Hacking Real Time Clock not working on brand new M3 Lite Perfect?

[nintendough]

Hi guys, new to the forums and having a problem. I just got a M3 Lite Perfect 2 weeks ago and I'm trying to play Pokemon Emarald (put it in using M3 Game Manager but saw no option to enable real time clock) and when I go back to play it tells me the battery has run dry. Funny thing is, I've restarted (not the game but the system) like 6 times and only half the time does it tell me the battery has run dry.

Do I have faulty hardware, need to patch/mod some files or what? Please help, I cannot find answers anywhere!

(p.s. sorry for making 2 threads about the same thing, the last one was on a wrong board

)

 

[Gman 101]

I'd say you've got faulty hardware, especially since it's an on-off thing. Get a replacement.

 

[nintendough]

I'd say you've got faulty hardware, especially since it's an on-off thing. Get a replacement.

Also, is there any sort of pre-processing I should be using for the Pokes R/S/E other than bringing them in through M3 Manager (a special profile setting or some sort of option to turn on to enable RTC, I saw none in the M3 Manager...)?

 

[TM2-Megatron]

I don't mean to revive a thread so long dead, however in my google search of this issue I came across this.

I got an M3 Perfect Lite about a month ago (from SHOP.01Media.com), and just recently tried using it to play some GBA ROMs I've dumped. And just like nintendough, Pokemon games are giving me the message about the internal battery. I've tried loading them to the M3 using the included game loader application, and even using GBA Exploader on my CycloDS to run them from the M3... and in every case, I'll get the message about the battery having died.

I guess the M3's real-time-clock is dependent on the battery? Would the problem be fixed if I were to replace it with a fresh one?

 

[Schizoanalysis]

Yep -- I am in the same boat -- I got a M3 perfect lite from them and one week later the battery died...
There are posts on this forum telling you how to change the battery -- it is for the EZ Flash 3in1 -- but I read another post that says that it is/should be applicable for the M3 Lite...

Search "change battery M3" to find the threads on the forum...

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

Most m3 perfect lites sold right now have been on some shelf for a few years, likelyhood that you got one with a very short battery life is very high. I had to replace mine a month after I got it.

Any 6mm to 9mm coin cell battery with tabs will do as a replacement. The battery is non-rechargable.

or just tape it like in the solder free guide.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

Most m3 perfect lites sold right now have been on some shelf for a few years, likelyhood that you got one with a very short battery life is very high. I had to replace mine a month after I got it.

Any 6mm to 9mm coin cell battery with tabs will do as a replacement. The battery is non-rechargable.

or just tape it like in the solder free guide.

The one thing I'm wondering about, though, is that the SRAM save area still seems to retain its data after I turn off my DS and turn it on. I'm using the M3 with a CycloDS and GBA Exploader to load the ROMs to it... and when going back into Exploader after restarting, the SRAM area still contains the save for backing up to my microSD card. I've even tried leaving it off a few minutes, and it still seems to work.

Is it possible that the battery has just enough charge to keep the SRAM for being wiped out, but not enough to run the clock? Or could the clock hardware be defective somehow?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

probably possible with an almost dead battery.

the other possibilty would be that the rom was not patched either in hardware mode 1 or 2, etc to make the rom incompatible.

When dealing with gba flash carts, you pretty much need to know all exceptions, etc.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

probably possible with an almost dead battery.

the other possibilty would be that the rom was not patched either in hardware mode 1 or 2, etc to make the rom incompatible.

Well, I never patched any ROMs, and they're all clean dumps. What do they need to be patched for?

QUOTE(how_do_i_do_that @ Aug 3 2009, 09:47 PM) When dealing with gba flash carts, you pretty much need to know all exceptions, etc.

lol, that's for sure. Although I've had zero trouble with any of the GBA ROMs I've tried with no clock (GBA Exploader makes it pretty simple), the RTC issue with the Pokemon games is still kind of bothering me. I guess I'll probably try changing the battery, and hope that solves it, before ordering another M3.

 

[WigWrm]

If the card is still holding saves in the sram then there shouldn't be a reason that the rtc ic would stop functioning. Try patching the game with the Hardware Support 1 option. This is the default patching option when sending rom images to your sd card so it may be possible that you have already done this. If this does not remedy the problem, replace the battery per how_do_i_do_that's instruction.

