Hacking EZ Flash IV 2.01 - NOR was stuck with Boktai patched ROM, now won't hold saves.

[ateam]

Hello everyone reading this desperate post!

I haven't really been active on GBAtemp in years, but I come to you all now in great sorrow... For my newly purchased EZ Flash IV has a problem with its NOR memory. Let me describe the situation...

• I patched Boktai - The Sun is in Your Hand with Prof. 9's Boktai Solar Sensor Patch Kit v2.2.0 and then copied the .gba file to my microSD card.
• I wrote the game to NOR memory by hitting Select while the game file was highlighted in the menu.
• The game seemed to be successfully written to NOR memory, although I was unable to successfully create a game save. The game launched, asked me to block the sensor (before which I used the hotkey's from Prof. 9's readme to decrease the sunlight), then asked me to set the date/time and create a new save. I then received an error about the game not being able to create a save, at which point I powered off the system and powered it on again, allowing the EZ Flash IV to do its thing with writing the save upon boot.
• The Boktai entry remained on the menu (the one visible before selecting the SD Card folder) without responding to any requests to delete it or to format the NOR memory altogether.
• I tried writing other games to NOR to no avail. Boktai remained and the other games didn't appear as a menu entry.
• I FINALLY got the Boktai entry to go away by copying the original unpatched ROM to my microSD card and writing it to NOR.
• Now, the NOR won't hold any save whatsoever and even when I request to format it, nothing happens. I press Start on the menu before opening the SD Card folder and when prompted, I press A. However, the prompt almost immediately disappears and I'm automatically forwarded to the SD Card folder.

I'm at a total loss here and feel like my only option is to buy another cartridge, as I believe mine to be bricked in some way. As a side note, I've also reflashed the 2.01 firmware (EZ-Flat IV 2.01) without any difference being made.

I sincerely appreciate any responses to this thread and hope to God someone out there has a solution for this odd problem. I theorize that the patched ROM I created was "bad" in some way and thus caused a buggy save to be written to the cartridge's NOR memory, leaving it in a limbo state of disrepair.

I look forward to any and all replies! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[8BitWalugi]

Press start when in the game select menu, before you open your SD card. You’ll open up an option to wipe the whole NOR memory. This should give you your space back

 

[ateam]

Press start when in the game select menu, before you open your SD card. You’ll open up an option to wipe the whole NOR memory. This should give you your space back

I very much appreciate your reply, however I've already tried this, as stated in the OP. Unfortunately, after hitting A when asked if I'd like to format the NOR memory, nothing happens and the prompt almost immediately disappears and I'm forwarded to the SD Card folder automatically.

 

[ateam]

SOLUTION!

I'm so grateful for having decided to try using my EZF4 in my DS Lite just for kicks, because it allowed me to not only successfully format my NOR memory, but also load other games to it, as well! I can now successfully boot ROMs both the standard way and with the NOR-method on my GBA! Praise the Lord!

HOORAY

PS: It appears that battery strength may have something to do with this. My two AAs in the GBA were low on juice, causing the system to display a red LED. My DS Lite, on the other hand, is fully charged. The EZF4 behaves normally with fresh batteries in my GBA, but not with the dying ones. How odd! I wonder if buying one of those rechargeable replacement battery kits for the GBA would keep this from ever happening again, or if it would only cause more problems. I'll post back if I discover an answer to that question.