EZ Flash/IV
EZ4 Basic usage and FAQ.
The following article is aimed at enabling people of all technical abilities to become familiar with the EZ4 flash cart’s features and abilities. Obviously technical ability and experience as well as interests vary between people and to cater to all people in this document would be impossible. It is for this reason the following FAQ can not be all things to all people so if a subject deserves more attention than is reasonable here either an external article or website will be linked to.
About the EZ4
There is more information about the EZ4’s history and technical nature in the EZFlash IV article so this section is aimed at new users whom may want some things clarified about the EZ4’s operation.
Before going on it is worth explaining megabits and megabytes, megabits is the industry standard for describing memory chips and megabytes is what people tend to use nowadays to describe data elsewhere. There are 8bits in one byte and so 8megabits in one megabyte. The memory cards are always referred to in megabytes or gigabytes whereas ROM images are frequently discussed in terms of megabits.
The EZ4 series is the latest flash cart series to come from the EZTeam, it comes in four versions these being the normal and the lite, deluxe and compact. The deluxe and compact are revisions to the EZ4lite model. They all use the same software and loader.
normal: 256mbit of NOR and 128Mbit of PSRAM inbuilt and uses miniSD cards. It is standard GBA card sized.
lite: uses microSD cards and also has 256mbit of NOR and 128Mbit of PSRAM, approximately the size of the GBA slot on the DSLite. Uses micro sd cards.
lite- compact: a redesign of the EZ4 lite, has limited onboard memory that the user can access and so does not have good GBA support, as a consequence this model is much cheaper than the rest of the range. Fits in the GBA slot on a DSlite. NOTE; the Compact will only work in NDS mode. for GBA games to run you must boot into NDS mode, and games must have .bin extension. Assumed tech specs found here
The EZ4 Compact Tech Specs?:
64Mb PSRAM (8 Mbytes)
36Mb NorFLASH (4.5Mbytes)
32Mb Loader (4 Mbytes)
8Mb saver SRAM (1Mbyte)
lite-deluxe: Another redesigned version of the EZ4lite, this one features 256 Mbit of PSRAM and 384Mbit of NOR memory which makes for better GBA usage. Uses micro sd cards.
In the box you get:
1 EZ-IV cartridge of the model you ordered
1 SD -> USB reader/writer (most miniSD and microSD cards come with adaptor to make them effectively become a standard SD card)
1 USB extension lead
The use of external memory cards for storage means all data transfer revolves around the memory card and unlike previous EZFlash products and many other flash carts there is no linker device. The EZ4 however bears some similarities to the EZ3 in certain aspects of the hardware design:
The EZ4 effectively has 2 user accessible memory sections being the memory card and the 256megabit (256megabits = 32 megabytes) NOR memory chip built into it generally referred to as the 256 section or the NOR. This is not present in the compact. The NOR is mainly used when running GBA games that are over 128 megabits (16megabytes) in size as GBA hardware requires it’s code to be accessed more quickly than the DS does and your memory card does have a not fast enough data reading speed. For GBA code up to 128mbit (16mbytes) in size the data is transferred to a bank of RAM memory called the PSRAM. It is believed 8MB PSRAM is found in the compact, as with the November 9th release 64Mb (8MB) GBA games are compatible. Both of these copying events lead to a slight delay when starting GBA games of up to 30 seconds for a game 128mbit or smaller and around 5 minutes for data 256 Mbits in size. Data written to the NOR section is kept there until it is erased whereas data written to the PSRAM will have to be copied again when you power off. The 15th of June update to the EZ4 loader allows you to copy data smaller than 128mbit to the NOR section by pressing select and then a (b cancels the process) when you are using the GBA loader.
The EZ4 software
The official EZ4 software is called EZ4 Client. The current release as well as previous releases can be downloaded here.
The software is quite basic at the moment compared with other EZFlash software in that it is little more than a patcher for ROMs but compatibility is very high with only a few ROMs having issues or not working. See the compatibility list here.
