reboot). It'll start freezing up when I try to load other games too. However, it won't freeze when use Moonshell (both the OS as well as v2.0) to play media (dpgs).

I've found that, once the game starts freezing, if I load a real-time save (after rebooting) of the game, I am able to play for several minutes before it freezes again.

If I leave the off for several hours, I am able to play for 5-10 minutes before it starts freezing up again.

Any idea what's wrong? I don't think it's Suikoden Tierkreis since I was playing it for several weeks before noticing this issue. Could it be the SD card? The DSOne? The DS? Could the SD or DSOne be overheating or overstressed? I'm able to play DPGs without a problem, but that may not be as intense on the SD and DSOne as playing games.

I found a posting with something similar (http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=122273), but it didn't give a resolution. I'd appreciate any help on resolving this.

Thanks.

 

[Overlord Nadrian]

Check if other games freeze or not. If they don't, then there's a problem with Tierkreis. If they do, then I'd suggest formatting your microSD with the Panasonic formatter (check the boards to find more info about it). If that still doesn't work, try to get a replacement SuperCard and see if that works.

 

[Panic101]

Try these steps I compiled maybe they can help you.

How To Troubleshoot Your Flashcart:

STEP 1: Make sure you're not using the card reader that comes with the flashcart. Buy your own. Always use the "Add/Remove Hardware Safely" function before removing the reader.
STEP 2: Check your microSD card for smudges on the contacts. Clean with a QTIP. You can add a bit of alcohol onto the QTIP, if wanted.
STEP 3: Check your Flashcart for any abrasions or smudges on the contacts. Clean with a QTIP. You can add a bit of alcohol onto the QTIP, if wanted.
STEP 4: Possibly, your Flashcart is not making perfect contact the DS. Try the "Paper Shim Trick" to close the gap and make the space tighter.
STEP 5: Copy all of your games and saves off your microsd card to your computer (BACKUP). Download the latest "Panasonic SD Formatter" and do a full format with this application. Install the latest firmware again from a different/reliable site. Then add on your games and saves to the newly formatted card.
STEP 6: If the latest firmware doesn't work sometimes downgraded firmwares can achieve working results. Try downgrading, if it doesn't resolve just go back up to the latest firmware again.
STEP 7: There are times where the official firmware for your specific cart isn't up to par with the alternatives created. Try a legit alternative firmware for your flashcart. eg, (DSTT/R4 -->YSMENU), (Acekard--->AKAIO), (M3 DS Real---> Sakura) so forth..
STEP 8: If you're using cheats maybe they are faulty. Get rid of them and get them from a reliable source.
Or just dont put them on period.
STEP 9: Possibly the "GAMES/ROMS" you have are faulty. Obtain ones from a new location...
STEP 10: Try another DS. If possible.
STEP 11: If all else fails, get a new Flashcart and/or MicroSD Card from a reputable site.

Tell us if it works or not~ Good luck.

 

[billy3]

Thanks Panic.

Re Step1: I've been using the cardreader that came with my DSOne for quite a while without issues. The freezing problem didn't start until after 2 weeks since the last time I used the cardreader to add/delete files from my microSD card. So I don't think this is likely the issue.

Re Step5: what alternative firmwares are there for the DSOne SDHC (non-DSi version)?

Also, the thing is I only get the freezing with games... once it starts freezing it doesn't matter which game it is - any game I try to play will freeze within 2 minutes, sometimes before I even get the initial game logo.

However, I am able to use Moonshell v2 to watch videos and read text without any freezing. That makes me think it's something specific to the way games are run rather than the microSD card or flash cart.

Whatcha think?

 

[Panic101]

You actually read Step 5 as Step 7 billy. Unfortunately, they are no alternative firmware for you to try with the Supercard I believe.

However, you can do Step 5 and see what happens. As of now, just to be safe I recommend you stop using the card reader that comes with card. It may lead to damage in the future. If Step 5 doesn't work for you, it may be possible that you need new ROMS/GAMES from a different source.

 

[helpme]

it could be a psram error..
to check press L & R at start up & see if you have any errors

carboard trick - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwXdm8Z4-1Y
official fix - http://forum.supercard.sc/thread-3655-1-1.html


if it is you could use an alternative loaders (which dont use the psram)
YSmenu
TTmenu
moonshell2

 

[billy3]

I did the full self test (L+R+up) and got "psram ok!".

Does using a non-PSRAM loader reduce performance? Will I still be able to use things like real-time save?

 

[Rfire]

I've been getting freezes for Suikoden Tierkreis on my Supercard CF.. but I found a way to unfreeze it.. might work for slot1s too.

I simply pull out the CF card, it unfreezes, put the card back in. Strange how that works but it does, for me at least.

 

[billy3]

I've been getting freezes for Suikoden Tierkreis on my Supercard CF.. but I found a way to unfreeze it.. might work for slot1s too.

I simply pull out the CF card, it unfreezes, put the card back in. Strange how that works but it does, for me at least.

Thanks Rfire.

Do you remove and replace the Supercard from the DS or the memory card from the Supercard?

 

[granville]

I did the full self test (L+R+up) and got "psram ok!".

Does using a non-PSRAM loader reduce performance? Will I still be able to use things like real-time save?

You can use Ysmenu or the TTDS firmware to see if it helps your freezing issues. It will not reduce performance at all, but you will not be able to use real time save, real time cheating, or in-game guide reading. On the upside, you get a far far better cheat interface and a much zippier menu.

 

[billy3]

I did the full self test (L+R+up) and got "psram ok!".

Does using a non-PSRAM loader reduce performance? Will I still be able to use things like real-time save?

You can use Ysmenu or the TTDS firmware to see if it helps your freezing issues. It will not reduce performance at all, but you will not be able to use real time save, real time cheating, or in-game guide reading. On the upside, you get a far far better cheat interface and a much zippier menu.

Wouldn't disabling "Patch" in the DSOne firmware do the same thing? I tried disabling "Patch" and and running the game, and it still froze.

 

[billy3]

Ok.

So I've
* formatted with the Panasonic SD formatter
* got a new class 6 microSD SDHC card (a-data)
* installed the latest firmware (OS 3.0 SP8) with the updated ndsrominfo.dat

I still get the random freezing.

However, using the TTDS firmware, from Bliss's triple loader, I'm able to run games fine.

I suspect this may be the PSRAM error, but the SCDSOne's self test doesn't show any errors when I run it (well, it's shown it twice out of the 10+ times I've run it after a freeze).

I am going to try the battery-shorting technique (http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=106713) but before I do I have a question:
Why not just remove the battery permanently instead of shorting it again and again?