The patching proccess allows flash based saves to work on the M3 cards. This is the only type of save you must patch to be compatible with the M3.
-Hardware 2 is clean rom setting
-Soft Patch is an SRAM save type patch.

You may experiment with either the Softpatch or the HW1 but something leads me to believe the HW1 patch enables RTC functionality.

Also the software needed is called M3 Game Manager.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

There is a mode selection in the M3 app, that info is put in the dat file so the M3 knows how to act and patch the rom so it uses that mode.

I prefer my EZ-Flash IIs & IIIs over the M3, I don't even have to patch anything unless I want to cheat.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

I see... I do have the M3 Game Manager installed, but I've never used it. I opted to keep all my GBA ROMs on the CycloDS microSD (mostly for the convenience of not having to boot into slot-2 to play them), and just used GBA Exploader to load them onto the M3's RAM. I suppose I'll have to try that patching in the game manager, and keep the RTC-games on my M3's card.

Also, I was hoping someone could tell me, are the *.sav files created by the M3 (and those recovered by GBA Exploader from a slot-2 upon rebooting) compatible with uploading back to a retail game pak? Although I don't want to carry around a bunch of games with me, I'm hoping I'll be able to update my progress on the actual retail games after playing them on the flash carts.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

The M3 sav files are not the same but the M3 manager program has a save file converter when you right click the game, from there you can import/export to the desired format.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

The M3 sav files are not the same but the M3 manager program has a save file converter when you right click the game, from there you can import/export to the desired format.

Yeah, I did find that feature and used it for my test... basically I wrote the same ROM, Pokemon Emerald (with three different filenames), to my M3 using its Game Manager... each patched using one of its three options. The game worked using HW1, however it still gave me the message about the battery having died. With HW2 and Soft patch the game failed to load entirely and just gave me a white screen.I guess I'll try changing the battery... and failing that, I'll order another M3 just to test. Worst case scenario, I can just continue playing the Pokemon GBA games with their original carts... they're the only games I have with a RTC, anyway; so it wouldn't exactly be a hassle.

Also, as a relatively cheaper and more modern alternative (because I've already got an EZ-Flash IV Lite Deluxe if I need a slot-2 device with a microSD card), I've been considering the M3 GBA Expansion Pack:

http://www.gamersection.ca/product_info.ph...products_id=730

This also has a built-in RTC, and is more guaranteed not to have been sitting on a shelf for a couple years as it's a more current product. I've read on the CycloDS wiki that GBA Exploader will also work with this; is that still the case; or did Rudolph's troubles with M3 also involve the removal of support for the GBA Expansion Pack from his homebrew?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

That will probably have the RTC chip in it, they switched to G.E.P. (GBA Expansion Pack) with RTC because of the M3 Real. GBA exploader doesn't work with the new M3 G.E.P. with RTC even with the IPS patch. The IPS patch to make the exploader .58b work with M3 G.E.P. that didn't have the RTC.

I spent close to 5 hours going through every version of the 3in1 tool and gba exploader and patching to get it working with the M3 G.E.P. a few weeks ago. None of them work if you have the RTC version.

If you get that you will have to get an M3 Real/Zero to be able to use that slot2.

 

[PettingZoo]

That will probably have the RTC chip in it, they switched to G.E.P. (GBA Expansion Pack) with RTC because of the M3 Real. GBA exploader doesn't work with the new M3 G.E.P. with RTC even with the IPS patch. The IPS patch to make the exploader .58b work with M3 G.E.P. that didn't have the RTC.

I spent close to 5 hours going through every version of the 3in1 tool and gba exploader and patching to get it working with the M3 G.E.P. a few weeks ago. None of them work if you have the RTC version.

If you get that you will have to get an M3 Real/Zero to be able to use that slot2.

That's why they provide bundles of the M3 Real/i Zero that include a GBA Expansion.

Also there's alot of gravedigging going on here.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

At least it is not one of those "whats the best slot1/slot2 for me" questions that show up every 2 hours. besides he asked a not so bad question, that deserves a decent answer. As for the bundles comment, not everyone buys bundle packs.