In order to copy commercial ROMs to your memory card, you should use the EZ4 Client software, not Windows Explorer.
This allows the EZ4 Client to patch the NDS / GBA ROM to work properly with the EZ4 cart. Make sure the memory card is formatted using the FAT option beforehand (under options -> right click on the "drive" in Windows OS).
The right hand directory listing should point to your memory card (if it doesn't you may have issues with save games). In order to achieve this, click on the "Config" button and then the "..." button. Then select the directory that corresponds to your memory card and click OK.
You do not need to use the SD reader that comes with the EZ4 kit. In fact anything that can ultimately support your memory card should work, although investing in a halfway decent card reader or using the one provided can save a fair bit of hassle (many memory cards ship with an adapter to convert your memory cards card to standard SD).
To copy a ROM, click "Open" and select your DS ROM (it can even be left as a zip/rar file). The ability to rename your ROM aside no options are available at this point in time, so click "Send". You ROM will be patched automatically and copied to your memory card card.
The latest EZ4 Client now allows multiple ROMs to be selected in the Open File dialog box. Hold down the <ctrl> key and single click multiple files. Once you have finished selecting ROMs, click OK. Then click Send to transfer the files across. Each file will be patched and copied to the destination directory.
EZ4 Client also creates save game files for games when they are patched.
This means if you made it so that ROMs are patched and copied directly to your memory card card, then the game(s) may not save. Check the root directory in your C: drive for a folder called "Saver". If you do not have a C:\Saver directory, check the root directory of the drive you are running EZ4 Client from. These save files will need to be copied to the Saver directory on your memory card card to allow DS games to function correctly.
Like all USB devices, you should observe the standard Windows operating procedures when removing the memory card card from the reader (if you use XP you right click your memory card drive under my computer select properties, hardware tab, properties of drive again and then policies. You can then choose optimise for quick removal).
If you want EZ4 Client in your own language, take a look at Translations for translated versions to download and guides for translating if there are no versions already available (it is a simple exercise involving nothing more than about 5 minutes in notepad).
EZ4 loaders
Unlike most cards the EZ4 has two loaders built in, one for GBA use and one for DS use (you can still run GBA code from the DS loader side). Should you be running on a GBA, the GBA loader will automatically be used. To get into the GBA loader on a DS one of three scenarios will be encountered:
Stock DS
Either select your DS to automatically load up or select the start GBA option at the bottom of the screen.
DS with passme device
Remove your passme device and select run GBA game.
Modifed firmware DS e.g. you have Flashme installed
Once again you will have to select the run GBA option. When using flashme you will have to hold the {Select} button when powering on the DS to get to the menu where you can select the run GBA option.
DS Loader To access this you will have to have someway of running DS code with a passme device or modified firmware such as flashme. See the article DS commercial roms (running) and general usage for more on this.
Customising your loader. It is fairly simple to customise your loader, see this thread for information.
EZ4Client+
EZ4Client+ is an alternate EZ4Client software package. The software is being written by MoleDJ (Spanish) and has been written without the help of the EZTeam.
The software is written entirely in C# and requires the Microsoft .Net Framework. If you would like to help MoleDJ with writing his software the source can be found in the EZ4Client+ CVS Repository.
EZ4Client+ is currently in early beta stage and as such should not be used on data for which you do not have a back up copy of.
Updating
The clients can simply be downloaded and unzipped, there is a library of DS ROM data contained with the EZ4 Client download which you may wish to update.
The DS rom update thread is located here. The roms are verified by a CRC32 check against a list so if you altered the rom (trainers, translations, NDSTool hacks) you will get an error message. It will also display an error if you have a rom not yet on your list.
There is also an updated GBA library located here: here. The GBA detection is based around header infomation so alterations should not affect detection.
