GamesLaughs in ROMs
This does emphasize why ROMs are legal in the first place: as backups.
If you crack open the battery-driven memory carts, the battery itself is usually pretty easy to replace. Losing your game saves sucks though. I lost my Link save which was a kick to the nostalgia. That’s when you boot up the ROM save on your computer or Steam Deck like I do lol.
The article is about 3DS carts.
It mentions other carts and their resilience too.
Which emulator do you use on the Deck? I don't like retroarchs ui, and the other emulators I've tried need a cursor, which is fine but I'd ideally use something else.
I use Emudeck. It works well and it was easy to setup.
I think Bazzite suggests using Emudeck, should also work in SteamOS
I think Batocera uses EmulationStation, which is what Emudeck installs?
I have to look into that. I haven't tried it yet.
Thanks
Neither of those are actual emulators, just unified front ends for ROM management/emulation. Emudeck is essentially an installer and (in)sane config preset tool, emulation station is the frontend you use to boot the ROMs you want to play, in place of opening an individual emulator.
For emulation station you still need to install the emulators to a location it can see them.
Emudeck does that for you, with the exception of citra and the Nintendo Switch emulators.
You can replace the battery while the game is running to preserve the save. Need to have a few customized pieces though.
That sounds sketch asf. Just dump the save file with a flasher. That RAM chip is writeable from the cart pins or it wouldn't work as save data. Cheap flashers come in at ~$25. Dump, solder, reupload.
Why? The battery is just a current, and while the gameboy is on, it’s supplying the current instead.
What you’re suggesting is far more work and steps, and any transfer can corrupt.
There’s no way this can go wrong unless you turn the power off or disconnect the cartridges pins from the mount. Which can happen while using the transfers as well….
You don’t even need a computer, just the cart and a gameboy, and a screwdriver. It’s funny what people think is easier while including a dozen unnecessary extra steps that introduce issues at each step. And costs money.
IIRC from various board schematics at a previous job, typically you have the battery connected into the relevant voltage supply with a diode. So when that Vcc line for your memory module or real time clock is powered externally, the battery just sits idle since there's no voltage drop across the diode to get current flowing from the battery.
It works well because it's analog and fast and solid state. And yeah as long as you don't bump other parts or break something, if you swapped the battery on a powered system it should be fine.
How exactly are you going to get at the battery while the cartridge is inside the Game Boy, with the PCB facing inwards?
If you claim this is doable, let alone easy, I'd like to see a video of it.
What…?
As I said customized, you take your gameboy apart if needed, but usually that’s not even needed.
Edit
Yeah that's nice and all, and I get it, but the original person is referring to it being a HELL of a lot easier to just plug the cartridge into a USB adapter and dump the file to a PC. You know, instead of modifying their Gameboy or cartridges like that. But sure, if that's "easier" for you, cool. Most people don't want to go that far and aren't comfortable and "plug and play' is in fact easier.
Don't worry buddy. A coworker flipped out on me once for replacing a cmos battery while a machine was on. 🤷
There's a bit of difference doing it on a gameboy, and doing it in a running PC with spinning fans and such.
That's hilarious tbh. You do you, man.
Oh yes batteries are very scary and shouldn’t be touched. Sounds like you just don’t understand how batteries work and are afraid of doing something simple. So you’ve made it more complicated and costly, to avoid… idk even know what. Replacing a battery isn’t sketchy, it’s friggen hilarious you claim it is. This applies to ANYTHING with a battery fyi.
Nobody is saying the battery itself is the dangerous part, though you beat up that strawman!
It's not about the battery. You have to change it regardless of method used. But it's easier to just dump the memory and reload it. Then you even have a backup. You're just being pretentious honestly. I mean, it's not even about those games, it's about 3DS carts and you're over here jerking yourself off that you can change GBC carts.
lol. Lmao even.
nice job handling being wrong
How’s it sketchy? It’s no different than doing it dead, and it removes plenty of other steps.
Flashers cost money, corrupt, lots of people want to stay true and that creates an avenue for cheating and other stuff that isn’t true to original.
Because these are geriatric components. I would never shorten the life of my chips by applying heat to the circuitry under powered operation.
Also because doing so while the PCB sits flat or suspended by aligator clip arms is LEAGUES better than setting your gameboy face down where you have to apply pressure and have it rock forward under said pressure leading to you unseating a chip, component, or scratching traces.
Also because hot solder dripping on the plastic of my gameboy sounds easily avoided by not doing this.
Also because backing up my saves to my PC is personally important to me. I want my achievements to be backed up.
Also don't gatekeep singleplayer retro gaming. If cheating is so bad, don't use a gameshark and enjoy your very tall horse.
Edit: typo
You…. Uhh… don’t need to solder it back on. Conductive tape, this also makes it simpler for next time, since it’ll happen again.
And a piece of cardboard levels out the work area. These are all non-issues you are making into mole hills and then mountains.
Whatever man. Like I told the other guy. You do you.
You’re the one talking like your way is the only right way.
Someone was providing some knowledge about how to save their saves.
my copy of pokémon y had gotten more and more unplayable over the years. at first, it would crash when viewing specific models. then, it would crash in more and more places. last year, when i last used it, it was straight up unplayable, the game would simply not boot.
thankfully, only the ROM was corrupted, i was able to salvage the save data using a hacked console, and now it's sitting on my computer, backed up, but still... be careful, everyone.
if you have a 3DS, games with saves that matter to you, and some time to kill, make backups. 3DSes are easy to hack, and with online services being shut down, you don't have to worry about being banned.
You just need to remember to blow the dust out.
No that leads to more corrosion.
You don't have to use your cakehole.
