EZ Flash I

What does the cartridge look like?

EZ Flash 1 and EZ Flash 2

What else do we need to buy?

If you imagine that you bought this cartridge new, you wouldn't need anything else.

But the kit should consist of:

1. Cartridge

2. Reader for it

3. USB cable to connect the reader to the computer.

The only interchangeable part here is the cable. It's a standard USB printer cable.

Preparation for work

To run this program on newer systems, you need to use a virtual machine. I use the Oracle VM VirtualBox program (free) and install Windows 2000 on this virtual machine.

Problems with the cartridge

When working with this cartridge, there are several problems with drivers and cartridge detection:

Driver problems:

If you had an XG-Flash, EZ-Flash II, or EZ-Flash III cartridge, there is a high probability that the readers will conflict with each other. For example, you installed drivers for the reader from the EZ-Flash II cartridge, in principle, you can write to the EZ-Flash I cartridge from this reader, but you decided to insert the native reader, and here the problems begin, Windows pulls up the wrong drivers.

To solve this problem, you need to:

1. With the reader inserted (not the one you want to use, but the one you had before) open the device manager and remove this reader.

2. Disconnect the reader.

3. Open the Windows folder and use the search to find all files related to the reader (usually starting with the letters EZ or XG) and delete them.

4. Insert the new reader and install drivers on it.

Problems with cartridge detection:

If the program does not detect the cartridge, this is expressed in three messages:

1. NON EZCart, and on the next line it says EZLoader.

2. EZ1 256 (without a list of games, and it does not open if you click on this inscription twice, but you are sure that there are games there).

3. It just says No Cart

You need to perform a couple of manipulations (try everything, something should work):

1. Pull out the cartridge slightly (literally by a millimeter or two).

2. Close the program, pull out the cartridge completely, open the program, insert the cartridge.

3. And in another order, close the program, pull out the cartridge, insert it again, and then open the program.

Of course, sometimes the reader is capricious, but these manipulations always worked.

Program

Program installation:

To write games to the cartridge, you need to use a special program: EZ Client.

Although for some reason on the manufacturer's website (ezflash.cn) there is version 3.25 of the program, and the latest released version was 3.26. Where the latest version went is unclear.

You can download it here: EZ Client 3.26.

Also, I will post the version Ez Client 3.11. If something does not work in version 3.26, there is a possibility that it works in this version.

Program overview:

Conventionally, this program can be divided into 5 parts:

1. Menu and quick actions (duplicate the menu).

2. ROM list – cartridge content.

3. Settings for a specific game, adding cheats to the game, adding games from other platforms (emulators) and save management.

4. Technical information (shows what you did, in theory, this menu should show all program updates, for which the Internet is needed, but now it does not work)

5. Information about the cartridge and free space.

Menu:

ROM

Open GBA – add a ROM file to the ROM List (in the picture - section 2), to then write it to the cartridge.

Delete GBA – respectively, remove the ROM file from the ROM List.

Operation – in fact, here are the main actions that can be performed with the cartridge.

Refresh List – update the Rom List.

Write ROM – write ROM files to the cartridge.

Write Save – write a SAV file (a save that you already have) to the cartridge.

Backup Game – create a game image from the cartridge (mainly needed for piracy, to make those very ROM game images to play them later).

Backup Save – save the save file from the cartridge to the computer.

ROM Check – check the ROM memory of the cartridge (programs and games are written to it).

RAM Check – check the RAM memory of the cartridge (saves of programs and games are written to it).

battery Check – in theory, this button should somehow check the state of the cartridge's battery, but it does not work. (Moreover, it does not work from version EZ Client 3.0, in the manual for this version, it says "Archive", either they did not delete it, or they did not have time to add it, it is unclear).

System Config – cartridge settings.

Use Loader – this option adds a start menu to the cartridge (where you can choose which game to launch), by default it should be activated, except for two cases:

1. You want to write only one program/game and want it to start immediately, without going to the menu.

2. You want the cartridge to start in Nintendo DS mode.

Use Nds Loader – just allows you to load the cartridge in Nintendo DS mode. This mode is needed to launch Nintendo DS games from the SLOT-2 cartridge, and not for GBA games on NDS.