The EZ4 internal software (the Kernel)
These are updated directly via the NDS and/or the GBA.
In order to update the EZ4 Kernel, copy the ezfla_up.bin file to the root directory of your memory card. This should be done using Windows Explorer, not the EZ4 Client. Then hold down the "R" trigger button and power on your NDS/GBA. The EZ4 will then update it's internal ROM to the latest Kernel. After flashing the EZ4 the ezfla_up.bin file may be deleted from your memory card.
Should you have the hide extensions for known file types option in Windows turned on then be careful not to name the file ezfla_up.bin.bin (the second extension will be hidden).
Note: If you are using a nopass device other than the EZPass 3 (Datel Max Media Launcher, Superkey, Passcard3), then you will need to remove this before attempting to update your EZ4 Kernel.
Playing NDS Games
The EZ4 automatically detects whether you are running NDS or GBA code.
In order to play DS games, boot your DS with your Passme card in the DS slot. If you are using a Flashme modified DS you should be able to play with your ROMs. The EZ4 will detect this and run the NDS loader.
Homebrew DS code
If you have some homebrew DS code say an emulator or some multimedia files (text,pictures,video (see the later section of this FAQ for video usage)) simply copy the file via windows to the miniSD card. The same applies should you want to run flashme on your DS.
The EZ4 OS prefers Homebrew be in the .ds.gba format. BUT it will only show up in the EZ4 OS - NDS menu if you rename it to .bin
Playing GBA Games
The EZ4 automatically detects whether you are running NDS or GBA code.
In order to play GBA games, boot your NDS without the Passme card in the DS slot. If you have flashed your DS with Flashme, then hold down the Select button when powering on your DS to bypass the Flashme code and then allow you to run the DS in GBA mode.
If you are running on GBA only hardware the GBA loader is automatically selected.
If you want to reboot in GBA mode to select a new image provided you have patched your image to do so using the EZ4 Client you can press the following key combo at the same time to do a reset:
UP + L + A + B
The EZ4 has two methods of playing GBA games. The first is for games less than or equal to 16 megabytes or 128 megabits. These games are copied or loaded to PSRam at runtime which allows the GBA to load the data extremely fast. The GBA requires data with zero wait state and will lock up should that not happen.
The second method is for games that are larger than 16 megabytes. The next game size is 32 megabytes or 256 megabits. These games cannot be copied to PSRam as the EZ4 only has 16 megabytes of it. These games are therefore copied to NOR memory. The NOR memory has the advantage of being very fast to read from with the disadvantage of being slow to write too.
It comes with a list of GBA built-in titles which it detects via the header infomation. You can download an updated version here.
Typically it takes just over 5 minutes to write a game to the NOR memory.
How Do I Load and Erase Games to the NOR memory?
The method below has been superseded by the current (15/06/2006) loader. This new loader allows a user to add multiple GBA roms to the NOR memory from within the GBA loader menu. Games on the NOR memory can also be erased as well.
To copy a GBA game (of any size) to the NOR memory, highlight the game and press Select. You will be prompted to copy the game. Press A to copy the game or B to cancel. If there is sufficient room on the NOR memory, the game will be copied.
Similarly, if you want to erase a game on the NOR memory, highlight the game and press Select. You will be prompted as to whether you are sure you want to erase that game. Press A to erase or B to cancel.
With this new update, the NDS loader menu is no longer able to "see" the NOR memory. This is to stop people from accidently erasing the NOR memory.
If you want to format your NOR memory and remove all files, in the GBA loader, enter the NOR memory and press Start, then A.
How do I backup Game Saves from an Original GBA Cart?
cart_save.gba is a GBA program designed for use with a DLDI compatible cart. It allows you to backup game saves from your original cartridges onto a flash memory card. You can then copy them to your computer and restore them at a later date. To use it, put the file onto your compact flash card and run it using the Game option in your cart's menu. It will then tell you what to do next.
