#15040 - DragonPoof - Fri Jan 16, 2004 2:58 pm
Alright, here's my situation. I just got a Flash Cart + Linker (EZFA 256mb) from MWElectronics. I ordered it a little bit before Christmas and didn't actually start using it until Xmas day. I've been using it a lot since then; but all of a sudden my save files are no longer there. All of the games I've written are still retained on the cart; but it seems the battery which keeps the save files alive is dead and gone. :(
I did some testing with the cart to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. I first reloaded some old save states just to see if something wacky happened. No go; they still wouldn't stay there: so I went ahead and formatted the whole cart so I could get a fresh new start. Still no go. The saves (as well as the clock settings on the EZFA OS screen) will stay on the cart (or so it seems) as long as the thing is still inserted my GBA Hardware (even if I turn it off). I'm assuming it's just using juice from the hardware to keep the saves alive(?). Once I take the cart out and put it back into the system everything is gone.
Now my question is, first of all: Does it seem like this problem is only a dead battery? Also, is this the normal life for the batteries? I thought they were suposed to last WAY longer than this? My cart hasn't received any ill-treatment at all (the thing seems flimsier than normal carts so I'm afraid to handle it like one), so I'm not really sure why my battery would be dead. I just wanted some feedback or opinions before I head down the path of emailaing MWElectronics to see if maybe I can get a new cart since my battery died in under a month's use. :/
Thanks guys.
(If needed, the version of my EZFA client is 1.00 Beta4. If you need any other technical info, let me know)
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#15045 - ampz - Fri Jan 16, 2004 3:45 pm
EZ uses a crappy battery solution. For some reason they have choosen a rechargeable battery, and the battery is not able to recharge itself from the GBA, it only recharges when docked in the linker. EZ recommends that you leave the cart docked in the linker overnight once every three weeks.
Real carts use non-rechargeable batteries with a lifetime of 10 years. I have no idea why EZ choose this odd rechargeable solution.
#15054 - tepples - Fri Jan 16, 2004 6:15 pm
| ampz wrote: |
| Real carts use non-rechargeable batteries with a lifetime of 10 years. I have no idea why EZ choose this odd rechargeable solution. |
I'll guess that some engineer probably got piddled off when her Legend of Zelda Game Pak for NES stopped retaining save files, and it influenced her engineering paradigms.
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#15073 - torne - Fri Jan 16, 2004 9:25 pm
| ampz wrote: |
| For some reason they have choosen a rechargeable battery, and the battery is not able to recharge itself from the GBA, it only recharges when docked in the linker. |
The latter isn't true; it charges much more slowly in the GBA, but still charges. A friend of mine with an EZFA tested it.
Also, non-rechargeable batteries don't last for that long in a flashcart. The SRAM chip in most of the flashcarts is cheap and tacky, and is also pretty big (usually sixteen times or more the size of a commercial cart's SRAM), and thus draws much more current.
#15077 - ampz - Fri Jan 16, 2004 9:42 pm
| torne wrote: |
| ampz wrote: | | For some reason they have choosen a rechargeable battery, and the battery is not able to recharge itself from the GBA, it only recharges when docked in the linker. |
The latter isn't true; it charges much more slowly in the GBA, but still charges. A friend of mine with an EZFA tested it.
Also, non-rechargeable batteries don't last for that long in a flashcart. The SRAM chip in most of the flashcarts is cheap and tacky, and is also pretty big (usually sixteen times or more the size of a commercial cart's SRAM), and thus draws much more current. |
You are aparantly just guessing.
There is nothing wrong with the SRAMs used in flashcarts, they are not any "lower quality" than the ones used by N or anyone else, and the size of the SRAM do not affect the standby power consumption by much. The SRAMs in flashcarts are eight times the SRAM used in games (2M compared to 256k). You also have to take into account the fact that the batteries used in flashcarts are considerably larger than the small ones used by N in commercial game carts. An educated based on the size difference it that they have at least four times the capacity.
The capacity of a non-rechargeable lithium cells are like ten times that of rechargeable ones.
The voltage supplied by the GBA (3.3V) is only enough to charge a rechargeable battery to about 2% of it's full capacity. A 3.6V power supply is required to charge it to it's full capacity.
#15081 - bikkel - Fri Jan 16, 2004 10:08 pm
There is a very easy solution. When your EZF cart is new you have to charge it in the writer. A full charge takes 40 hours. You only have to do this the first time. The data is retained for at a year when the cart is not used.
When you use the cart it gets recharged by the GBA (SP) and also when you couple it to the PC. So with normal use you will never-ever lose your savegames.
#15089 - ampz - Fri Jan 16, 2004 11:24 pm
No, it will only be recharged by the GBA if the battery is below the 2% mark.
It will however be recharged by the linker.
#15105 - dagamer34 - Sat Jan 17, 2004 5:42 am
Are we talking about the EZFlash or the EZFlash Advance? Because the EZF-Advance doesn't recharge with a linker. In fact, the linker is only a USB<->GBA cable, not a designated writer.
I would that you would just exchange it now and wait for a new one to come, that way you don't have to worry.
Define "using it a lot"...
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#15119 - DragonPoof - Sat Jan 17, 2004 4:52 pm
Thanks for the info. I'm using an EZF Advance, and I've tried multiple ways of charging this damn battery. I left my GBA on all night with the cart in it and it still doesn't retain anything at all. The battery worked fine when I received it.
As for "using it a lot"; the general amount anyone (I suppose) would spend playing any good game that came out for GBA. A couple (2-5) hours a day at least and sometimes more when I hadn't got the chance to play on some day. :) Then that all got chopped up because I started working. I think this is why the battery may have just died out because there was a big recession in putting any power into the thing.
I'm still trying to determine if I simply need to have the GBA power on while the cart is inside or if I should have the cable attached to my computer, too. I'm looking into it everywhere and the instructions all clash with eachother.
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#16738 - Azag - Tue Feb 24, 2004 4:36 am
i'm having the exact same problem with an ezflash ii powerstar. It's not retaining game saves for even 5 minutes. i'm letting it in the charger for 40 hours with my pc on and we'll see if that makes any difference.
#16795 - dagamer34 - Wed Feb 25, 2004 4:17 am
Did you buy your flash cart from eBay??? If not then send it back to the retailer and ask for a replacement if it's still under warranty.
There is absolutely no need to charge your battery for 40+ hours. I did not do anything like that with my EZFA and it still works. I play it for about 2 hours a day, sometimes more but 40+ hours is crazy.
You're wasting your time. I would actually like to hear from someone that had their cart suddenly start to keep saves after charging it for 40+ hours.
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#17223 - wiz - Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:46 pm
Did you get your battery working dragon? I seem to be having a similar problem