gbadev.org forum archive

Hi,

I have played the final version of Mario Kart DS a few days ago.

With the DS that have the MK I was serving a multiplayer game and with my DS (with FlashMe) I download the multiplayer.

After a few races I shut off my DS and then my DS doesn't turn on again. I have to made a FlashMe Recovery (A+B+Select+Start) to fix mi DS.

The other day, one friend tries again and his DS was broken too.

Warning if you have FlashMe installed ;)
_________________
Sorry for my english ><

This would make sense if you had the mkds cart and had it setup to connect with an access point. But with wmb, it sounds pretty strange...
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

it's strange, afaik MKDS isn't out yet...
_________________
[ sorry for all mistakes, but my english isn't as good as I wish it to be ]

it could be in micromania game show but I don't think you can play mario kart with your own ds..

I can confirm what YaW says. He could try Mario Kart DS Final Version in the Nintendo Friends Showroom at Madrid. A press room for spanish media, they have demos, betas and final versions before they are released so journalists can go and try the games or take some screenshots for reviews.

YaW currently runs DSMagazine, while I'm the webmaster of NDSSpain, so you can trust in us.

Back to the topic, yes, Mario Kart DS seems to be writing some data to the original DS Firmware, so if you have FlashMe, it gets corrupted and therefore your handheld won't boot anymore.

Greets

FlashMe is bigger than the normal firmware.

It's been determined that part of FlashMe is stored in an area that goes unused by the normal firmware but which in fact was reserved for storing Wi-Fi configuration information. Therefore someone's going to need to cut out the Pictochat graphics or something.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

Last edited by tepples on Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:44 am; edited 1 time in total

Last edited by olimar on Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:54 pm; edited 1 time in total

olimar wrote:

I just need to know what part is being used by MK

For that, someone will need to do the following:

Dump your unmodified firmware (using PassMe or WiFiMe to boot the DS) to a file.
Run Mario Kart DS for the first time.
Dump your firmware again to another file.
Create a .ips file describing the difference between the two files.
Send the IPS to olimar.

What program should we use to dump the firmware?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

tepples wrote:

Dump your unmodified firmware (using PassMe or WiFiMe to boot the DS) to a file.

mmm... if you run the "uninstaller" for FlashMe, is the firmware restored to *exactly* the same it was before installing FlashMe?

Noflashme before doing step 1 might work. But we still want you to generate two dumps to exclude spurious changes to the settings that might show up in the IPS. Besides, if you have the means to make one dump, ten bucks says you have the means to make two. It's not like Mario Kart installs the red firmware or anything; it's not a PSP game.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

Probably is just the Nintendo Wifi setup ( commun to all games ) its obvius to be writin some place in Nintendo DS...

there must be nrew version of Flashme with the maisn code on the protected zone.. to make sure any game could change it
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

maybe we could make use of it and use that same information for homebrew apps (when wifi is done). But this is probably a dumb idea :P

Dudu.exe wrote:

Probably is just the Nintendo Wifi setup ( commun to all games ) its obvius to be writin some place in Nintendo DS...

This looks like the logical explaination, but it doesn't make sence if the wmb version stores the wi-fi setup
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

thoop wrote:

maybe we could make use of it and use that same information for homebrew apps (when wifi is done). But this is probably a dumb idea :P

why should this be a dumb idea? It should be pretty easy to use the official info and I think it would be great for both homebrewn and official apps to have a standard wireless configuration

I thought it was dumb because it was so easily thought, but I think it's a great way of (mis)using the official data, and it's easier for homebrew apps.

I think that this is what Sgstair plans on doing later.
So that you don't have to re-enter your settings every time for homebrew.
For now we might have to do with SRAM saves or .ini's.

olimar wrote:

There is plenty of room in the firmware for flashme. I just need to know what part is being used by MK, so it doesn't conflict with flashme.

Hopefully ALL WiFi-games use same settings, and hopefully the WiFi setting only take a small amount if the "unused" space in firmware.

But it also would be pretty dangerous if homebrew apps can write it, because you can then even acidentally make a bricker program.

Not if the API allows writing only to parts of the firmware whose function is known.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

well at the moment any homebrewn app can already write it and like tepples said if there is a good (and save) api for writing the wifi settings there shouldn't be a problem

Ive tried the same Mario Kart DS that Yaw tried, and i had to recover the flashme too. But this wednesday im goin to try the game again and here is the question:

If i unflash my DS can anyone of the flashme team (olimar or anyone) guarantee me that my DS will be "Clean"... its just that if i lost the recovery function of the flashme and i lost my DS i wont get it back.

So if i play with mario kart ds with a unflashed ds... later i can try to use wifime or passme to see if the firm have been upgraded or it just stored something.

