GBxCart RW v1.1/v1.2/v1.3
A device for backing up GB, GBC and GBA cart’s game ROMs,
save games to your PC and restoring saves from your PC.
Main Features
Backup games ROM to your PC
Backup/Restore save games to/from your PC
Supports Gameboy, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy
Advance cartridges
Supports SRAM/Flash/EEPROM saves for Gameboy
Advance cartridges
GUI or Console interfacing programs
Other Features
Backup GB Camera (active images or all images) to
BMP with a one click program called GB Camera Saver
GB Sachen ROM mapper reading support
GBA “24-in-1” Flash cart ROM mapper reading
support (may not work for all flash carts)
(v1.3 PCB pictured)
Gameboy Flash Carts/Flash Chips supported
AM29F010B, SST39SF010A, SST39SF040, AT49F040
(Audio/WR), Catskull / BV5, ES29LV160 Flash (PCB 0883_DRV),
AM29LV160DB, 29LV160CTTC, AM29F016B, 256M29,
M29W640, MX29LV320, Nintendo Power Cart
Check your cart – Jump to the Supported Flash Cart page
Gameboy Advance Flash Carts supported
MSP55LV128, MSP55LV128M, 29GL128EHMC, 29LV128DTMC,
256M29EWH, M36L0R706 (36LOR-DRV), 256L30B
(28F256L03B-DRV), MX29LV320
Check your cart – Jump to the Supported Flash Cart page
Read/Write Speeds (using Windows GUI Interface)
Gameboy
1MByte ROM Read
16s
32KByte SRAM Read/Write
3s
32KByte Flash Cart Write
5s
2MByte Flash Cart Write
~2.5m
Gameboy Advance
8MByte ROM Read
256Kbit SRAM Read/Write
512Kbit Flash Read
512Kbit Flash Write
64Kbit EEPROM Read
64Kbit EEPROM Write
16MByte Flash Cart Write
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1.5m
3s
3s
~8s
3s
13s
~10-13m
(GUI Pictured)
Specifications
Size (regular): 48mm (L) x 50mm (W) x 9mm (H)
Size (mini): 43mm (L) x 50mm (W) x 9mm (H)
Voltage: Switchable between 3.3V for GBA and 5V for
GB/GBC. GBxCart Mini RW only supports 5V GB/GBC only.
Weight (regular): 16 grams
Weight (mini): 15 grams
Requirements
v1.3 Board - Micro USB or USB-C cable
OS Compatibility
Windows XP or higher
Linux/Mac (console version)
GBxCart RW Manual
Revision 38
Contents
Quick How to Use ......................................................................................................................................................3
Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................................................................3
GUI Program ..............................................................................................................................................................4
Setup ................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Inserting/Removing Cartridges ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Reading the Cartridge Information ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Read the ROM ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Backup save from Cartridge to PC ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Restore save from PC to Cartridge ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Erase save from cartridge ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Write ROM to Flash cart ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Change the directory to save to and load from .................................................................................................................. 8
Options: Add date/time to Save File and Prompt for Save Game file when restoring ....................................................... 8
Console Program........................................................................................................................................................9
Windows Setup ................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Mac Setup ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Inserting/Removing Cartridges ........................................................................................................................................... 9
Reading the Cart Info ........................................................................................................................................................ 10
Read the ROM ................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Backup save from Cartridge to PC .................................................................................................................................... 10
Restore save from PC to Cartridge .................................................................................................................................... 10
Erase save from cartridge ................................................................................................................................................. 11
Sachen ROM Mapper support .......................................................................................................................................... 11
GBA Flash Cart ROM Mapper support .............................................................................................................................. 11
Raw I/O Access .................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Dedicated Console Programs .................................................................................................................................... 14
Gameboy Camera Saver.................................................................................................................................................... 14
Console Flasher ................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Nintendo Power Cart – Backup Full ROM/Hidden Sector, Backup Saves, Restore Saves, Flasher ................................... 15
Update the Firmware ............................................................................................................................................... 17
On R3+ devices .................................................................................................................................................................. 17
On R2 or lower devices or Re-program the ATmega using an AVR programmer ............................................................. 17
Flash Cart Support.................................................................................................................................................... 20
Supported Gameboy Flash Cart PCB Pictures ................................................................................................................... 20
Supported Gameboy Advance Flash Cart PCB Pictures .................................................................................................... 22
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Software Revision History ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Hardware/Firmware Revision History ....................................................................................................................... 33
Quick How to Use
1. Before inserting the cartridge, select the correct voltage for your cartridge using the switch (GB/GBC use 5V while
GBA uses 3.3V). If you have the v1.3 board, this is controlled by software – in the GUI you choose GB or GBA mode
and press connect.
2. Connect the USB cable to ensure the correct voltage LED lights up. If the device isn’t automatically detected, you will
need to open up Device manager, find the “USB 2.0 Serial” device and update the driver using the files in the
\Drivers folder.
3. Unplug the device from your computer. Insert your cartridge to the device (make sure the cartridge sticker is facing
up) and connect the device again.