PassMe2 – the cartridge itself will not start in Nintendo DS mode (you can read more about this in the FAQ, in the question: "Why do we need SLOT-2 Flash cartridges if there are SLOT-1 Flash cartridges?").

Format Card – format the cartridge is not active (you can't just click this button to format the cartridge, you first need to delete all games from the cartridge).

SoftWare UpData – DO NOT PRESS! Apparently, it should somehow upgrade the program, but for me it only breaks it, regardless of the version.

Use Back – set the wallpaper for the cartridge's start menu (where the game selection is).

Use Logo – set the wallpaper that will be shown during the cartridge loading (before the game selection menu).

Example Logo:

Select Loader Back File – select the wallpaper file that will be installed in the cartridge's start menu.

Does not work if the Use Back checkbox is checked! That is, first select the picture, and then check the Use Back checkbox.

Select Logo File – select the wallpaper file that will be installed during the cartridge loading.

Remove Intro – remove the Intro from the game (considering the cartridge's limited free space, a useful function that compresses games by removing unnecessary content).

Use SMS (Savegame Management System) – save management function, directly on the cartridge (for example, make a backup of a save file before a fork in the game, so that you can later restore it).

Language Select – select the program language, not the cartridge!

Views

ROM Tree – opens section 2 (see screenshot № 1) if you accidentally closed it.

Output List – opens section 4 (see screenshot № 1) if you accidentally closed it.

XP Style, Office2003 Style, Gnome Style – changes the program design.

How to write games to the cartridge?

As we wrote above, after installing at least one game (even not installing, but just adding a ROM image of the game to the program), you WILL NOT be able to change any cartridge settings. Therefore, we will describe the starting algorithm that will be useful for the following situations:

1. You just received the cartridge and this is your first game installation.

2. When installing games, you did not select all the functions you wanted (or mixed them up) and want to add (change) something.

Let's get started:

Step 1.

Make a backup of everything you need on the cartridge, and then use the Delete button from the quick actions menu (lower part of section 1) to delete everything written to the cartridge.

Step 2.

Click the Format Card button and wait for the cartridge to format (does not delete the SMS function, very strange formatting to be honest, not very clear what is actually happening there, but it does not look like formatting).

Step 3.

Select the Loader mode (if you want one game, uncheck all checkboxes, or select Loader/NDS Loader options).

Step 4.

If you want to change the start image or the cartridge menu image, use the appropriate functions.

Step 5.

If you need the SMS function (by default, this checkbox is checked, but it does not work), you need to uncheck the checkbox and check it again. A menu will appear that says that this function takes up space on the cartridge and asks if you want to write it (after writing, you can see that the free space on the cartridge itself has decreased).

Step 6.

Using the Open ROM button from the quick actions menu (lower part of section 1), select all the games and programs you want to write to the cartridge.

Step 7.

Select the game and start configuring it (Show ROM Info tab).

Saver Type – select the save type (everything is selected automatically, but if something, you can change it).

Saver Size – save size.

Soft Reset – select the type of exit from the game.

Disable – without exiting the game.

Ez-Type – exit the game using the program's own means (the program itself will patch the game, so that you can exit it).

Boma-Type - a separate application (BOMA) that patches the game.

Personally, for me (both on a virtual machine and on a real one), if you select this function, the program will not be able to write games to the cartridge and will immediately crash. I tried different ways to fix this, but nothing helped. Moreover, this function works in version EZ Client 3.11 and does not work in EZ Client 3.26.

GoldenFinger – use cheats for the game, becomes active if Soft Reset is activated.

Password – set a password for the game (maybe from a younger brother, so that he does not spoil the save?).

Saver Patch – save patch, despite the fact that this cartridge has hardware support for all save types, in some cases save patches are still required. Consists of three options:

Disable – without a patch at all.

Ez-Type – software patch.

