Neo TeAm Forum
NEO Team's Projects for the GBA/NDS/NDS lite => NEO Flash and Magic Key 1/2/3 help, FAQ/guides and discussion => Topic started by: EvilMonkeySlayer on January 19, 2006, 06:57:39 AM
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I just got my hands on a neomax with magickey 3. (from 01media.com, Swedes.. is there nothing they cannot do? :))
Just got a few questions since I seem to have gotten it working for the most part. (been making sure to read the forum)
Using the neomax tool I can format the GBA flashcart to either DS or GBA.
* Do I have to format the flashcart to either DS or GBA if I want to play GBA or DS programs? (I've gotten it working with both but I had to format it to either DS or GBA)
So, for example I currently have the 0.5 menu flashed to it so I can boot DS stuff, say I want to boot GBA stuff from that flashcart... Can I?
Or will it mean I have to reformat everytime I want to play ds stuff or gba stuff?
* Is there a guide for transferring my DS games to the sd card so I don't have to switch between them whenever I want to play them?
* Is it possible to play the DS game that is connected to the magickey?
Mostly to save the hassle of having to take out the magickey from the ds slot and putting in a ds game.
* With the Neo-Max package, in the box there are three small batteries.. are these for the GBA cart? If so I assume they're for when the battery runs out. In which case how the heck do you open the flashcart?
Also, i've noticed an oddity with the neo max v1.5 software.
If I format the flashcart to DS with the 0.5 menu after closing and then reopening it and selecting Detect it comes up with "No Device !". But when formatted to gba it detects it fine.
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* Do I have to format the flashcart to either DS or GBA if I want to play GBA or DS programs? (I've gotten it working with both but I had to format it to either DS or GBA)
So, for example I currently have the 0.5 menu flashed to it so I can boot DS stuff, say I want to boot GBA stuff from that flashcart... Can I?
Or will it mean I have to reformat everytime I want to play ds stuff or gba stuff?
- currently there is no support for GBA in the menu app. You can load GBA from DS mode with NeoMax, but not DS from GBA menu. They were combined at first, so depending on what you booted to (GBA mode or DS mode) the proper menu came up, but for whatever reasons they were separated (probably because the GBA has no access to a DS slot)
* Is there a guide for transferring my DS games to the sd card so I don't have to switch between them whenever I want to play them?
- you can have more than 1 game on the SD card at a time. Just put the clean ROM or homebrew directly on there.
* Is it possible to play the DS game that is connected to the magickey?
Mostly to save the hassle of having to take out the magickey from the ds slot and putting in a ds game.
- not yet
* With the Neo-Max package, in the box there are three small batteries.. are these for the GBA cart? If so I assume they're for when the battery runs out. In which case how the heck do you open the flashcart?
- there is a little 2 tang slot along the top edge of the cart (the side away from the fingers), if you have 3 batteries in your package, likely there is non in your cart yet. GBA games arent going to save without the battery.
To put the battery in, you push the 2 tangs towards eachother, and pull the battery sled out. Put the battery into that tray with the writing on is so it is facing the backside of the carts sticker, and place it back into the cart.
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I wish it would have been so easy to change the battery of my F2A.
That was a really pain in the a$$ and at the end the SRAM is still knoked Out....I wonder why the hell did they do such a complicated schematics on their boards.
Well at least I got it a loong time ago, and nowdays all it has to do is boot my MK3 anyway :)
Still, it drow me crazy the fact that at the time even though I went to the trouble of changing the battery, I never got it really to work.
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* Is there a guide for transferring my DS games to the sd card so I don't have to switch between them whenever I want to play them?
- you can have more than 1 game on the SD card at a time. Just put the clean ROM or homebrew directly on there.
Sorry, I should have worded that better. I already know how to do the above fine.
What I meant was:
* Is there a way to transfer my gamecartridges which I bought and own like Mario 64, Mario Kart etc to the SD card using the magickey or will I have to download premade rom images (of them) from the net?
EDIT:
currently there is no support for GBA in the menu app. You can load GBA from DS mode with NeoMax, but not DS from GBA menu. They were combined at first, so depending on what you booted to (GBA mode or DS mode) the proper menu came up, but for whatever reasons they were separated (probably because the GBA has no access to a DS slot)
Sorry, i'm a bit confused here.
Is it possible to run DS/GBA stuff without having to reformat the GBA flashcart?
Is that a no? You have to format the gba flashcart to gba or ds depending on what you're wanting to run? (either gba or ds)
Also, a new question.
* If I use something like flashme does it make it possible to boot directly from the magickey without the need of the gba cart? (in which case I can then use that for gba stuff)
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Sorry, I should have worded that better. I already know how to do the above fine.
What I meant was:
* Is there a way to transfer my gamecartridges which I bought and own like Mario 64, Mario Kart etc to the SD card using the magickey or will I have to download premade rom images (of them) from the net?
Sorry, i'm a bit confused here.
Is it possible to run DS/GBA stuff without having to reformat the GBA flashcart?
Is that a no? You have to format the gba flashcart to gba or ds depending on what you're wanting to run? (either gba or ds)
Also, a new question.
* If I use something like flashme does it make it possible to boot directly from the magickey without the need of the gba cart? (in which case I can then use that for gba stuff)
Yes, you can backup your original cartridges onto the SD card through the menu software (through the NDS icon). It's currently a little buggy, though, in the latest menu.
No, cory can correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think you need to re-format each time. With the menu software, nds AND gba roms just aren't supported together (they will be in later menu revision). Personally, I use Neo Power kit with my neomax since there are still bugs/features that don't work in Neo Max 1.5 (it's easier and no formatting involved).
