EZ Flash/V
/!\ WARNING ! THIS GUIDE IS FOR KERNELS FROM v 1.60 TO v 1.90 OB11 ONLY /!\
Getting up and running with your EZ-V involves a few simple steps. Follow this guide step-by-step to gain a good understanding of how the EZ-V works and you'll be up and running in no time. Problems, refer to EZFlash V: Troubleshooting.
This Quickstart guide assumes you are running Windows XP.
MicroSD choice
A microSD card with serial number "SD-C01G JAPAN" or "SD-C02G JAPAN" printed on its surface is highly recommended. These are rebadged Toshibas and have proven to be fast and compatible. PNY, Kingston, Verbatim, Dane-Elec are companies which have been confirmed to use this card in some of their batches.
Format your MicroSD
It's always a good idea to start with a freshly formatted MicroSD card.
Windows Method
Short and simple, but may give some drawbacks.
- Insert your MicroSD into your PC.
- Double-click "My Computer".
- Right-click your MicroSD drive and choose "Format".
- Under the "File system", select FAT or FAT16.
- Click the "Start" button.
This also works on Windows Vista Systems, no administrative rights required
Using Official SD Association Tool
Another way is to use official SD formatting tool developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial. It can fix various corruptions and follows SD specification for best compatibility and speed.
- Quick summary:
- "Generally, SD/SDHC Memory Card file systems formatted with generic operating system formatting software do not comply with the SD Memory Card specification. If you have formatted the card using the PC's standard formatting program, make sure to reformat using SD format to take full advantage of maximum SD Memory Card performance"
- Q: What happens when I format an SD Memory Card with a standard PC formatting program ?
- A: The SD host equipment may not be able to recognize the SD Memory Card. Writing data to the card may take longer than necessary and some functions may no longer work.
Download and more info:
The EZ-V Kernel
The Kernel is the EZ-V Operating System. It's a good idea to update to the latest version for new features and bug fixes. The main part is the file named ez5sys.bin. It's the first file to be loaded from the microSD, so it's required. The second part is MoonShell, the GUI interface. It's located in moonshl directory and it is required.
Included in Moonshell :
- Graphic files (*.bmp) that make up look and feel of the user interface (skin directory).
- Configuration files (*.ini) that change the way the user interface works.
- resetsp.bin file which is used by soft reset process. This one is often updated.
- plugins that are in plugin directory. These are necessary to read sound and picture files. We can find stand-by plugin too (files clk_xxx.xxx).
Installing the Kernel
- Visit the ALL YOU NEED FOR EZV WIKI
- Download the latest kernel version.
- Unzip content to the root of your MicroSD card (check picture).
- That's it.
The EZ-V BootLoader
This section concern only the EZ5 v1 and EZ5 v2 (New Year Edition). EZ5 Plus or EZ5i owners, do not update the BootLoader.
The BootLoader is no longer updated in last kernel because it has been split in two parts since version 1.64 (ez5upldr.bin and ez5sys.bin).
The first file is loaded from the internal flash memory and it calls the second part on the microSD (ez5sys.bin). Of course the first part doesn't change when a new kernel version is released, so you have to update the bootloader just once.
Updating the BootLoader
/!\ First of all, be sure your DS is full recharged and don't turn-off power during this update. /!\
- Visit the ALL YOU NEED FOR EZV WIKI
- Download the Kernel v1.66
- Unzip content to the root of your MicroSD card (check picture).
- Insert your MicroSD into your EZ-V
- Insert your EZ-V into your DS and turn it on
- Touch the health screen warning
- In the DS Main Menu, while holding down R, launch the EZ-V
- When the EZ-V splash screen appears, press R again to update the Loader
- Wait until it finishes updating then press A to continue.
- Your Loader is now updated
After updating, you can delete "ez5upldr.bin" from your MicroSD
Add games (ROMs) to your MicroSD
- Insert your MicroSD into your PC
- Drag and drop your "game.nds" file to your MicroSD
- IMPORTANT: Do not use the old hybrid tool in any way, even using it to trim will cause problems. Use clean roms.
Running games
You are now ready to play some games:
- Insert your MicroSD card into your EZ-V
- Insert your EZ-V into your DS
- Touch the health screen warning to skip it
- In the DS Main Menu, launch the EZ-V
- In the EZ-V menu, highlight a game using the D-Pad or touch screen arrows and press A to launch!
Savegame files are stored on the EZ-V and transferred to your MicroSD card next time you load the EZ-V menu. You will find them stored in a folder called "SAVE". It's a good idea to regularly backup your "SAVE" folder to your PC.
Running games in Clean Mode (from k1.64 to k1.70 only)
At default games are run in new hybrid mode. That means they should load fast from most memory cards, allow use of cheats, reset from game and auto detect save type. But sometimes that may not work, and thats where clean mode comes in handy. For clean mode (as in old kernels), need to create ini file for every game separately. That file should have the same name as the game (but end with ini, not nds) and be in the same dir with nds file. For example:
root
→ games
→→ New Super Mario.nds
→→ New Super Mario.ini
In this mode memory card speed has to be specified in ini file. It is the same as in old kernels, that means it has to be integer in 1-12 range (where 1 is the fastest memory card, 12 the slowest). See sample ini file.