This way, you can transfer your original save games and move them around with your ROMs.
Using the EZ4 with a Passme2 device
Current NDS consoles as well as the iQue DS (a china only model) have extra security built into the firmware, to check whether you need a passme2 device see the article EZPass 2. You can also use third generation passmes (the so called nopass devices).
Using a passme2 variant makes booting Nintendo DS code from the GBA slot a little harder although still perfectly possible, it was bypassed by using a second generation Passme, called the Passme2, the EZTeam made their own version called the EZPass 2.
The difference is the DS is tricked into running some special code from SRAM of your cart first which allows you then to run code from your GBA cart, it also requires a specific game in the passme device for which you will have to program most second generation passme devices to use, see EZPass 2 for directions on the EZFlash version (original generation passme devices do not have these game restrictions).
Since the actual EZ4 cart is not plugged into your computer at all any more, all file operations must be run from your NDS.
Flash the correct .jed file to your EZPass 2 (or Passme2, depending on which Passme2 you are using) and copy the correct .sav file to a saver folder on your Mini-SD card. The directory should look like this:
Root+
+-Saver\passme2.sav
As noted, call the file passme2.sav. Then boot your NDS into GBA Mode. The EZ4 will detect the .sav file and copy it to SRAM of the EZ4. Then power off your DS and insert your Passme2, power on your DS and it will now work properly.
This should only need to be done once unless you wish to change the game used in the passme2 device.
Playing Video and Audio with Moonshell
Warning: Under no circumstances should you attempt to load DS roms via Moonshell. This can cause your EZ4 to stop working and it may never be recoverable.
The EZ4 supports multimedia functions via Moonshell. Files should be converted using the special version of Moonshell DPG conversion tools located here.
To get it to run copy the moonshell.ds.gba file from the EZ4 Client root directory to your miniSD with windows explorer. You can then copy MP3 and your converted video files as you wish (it is advisable to give them their own subdirectory), then when running on your DS open the moonshell.ds.gba file. Once moonshell is loaded in hit the ".." command and find your miniSD card and your files you wish to play then press a, controls are onscreen and will be transferred to this page shortly.
Users wanting to compile their own version of Moonshell read This section of the article, make sure you follow the instruction or you risk causing hassle for yourself having to rewrite loaders
Moonshell is capable of playing:
DPG video files MP3 Audio files (bitrates up to 320 kbps have been tested) OGG Audio files (major issues exist here) NSF Audio files Jpg Picture files Bmp Picture files PNG Picture files GIF Picture files Txt Text files
The article Multimedia may be of interest as well.
Compiling your own version of Moonshell
You may now compile your own versions of Moonshell due to the EZTeam giving all the necessary data to it’s author.
It also means that future revisions of Moonshell should support the EZ4 natively.
(The information below is now superceded by being able to compile natively working Moonshell revisions is built it).
Why Compile my own Version ?
Simple. There are different skins for Moonshell and other enhancements you can do that require you to build your own version.
In order to compile Moonshell, you will need:
Moonshell Core Moonshell 1.3
- Extract the Moonshell files to a directory on your HD.
- Double click the Setup.exe file to run it.
- Ensure the dropdown box says "EXFS for Flashcart" and click OK.
- Do not change the settings tick boxes, these are generally required to ensure Moonshell runs smoothly.
- You may change the type of Clock that Moonshell displays when the screen saver comes on. If you do not want a clock you may choose the Disabled option.
- For English users, leaving the Font option on it's initial setting is the best choice.
- Click the Setup button.
- If you want to change the skin. Copy all the files from the \misc\skins\<desired skin> directory to the \files_EXFS\shell\ directory. You should delete the preview.png & readme.txt files as they are not needed. Overwrite any files should you be asked too.
- Once all of the files are setup. You will now need to replace the _BOOT_MP.nds file with the one that was downloaded in the link above. This file goes in the root Moonshell directory.