I'm a bit worried now the more I read about these topics about flashed DS's and mariokart. I just flashed mine a week or so ago, and would hate to find out it makes my DS incapable of playing the game without breaking something. I guess I'll have to wait a see....>.<

Mr Snowflake wrote:

This looks like the logical explaination, but it doesn't make sence if the wmb version stores the wi-fi setup

It could also be adding the people you played against to your friends list.

pepsiman wrote:

Mr Snowflake wrote:

This looks like the logical explaination, but it doesn't make sence if the wmb version stores the wi-fi setup

It could also be adding the people you played against to your friends list.

Where do u think the friends list is saving? I would think something like that would save on the server pak or in the RAM, not in the firmware

Any chance that someone of you makes a firmware dumb before and after running MK? (i mean before repairing the firmware) And telling which section changed?

Could help Loopy or whoever to make FlashMe compatible to that.
_________________
GBAMP Multiboot

knight0fdragon wrote:

pepsiman wrote:

It could also be adding the people you played against to your friends list.

Where do u think the friends list is saving? I would think something like that would save on the server pak or in the RAM, not in the firmware

I think the firmware is the only place a single-pak wmb game could store a friend list.
It can't save to the Mario Kart card because you don't have it.
It can't save on Nintendo's servers because you're not online.
Saving on the card of the person you downloaded it from doesn't make much sense.

pepsiman wrote:

knight0fdragon wrote:

pepsiman wrote:

It could also be adding the people you played against to your friends list.

Where do u think the friends list is saving? I would think something like that would save on the server pak or in the RAM, not in the firmware

I think the firmware is the only place a single-pak wmb game could store a friend list.
It can't save to the Mario Kart card because you don't have it.
It can't save on Nintendo's servers because you're not online.
Saving on the card of the person you downloaded it from doesn't make much sense.

If you can't go online with a wmb version, you don't need a friends list. The friends list is to play with friend online, not offline.
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

Mr Snowflake wrote:

If you can't go online with a wmb version, you don't need a friends list. The friends list is to play with friend online, not offline.

Friendlist is "made" when playing offline using NiFi local wireless play automatically. Nintendo said so.

So every time you play agains anothe mario karter localy over wireless play, you swap id's and get placed in eachother friendlist, so WHEN you go online you can find eachother.

Putting people on your friendlits can be made manuallt too though, the 12 digit number Nintendo spoke about..

isn't it possible to just not store anything in the firmware?

Probably, but if you have no plans to store anything in it, why not just use a ROM? I'm sure it would be much cheaper.

Saving to the firmware like that is just plain dangerous though, you would think that it would go into the DS SRAM, but if you are playing it WMB, why would they save the friends list anyway. You are probably going to need a cart to save all your settings, WMB will probably be used for quick little matches

sorry for my ignorant. but do we have any way to fix this online problem for flasme yet? I just flashed my DS and now i'm a bit worry..thank

Until MK starts shipping and before and after dumps are sent to relavant people, it won't be fixed.

Maybe it's an idea to make this a little more known though....
before you know there's a lot of people messing up their DS, and allthough fixeable, it isn't too great when it happens.

TBH the only people who have flashed thier DS are the people who frequent this forum, or know people who do.
It isn't too much of an issue, and should be sorted within a month of MK being released. It may not even affect the final version (unless nintendo did this deliberatley)
Sit back, relax.
Let's play some tetris...

Mithos wrote:

Mr Snowflake wrote:

If you can't go online with a wmb version, you don't need a friends list. The friends list is to play with friend online, not offline.

Friendlist is "made" when playing offline using NiFi local wireless play automatically. Nintendo said so.

So every time you play agains anothe mario karter localy over wireless play, you swap id's and get placed in eachother friendlist, so WHEN you go online you can find eachother.

Putting people on your friendlits can be made manuallt too though, the 12 digit number Nintendo spoke about..

True indeed, but you don't need a friends list if you don't have the game your self. And I believe I've read somewhere, a couple weeks ago, that the friends list is saved on a server... But don't if it's true. But I realy don't think the friends list will be saved on the firmware. That way if you ruin your DS, you would lose all your friends. Losing network settings isn't that bad, so they can be firmware-stored!
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

But Nintendo also said that people you play locally are automatically added to your friend list. That way they have to be stored somewere locally because you might not be online at that moment.

Maybe it saves them only temporary and then syncronises them to an online friends list on the next connect.

NoMis
_________________
www.gamedev.at - The austrian gamedev site
hde.gamedev.at - The Handheld Dev Env plugins for Eclipse

NoMis wrote:

But Nintendo also said that people you play locally are automatically added to your friend list. That way they have to be stored somewere locally because you might not be online at that moment.

Maybe it saves them only temporary and then syncronises them to an online friends list on the next connect.

That's why I think the lan friends will be saved on cart. And when you connect to the network, the'll be added to your list.

According to an interview, we are able to view our friends online on the nintendo website, so your friends list must be saved online.[/url]
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

the firmware is probably just used to save online settings and your account info.

What is the current status concerning Flashme and Mario Kart?
_________________
"We are merely sprites that dance at the beck and call of our button pressing overlord."

