GBAMP Not Booting

OldKills · 2024-03-16 4:23:38 pm

I have recently acquired a GBAMP CF card reader. I went to update and followed the prompts to update the firmware and when it was done it said "this is not licensed by Nintendo" or something along those lines. Afterwards it went to a glitched out screen where I couldn't figure out what was what so I turned it off. Now when I go to boot I just get a white screen. Boots into the inserted GBA game just fine but when switched to movie I just get a white screen.

Please help!!

Attachments:

20240316_182735.jpg, Size: 2,410,262 bytes, Downloads: 8

Dwedit · 2024-03-16 11:53:37 pm

I'm not familiar with that model of the GBAMP, I have the red one, so I'll have to assume that that version acts like the red one.

GBAMP is weird. It's a cartridge, but it still copies its entire program into RAM before it runs. It has some security features to try to block reading the cartridge sequentially (trying to stop competitors from dumping their program), and trying to do that can trigger the security hardware to lock out the cartridge.

When you get a white screen on bootup, that means the security hardware has locked out reading the ROM. This goes away if you eject the cartridge and wait 15 seconds or so. Whenever you quickly power off then power on again, that often triggers the security hardware, so that could explain why you suddenly got a white screen. Oddly enough, quickly powering off and on again also sometimes *defeats* the security hardware as well, and makes the full cartridge readable. It's really weird.

Whenever you get the "This product is not licensed by Nintendo" screen, that means it has successfully booted past the security hardware and has loaded in the GBAMP's software.

But getting glitched graphics and other misbehavior after that point means that it's not reading the UI graphics from the cartridge correctly. Try cleaning the cartridge with isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip, and make sure it's inserted properly.

As for the updates, I still have a copy of "update.e19" sitting around. I don't remember if they made separate update files for the "old" version and the "new" (red) version. I do know they made separate updates for the Chinese version. I also know that they have the "Update failed! Your card is a fake!" feature if you tried to update a clone device.

By any chance, do you have any other GBA flash devices?

OldKills · 2024-03-17 8:19:36 am

Dwedit wrote:

I'm not familiar with that model of the GBAMP, I have the red one, so I'll have to assume that that version acts like the red one.
GBAMP is weird. It's a cartridge, but it still copies its entire program into RAM before it runs. It has some security features to try to block reading the cartridge sequentially (trying to stop competitors from dumping their program), and trying to do that can trigger the security hardware to lock out the cartridge.
When you get a white screen on bootup, that means the security hardware has locked out reading the ROM. This goes away if you eject the cartridge and wait 15 seconds or so. Whenever you quickly power off then power on again, that often triggers the security hardware, so that could explain why you suddenly got a white screen. Oddly enough, quickly powering off and on again also sometimes *defeats* the security hardware as well, and makes the full cartridge readable. It's really weird.
Whenever you get the "This product is not licensed by Nintendo" screen, that means it has successfully booted past the security hardware and has loaded in the GBAMP's software.
But getting glitched graphics and other misbehavior after that point means that it's not reading the UI graphics from the cartridge correctly. Try cleaning the cartridge with isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip, and make sure it's inserted properly.
As for the updates, I still have a copy of "update.e19" sitting around. I don't remember if they made separate update files for the "old" version and the "new" (red) version. I do know they made separate updates for the Chinese version. I also know that they have the "Update failed! Your card is a fake!" feature if you tried to update a clone device.
By any chance, do you have any other GBA flash devices?

This is my only device of this type. I have a GBx Cart flasher but I know those do not work for these. Regardless of cleaning the contacts or waiting the 15 seconds or turning off and on quickly I still get the same white screen. I used update 19 to update it and everything was fine until it glitched out and I turned it off. I also tried converting with movie advance and placing that on the CF card to hopefully try and boot and still nothing. Is there some type of "safe mode" I can boot into maybe?

Dwedit · 2024-03-17 10:21:11 am

If you have any other GBA Flash device (or even an NDS flash device), it would be possible to run a program that will completely reflash a GBAMP.

But in the meantime, see if you can get your current one to boot. It might take multiple attempts at inserting the cartridge before you see the Nintendo logo at GBA Bootup screen, then see it try to run the game.

OldKills · 2024-03-18 4:03:33 am

Dwedit wrote:

If you have any other GBA Flash device (or even an NDS flash device), it would be possible to run a program that will completely reflash a GBAMP.
But in the meantime, see if you can get your current one to boot. It might take multiple attempts at inserting the cartridge before you see the Nintendo logo at GBA Bootup screen, then see it try to run the game.

Any recommendations on where to purchase this flash device? And where to get the program? Also I should have mentioned it does show the gameboy logo and nintendo on the splash screen then goes to the white screen. Appreciate the help!!