- Double click the CreateNDSROM_for_EXFS.bat file to build Moonshell.
The result will be two new files:
_BOOT_MP_EXFS.ds.gba
_BOOT_MP_EXFS.nds
Copy and rename the _BOOT_MP_EXFS.ds.gba file to the miniSD card. Ensure the .ds.gba extension is kept. This will allow the EZ4 cart to boot the file correctly.
Congratulations, you have now compiled your own working Moonshell.
Common Errors
First in or Not Enough Power
This refers to the EZ4's SRAM. It can mean one of several things; A) The internal battery is not charged. B) The internal battery is dead, or not soldered properly, or otherwise has no connection C) The SRAM hasn't been initialised.
You should only see this error once. After an initial charge of the internal battery, either by leaving your NDS on for a few hours or by plugging the EZ4 into an EZ1 - 3 linker for the same period this error should no longer occur.
You may also experience this error if you use an EZPass2. The EZPass2 requires the use of a .sav file that contains executable code. If a game is not played and the NDS just reset, then this error can occur. In this instance the error is normal.
If charging the NDS does not fix your problem, and you are not using an EZPass2, then contact your vendor for further instructions. You may have to return your cart as it could be faulty. If you are using an EZPass2, then to test if the error should occur, delete the passme2.sav file from your Saver directory and play a GBA game a few times, if the error persists then your cart may be faulty.
For the more savvy user, there has been a history of batteries not being soldered correctly to the PCB- this means quite simply that the battery is just not connected. It may be possible to fix this error by just resoldering it to the board, but be warned as this does violate your warranty, and it is recommended that you call the vendor first. Try running a volt meter across the pins of the battery and make sure it is holding a charge. If it isn't, the battery you need to replace it with is a Panasonic VL2020, and it is a 3volt, 20mAh button cell battery with vertical soldering pins. It will not be available in your local radioshack, but if you have a more technically oriented electric parts place, it might be available. If all else fails, they are only about two dollars from Mouser Electronics online, with no minimum value to order.
Battery is Dry or First in
This is the same error as First In or not Enough Power, and as such should be troubleshooted in the same manner as "First In or not Enough Power".
FAT Filesystem Error
This error only usually occurs when the EZ4 has had a problem reading from or writing to the mini/microSD.
Ensure your SD card is formatted for FAT or FAT16. If the card is one of these formats, then back up your data and format the card again and copy the files back.
Delete any suspicious files before copying them back to your SD card, eg:
- Ones that have very large file sizes (in Gigabytes)
- Ones that have 0 Byte file sizes.
Games not Saving
This seems to a common error due to various issues.
If the game does not save at all, ensure there is a .sav file in the saver directory on your miniSD card.
If the game saves sporadically (every now and again), then ensure your cart is charged regularly. An hour or two of game play every few days should keep the battery charged enough.
Ensure you update to the latest Client and Kernel and try copying your games across directly to the miniSD card again.
If you still cannot get games to save, then contact your vendor for a replacement. There is a small percentage of EZ4 Lites that have save issues. Save files are read but not written too.
In GBA mode some titles will not correctly save if the filename is too long. For example: "Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (U) (V1.0).gba" will not save on EZ4 phat 1.67 until it has been renamed to something much shorter like "SMB3.gba". "Classic NES Series - The Legend of Zelda (U) [f1] (Save Type).gba" is also affected similarly. In both cases one must ensure that the corresponding save file in the "saver" directory get renamed as well.
Single Card Playing
This is where a user has one game cart and two or more people play the game; a small portion of the game is sent via WiFi to other NDS units near by. The downloaded portion of the game will last until either that level or round is finished or until the NDS is powercycled.
Numerous game do not work fully with the EZ4/Lite using Single Card Play. If a game does not work, then you will need to wait for an updated EZ4 Client & Kernel.
GBA Games Seem Slow When Played From the DS Loader
This issue concerns GBA games when played from the DS Loader.
