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DeadlyRevengexX · 05-22-2017, 10:32 PM

mGBA WON'T SAVE?! What am I doing wrong??by DeadlyRevengexX at 7:27 AM (37 Views / 0 Likes) 0 replies

OP
NewcomerDeadlyRevengexXNewbie
Ok so, I just installed mGBA onto the 1GB SD card inside the apps folder in my 4.3u Wii, but NO instructions where given to me on how to make a roms and save folder.. Here's the even BIGGER problem: I want to save my GBA games and their save files onto my external Fat32 HDD instead of my 1GB SD. So here's what I did.. well guessed.. I created a mGBA folder inside of my external HDD and inside of it I made 2 folders, 1 entitled roms and the other saves. You know, since so many other emulators follow that pattern, I figured why not? Well.. I was very wrong. mGBA starts up fine, and all I have to do is find my roms folder after I click on USB, and it plays... very smoothly actually, and when I save.. it says it saved.. OK? Well, when I exit the game, restart my Wii, go back to USB, find the rom folder, and directly under the game I just saved it shows a save file! OH! Great! It HAD to of saved!! So I happily enter back into the game... andddd no saves. Every slot in game says new game, no loads.. nothing... I also really am not a fan of save states AT ALL. I like to play a game and save it as it was intended to get the most realistic experience possible.. but even if I try to save the state.. IT FREEZES!! and I have to restart the Wii by holding onto the power! On a positive note, I REALLY like how great mGBA plays, sounds, and looks on my Wii, and I would love to solve this problem soon.. can anyone help? Maybe I'm using an outdated version? I got it from the mGBA site.. so.. idk? Also I tried saving on 2 separate games, Metroid Fusion and Dragonball Z: Legacy of Goku 2, and the same things happened. I also know that it's not my harddrive as I run Nintendont games great, and all save.Thanks in advance! (Pun intended)

***endrift*** · 05-22-2017, 10:41 PM

I have not done extensive testing of mGBA Wii off of a hard drive, so it could just be broken. In the meantime, see if you have the same problems with it running off of SD via HBC.

DeadlyRevengexX · (This post was last modified: 05-22-2017, 11:01 PM by DeadlyRevengexX.)

(05-22-2017, 10:41 PM)endrift Wrote: I have not done extensive testing of mGBA Wii off of a hard drive, so it could just be broken. In the meantime, see if you have the same problems with it running off of SD via HBC.

I honestly have only 1 GB of space in my SD and it's already holding my Wii apps. Even if it did work from the SD I wouldnt keep it there.. because I will run out of space in no time.

Ok let's say hypothetically IF you yourself wanted to save your roms and saves to an external HDD on the wii, what kind of folder would you make? What would it be called? THAT is where I'm stuck.. maybe I'm naming things wrong? Of course it could possibly be broken in theory, but maybe it's not?

***endrift*** · 05-22-2017, 11:04 PM

The folder structure is irrelevant. There are settings for changing the save directory but it's not currently exposed in the UI, so you have to edit the config file by hand. See this post: https://forums.mgba.io/showthread.php?ti...888#pid888

DeadlyRevengexX · 05-23-2017, 04:17 AM

(05-22-2017, 11:04 PM)endrift Wrote: The folder structure is irrelevant. There are settings for changing the save directory but it's not currently exposed in the UI, so you have to edit the config file by hand. See this post: https://forums.mgba.io/showthread.php?ti...888#pid888

Hey again, just went into my SD card, opened the mGBA folder with the files I was given, and I can't find the config file.. which one is it in? I clicked on all of them and searched them all, and I can't seem to find it. The files listed are boot.dol - icon - meta - licence

***endrift*** · 05-23-2017, 05:27 AM

it should be in /mGBA/config.ini

DeadlyRevengexX · 05-23-2017, 09:42 AM

(05-23-2017, 05:27 AM)endrift Wrote: it should be in /mGBA/config.ini

Ah! I solved it with your help! It's a tad different result than I think we both expected, but the problem is certainly fixed.

Ok, here's what I did, before I was searching for the config.ini file in the wrong place in my SD card, so that was just my noob mistake.

So anyways, I found it in the SD card, and in the link you gave me, you told the other person to type right next to [ports.wii] savegamePath=sd:/mGBA/saves/

Well since I'm trying to tell mGBA to save to my usb I replaced the letters sd with USB so then it became this:

[ports.wii] savegamePath=usb:/mGBA/saves/

Alright so I put the SD card back into my wii and began a new game, saved the game, then restarted my Wii again, entered back into the game and it gave me an in game option to load my file! Great! So since I DID set the path to go to GBA/saves I checked the save folder that I created next to the roms folder in my external HDD and to my surprise to saves folder was.. blank.. Alright then.. Huh

so I checked the roms folder and there was the .sav file to the game I just saved. Directly under the game the save file stood. Odd.. but I mean, it worked! but odd. haha

So there you go my good Sir, if anyone has that problem in the future, now you know exactly what to tell them! Thanks again for all of you're help and advice! The solution to this problem is NOWHERE online for mGBA, so I feel pretty accomplished having solved this with you after an entire day of breaking my head. lol

(I already tested 2 seperate GBA games, and they are saving perfectly to my external HDD!)

Have a great day endrift! and nice meeting you! Sleepy

***endrift*** · 05-23-2017, 10:18 AM

Ah so, there's supposed to be a newline between [ports.wii] and savegamePath=... -- I'm not sure if that was clear.

DeadlyRevengexX · (This post was last modified: 05-23-2017, 10:07 PM by DeadlyRevengexX.)

(05-23-2017, 10:18 AM)endrift Wrote: Ah so, there's supposed to be a newline between [ports.wii] and savegamePath=... -- I'm not sure if that was clear.

Haha yea! I had a feeling since the moment I first saw it. It was basically common sence on my end to enter USB instead of SD, as entering SD that would of been a pointless edit to the code. haha

I think the only problem I'm having now is when I try to go wide screen or stretched, the entire Wii freezes up and I have to hold the power button untill it restarts, and the screen doesn't change. It's not a big deal, but I feel it could be a potential glitch? Not really sure how to stretch out the screen wider. I would very much like to get a larger view.