People... just think a little.. if all game store some data on firmware.. this will crash DS every a new game comes out..

What MK Do is put some info that every onlinegame will use.. if this data is alreade sotrored on Firmware the game only read it, if not it will create.

Friends List will be saved on server side... so you can play your YOUR Friends in any DS ... not just yours..

MK must have a 2mbit EEPROM to save Pesonal data like records and unloked tracks/drivers and Logo ... i thin 4kbit can handle it .. and te rest can save temp lists.. and the Ghosts card of your friends..
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

if anything the players without a cart will not need a friend list because they dont have a cart, so u dont need a friend list for a LAN, you have "player 1 - 8" sure they can have real names, but they dont need a friend list because they wont be scheduling online play till they themselves get a cart

The only reason I can see why MK would write to frimware is to add the code to let the DS go online. All other personal data will probably be stored on the cart. Also, other wifi games will only need this same data to access online capabilities.

IxthusTiger wrote:

The only reason I can see why MK would write to firmware is to add the code to let the DS go online.

This isn't necessary, because all the code is in the card. The only thing you have to do is put a tcp/ip stack and the correct code in the card. No need to write this stuff to firmware
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

Dwedit wrote:

What is the current status concerning Flashme and Mario Kart?

0. Because mario kart hasn't been released yet.
So they don't know where it writes.
So they don't know how to change flashme.

I think that everyone is freaking themselves out.
I think that the WiFi configuration will be stored on the game cart and not the ds, so what if you have to setup the connection multiple times.

but I do think it will save on the cart and not the system.
Small possiblity that the game will check for Hacked firmware, but I just dont see nintendo blocking modded systems from playing their games or going online.

it is understandable when the new DS's dont allow for hacked firmware, but hacked systems still play the new games.

Like someone has said before, I just dont think Nintendo would bother having any of their games write to the firmware, based on chances of bricking, or just f-ing up their ds.
_________________
Who, Me?

lambi1982 wrote:

I think that everyone is freaking themselves out.
I think that the WiFi configuration will be stored on the game cart and not the ds, so what if you have to setup the connection multiple times.

but I do think it will save on the cart and not the system.
Small possiblity that the game will check for Hacked firmware, but I just dont see nintendo blocking modded systems from playing their games or going online.

it is understandable when the new DS's dont allow for hacked firmware, but hacked systems still play the new games.

Like someone has said before, I just dont think Nintendo would bother having any of their games write to the firmware, based on chances of bricking, or just f-ing up their ds.

You are stupid- the game very obviously writes to the firmware- regardless of nintendo's feelings toward the homebrew scene.

If nintendo wants to ruin warez kids their ds'es it don't make sense to overwrite the FlashMe firmware, because that doesn't enable you to play warez.
_________________
http://www.mrsnowflake.be

lambi1982 wrote:

I think that everyone is freaking themselves out.
I think that the WiFi configuration will be stored on the game cart and not the ds, so what if you have to setup the connection multiple times.

but I do think it will save on the cart and not the system.
Small possiblity that the game will check for Hacked firmware, but I just dont see nintendo blocking modded systems from playing their games or going online.

it is understandable when the new DS's dont allow for hacked firmware, but hacked systems still play the new games.

Like someone has said before, I just dont think Nintendo would bother having any of their games write to the firmware, based on chances of bricking, or just f-ing up their ds.

Your a fruit loop.
The DS won't check for hacked firmware, because it's pointless. Flashmed DS's account for less than 1% of them out there. It's probably like 0.001% of DS's. It's extra code that they won't bother with. Anyway if they did an MD5 check or something they'd be screwed when we updated. MK can't brick your DS because it doesn't write to that bit of firmware. It writes to an unused (blank) part of firmware, at least on a stock DS. Flashme code will need shuffling/trimming/mutilating to fit around this. To the outside world your DS appears normal. Nintendo like to make things easy and so will most likley just need you to set up the connection once. It will then make that information avaliable to all other games that want it. All they have to do is read the firmware where it expects it to be stored. SRAM will be full of records, ghosts, and progress. As well as possibly "local" friends to be transfered to the Ninty server.

lambi1982 wrote:

I think that everyone is freaking themselves out.
I think that the WiFi configuration will be stored on the game cart and not the ds, so what if you have to setup the connection multiple times.

but I do think it will save on the cart and not the system.
Small possiblity that the game will check for Hacked firmware, but I just dont see nintendo blocking modded systems from playing their games or going online.

it is understandable when the new DS's dont allow for hacked firmware, but hacked systems still play the new games.

Like someone has said before, I just dont think Nintendo would bother having any of their games write to the firmware, based on chances of bricking, or just f-ing up their ds.

