Trouble with Flash2Advance program

[FireDragon1138]

I can't get the program on my computer to link to my Gameboy Advance....
I'm using a F2APowerWriter 2.20 program on my computer that was installed from the disk that came with my Flash2Advance card. I have the USB cable as well, and a Gameboy Advance SP.
I tried doing the Shift + Start on the GBA when starting it up, having it connected to the computer with the USB cable, and the Flash2Advance cartridge inserted in the Gameboy Advance.
The program on the computer starts up fine, supposedly all the drivers were installed from the disk....but when I click on the "Link2A" button on the program, the following message comes up:

Checking ULA....
USB or driver error
find_port() error!

I can't figure out what the problem is I've never used anything like this before, and a friend gave it to me because he wasn't using it anymore....he was no help when I asked him about it, he said he couldn't remember how to use it anyway.

All I really wanted to use this for was to load some of my favorite GBA game roms onto one cartridge, so I can play any of my choice at any time, without having to change cartridges, or have to carry extra ones.

Please help if you can, I need a friend that can help me with this device, so I can use it properly. I don't want to risk breaking my Gameboy

 

[migles]

most likely you are trying to run in a modern windows like 7 or 10? i dont have experience with that card but from the threads i seen people have to workaround using a virtual machine or a computer from the 2000s running xp..
either way @FAST6191 probably knows how to help ya better
maybe there is alternative software that you can try..

 

[Localhorst86]

yeah, the F2A USB driver is simply not compatible with modern systems like Windows 7, 8 or 10.
As @migles already mentioned, your best bet it to set up a virtual machine in virtualbox with a legacy OS (like Windows XP) or use an older PC that has windows XP installed to flash your device.

If you have access to a Nintendo DS with a R4i or other flashcard, you might want to give this software a try:

https://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/applications/download-fas1-1-5-f1650.html

EDIT: here's a tutorial for creating a virtual machine to flash the device:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/using-virtualbox-to-manage-legacy-gba-flashcarts.275407/

Note though, that the F2A comes in sizes 64M, 128M and 256M which isn't really a lot (that's 8 Mbyte, 16 Mbyte and 32 Mbyte respectively), so they will (depending on the size of your F2A and the games) only hold 1 - 8 games, you might not even be able to run a single game you want on either the 64M or 128M cartridge because GBA games can be up to 256M (32Mbyte) in size.

Maybe a more modern GBA flashcard like the Everdrive GBA or the EZFlash Omega might be a good choice.

 

[mrgone]

awesome