Backup game saves help...

[cchen921]

I just got my neoflash usb reader today with the 512 meg rom chip, USB SLIM LOADER III. I put in a game file, .gba along with the file neoboot.bin. The Neoboot.bin is what gives the menu when the GBA is started up. I tested the game metroid and went to the first save point of the game to try it out, but it just will not work. Anyone know how to get games saved? I read thru other forums such as divineo.net, but cannot find any help. Any help would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!!!

[bruceg]

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly... Some gba roms don't save to the SRAM on the cart properly, but I'm not sure about the particular rom you are using...  Others apparently require patching to work.

Unfortunately, using Neo Power Kit for gba roms is not very reliable (besides possible corruption issues, saves can be inadvertently overwritten as well).

Can you use NeoMax 1.5 with your setup to run gba roms??  It has a much more reliable saving system for gba roms... 

Kushan wrote a guide on how to use NeoMax (it also mentions using the xg2 pro application, as that software works in a very similar fashion to neomax)

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,1489.0.html

Cory also wrote a FAQ on how to address GBA saving issues (using Neomax):

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,1567.0.html

BruceG

[cchen921]

I followed your advice on the xg2 pro software. It was a lot easier than NPK, nicer skin too. But still having trouble with game save with metroid fusion. Could it be that the s.m.s format was too low? I set it to like 32 kbit. How would you find information in the kbits of game saves? Also, the S.M.S tab in xg2 pro skin on the GBA, when you load the game save, it says game save completed. Then are you suppose to play the game or are you suppose to load the S.M.S, and then wait for the game to load?

[bruceg]

I tried it with the neomax 1.5 software a while back (xg2 pro should work similarly).  Usually, the default SMS size is sufficient.  You can try adjusting the size, but that generally isn't the problem. 

When I did it previously, I saved in-game when I reached a save point, and the save was then stored temporarily in the SRAM.  When you turn off the system and turn it back on right away, you should be able to replay the same rom and restore your save (if it's working ok). 

However, since the save can inadvertently get deleted from the SRAM space, you go to the SMS tab to backup the save to the SMS space allocated for that particular rom (at least that's how I remember it in Neomax).  So everytime you play a new rom and save in-game, you can go back to the SMS tab and save that particular rom to its allocated SMS area. 

Since it's now saved in the SMS area, when you go back to the menu and play a rom, I would think that you should be able to restore your save.....

Have you tried other gba roms to see if they save correctly?  If it's just the metroid game, then I would guess that that particular rom may not be saving properly to SRAM (or maybe requires patching).  Sorry, I don't run gba roms very often myself...

BruceG

[cchen921]

I was using the GBA sp, I think some faq said that neomax does not work with the GBA sp, so that's why I used the xg2 pro. When you described your situation using neomax, it sounded just like using xg2 pro with all the save tabs and everything. Whenever I go to the first save point in metroid fusion, save, then turn off, the sms file "default" was still there as it was when the game was newly flashed. I don't know if the game save point modified that same file or not. Would there be another file that would be created if you saved the game? Then there would be 2 files? Is this a general problem with these GBA backup devices?

I got this neoflash 512 because it was suppose to backup ds and gba games. (I haven't gotten the DS yet). I guess they are not as reliable as xecuter mod chips for the xbox huh? The mod chip works as if you had a game right in your box. I'm not too upset about it, after all, this device was a tinkerer's project.

 What about different game ROMS like castlevania, circle of the moon? Would other game ROMS have problems or is it when you have 1 problem, then all the ROM games would experience the same problem? Is it possible that the 512 cartridge is defective? THANKS for any answers...

[bruceg]

Well, I tested that rom by flashing with neomax 1.5 just now..  I actually can't even get it to run (it crashes during part of the intro).  The various other gba roms I tested all seem to save/restore properly.  I'm using a neomax 512 flashcart, which is similar to your Neoflash.

That default save location should always show up.  Every time I turned off my ds and turned it back on after saving in-game, it would ask me if I wanted to back up the save.  Selecting 'ok' seemed to back up automatically to the default location (the name stays the same).  Then, I just ran the rom again and easily restored my save point.

You can also create additional save locations besides the default one.  Just select the rom, go to the SMS tab, hit 'start' to bring up the menu, and 'create'.  This creates a new save game file, which should show up under the default one.  Later on, you can select which one you want to use by using the 'load' function (and then run the rom from the menu, and your correct save positions should be present)

If none of this is working for you, have you checked that your battery on your neoflash is not dead??  GBA saves don't function correctly if the battery is non-functional.

As far as the neoflash/magic key 1 being able to backup ds and gba games, I don't think it's very reliable as it's a first-generation product.  The magic key 2/3 function better for saving, but even these devices aren't close to perfect, since these are still new products (bugs are being worked out).  Sure, xecuter chips for the xbox work perfectly, but that's a mature 5 year old console.  The DS scene is still evolving...

You should definitely test other gba roms on your cart to check if you can save/restore.  Assuming your battery is ok, many of them should function correctly...

BruceG

[cchen921]

Yes! I FINALLY got it to work! Thank you so much. It was the battery all along. You wouldn't believe what I had to go thru just for this simple process. First, there was no battery in the first place. Then I had to pry out the case. You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to pry that thing open! Then I pop in the battery, and tried again, the darn thing still doesn't work! Then I pryed open the case again, failing with the first battery, then I tried the second battery then it worked! After the first battery you would think that it has failed! But one more shot for the hell of it! You would think that neoflash would send you some working batteries for crying out loud!

Thnk you thank you thank you. Oh by the way, I was using my ROm on the GBA SP, not DS. I think I'm going to try the DS. Do you have the same exact tools that I have? My tools are on this link: http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-neo512

Thanks for the idea. I hope there aren't other problems I have to face!

[boblen]

so there was no battery in it at all when you got it?

also if you touch the battery too much with your hand it "drains it" - making it a dead battery

[cchen921]

Yup, there was no battery at all in the unit. I thought that they would have put a battery in there in the frst place but no. Also, when I got the ROM, i thought the battery was just to get the cartridge working, so it worked, and I thought that was all it did. I didn't know that it was pivotal for it to save games.

[boblen]

yer thats why theres a battery in it, All GBA flash carts and the magic keys have batterys in them.

Also when you do open the GBA cart it slides down they are really easy to open.

Any way good luck with it in the future! 

[cchen921]

There's a battery in the magic key also? Where is the slot that opens it? Or do you have to prye it open?

[boblen]

ok you have to split it open.

DONT DO IT BUT - you need to glue it back together...

[cchen921]

Well, I wanted to do it just in case the battery dies. After all I have been thru, it wouldn't be surprising for the battery to be dead already. I still haven't tested NDS games yet, only GBA cuz I only have the GBA SP. Now I have to fiddle around with another equipment to get that working, and who knows what kind of problems I'll run into.

Cheers

[boblen]

yer its always good to do back ups of stuff that can be lost.
Well the Magic Key does back up to the SD card so its easy to get the saves off there onto the computer.

[Kushan]

Don't worry about the MK3's battery, you can really REALLY easily backup the NDS saves to the SD cart just by loading a game.

This is what happens with the menu software currently:

You select the Rom you want to play.

You're asked if you would like to save the current save on the MK3 to the SD cart (even if it's the same game you just picked).

You're then asked if you want to load the save for the game you picked from the SD cart.

You're then asked if you want to boot the game you selected.