It seems that Nintendo would save WiFi configuration settings to the firmware. But they probably wouldn't add the actual implimentation, because each game can impliment WiFi how they want, and each game would have to write this to the firmware anyway because they could never be sure if someone has bought a WiFi enabled game before. Nintendo has stressed that connecting to the WiFi service will be as easy as possible, and forcing users to input things like WEP encryption settings each time would go against this claim. So, the first game that needs WiFi settings sees you have none, you set it up, it saves it to the firmware, and the second time you put a game in needing WiFi settings, it'll already have your configuration.

And Nintendo knows what's supposed to be in the firmware, so they know what to write and where. There is little chance that a DS would be bricked from this. Unless, of course, someone changed their firmware with a non-official Nintendo firmware.

AFAIK Mario Kart DS writes the data to the DS internal firmware space which is unused. Because there can't be anything damaged there is no risk of bricking your DS; is it? (of course only if it's not flashed)
The next online game you play uses this data. The DS firmware is not updated - why should it? If you want to configure this settings you can do it in the game because the DS can't be online without a wifi supporting game so it wouldn't make much sense to be able to configure it in DS firmware.

Hope that wasn't too bad English ;)
_________________
The future of gaming is mobile Handheld Gaming.

I'm sure ANY DS game with wifi will check to see if your DS is "wifi enabled" through modifying the firmware, it won't just be Mario Kart. It wouldn't make sense to simply have one piece of software do it, because then everyone would be forced to buy Mario Kart. It doesn't make sense.

At any rate, this probably wouldn't be MKFlashMe, it would probably FlashMe WIFI fix. This is Nintendo's WIFI program, regardless of whether or not it's in Mario Kart.

Mario Kart isn't the only online game people should be careful around, people.
_________________
Mathew Valente [TSSF]
------
Chrono Resurrection Musician

Well probably we wont have to wait until Mario Kart.. Tonby Halwk American Sk8land comes first.. if we arent wrong.. it will brick the DS too becouse it will try to save the Wifi setting on the firmware.. we can check what and where it is written on the black space..
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

tssf wrote:

I'm sure ANY DS game with wifi will check to see if your DS is "wifi enabled" through modifying the firmware, it won't just be Mario Kart. It wouldn't make sense to simply have one piece of software do it, because then everyone would be forced to buy Mario Kart. It doesn't make sense.

At any rate, this probably wouldn't be MKFlashMe, it would probably FlashMe WIFI fix. This is Nintendo's WIFI program, regardless of whether or not it's in Mario Kart.

Mario Kart isn't the only online game people should be careful around, people.

I highly doubt that they patch the firmware to support wifi. I think that only the connection information is stored in to the firmware while the actual code that performs wifi functionality is problably part of the Nintendo SDK and comes with each game that uses wifi.

NoMis
_________________
www.gamedev.at - The austrian gamedev site
hde.gamedev.at - The Handheld Dev Env plugins for Eclipse

The whole point was that Mario Kart might not be the only game to "brick" the DS. They're writing to the firmware where there would normally be free space. Nintendo didn't count on FlashMe, but they probably don't care, either.

And Tony Hawk comes out on the 18th, Mario Kart comes out on the 14th.

Not that it matters, in Canada, those games will be out either a few days to a week later.
_________________
Mathew Valente [TSSF]
------
Chrono Resurrection Musician

But it doesn't really make any difference which game comes first because they will write to the same part of the firmware. If not the whole thing would be senseless. The wifi data is saved to the DS so any game can use it --> every game will save to the same place.
_________________
The future of gaming is mobile Handheld Gaming.

I already asked sgstair on the dswifi forum, and he said he'd like to do that, and would add it once he knew what format the data was written as.

w00t w00t!
<loopy_>: http://www.cs.utah.edu/~tew/
<loopy_>: flashme fixed for mario kart
<JaJa_>: wtf? already?
<Furre>: I thought mariokart wasnt out o.o
<pepsilv10>: what was mariokart writing, and where?
<zid`>: loopy_: just jiggled it around a bit?
<loopy_>: oh, and... you WILL need to mess with SL1 again

JaJa wrote:

w00t w00t!
<loopy_>: http://www.cs.utah.edu/~tew/
<loopy_>: flashme fixed for mario kart
<JaJa_>: wtf? already?
<Furre>: I thought mariokart wasnt out o.o
<pepsilv10>: what was mariokart writing, and where?
<zid`>: loopy_: just jiggled it around a bit?
<loopy_>: oh, and... you WILL need to mess with SL1 again

is this true????
have anyone tryed this allready??

Ah, I was gonna see if this was mentioned here, but of course it was. Jaja beat me to postin. :P

All good news, I'll be updating soon.

I have installed the new FlashMe (v5) and it works perfectly.

The next monday I will play Mario kart another time to test the new FlashMe ;)
_________________
Sorry for my english ><

Installed successully here too. Might have to wait a while before I can test it out, though. Great work guys!

