Hacking Is it worth to buy EzFlash V with my current setup?

[wariobar]

Hi all,
I have a NDS lite + R4 SDHC 2015 with a 64gb microSD + DS Lite expansion pak, and I saw the below second hand EzFlash V for 18 euros. I don't have much time as another person may buy it. I am quite new about nds homebrew and flashcards. that's why I need some help from your end. Please, I would love to know your opinions about buying it or not and the reasons behind it. I am quite concerned about the battery, probably it has died.

If I do buy it, what would be the best setup for it? R4 in slot-1 and ezFlash in slot-2?

Thanks a lot!!
Mario

 

[Ryccardo]

Get a new battery, yep (CR1220 with tabs coming out of the same side, which is less common than the typical save battery with the tabs at 180°), replace it, and then use it

"R4 SDHC" is not a good name - does it support YSMenu? If yes, that kernel has good 3in1 support (not the very last generation, possibly) and you're good to go, if not you will need to use the GBA Exploader homebrew to program it
(Of course, if you'll ever get an original R4 or a r4ids.cn, both running Wood, even better!)

 

[tech3475]

Here’s the wiki page:
https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3_in_1_Expansion_Pack_for_EZ-Flash_V

One option to consider is just buying a separate GBA flashcart, if you think you may want to do more in the future e.g. get a GBA Player.

At 18 eur however, I’d be tempted for the convenience of the AIO cart and because I wanted one back in the day.

 

[MohammedQ8]

I dont know if r4 support gba roms like CyclopsDS Evolution.

I have CyclopsDS Evolution and ezflash v and I can select gba roms on CyclopsDS, Evolution and play them via ezflash v

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but you have to replace the battery to be able to save.

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https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/CycloDS_Evolution

GBA Support! in combination with an EZ-Flash 3-in-1 you can load GBA roms directly from the Cyclo DS

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I never used it but there is an app called GBA Exploader to boot them.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I dont know if r4 support gba roms like CyclopsDS Evolution.

I have CyclopsDS Evolution and ezflash v and I can select gba roms on CyclopsDS, Evolution and play them via ezflash v

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but you have to replace the battery to be able to save.

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https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/CycloDS_Evolution

GBA Support! in combination with an EZ-Flash 3-in-1 you can load GBA roms directly from the Cyclo DS

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I never used it but there is an app called GBA Exploader to boot them.

I think the CycloDS has EZ3in1 support built in, although it's not likely to work with the "new" model.

Get a new battery, yep (CR1220 with tabs coming out of the same side, which is less common than the typical save battery with the tabs at 180°), replace it, and then use it

"R4 SDHC" is not a good name - does it support YSMenu? If yes, that kernel has good 3in1 support (not the very last generation, possibly) and you're good to go, if not you will need to use the GBA Exploader homebrew to program it
(Of course, if you'll ever get an original R4 or a r4ids.cn, both running Wood, even better!)

Alternatively, it's possible to loosen the battery from the tabs, and get a new one without tabs and use many thin strips of electrical tape to secure it to the existing tabs. It's not as reliable, but it's an option that doesn't require soldering.

 

[wariobar]

Many thanks to all for the quick support. Too many things, I hope I get the main idea. This is my current R4, I think it does support YSMenu, at least I am able to run it and run DS games, emulators and hom ebrew from YSMenu.

Does it means I can load GBA from the R4 with the EZ flash V in slot-2? Which program type I would need do that? YSMenu or Cyclops should be Ok, right?

UntilI change the battery I won't be able to save games of GBA right?

Thanks!
Mario

 

[MohammedQ8]

Many thanks to all for the quick support. Too many things, I hope I get the main idea. This is my current R4, I think it does support YSMenu, at least I am able to run it and run DS games, emulators and hom ebrew from YSMenu.

Does it means I can load GBA from the R4 with the EZ flash V in slot-2? Which program type I would need do that? YSMenu or Cyclops should be Ok, right?

UntilI change the battery I won't be able to save games of GBA right?

Thanks!
Mario
View attachment 227182

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He called it emulator hehe

 

[FAST6191]

Wow that is an old one.
For reference the EZ5 is the DS cart part of that, the 3 in 1 (long name the EZ5 3 in 1 expansion pack) is the GBA slot component.

Anyway the EZFlash team open sourced the code to access the 3 in 1 part. To that end any DS slot flash cart that can run homebrew can sort it out. Some flash carts took the code and will do it natively but it does not matter really as the management homebrew that works on everything is pretty good.

At this point yeah the battery will likely be needing replacing to have saves work.

It will allow you to play most GBA games out there. http://gbatemp.net/threads/buying-a-gba-flash-cart-in-2013.341203/page-18#post-4756995 has a list of trouble ones and some solutions to most of them.
The better experience would probably be had with a standalone cart, even one like the EZ4 if you don't fancy springing for an everdrive or EZFlash Omega. That said you can play pretty much every GBA game as it would have been played on the original system with the 3 in 1, many certainly have before you.

The DS flash cart part of it is an older model (there were two others after that from the same team -- the EZ5 plus and EZ5i) and will only work with microSD memory (2 gigs or less) and have rather more limited support for games than the later EZ5i. You might find someone willing to trade though. You could possibly also use some of the newer patches to get things working, and it does have an onboard option that can boost a thing or two. Your r4 clone thing is the better cart though and will happily manage the 3 in 1 part.

18 euros is quite a low price really. If you are worried about someone sniping it out from under you then yeah. I certainly would have had it given a chance to go on the shelf of cool things. I have had better deals but I would not complain there.

 

[wariobar]

Thanks guys! At the end I bought it even though I was not fully sure still how I was going to make everything work. I just wanted an affordable slot-2 option to play in gba games without the current limitations of gba emulators, and use the extra ram for homebrew and other emulators as NeoDs or SNEmulDS. Let's see what I can do, I am not sure how I will deal with the battery. Even I am also open for any trade.

Also, I saw on the internet that this combo pack was a special offer for 2007 Christmas. Almost yesterday

EDIT: I just received the packet. EZFlash 3in1 for slot-2 works totally fine with my R4 cart using YSMenu. From YSMenu I can setup the rumble option for each game or homebrew. Also, the additional RAM memory is detected and used if any homebrew requires it. Now, I need to change the batery. Let me know in case you have any questions or you want me to try anything with this setup. Thanks!

 

[wariobar]

Hi all, during this week I have been using the 3in1 cart with YSMenu and GBA Loader, all was good less I couldn't use my saves as expected. Today I have changed the batery very careful with the tape method. Once done, and I tried it with an unexpected result. From YSMenu I can format the SRAM and overwirte data for running any game and playing but apparently it doesn't save any progress after I reboot the console (same as before the battery change).

If I try to use GBA Loader from YSMenu I can't change the PSRAM mode or do anything else after setting the current slot2 expansion pack for GBAloader. The top screen title says [/] 1 games . It is very weird, before I changed the batery I was able to chages the modes, seen the games in the top screen and load games, but now I cannot do anything.

Please, do you have any idea what is happening?

Edit: Using YSMenu I cannot saves with Dragon Ball Advance Adventure, but I could save playing Kurukuru Kururin. Even more weird. It means that at least the new battery is working.

edit2: bad news, EZ5C11

edit3: Problem resolved.After lots of tests, I made it work. I installed and used 3in1_ExpPack_Tool V1.9c. After it I was able to load any game and save from GBA Loader in all its modes. With YSMenu, the save funtionality works depending on the game that I use.

Thanks!!