Hello,

I am not sure if this is the right forum but does anyone on the board have any experience with Gameboy Advance Flashcards?

I would like to purchase such a Flashlinker and cards for a couple of games I wish to play on my Nintendo DS but I haven't got a clue how it all works or where to look for said equipment.
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I've been using GBA flash cards for years, since they first came out. The first Flashlinker card I have is huge and sticks out of the system, and also came with a parallel port interface for connecting to the PC. The later revised version is the same size as standard GBA carts and much bigger capacities (can fit 16+ games on one at once) so looks fine when in the system. Also the later readers are USB so much easier to use on newer systems.

But I think the current NDS flash carts can run both DS roms and GBA roms, so are a much better purchase than limiting yourself to the older GBA only. You need to double check they can run GBA roms though. Ask JT as he might know.

I recommend the store http://www.modchip-store.co.uk I've used them for a long time, they are fast to ship products and have an extensive range of hardware available including premodded systems.

As for the actual cart to buy, there are two main DS options to look at. The DS-X, which has just been updated and now has 16Gb of ram built in, or the cheaper M3 DS Simply that uses Micro SD cards instead of fixed storage. I think that the latter is the card JT has, so he should be able to tall you more about it.

The cheaper M3 DS Simply card has the big advantage of removable storage so you can just buy more SD cards and carry them around to have access to more games at once, whereas the DS-X uses fixed storage, but with the new card have 16Gb (2GB) of built in storage it can still hold a few games at a time.

In addition these flash carts also extend the DS's abilities to playing MP3's and Video files, as well as homebrew applications such as browsers and PIM software which might be of interest to you.
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I never had a GBA, I went straight into the DS.

I have the M3DS Simply and it is a very good card, and is much cheaper than the DS-X. There is also the R4DS which has pretty much the same internals as the M3. It's incredibly easy to use, I have had no major problems with mine, just drag over the ROMs and you're good to go - but here's the rub, it won't play GBA roms.

Currently, no slot 1 (the DS card slot) device can run GBA ROMs and it's unlikely they will (something to do with the gba chips not being able to read from that slot).

If you have no intention of running DS ROMs you could just get an EZ flash lite and a separate passcard/pass me/no-pass or flash your DS firmware to allow booting from a slot-2 card reader. Personally, I wouldn't recommend flashing the DS as it sounds a bit risky when there are so many other alternatives.

However, many slot 1 devices will act as a pass-me style device and allow GBA Roms to be loaded from another flashcart-style device in the GBA slot (yes, this means that you would have both a slot 1 and a slot 2 device). I have not done this so you would need to check on forums to ensure compatability but I hear a lot about EZ-Flash cards for GBA.

I hope this helps and hasn't just added to confusion - i'm not quite up to full speed yet today. I can break it down further and more simply if you like.
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Hello J T,

So if I understand you correctly I can not run GBA roms on a DS disc for example on the DS?

I was of the understanding that I would be able to put roms on the discs for the GBA slot.
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Erm, I think we're getting a tad mixed up but we're almost in harmony.

The DS card slot does not have 'access' to the GBA chips, apparently - and the DS itself is not powerful enough to run a GBA emulator.

As it stands, if you want to play GBA roms you'll need a slot 2 (the bigger one at the bottom of the DS) flashcard.

GBA Roms have to go on a flashcard that sits in the GBA card slot.

The DS-X, M3DS simply, R4DS can play DS roms easy peasy, but cannot run GBA roms themselves.
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I'm sure I read on the feature list of one of the DS flash carts that it could run GBA games. I may have been mistaken but will let you know if I find the information again. Of course, you could buy a PSP and run GBA games via emulation that way!

Not sure where you can buy a GBA flash cart from these days though as most of the sites I use have stopped selling them and just sell the DS carts. I will ask a few contacts and see if any of them know anywhere in Europe that still sell them at a good price.
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It'd be good if you could, but possibly the feature was the ability of the card to boot from a slot 2 device that would also be present (without having to flash the DS firmware).

It may have been mentioned in these threads (sorry but I don't have the time to go back and check, but maybe someone else there could help... You see I have little personal experience with GBA roms, I'm currently only interested in DS ones).

http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/wo...opic=5344&st=0

http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/wo...opic=5620&st=0
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Hello J T,

Thanks for clearing that up, yes it is my intention to run GBA games so I probably would have to get a GBA flashlinker and discs.
However if the device and the discs are discontinued.

I got a little information from this site

http://www.emu-zone.net/gba-sp/buy-f...rd-linker.html

Harrison, if you do find stores that still sell the device and cards, please tell.
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I found this site recommended by many on another forum. Not sure how useful it is as I cannot read it myself but thought you might find it of use:

http://www.nds-lite.nl/
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Hello Harrison,

Hey a Dutch site, that's even better!
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