... Any problems with the new version?

not that I can see.
_________________
It's 'CubeGuy.' One word. No space.

some one has tested if it realy works??? anyone dumped the firmware modification??? or lood did it by guessing?
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

Found a bug:
If you hold Select in the old version, you get in the menu instead of booting from GBAcard.
In the new version, you get a white screen when you hold Select.
Now you have to remove the GBAcard to get into the menu.

Last edited by olimar on Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:58 pm; edited 1 time in total

Seddy wrote:

Found a bug:
If you hold Select in the old version, you get in the menu instead of booting from GBAcard.
In the new version, you get a white screen when you hold Select.
Now you have to remove the GBAcard to get into the menu.

The solution is: don't warez!!!
Edit: I heard that some loaders/patchers for ROMs can make this problem...

Last edited by nman on Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:28 pm; edited 2 times in total

ABXY is working finy.. why botter with select?

anyone tested with mario kart?? any one has acess to it?
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

just a quick question, when upgrading to v5 on a DS with a previous version of flashme, is there anything specific i have to do (like uninstall the old version, or what..)? or can i just run flashme like i did the first time and it'll overwrite the previous firmware with no problem?

and is there any way to tell what version of flashme you have on your DS currently?

gracias.

Dudu.exe wrote:

anyone tested with mario kart?? any one has acess to it?

Darkain tested it with mario kart. it worked.

Post removed by MOD: Mind your language please
_________________
Who, Me?

draconic wrote:

just a quick question, when upgrading to v5 on a DS with a previous version of flashme, is there anything specific i have to do (like uninstall the old version, or what..)? or can i just run flashme like i did the first time and it'll overwrite the previous firmware with no problem?

and is there any way to tell what version of flashme you have on your DS currently?

gracias.

Same as a fresh install i.e. bridge SL1 and run it.
It overwrites everything with the update.

I don't think there is a way to tell what version you using.

JaJa wrote:

draconic wrote:

just a quick question, when upgrading to v5 on a DS with a previous version of flashme, is there anything specific i have to do (like uninstall the old version, or what..)? or can i just run flashme like i did the first time and it'll overwrite the previous firmware with no problem?

and is there any way to tell what version of flashme you have on your DS currently?

gracias.

Same as a fresh install i.e. bridge SL1 and run it.
It overwrites everything with the update.

I don't think there is a way to tell what version you using.

fantastic. worked great, all nice and updated now. guess i'll just write down what version i have somewhere.

Dudu.exe wrote:

ABXY is working finy.. why botter with select?

Pressing SELECT bypasses the try to boot the gba-port and goes into ds-menu.

That is why you press SELECT.. ABXY actually activate the boot from gba-port (supercard uses it, when not having passme).

And it makes 2 whitescreens here too when pressing SELECT.. but its a ds-rom on the gba-cart, and I dont want to try other programs yet, (must transfer the highscores to the real cart when it arrives next week).

ive tested the new flashme today and recorded some videos (the quality isnt the best but we couldnt get a good camera, the good one got out of battery)... http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3YMQKDIE

Good job Loopy, thanks a lot :)

Mithos wrote:

Dudu.exe wrote:

ABXY is working finy.. why botter with select?

Pressing SELECT bypasses the try to boot the gba-port and goes into ds-menu.

That is why you press SELECT.. ABXY actually activate the boot from gba-port (supercard uses it, when not having passme).

And it makes 2 whitescreens here too when pressing SELECT.. but its a ds-rom on the gba-cart, and I dont want to try other programs yet, (must transfer the highscores to the real cart when it arrives next week).

i just press nothing to entrer in the DS menu...

mut pressing Select it goes to Menu too.. soo it have no point to use it!
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

Dudu.exe wrote:

i just press nothing to entrer in the DS menu...

Then you have what on the gba-cart?

Mithos wrote:

Dudu.exe wrote:

ABXY is working finy.. why botter with select?

Pressing SELECT bypasses the try to boot the gba-port and goes into ds-menu.

That is why you press SELECT.. ABXY actually activate the boot from gba-port (supercard uses it, when not having passme).

And it makes 2 whitescreens here too when pressing SELECT.. but its a ds-rom on the gba-cart, and I dont want to try other programs yet, (must transfer the highscores to the real cart when it arrives next week).

Hm...I had a few whitescreens - I just reformatted my flashcard and put everything back on, and it worked again. Probably it was fragmented.

I just installed V5 over the previous version.

I used wifime (wmb) to send the new version.

Other than the NINTENDO logo looking garbled, it installed on my three DS's fine.

Is it possible to have FlashMe have a boot screen ( say, where the Health Warning screen was)? Just so we can verify which version we're running?

Mithos wrote:

Dudu.exe wrote:

i just press nothing to entrer in the DS menu...

Then you have what on the gba-cart?

i have my supercard.. all the time!

and metroid demo on the DS Slot...

maybe you guys have seetup yours DSs to boot directly the game.. but i allways set to boot to menu becouse i use WMB a lot!
_________________
http://flickr.com/photos/stuffbox

Dudu.exe wrote:

i have my supercard.. all the time!