It seems users have been experiencing slow games or frame skips in GBA games. Whilst many users have noticed this issue, just as many have not. Whether this is due to differences in carts or just differences in perception is largely unknown.
At this point there are two ways to avoid the slowdowns.
- Boot in to GBA Mode (remove your passme or hold down Select)
- Use Cory's boot tools.
Cory1492 (with help and inspiration from suanyuan and meangreenie) has kindly written EZDStoGBA. This program will allow users to boot into GBA mode to run GBA games from within the DSloader.
EZDStoGBA V1 - Two versions included, one for top screen & one for bottom screen.
EZDStoGBA V2 - This version will now check what screen you use from the NDS settings and will use that.
EZSDtoGBA V3 - It will fill the frame around the GBA screen with an image of your choice. If none is present it just uses a black border.
All versions include source and instructions for use. This application will not work on the EZ4 Lite Compact. This is due to being unable to launch gba files through the gba loader.
Known Issues
- The EZ4 lite sticks out a little in the Nintendo DS lite, about .8 millimeter... BUT you can mod it easily with the Viscera's method, just use a piece of sandpaper and you'll be fine (http://www.sosuke.com/ezflash/viewtopic.php?t=1323&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30).
- Some Roms don't launch at all ('Mario Kart Hacked' with hidden tracks, "Battle of Prince of Persia") whatever the quality of the micro sd Card (tested with Sandisk Ultra II). There's no need to buy expensive Micro SD card, since it will have no effect.
- GBA games with built-in sleep mode will wake up immediately as soon as you try to make them sleep. See GBA sleep mode for fixes.
- The Nintendo DS Browser starts, but shuts down. This is due to the lack of the memory card in the GBA slot. (This is not an EZFlash 4 problem.)
- Some Homebrew applications don't work well (DS Organize). This is due to a partially working FATLIB. Things are progressing in this area.
- Though there are homebrew applications that do work, for example: 'BeUp' (nofat or chism versions) : copy it through EZClient and it can save your login and password BUT you can't use additional languages or emoticons..., 'NDSmail' and 'No place to hide'.
- The GBA loader after 1.67 no longer hard boot when launching GBA titles. This breaks certain titles such as "Super Mario Advance 3 - Yoshi's Island (U) [!]" and "Need for Speed - Porsche Unleashed (U)" resulting simply in a blank screen when launching the title. A quick fix is to move the broken rom into the NOR memory of the EZ4 because a hard boot is still initiated when executing from the NOR section.
- EZ4 client versions:
- Don't use the EZclient version of July 10th because it has issues with Wifi connection.
- The EZclient version of August 4th has save issues.
- Clients dated 21/09/06, 22/09/06, 10/10/06 all have issues changing the Reset keys. Using Client dated 06/09/06 to edit the Reset keys, then use the newest client to copy games across. Clients can exist in different directories without issue.
- And finally, if you have problems with saves or launching a game, try different versions of EZ clients!
- EZFlash IV lite Compact will only work on NDS in NDS mode, you need a EzPass card to boot into NDS mode before you can run GBA games. the .Gba extension must be renamed to .Bin. and, you may need a firmware update, as only new firmware supports Gameboy Advance games
Compatibility List
Here is a list of Homebrews which are or aren't compatible with EZ4. Since, EZ Team release write code, some of them won't have save function enabled.
EZ4 Homebrew
In the compatibility list for the EZFlash IV, please keep the format that is already in place. If you need help please locate ZoNE97 in the forum. To keep the main FAQ page shorter, I have moved the list here. Please feel free to update anything that needs it.
You can use Offline List to list roms you own, roms released, roms that you miss and roms badly dumped. Furthermore it is possible to rename roms and compress them (zip or 7zip, reads RAR files too).
You will also have to download a dat file which list NDS roms here ADVANsCEne
see clean_roms for more infomation on this.