@TM2-Megatron
If GamerSection has a real EFA II flashcart, that might be a good option to get:
http://www.gamersection.ca/product_info.ph...products_id=863

If it turns out to be another fake (a 1G version of the EFA simple), thats a pretty costly fake.

 

[PettingZoo]

At least it is not one of those "whats the best slot1/slot2 for me" questions that show up every 2 hours. besides he asked a not so bad question, that deserves a decent answer. As for the bundles comment, not everyone buys bundle packs.

@TM2-Megatron
If GamerSection has a real EFA II flashcart, that might be a good option to get:
http://www.gamersection.ca/product_info.ph...products_id=863

If it turns out to be another fake (a 1G version of the EFA simple), thats a pretty costly fake.

Yeah, he did ask an okay question and you're really good at answering these questions about GBA carts. Also you can get the GBA Expansion separate and you can get a Rumble RAM pack which I'm pretty sure is the same with rumble but may be wrong.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

That will probably have the RTC chip in it, they switched to G.E.P. (GBA Expansion Pack) with RTC because of the M3 Real. GBA exploader doesn't work with the new M3 G.E.P. with RTC even with the IPS patch. The IPS patch to make the exploader .58b work with M3 G.E.P. that didn't have the RTC.

I spent close to 5 hours going through every version of the 3in1 tool and gba exploader and patching to get it working with the M3 G.E.P. a few weeks ago. None of them work if you have the RTC version.

If you get that you will have to get an M3 Real/Zero to be able to use that slot2.

Ah, that's too bad. When you say a "RTC chip", does that mean there's no battery-driven clock in the M3 expansion to wear down, and that its some other solution? I assume it works fairly well, given that M3 is fairly popular. I guess there was an older GBA Expansion Pack from M3 that didn't have a RTC, that GBA Exploader was updated to work with? I'd done some googling, and even found a thead here about GBA Exploader with the M3 expansion memory:

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=79553

Based on that, and what I'd read on the (unofficial) CycloDS wiki, I was hoping that it would've provided a relatively cheaper alternative.

I suppose maybe I'll pick up an M3i Zero... I've been wanting to try one of the new carts anyway (I'm still using a DSLite, so the 1.4 firmware isn't a big issue for me). Since the Zero is one of the carts that can be updated independent of a DSi to compensate for updated firmwares, I figure it's as safe a buy (for when I do buy a DSi in the future) as any of the other carts. Although I'll probably buy the Team Cyclops DSi cart when it comes out, as well. And even if a fix for the 1.4 DSi firmware is never found (unlikely, I'm guessing), the Zero still makes a pretty decent DSLite cart... and coupled with the expansion pack, a solution for real-time-clock GBA games; which is tough to find these days.

QUOTE(PettingZoo @ Aug 5 2009, 02:44 AM) Also there's alot of gravedigging going on here.

Yeah, I know... I did acknowledge that in my first post to this thread... however I still think it was better than starting an entirely new thread about the exact same thing. Imagine the insigificant amount of storage space I must've saved the forums, lol.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

Well, some interesting news today. I ordered the M3 GBA Expansion Pack by itself (the one that comes with the extra shell choices) from Kick Gaming the other day (figuring I'd order an M3i Zero seperatly in the next few days)... and they've got pretty impressive processing time because I received the thing this morning.

Anyway, I know you said it doesn't work with GBA ExpLoader... but I put it in with my CycloDS just to test. ExpLoader (0.58b; not patched or anything) loaded and seems to detect it properly (it has M3/G6 along the top, as it did with my M3 Perfect Lite. I tried both Pokemon Ruby and Emerald; and with the M3 GBA Expansion Pack neither of them gave me the message about a dead battery. In fact I flew back to Littleroot, and watched the clock in my character's bedroom tick away for a few minutes. Immediately after putting the Perfect lite back in, I got the internal battery message once again.

So, I'm not sure what your experience was with GBA ExpLoader and M3's GBA Expansion Pack, but it and its RTC seem to be working perfectly with GBA ExpLoader on my CycloDS. Even Moonshell (2.05) seems to detect the thing as Expansion Memory, when I tried launching it. The DS Browser wouldn't launch until I used GBA ExpLoader's "Press R to set as expansion memory" feature, though.

All in all, it was pleasantly surprising.