The supercard doesn't have a flashme compatible header.

pepsiman wrote:

The supercard doesn't have a flashme compatible header.

Have you tried A+B+X+Y?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

Having already updated my firmware to an earlier version, I'm now trying to update to the latest version to avoid problems when Mario Kart arrives.

I'm trying to do this using WMB and the latest flashme.nds - is it possible to do it this way ? All I get is a corrupt Nintendo logo and nothing else (I've tried bridging SL1 at the same time, with the same result).

I'm assuming it hasn't worked as I still get the health screen and the back light doesn't fade in....DS still works fine...

Anybody updated this way ? Maybe I'm not bridging the SL1 properly ?

Any thoughts on the matter appreciated...

tepples wrote:

pepsiman wrote:

The supercard doesn't have a flashme compatible header.

Have you tried A+B+X+Y?

Of course A+B+X+Y works, I was explaining why he doesn't have to hold Select to get to the menu.

pepsiman wrote:

Of course A+B+X+Y works, I was explaining why he doesn't have to hold Select to get to the menu.

Having a gba-cart with ds code in the gba-port when ds is flashme'd autostarts that ds-code even if I have manual set in settings.

I'll see when my supercard arrives if it then will go into ds-menus without pressing SELECT or if it boots again.

Well, I just tried out the update and Im not even sure if it did????

It went through the whole bridge sl1 phase and went to 100% and I rebooted and all works well... the only thing a bit off now is network stumbler cannot find my DS... I can wmb things to the ds but network stumbler cannot find it anymore. I tried it in pictochat mario 64 and metroid, also starwars. but I dont see it........

I hope this new update didnt F-up my DS in any way.
is there any way to tell what ver is on the DS?

and would it hurt the DS to go back one ver soo I can test it in netstumbler again???
_________________
Who, Me?

Netstumbler wouldn't find my DS even before I flashed it. It depends what wifi card and drivers you are using. I don't think it's a problem, it's non standard and doesn't have an SSID, so netstumbler can't always find it.

that i understand, but i used it before when the ds first came out and it worked fine. i tried it now on 3 comps and no luck. my main question though is, does it harm to downgrade?
_________________
Who, Me?

i'm not getting any whitescreens with select, but the last build of darkain's loader (7/25) doesn't work anymore.

hi,
with the new firmware I get white screens when the Mario 64 cart is inserted and it works fine with Metroid demo cart inserted.
Is it normal??
Thx!

i dont think any firmware worked well ith mario inserted to tell u the truth

I can't boot the latest flashme.nds it seems. Tried abxy bypass, tried with passme inserted, flashed my cart multiple times(w/and w/out sram enabled), all I get are white screens when I try and boot it. I also tried autoboot and manual in the DS setting. Cart is EZF advance III. Maybe it'll work with darkains loader?

mocnicom wrote:

all I get are white screens when I try and boot it.
Cart is EZF advance III.

With some flash cart software you need to prepend an nds loader.

pepsiman wrote:

mocnicom wrote:

all I get are white screens when I try and boot it.
Cart is EZF advance III.

With some flash cart software you need to prepend an nds loader.

Works with a loader, I forgot I had to do that lastime too. Thanks for the help, off to(safely :) ) buy mariokart now!

knight0fdragon wrote:

i dont think any firmware worked well ith mario inserted to tell u the truth

well, I heard that Mario 64 is quite a stubborn card...but with the previous flashme some games worked...
does anybody know what's the recommended card game to use with flashme or passme?? :-)

A friend of mine is running FlasmeV3 and playing Mario Kart no problem!

They change something in Mario Kart before it was released?

GORON wrote:

A friend of mine is running FlasmeV3 and playing Mario Kart no problem!

They change something in Mario Kart before it was released?

It works, until he turns the DS off, then it shouldn't boot anymore since the wifi settings have written over flashme.

Mithos wrote:

It works, until he turns the DS off, then it shouldn't boot anymore since the wifi settings have written over flashme.

Yep - you were right. But its all good now, put V5 on :)

Sadly, I too have bricked my FlashMe'ed DS by playing Mario Kart. In my case, I played a single game via the download feature. When my friend turned off his DS that had the game in it, my DS reported a network error and told me to power off. Now whenever I try to power on, I get a green light, but both screens stay black.

I have the EZ-FlashII (PowerStar) USB writer and a 256Mbit GBA flash cart, which is what I used to install FlashMe (3?) in the first place ... but it has been a while, so I had to hunt down the software/drivers to get it going again. I installed EZ-Client 3.20, which was the latest I could find, then downloaded the new flashme.nds and the recommended loader.bin file (which I put in the sysbin folder of EZ-Client). Unfortunately, I can't seem to boot the flashme.nds file.