Use this tool to automatically create clean mode ini's
Cheats
Intro
To use cheats you must have a folder named CHT on the root of your SD card, so create it if one does not already exist. The CHT folder is where all your cheat files will be stored.
Please note that the ability to use cheats depends on the resetsp.bin file, if your game is not in there you can not use the inbuilt cheat engines. Updates are usually fairly quick and until the updates come you can hardpatch codes with cracker's DSATM 1, 2, 3. Note you can also use DSATM to get slow motion.
The EZ5 kernel has two cheat engines built in since version 1.80, these are CHT and ARDS.
CHT is the EmuCheat format which used widely in Chinese flash cart circles. ARDS is the format used by ActionReplay codes provided by Codejunkies.
The CHT engine accepts single ".cht" files and database files by the name of "cheatcode.dat".
If you want further information about the CHT format, just check this page.
The ARDS engine accepts the databases "ezarcode.dat" which is created by ARDSeditor. It also support the file "usrcheat.dat" widely used on several slot 1/DS slot flashcarts.
If you want further information about the ARDS format, just check this page.
Installation
To be able to use CHT mode, you have to copy either .cht files (with the same name as your game name) OR a database cheatcode.dat into /CHT folder.
If you prefer ARDS mode simply download the latest usrcheat.dat OR ezarcode.dat file at GBAtemp (Thanks to Narin) and copy it into /CHT folder. Also check out the cheat compilation thread over at gbatemp if you want up to the minute news.
Activating
You can toggle between the CHT and ARDS cheat engine in the EZ5 system setting (in the stock skin it is the hammer/screwdriver icon). To use cheats you must enable cheat engine by touching the orange circle (see EZ V settings). When you select a game that has cheats, a new window will pop up on the touch screen, this will list all the cheats available. Simply scroll down the list toggling ON any cheats you wants to use, use up and down arrows to go through list and right arrow to toggle ON & OFF. Press A when you're done, to run the game.
Once in-game you'll notice the cheats aren't active straight away. Press L+R+START to turn them ON and L+R+SELECT to turn them OFF.
EZ-V Settings
There are a few extra items you should be aware of. These are accessible from the EZ-V menu:
Brightness settings
Access this by pressing sun icon. Only for DS Lite, does nothing on original DS
Enabled cheat mode and soft reset
- Toggle by touching second button on the left(two arrows on default skin).
- Orange = cheat mode disabled (OFF), Blue = cheat mode enabled (ON)
The Help Screen
Access this by pressing question mark icon. It contains some simple instructions and the version number of your EZ-V Loader.
The Settings Screen
Access this by pressing hammer and screwdriver icon. Here you can change language, 3in1 rumble strength, cheat engine mode and moonshell icons size.
Shutdown DS
Access this by pressing red icon.
Additional EZ-V features
This is a simple list of additional features of the EZ-V. Essentially the EZ-V operating system is a modified version of Moonshell - a homebrew Media Player developed by Moonlight. As such, most of the features listed here also apply to Moonshell.
PassMe function
If you have an EZ-IV or other Flashcart that inserts into the GBA slot of your DS, you can use the EZ-V as a PassMe device. Also boots normal GBA cartridges.
Using the built-in passme function
- Insert your Slot-2 Flashcart into Slot-2 and your EZ-V into Slot-1
- Turn on your DS
- Touch the health screen warning
- In the DS Main Menu, launch the EZ-V while holding down R (L for the EZ5 Plus)
- Press L then press A
Using EZreset
EZreset is a homebrew program written by Cory1492. It will boot a slot-2 Flashcart in either DS or GBA mode.
- Copy the two .NDS files to your MicroSD card
- Launch the .NDS file from the EZ-V menu by highlighting it and pressing A
Music playback
The EZ-V includes support for MP3, Ogg, WAV and MOD:
- Copy your audio files to your MicroSD
- Load the EZ-V menu
- Highlight the audio file using the D-Pad and press A to play.
Video playback
The EZ-V includes support for DPG files. To convert video files (AVI, etc) to DPG, you'll need to use either
Image viewing
The EZ-V includes support for viewing BMP, JPG and PNG graphics files:
- Copy your graphic files to your MicroSD
- Load the EZ-V menu
- Highlight the graphic file using the D-Pad and press A to view.
Text file reading
The EZ-V supports viewing of text files (*.txt and *.ini):
- Copy your text files to your MicroSD
- Load the EZ-V menu
- Highlight the text file using the D-Pad and press A to view.
Skinning the User Interface
You can change the look and feel of the EZ-V User Interface:
- Replace all the files in skin folder on your MicroSD with new one
EZ-Flash V Triple-pack (3in1)
The EZ-Flash V Triple-pack is part of the EZ-Flash V Bundle Edition. This nifty expansion pack adds three new features to the EZ-Flash V: GBA ROM support, rumble and RAM expansion.