If you want a guide on that, just head over to the FAQ (it's under the Setup section):
http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,875.msg7938.html#msg7938
And to answer your last question, no, you still need that gba cart to boot.
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*snip*
Yes, you can backup your original cartridges onto the SD card through the menu software (through the NDS icon). It's currently a little buggy, though, in the latest menu.
No, cory can correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think you need to re-format each time. With the menu software, nds AND gba roms just aren't supported together (they will be in later menu revision). Personally, I use Neo Power kit with my neomax since there are still bugs/features that don't work in Neo Max 1.5 (it's easier and no formatting involved).
If you want a guide on that, just head over to the FAQ (it's under the Setup section):
http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,875.msg7938.html#msg7938
And to answer your last question, no, you still need that gba cart to boot.
Thanks, curiously enough i've been reading that link already.
That's funny, I selected the NDS icon and it said it couldn't find anything iirc. (I had Mario 64 in at the time) I can't do it at this moment as i'm at work now.
One thing, how do I make it save to the sd mem?
For example, i've transferred a game to the sd card and I play it as normal. I then save my game to save my progress and then quit to the main menu of said game, I notice that the save is there. If however I poweroff my DS and then power it back on, and start the DS game all save games have vanished?!
EDIT:
7) It periodically asks you if you want to create save game files or load them (when you are flashing a new game, for example). Creating a save game file stores that file permanently onto the SD card. This is superior to the process used by magic key 1, where saved games had to be either stored to the flashcart (and were then subject to corruption) or to the original game cartridge (where you had to match the size of the save game file to that used by your game cartridge). Mk2/mk3 simplifies this process greatly since it has it's own 2 Mb save buffer (SRAM) for saving any size save game file (serves as temporary storage, before writing the save game file permanently to the SD card)
Up to this point i've been using windows explorer to simply drag and drop the .NDS files to the sd card.
Have I been doing this wrong and should use the neomax (1.5) program to copy them instead? Does that create the required savegame file that it saves to for storage of savegames?
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To answer your first question, when you select the nds icon, it customarily asks you to reinsert the ds cartridge. After you do that, and re-select the nds icon, it detects the game and you can flash it to the SD card. Also, I may not be recalling here, but I think there is a problem flashing Mario 64 to the SD card (currently, the backup is still a buggy process, and should be refined further in future menu revisions)
Yeah, I think saving feature is broken in current menu.. It should store the save temporarily in mk2/3 SRAM, so that shouldn't be happening. When you turn off the ds and power it back on, it should remember the save or at least ask you to create a save game file permanently on the SD card (such as when you try to play another game) , and let you load that save when you play the game again.. Personally, I wish the user could initiate the save himself whenever he/she wanted, but they will probably streamline the process more in the future.
To answer your final question, yes, that's the proper copying procedure for nds roms.. Just use your sd card reader, and 'drag and drop nds files' to the SD card in windows. NDS save game files should be created automatically (though still some bugs) by the menu software on the SD card (that's the part where it asks you to save/load). This procedure is much simpler than the procedure for loading gba roms via neomax and creating saves through SMS.
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Cool, thanks bruceg.
I just tried using the moonshell a bit ago, I seem to be able to launch nds/gba games fine (from it after using neo-max to transfer them) and it saves fine. But, it uses the flashcart to store the games themselves.
Is it possible to use the sd cart when using moonshell? Or am I limited to using the storage of the flashcart?
EDIT:
Also, is it advisable to flash the DS firmware to the latest Flashme?
The advantages that i've been able to determine thus far is that it means I no longer need a DS cart in the magickey and it has protection to prevent the DS firmware from being overwritten by a maliciously created file.
Also, I can't remember what thread it was I read this in but someone mentioned that there are problems with Mario 64 and the magickey/neoflash?
Is this correct? I've been using Mario 64 only at this time (got my DS about a week before I got my neomax)
Aha, found it...
5) You must have an original DS game in order for the magic key 2/3 to function correctly (this is in addition to having a flashcart in the gba slot). Please note that Super Mario 64 carts have problems, so it's best to use another game instead.
From http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,875.msg7938.html#msg7938.
Thanks
EDIT2:
The following has nothing to do with this post whatsoever... (and I apologise for this tangent)
Oooh, I just discovered there is a port of ScummVM for the DS!
I loved playing scumm games on my gp32, with the touchscreen and stylus that program is brilliantly suited for the ds.
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Sorry, I don't know much about moonshell (haven't messed with NeoMax 1.5 yet). My guess is that it would be limited to the flashcart, but someone better qualified would know.
Yes, the primary advantage with flashme is in case you ever need to recover your firmware (from ds bricker, for example). However, you will still need to keep the magic key 3, and everything else connected, even after installing flashme bios.
BruceG
EDIT: See cory's corrected post below, as I misspoke
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actually, the MK2/3 will work with flashme and no cart in the pass-thru slot, although with some stuff I expect there would be glitches like this.
I have mucked about with the moonshell release in NeoMax, and you can access the SD card no problem. You have to use the menu item ".." to go back a dir, and then enter the SDI/O entry to view what is on the SD card. I played some MP3's from there with no problems.
It is a simple matter of changing something in the moonshell .ini file when building its implanted file system for the ROM, and when it cant find the disk that is in that entry it defaults to the implanted file system... so in other words its not hard to fix, but we will have to wait for them to fix it I think :(
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thanks for correcting me, cory. I recently saw that in one of your posts --about the glitches without using the game catridge..
BruceG
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So, it is possible to launch DS/GBA games from the sd cart using moonshell?
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Its possible with the NDS, but not with GBA - although I think because you are using NeoMax they assume you have a cart, which has better compatibility for running off of. GBA has to run from a cart.