If I don't install an NDS loader, then pressing START+SELECT+A+B and Power just gives me a green light and nothing on the screens (same thing that happens when I boot without pressing anything). If I do install the NDS loader that comes with EZ-Client 3.20, then pressing START+SELECT+A+B causes the EZ Flash boot screen to display briefly, followed by all white screens on top and bottom.

When I load flashme.nds up in EZ-Client, its name shows as a single dot (.), which seems odd. In fact, it shows up that way on the EZ Flash loader screen too...perhaps it isn't getting loaded onto the flash cart properly?

Is there a different NDS loader I should use, or should I even need to? (the FlashMe 5 page seems to indicate I don't need an NDS loader, but it isn't loading without it, so I know I am doing something wrong). I am not sure if the loader.bin file I copied over is doing anything ... shouldn't I be explicitely accessing that at some point?

I am at my wits end. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

akp wrote:

the FlashMe 5 page seems to indicate I don't need an NDS loader, but it isn't loading without it

An NDS loader is required with some (broken) flash writing software.

I had installed V3
- I downloaded Flasme V5
- prepended the loader (making flasmhe.nds.gba)
- ran 3.20 software
- disabled all loaders and flashed ez2 card
- shorted SL1
Worked flawlessly.

pepsiman wrote:

An NDS loader is required with some (broken) flash writing software.

I see -- and I am guessing that EZ-Client 3.20 is one of them...

zxr750j wrote:

- prepended the loader (making flasmhe.nds.gba)

Which loader? The ndsloader.bin file that is referenced on the FlashMe page as being unnecessary, or the loader.bin file of ezf3me.zip that EZ-Flash III users are encouraged to copy to their flash manager directory? Or did you preprend one of the loaders from EZ-Client 3.20?

akp wrote:

Which loader? The ndsloader.bin file that is referenced on the FlashMe page as being unnecessary

Yes, that one.

Okay, thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I was able to get it to load by prepending the ndsloader.bin file -- and I was able to get the process started by shorting SL1 with a paperclip (as I did the first time I flashed it, long ago).

Unfortunately, progress has now stopped at 1% :(

I have tried using the end of a small screwdriver, a bent staple, and the paperclip again ... but so far I can't get it to progress past 1% ... any SL1 shorting tips anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: nevermind, it finally worked ... used a small hex driver and it finally finished :) *phew* Nice to have my DS back alive. Thanks for all the help.

Hello !
Some friends of mine gave me the url of this topic because I'vs bricked my DS.
I have a PassMe (first generation), a 128M XG-FLash (I use EZ drivers and software) and a first generation DS and I can't debrick it.

The first problem is I'm not sure of the way to transform the flashme.nds into flashme.ds.gba with the loader. I used Darkain's multi-boot loader. Is it right ? (Can anyone mail me the firmware prepended at cbl at krinein.com ?)
edit : I finally used dos command "copy /b ndsloader.bin + flashme.nds flashme.nds.gba"

The second is about the button combinaison (START+SELECT+A+B) I must press in order to reflash it. It can't work just by making the SL1 contact ?

Sorry to be a newbie...

You need to prepend a loader. You can get the loader from the firmware site as well. Here is the direct link.

Put flashme.nds and ndsloader.bin in the same directory and open a command prompt. Switch to the directory and type:

Code:

copy /b ndsloader.bin+flashme.nds flashme.nds.gba

This will prepend the loader to the nds file and create flashme.nds.gba

Flash this file to the XG-Flash. Make sure to disable the XG Loader in the option menu.

Put it in your DS and hold A+B+Select+Start while turning it should load flashme. You will need to short SL1 to flash the V5 firmware.

NoMis
_________________
www.gamedev.at - The austrian gamedev site
hde.gamedev.at - The Handheld Dev Env plugins for Eclipse

Thanks !!
And do I need the PassMe ?

You don't need a passme.

It works !
I'm back on (Mario Kart) tracks :)
Thanks for all !

I made sure to flash my first DS but then i forgot on my second and when i downloaded the mario kart multiplayer client to it it worked once but then my ds stopped working...
Got it fixed with my supercard though :-P

Any way to use the recovery function with a GBA MP? When booting with Start+Select+AB, I get just a white top screen, black bottom, and the little jingle that usually sounds when the DS boots up.

The alternative is to try and track down a cheap f2a usb cable. Or, if that doesn't work, something even more drastic.

EDIT: Found it - needed an update to the firmware (and for me to realize the "black" screen was actually just not backlit). Relevant thread:
http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=7559&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=flashme+recovery&start=60

On another note, I now can't get anything to short SL1 . . . any chance I could get an nds file that just fixed the non-SL1 protected firmware bits (ignorantly assuming that since Mariocart broke it un-shorted, it could also be fixed un-shorted)? Or is there more than the recovery code in that part of memory?

sublimerewind wrote:

On another note, I now can't get anything to short SL1

I have trouble believing that you can't find a paperclip that you could suitably bend.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

sublimerewind wrote:

On another note, I now can't get anything to short SL1 . . . any chance I could get an nds file that just fixed the non-SL1 protected firmware bits

To restore firmware after MKDS corrupts it, you only need the Flashme installer you originally used to install in the first place: there is no special version needed. Turn off the system, insert the cart (or whatever) containing Flashme, hold START + SELECT + A + B, then turn on. I tried a few times to get this key combination correct before it finally worked; it must be the first thing checked for as the system boots, so if it doesn't flicker into life straight away, turn off and try again.

