#51375 - vgachi57 - Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:43 pm
Hi, long-time reader, first-time poster.
I checked the existing threads and did not see anything regarding the issue I'm seeing so I'm hoping someone can help. If it has been posted, sorry.
I picked up the PassMe and a Movie Player for some homebrew dev. I followed the instructions on http://www.ndshb.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=26 and everything looked good.
Now the problem:
The GBA MP won't read from the CF card I used to do the flash firmware anymore. I loaded up a demo on the card, inserted the PassMe and got to the DS main menu screen. When I select GBA game, the screen goes black. However, when I put in another CF card with other stuff, the MP loads as if it were never flashed. I'm not sure if this is normal, since I haven't read anyone else having this issue.
Ok, and here's the stupid question (which may be related to the problem):
How do I load the demo/homebrews? I put them on the card. Plug in the PassMe w/ a standard game. Assuming my problem above is resolved, do I go to the Download Play option? Or is the DS game option supposed to light up?
Thanks for the help. I'm definitely looking forward to contributing to the community.
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#51379 - tepples - Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:22 pm
With PassMe, use the DS game option. With WiFiMe, use the Download Play option.
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#51385 - vgachi57 - Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:29 pm
How do I know if the PassMe is even detected? When I plug it in with a game, the DS game option is not lit up.
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#51390 - tepples - Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:06 am
When did you buy your DS? And did you buy it new or used?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#51392 - vgachi57 - Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:13 am
I got it near the beginning of June. New from Best Buy. I heard only the new red units would be affected?
Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.
_________________
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#51393 - Dwedit - Fri Aug 19, 2005 2:29 am
Run GBA Game from the DS menu boots up in GBA mode. So your movie player will act exactly the same as booting from a GBA. Don't use "Start GBA Game" to load DS software.
If your root directory gets fragmented, it won't be able to find the boot nds file. Run defrag and pay attention to the number of total fragmented directories. A quick way to get the boot ds file into the first fragment is to make a temporary directory, move everything in the root into that folder, then move the boot files out. Then move everything else out and delete the temp folder. This makes the boot files the first 2 in the directory, less likely to not be found.
Make sure you put on the boot gba file, it's necessary to boot in GBA mode due to some bug in the modified firmware.
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#51394 - chishm - Fri Aug 19, 2005 3:10 am
| Dwedit wrote: |
| Make sure you put on the boot gba file, it's necessary to boot in GBA mode due to some bug in the modified firmware. |
Not quite a bug. It is because of the way the GBAMP locks itself. If there is no _BOOT_MP.GBA file on the card, the modified firmware keeps searching through all the directory entries until it reaches the end. The has the side effect of locking the GBAMP firmware after too many reads. The included _BOOT_MP.GBA file basicly just tells it to stop reading sooner, and boot the GUI before it locks it.
#51519 - vgachi57 - Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:03 am
I'm not sure if the CF card is fragmented since I defragged it multiple times before I put it in the GBA MP. The Play DS game option does not light up.
Just to double check, this is what is supposed to happen: I flash the MP, place the appropriate demos/homebrew on the CF, insert PassMe, and turn on the DS. The Start DS game (not the Demo Download) should light up and I should play the demo off the CF card?
I know now that I'm not supposed to launch the "Start GBA game" option, but here's the twist: when I just want to launch the regular MP menu with the card I used to flash the firmware with, the screen just goes black. So I'm wondering if somehow that particular CF card is now blacklisted from the MP. (I reformatted the card and redumped those files back on to check, still same result)
Has anyone else seen this issue? I think somehow both issues I've mentioned are related. Is there also another better way of reformatting the CF card besides right clicking the drive name and reformatting?
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#51520 - chishm - Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:58 am
Play DS game should show up if you have a DS game inserted, or a PassMe inserted with a DS game in it. It won't show up otherwise. The GBAMP won't affect whether it shows up or not. Also, make sure you have a _BOOT_MP.GBA file on the card to boot into GBA mode without getting the black screens.
It is likely the card isn't formatted properly for what the GBAMP expects. Try another card or repartition the current one.
#51576 - vgachi57 - Mon Aug 22, 2005 1:54 am
Hmmm, maybe the PassMe is the problem. I put it in with the Metroid Demo and it doesn't detect a DS game at all. I tried with other titles (Meteos, Nanostray, Kirby) and still get the "There is no DS card inserted" message at the top. I don't think I can push the PassMe in any further into the unit without something breaking.
I will also reattempt to reformat the CF card again. Thanks for all the help. If there's any other suggestions, I will definitely appreciate it.
_________________
Walk in the rain.
#52111 - vgachi57 - Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:01 pm
Ok, so I got the PassMe to be recognized (contacts weren't making a good connection so I had to pull the unit towards the DS while it was booting up) and fixed the MP by reflashing it to the original state.
That said, I reflashed it again to DS boot mode. But now, the 2 peripherals are not working together, which was probably the issue all along but this is the farthest along in the process I have gotten to.
There's a lot of talk about defraging the disk, which I have done multiple times. On the MP firmware site, it lists these additional troubleshooting steps:
In HexWorkshop:
(1) Open *physical* disk from the menu.
(2) You should now see 0x200 bytes of the first physical sector.
(3) Sellect all of them (CTRL-A)
(4) Go to Edit -> Insert and fill with 0's
(5) Close HexWorkshop, reinsert CF and format with Windows.
Having not done this before, I grabbed an older copy of HexWorkshop 3.11 and proceeded to following the instructions. Got stopped by step 4 since "Edit - Insert" is not highlighted as a selectable option.
Am I missing something here (besides a functional brain), or are there any more suggestions on how to defrag a disk besides Windows tool?
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#52134 - natrium42 - Sat Aug 27, 2005 1:57 am
| vgachi57 wrote: |
3.11 and proceeded to following the instructions. Got stopped by step 4 since "Edit - Insert" is not highlighted as a selectable option.
|
It's actually Edit -> Fill... (CTRL-Insert)
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