The EZ-Flash V Triple-pack is only officially compatible with the EZ-Flash V. 3rd party tools exist to add 3in1 functionality when EZV is not the host kernel.
GBA ROM support
The EZ-Flash V Triple-pack features 256mbit of internal memory (NOR) to store a single GBA ROM. Savegame information is stored on the EZ-Flash V Triple-pack and can be backed up to the EZ-Flash V microSD card from the EZ-Flash V loader. Once a ROM has been copied to the EZ-Flash V Triple-pack, it can be used as a standalone GBA cartridge.
Adding a GBA ROM to the Triple-pack
We are going to patch a GBA ROM with EZ4-Client, copy it to our EZ-Flash V MicroSD card then transfer it to the Triple-pack:
- Visit the EZ-Flash IV software update discussion thread
- Download a recent version of EZ4-Client and unzip it to your PC
- Double-click EZ4_client.exe to start the program
- Click the 'Configure' button
- Change the send path to your SD card reader drive
- Click 'OK' to exit the configuration screen
- Click the 'Open' button. This will display the ROM file chooser window.
- Highlight your GBA ROM and click the 'Open' button
- Check the 'ROM Name' text field in the top left hand corner. Enter a name if this text field is blank.
- Ensure the 'Add Save Patch' check box is ticked
- Click the 'Send button'. The ROM will patched and copied to your MicroSD card. It will appear as 'ROM name.gba'
- A folder called 'SAVER' will also appear on your MicroSD card. This can be safely deleted via explorer.
- Remove the MicroSD from your PC and insert it into your EZ-Flash V
- Insert the EZ-Flash V and EZ-Flash V triple-pack into your Nintendo DS and turn it on.
- Skip the health warning and launch the EZ-Flash V menu
- Highlight 'ROM name.gba', and press A. This will start backing up the existing save-data from the Triple-pack to your EZ-Flash V. GBA save-game files are stored in \GBASAVE.
- Press A again. Wait about a minute for the ROM to be written to the Triple-pack.
- Once complete, the GBA game will autmatically load.
Once a GBA game has been written to the Triple-pack, it will remain until a different GBA game is transferred.
There are a few ways to launch GBA games:
- Choose 'Start GBA game' from the DS main menu
- Press R+A from the EZ-Flash V main menu
Backing up GBA save games to the EZ-Flash V MicroSD
- Load the EZ-Flash V main menu
- Hold down R and press X. A dialog box will appear saying "EZ5 3in1 [Back] [Cancel]"
- Press A to confirm or press B to cancel
- A directory called 'GBASAVE' will be created on the MicroSD card and your GBA save game will be copied into it.
Writing GBA save games to the EZ-Flash V Triple-pack
- Load the EZ-Flash V main menu
- Highlight a GBA save game (usually stored in the 'GBASAVE' directory)
- Hold down R and press Y. A dialog box will appear saying "EZ5 3in1 [Load] [Cancel]"
- Press A to confirm or press B to cancel
- The save game will be copied to the EZ-Flash V Triple-pack
Rumble
All programs that support the official Nintendo DS Rumble Pak will work with the EZ-Flash V Triple-pack. Touch GBAlink ON text to turn it into Rumble ON than start the game.
You can adjust the strength of the rumble in the EZ-Flash V settings panel. Access it by pressing hammer and screwdriver icon.
RAM expansion
All programs that support the official Nintendo DS Memory Expansion Pak will work with the EZ-Flash V Triple-pack. No additional setup is required.
Currently, the only program that requires a Memory expansion pack is the Nintendo DS Browser.
Troubleshoot Triplepack
A few people have been finding occasional problems with the 3in1, where it does not rumble, or GBA cannot be written and run from it while it was previously working fine. Cleaning the contacts (aka: gold fingers), making sure the PCB is aligned to the front of the opening in the cartridge properly, and ensuring it is inserted properly into the DS seems to clear up most problems. A dead or missing battery will not present this problem, but could result in save data loss.
EZ-Flash V hotkey reference
Common keys
- START: Display Help screen
- A: Launch file
- B: Cancel/Go to previous folder
NDS saves key
- L+Select: manual write internal save to microSD
Keys for Triple-pack
- R+A: Launch Triple-pack GBA mode
- R+X: Backup GBA savegame from Triple-pack to MicroSD
- R+Y: Copy GBA savegame from MicroSD to Triple-pack.
Keys while running backups
- L+R+A+B: Return to EZ-Flash V main menu (cheat mode icon must be enabled)
- L+R+START: cheat mode enabled (cheat mode icon must be enabled)
- L+R+SELECT: cheat mode disabled (cheat mode icon must be enabled)
Getting help and additional information
User forums
- V-Talk - the EZ-V section of the unofficial EZ-Flash user forums.
- Official EZ-Flash user forums (Chinese only).