Dwedit · 2024-03-18 1:28:26 pm

The GBA Movie Player had its time in history (because it was under $30 at a time when GBA flash cartridges were a lot more expensive than that), but once you start getting to the point where you are buying new things, you need to evaluate whether you still want to deal with 2005-era technology or go with something more modern. Smartphones or Tablets do a much better job with videos and music than something retro with a 16MHz ARM processor, but the GBA still wins at playing console-style games due to having real controls.

---

Just saying that the idea of manually overwriting the whole firmware is something that could be done if you had some way of running custom code on a GBA.

Some possible ways to run custom code on a GBA:
MBV2 Cable for parallel port
USB link cable from some old GBA flash cartridge
Some GBA flash cartridge
Another working GBAMP that has booted a GBA file
Wii with Homebrew Channel installed, and a GBA <-> GameCube link cable.
NDS with a flash cartridge, such as an EZ Flash or R4

It's just a question if you have any of those lying around or not.

----

In the meantime:
See if it will successfully boot to the "NO CF inserted" error message if you remove the CF card
See if it makes it to the "This product is not licensed by Nintendo" screen when the CF is inserted
See if attempting to flash Update.E19 again works.
Otherwise try booting with the Update.E19 file not on the CF card.

OldKills · 2024-03-19 3:47:35 am

Dwedit wrote:

The GBA Movie Player had its time in history (because it was under $30 at a time when GBA flash cartridges were a lot more expensive than that), but once you start getting to the point where you are buying new things, you need to evaluate whether you still want to deal with 2005-era technology or go with something more modern. Smartphones or Tablets do a much better job with videos and music than something retro with a 16MHz ARM processor, but the GBA still wins at playing console-style games due to having real controls.
---
Just saying that the idea of manually overwriting the whole firmware is something that could be done if you had some way of running custom code on a GBA.
Some possible ways to run custom code on a GBA:
MBV2 Cable for parallel port
USB link cable from some old GBA flash cartridge
Some GBA flash cartridge
Another working GBAMP that has booted a GBA file
Wii with Homebrew Channel installed, and a GBA <-> GameCube link cable.
NDS with a flash cartridge, such as an EZ Flash or R4
It's just a question if you have any of those lying around or not.
----
In the meantime:
See if it will successfully boot to the "NO CF inserted" error message if you remove the CF card
See if it makes it to the "This product is not licensed by Nintendo" screen when the CF is inserted
See if attempting to flash Update.E19 again works.
Otherwise try booting with the Update.E19 file not on the CF card.

I do have a couple R4 cards and a few NDS laying around. I'll try and get those screens to show up. I have been power cycling it and no luck so far. I would like to get it running since I think it's a cool piece of tech from an amazing system. Sure there are better ways to view but viewing on a GBA would be so cool. Very niche but I want to enjoy it haha.

Dwedit · 2024-03-20 3:35:28 pm

Stuff is a bit disorganized at the moment, I have a couple of different files that might be the actual stock firmware, but I'm not sure which one is the real stock firmware or not.

One is from a dump I made of my own GBAMP (not sure if it had update E19 installed or not, and another one is the 'Recovery' firmware available to be installed to revert the Chishm/Darkfader modified firmware. They both look like stock firmware possibly different versions, so I think I'll pick the one that I dumped myself over the 'recovery' one.

-----

But seriously, first do these things so I can see exactly where we are here.

First, run it with NO CF card inserted

When it works properly, this will happen:
attachment.php?item=447
You should see the "Nintendo" logo appear as the cartridge boots.
attachment.php?item=448
You should see a screen of text complaining that there is no CF card inserted
attachment.php?item=449
You can press Start and see the "Not licensed" screen, then it will freeze there.

Next, run it with a CF card inserted, and Update.E19 on the card.
If you don't have Update.E19, I can upload it.

When it works properly, this will happen:
You should see the "Nintendo" logo appear as the cartridge boots.
You should see a screen indicating that there is an update file available, and prompt you to install it, or skip installing it

Next, Run it with a CF card inserted, and Update.E19 not on the card

When it works properly, this will happen:
You should see the "Nintendo" logo appear as the cartridge boots.
You should see the "Not licensed" screen
You should see the main menu of the GBAMP and things should work

---

So I'm trying to figure out where we are in terms of it working or not.
Does it have a Nintendo logo at boot?
Does it make it to a "no CF inserted" screen with no CF card inserted?
Does it make it to a "Not licensed" screen with a CF card inserted?
Does it prompt for a firmware update if Update.E19 is on the card?

---

I plan on making a program that will reflash the entire contents of the GBAMP back to what I think is stock firmware, I already have most of the code for doing this.

Attachments:

nintendo-logo.png, Size: 1,588 bytes, Downloads: 83

no-cf-card.png, Size: 1,052 bytes, Downloads: 83

not-licensed.png, Size: 679 bytes, Downloads: 83

OldKills · 2024-03-20 9:39:56 pm

Dwedit wrote:

Stuff is a bit disorganized at the moment, I have a couple of different files that might be the actual stock firmware, but I'm not sure which one is the real stock firmware or not.
One is from a dump I made of my own GBAMP (not sure if it had update E19 installed or not, and another one is the 'Recovery' firmware available to be installed to revert the Chishm/Darkfader modified firmware. They both look like stock firmware possibly different versions, so I think I'll pick the one that I dumped myself over the 'recovery' one.
-----
But seriously, first do these things so I can see exactly where we are here.