The restore can now be done by following the on screen instructions. No shorting is necessary.

Now go and install FlashMe 5. You WILL need to short for this. A small piece of low voltage wire, with the last 2mm of exposed metal bent at a right angle to increase contact area, works great. I found paperclips to be useless.

Yeah, my paperclips either don't conduct or are too thick. Got it fixed, though - it was my other tiny screwdriver that did it last time. Sorry to waste everyone's time with my panic.

gbadev.org forum archive

DS Flash Equipment > WARNING: Mario Kart DS broke FlashMe

#58475 - YaW - Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:25 pm

#58476 - Mr Snowflake - Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:38 pm

#58477 - revo - Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:39 pm

#58478 - mastertop101 - Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:42 pm

#58483 - Diskun - Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:24 pm

#58487 - tepples - Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:51 pm

#58504 - olimar - Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:21 am

#58509 - tepples - Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:48 am

#58512 - funkaster - Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:57 am

#58513 - tepples - Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:03 am

#58515 - Dudu.exe - Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:09 am

#58530 - thoop - Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:35 am

#58531 - Mr Snowflake - Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:51 am

#58550 - Frz - Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:02 pm

#58563 - thoop - Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:58 pm

#58588 - JaJa - Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:31 pm

#58603 - Mithos - Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:28 pm

#58614 - thoop - Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:04 pm

#58617 - tepples - Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:10 pm

#58623 - Frz - Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:00 pm

#58626 - LuXo - Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:08 pm

#58653 - Grupstra - Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:12 am

#58680 - pepsiman - Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:05 am

#58681 - knight0fdragon - Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:16 am

#58683 - Mighty Max - Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:30 am

#58685 - pepsiman - Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:24 am

#58690 - Mr Snowflake - Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:57 pm

#58691 - Mithos - Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:02 pm

#58706 - monkey1987 - Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:39 pm

#58726 - Lynx - Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:35 pm

#58739 - knight0fdragon - Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:01 pm

#58825 - GragonSon - Wed Oct 26, 2005 3:03 pm

#58864 - JaJa - Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:04 pm

#58865 - samor - Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:06 pm

#58923 - JaJa - Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:22 am

#58928 - Mr Snowflake - Thu Oct 27, 2005 10:16 am

#58929 - NoMis - Thu Oct 27, 2005 10:28 am

#58930 - Mr Snowflake - Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:13 am

#58947 - hoagie - Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:32 pm

#59105 - Dwedit - Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:28 am

#59110 - Dudu.exe - Sat Oct 29, 2005 2:07 am

#59113 - knight0fdragon - Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:01 am

#59120 - IxthusTiger - Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:47 am

#59124 - Mr Snowflake - Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:47 am

#59130 - JaJa - Sat Oct 29, 2005 10:19 am

#59240 - lambi1982 - Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:06 pm

#59249 - deltro - Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:52 pm

#59253 - Mr Snowflake - Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:31 pm

#59257 - JaJa - Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:52 pm

#59259 - alangerow - Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:03 pm

#59269 - Ilomoga - Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:44 pm

#59325 - tssf - Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:25 pm

#59330 - Dudu.exe - Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:49 pm

#59332 - NoMis - Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:03 pm

#59350 - tssf - Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:47 pm

#59363 - Ilomoga - Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:03 pm

#59513 - JaJa - Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:31 am

#59723 - JaJa - Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:39 pm

#59734 - monkey1987 - Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:53 pm

#59736 - Grupstra - Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:12 pm

#59748 - YaW - Thu Nov 03, 2005 10:32 pm

#59749 - Veg - Thu Nov 03, 2005 10:34 pm

#59785 - debutvm - Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:41 am

#59786 - CubeGuy - Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:09 am

#59802 - Dudu.exe - Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:38 am

#59854 - Seddy - Fri Nov 04, 2005 5:48 pm

#59857 - olimar - Fri Nov 04, 2005 6:09 pm

#59860 - nman - Fri Nov 04, 2005 6:31 pm

#59877 - Dudu.exe - Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:05 pm

#59882 - draconic - Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:51 pm

#59884 - pepsiman - Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:53 pm

#59885 - lambi1982 - Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:26 pm

#59887 - JaJa - Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:40 am

#59890 - draconic - Sat Nov 05, 2005 2:11 am

#59893 - Mithos - Sat Nov 05, 2005 2:30 am

#59897 - LuXo - Sat Nov 05, 2005 3:23 am

#59899 - Dudu.exe - Sat Nov 05, 2005 4:00 am

#59900 - Mithos - Sat Nov 05, 2005 4:01 am