IPS-Type – opens the IPS patch loading menu (third-party, not from the program).

Trim Rom – does not work.

IPS Patch File – does not work.

Step 8.

Click the Burn button from the quick actions menu and wait for everything to be written to the cartridge.

Step 9.

Close the program.

Step 10.

Remove the cartridge.

Other program functions:

As you probably already noticed, in menu 3, there are three more tabs:

Gold Data - cheats. Select a specific game and from the drop-down list select the necessary cheats.

Emulators for different games (GB, Game Boy Color, NES, etc.)

In the drop-down menu, select the emulator. Click Add ROMs and add the necessary ROM images of games, then click the Add to Cart button (the selection of emulator games will be inside the emulator, and the program with the emulator name, for example, Goomba, will be written to the cartridge). After that, you need to click the Burn button (quick actions menu) to write the emulator with games to the cartridge.

We will consider the save menu further.

Working with the cartridge

So, you inserted the cartridge, started the console, and get to the start menu (first the start logo will appear, and then the menu will load):

Launch the game:

If you select the game and press the A button, the game will start immediately.

If you select the game and press the B button, the game will start after restarting the console.

If you press the R button, the Reset mode will switch: On/Off

Reset switching does not work on the Ez Flash I cartridge (switching occurs, but nothing changes will not). It only works on Ez Flash II.

If you press the L button, the help menu will open, showing possible button combinations:

L – opens/closes the menu

L + A - restore save (we will consider in more detail in the Save section)

L + B – make a backup of the game save (also, we will consider in more detail in the Save section)

Select – show time (does not work in the EZ Flash I cartridge version, if you load this cartridge in NDS Loader mode, it will show the time set on the console).

How to save in the game?

Only Normal Save is available on this cartridge.

Normal saves are saves that are made in the same way as if you were using a regular licensed cartridge. Saves in the Ez Flash I cartridge are made automatically. To save, you need to wait until in the game you pass a checkpoint (where the game automatically saves) or a save point or you press the save button yourself (if the game supports saves) and wait five seconds.

Working with saves

Before we move on to the analysis of working with saves, make this very save. That is play the game and save.

To enter the SMS (Savegame Management System) menu, you need to press:

L + A if we want to restore the save in the game and then in the upper left corner the inscription RST will appear:

L + B if we want to make a backup of the save from the game and then in the upper left corner the inscription BAC will appear:

If after pressing these button combinations you see such an inscription:

This means that you have not activated the SMS function. (If the program has a checkmark on the SMS function, this does not mean that this function is active, you need to uncheck it and check it again and confirm that you want to activate it, after which the free space on the cartridge will decrease).

In order to restore the save file, you first need to make it, so in any case we will start with a backup (all functions inside these two menus are the same, only in one case a backup save file appears, and in the other case it is written to the game).

After entering this menu, you can press the L button and help will appear:

Select button – delete the backup save file

R – view the save size:

A – make a backup of the save (press this button and in the empty menu a save file from the game will appear, which can be restored back).

B – cancel.

Backup restore menu:

All the same functions, only the A button restores the backup to the game.

After making a backup save on the cartridge and inserting the cartridge into the reader. In the EZ Client program, you can archive saves:

Add – add saves to SMS (so that later you can write them from the cartridge to the game)

Read File – save a specific backup save to the computer.

Delete – delete the save

Flash – refresh the page (if you press the Delete button, the save will be deleted as it were, but no, for it to be finally deleted, you need to press WriteCart, and this button – Flash – will return everything as it was).

Format – delete everything

WriteCart – write to the card (but I would call this button apply changes).

How to exit the game?

It's simple, you need to simultaneously press the buttons A + B + Select + Start + R.

It only works if you activate the Soft Reset – Ez-Type function in the game settings (when writing the cartridge).

How to flash the cartridge?

Actually, you don't need to flash the cartridge. It doesn't have firmware as such. The menu you see when booting is the same Game Boy Advance program as a regular game, and it is already built into the program, so if you have the latest program, you don't need to do anything else.