#65077 - Gato - Fri Dec 30, 2005 12:48 am
Hi, I would like to copy save files (I think it's called SRAM??), and not the ROMs from my games to a PC, and if possible load them into my games later, as some games only have one save slot, and I can't afford the Flash Linker kits being sold. Is it possible to just buy the cable? If so, which cable would you recommend, and from where?
Can anyone direct me to a post or a site which has instructions on making a cable with a USB connector at one end and a GBA connector at the other? Is it as simple as connecting a cut-off USB cable to a cut-off GBA link cable, and later using software to transfer SRAM data from a GBA cart to a PC file? Or do you need PCBs for that too?
What's the least expensive option?
#65085 - tepples - Fri Dec 30, 2005 1:29 am
The cheapest option for soldering is XBOO. The cheapest option for professionally built is MBV2. Both are parallel port based, so they don't apply if you're on a Mac or a newer "legacy free" PC.
Yes you can buy just the cable from some stores.
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#65105 - Dwedit - Fri Dec 30, 2005 4:43 am
Your choices are a usb<->gba link cable that usually comes with a flash cartridge, some of them let you dump and write savegames. I know the Flash2Advance USB cable can read savegames, haven't tried writing back, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. The price range for just the cable ranges between $10-$20. You're at the mercy of the flash linker software, some can dump and write saves from GBA cartridges while others may not.
Or you could use the MBV2 cable, but it produces invalid saves using its own driver program. I've written programs to use the debug console to produce accurate save files, then write them back, and I've had no problems. Except that it takes about a minute per save, while the F2A USB cable does it in seconds. The MBV2 cable is really intended for developers who want to read or write data to their PC while running a homebrew program. It costs $20 at lik-sang, and is only available there.
Then there's a GBA Movie Player. It's a movie playback cartridge with a slot to insert CompactFlash cards. With a program designed to do so, you could eject, pop in the GBA cartridge, read the data, pop back in the movie player, and it would save the file on the CF card. Worth a try if you already have compactflash cards from a digital camera. If you use a Gameboy Player for Gamecube, you can't eject while the system is running. It costs $25, and is available from many places.
If you don't live in hong kong, most places that sell that stuff have $20 shipping rates. If you live in the US, buy from Jandaman or another US-based seller for <$2 US postal service shipping.
If you have a compactflash reader, and compactflash card, get the movie player.
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#74899 - Gato - Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:32 pm
Haven't been online in a while. Thanks guys!!!! I've decided on ordering the F2A USB cable as I'm not that good at electronic stuff.....