First, run it with NO CF card inserted
When it works properly, this will happen:

You should see the "Nintendo" logo appear as the cartridge boots.

You should see a screen of text complaining that there is no CF card inserted

You can press Start and see the "Not licensed" screen, then it will freeze there.
Next, run it with a CF card inserted, and Update.E19 on the card.
If you don't have Update.E19, I can upload it.
When it works properly, this will happen:
You should see the "Nintendo" logo appear as the cartridge boots.
You should see a screen indicating that there is an update file available, and prompt you to install it, or skip installing it
Next, Run it with a CF card inserted, and Update.E19 not on the card
When it works properly, this will happen:
You should see the "Nintendo" logo appear as the cartridge boots.
You should see the "Not licensed" screen
You should see the main menu of the GBAMP and things should work
---
So I'm trying to figure out where we are in terms of it working or not.
Does it have a Nintendo logo at boot?
Does it make it to a "no CF inserted" screen with no CF card inserted?
Does it make it to a "Not licensed" screen with a CF card inserted?
Does it prompt for a firmware update if Update.E19 is on the card?
---
I plan on making a program that will reflash the entire contents of the GBAMP back to what I think is stock firmware, I already have most of the code for doing this.

So where we are is the picture I attached. It boots up to the gameboy screen with the Nintendo logo then directly to white screen. Regardless if there is a CF inserted or not. No prompts. No anything.

Dwedit · 2024-03-20 10:10:33 pm

Alright!

Two possibilities to revive the device:

1) I just finished making this, it's a program that erases the entire GBAMP and installs what I think is Stock Firmware. Don't remember which version.
Completely untested on real hardware.

More likely to succeed if the NDS boot screen detects that a GBA cartridge is present in the system.

https://www.dwedit.org/dwedit_board/att … p?item=450

2) Chishm's FLASHMP tool has a mode that tries to wipe the whole flash chip (it's called the recovery mode I think?), then installs only the first 32K of the ROM back on, so you can try to install a firmware update afterwards.

Available at http://www.chishm.com/NDSMP/index.html, version 2.11 should include the feature.

You will need an NDS flash device (like the R4), and you want to run the NDS files. GBA files are included too.

Let me know if either of these work.

Attachments:

GBAMP Full Reflasher.zip, Size: 362,979 bytes, Downloads: 9

OldKills · 2024-03-21 4:24:10 pm

Dwedit wrote:

Alright!
Two possibilities to revive the device:
1) I just finished making this, it's a program that erases the entire GBAMP and installs what I think is Stock Firmware. Don't remember which version.
Completely untested on real hardware.
More likely to succeed if the NDS boot screen detects that a GBA cartridge is present in the system.
https://www.dwedit.org/dwedit_board/att … p?item=450
2) Chishm's FLASHMP tool has a mode that tries to wipe the whole flash chip (it's called the recovery mode I think?), then installs only the first 32K of the ROM back on, so you can try to install a firmware update afterwards.
Available at http://www.chishm.com/NDSMP/index.html, version 2.11 should include the feature.
You will need an NDS flash device (like the R4), and you want to run the NDS files. GBA files are included too.
Let me know if either of these work.

The first one absolutely worked!!! Thank you so much!! Was incredibly easy to do as well.

Added later 4 h 49 min 02 s:
One final question. When converting movies in the Gameboy Movie Convertor how do I set that up on the CF card? When it converts I get a .GBS and .GBM file but when I move both of those to the CF I get no sound and only the video plays. How can I fix this?

Dwedit · 2024-03-22 12:38:46 am

I think you put on both, then it plays them both at the same time. No idea why it's not doing that. Make sure they're in the same directory? I don't remember if the GBAMP's software doesn't like long-filenames, so make them 8 letters + 3 extension filename if that doesn't work.

OldKills · 2024-03-22 5:04:02 am

Dwedit wrote:

I think you put on both, then it plays them both at the same time. No idea why it's not doing that. Make sure they're in the same directory? I don't remember if the GBAMP's software doesn't like long-filenames, so make them 8 letters + 3 extension filename if that doesn't work.

I have them both in the same folder and the file name that they converted as. Video plays great just no sound..... When I go to play the .GBS file in the music player it's a high pitched sound. Having this issue on this GBAMP and the side load version as well.

Added later 04 min 58 s:
I even put them both in the root of the CF card and still couldn't get it to play. Not sure what the issue is. Maybe it's my convertor?

Dwedit · 2024-03-22 11:15:47 am

Try to keep files out of the root directory, that has a limited number of files on FAT16 file systems. Not so much on FAT32 though.

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