4. For the GUI interface, follow “GUI Program” steps or for the console program follow “Console Program” steps.
5. When changing cartridges, always unplug the USB cable from the device, swap the cartridge and then reconnect the
USB cable.
Troubleshooting
If no lights are showing when plugging in the device or the device isn’t being detected
Try using a different USB cable (preferably a non-phone type USB cable). Sometimes it takes users 4-5 different
cables to find one that works.
Try using a non-USB 3.0 port if you are using one.
Try to unplug all other USB devices except your keyboard and mouse.
Make sure you aren’t using a USB hub.
Uninstall the device from Device Manager and choose to delete the driver files as well, then try to re-install the
drivers and ensure the device shows as CH340.
If it’s timing out when performing any of the functions
Try using a different USB cable.
Check to see that you have no other software which monitors COM ports such as the Arduino IDE running in the
background.
Try a different computer.
If you’ve tried all the above steps but are still experiencing issues, please contact us at support@insidegadgets.com
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GUI Program
Setup
1. Download and Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Packages (x86 and x64) for Visual Studio 2015 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53840
2. Open \Interface_Programs\GBxCart_RW_vx.x_GUI_Interface\GBxCart_RW_vx.x.exe and click the Connect button
button. It should automatically detect the device and the little USB icon should turn from grey to green.
For the v1.3 board - You should choose which mode you would like to select.
For the 1.2 board and below - You will see the mode currently selected by the switch.
(If the little USB icon doesn’t turn green, please check that your system is detecting the CH340 device in the Device
Manager)
Inserting/Removing Cartridges
1. Before inserting the cartridge, select the correct voltage for your cartridge using the switch (GB/GBC use 5V while
GBA uses 3.3V). If you have the v1.3 board, this is controlled by software – in the GUI you choose GB or GBA mode
and press connect. Connect the USB cable to ensure the correct voltage LED lights up.
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2. Unplug the device from your computer. Insert your cartridge to the device (make sure the cartridge sticker is facing
up and that you can see the pins on the bottom of the cartridge), connect the device again and click Open Port as
before.
3. You can now read the cart info, read the ROM, etc.
4. When removing cartridges, always unplug the USB cable from the device first before removing the cartridge.
Reading the Cartridge Information
Press the Read Cart Info button and the cartridge information should show up (GBA carts can take 4 seconds as tests
are being performed to determine the ROM and SRAM/Flash/EEPROM sizes). Note: You don’t need to read the cart info
for Flash Carts.
Make sure that the “Logo check” comes back as OK otherwise the cartridge may not be read correctly and you will
have to disconnect the device, remove and re-insert the cartridge.
If the cartridge information doesn’t match what you know to be correct, you can select “Cart” from the top menu and
select “Specify Cart Info” button to change the ROM size and RAM size/type.
Read the ROM
You can now press the “Read ROM” button to download the ROM from the cartridge to your PC, it will be saved as
.gb or .gba.
We recommended verifying your Gameboy/Gameboy Advance ROMs and Saves by using emulators such as BGB for
Gameboy and VisualBoyAdvance for Gameboy Advance.
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Backup save from Cartridge to PC
You can download the save game from your cartridge to your PC by pressing the “Backup Save” button, it will be saved
as .sav. If a save file exists on your PC, you will be asked to confirm you wish to overwrite the save file or
save the file with the date/time added to it.
If you are backing up a game regularly as you progress through it, it’s best to turn on the Option > “Always add
date/time to backed up Save Game files” to Yes. This will add the date/time to your save file so you can have multiple
save files on your PC.
We recommended verifying your Gameboy/Gameboy Advance ROMs and Saves by using emulators such as BGB for
Gameboy and VisualBoyAdvance for Gameboy Advance.
Restore save from PC to Cartridge
You can upload the save game from your PC to your cartridge by pressing the “Restore Save” button, it will load the
save file .sav. You will always be asked to confirm you wish to overwrite the save game on the cartridge.
Erase save from cartridge
You can erase the save game from the cartridge by pressing the “Cart” menu item and selecting “Erase Save”. You will
always be asked to confirm. This is useful if you wish to wipe the cartridge and insert it back to the Gameboy/Gameboy
Advance to start a new save.
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Write ROM to Flash cart
Please check the first page to see supported Flash carts. You don’t need to read the cart info before specifying the cart
info.
From the “Cart” menu, select “Specify Cart Info” and then from the Cartridge Type choose Flash Cart. Additional fields
will show up allow you to select the Flash Chip/Type, PCB and WE (if applicable).
You will need to select the ROM file to write from the “Cart” menu, select “Select ROM File to Write” and then browse
to your ROM file.
Now you can press the “Write ROM” button to write the ROM file to the Flash cart.
Note:
A few Gameboy flash carts may require that you switch the voltage to 3.3V before they will allow you to write to them,
you will receive a prompt if that’s the case.
For the v1.3 board, it will automatically switch to 3.3V for you.
For v1.2 boards and below - You can do this by unplugging the device, switching to 3.3V, pressing the Connect button
and then changing the Mode from “GBA” to “GB/GBC”.
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Change the directory to save to and load from
You can change the directory where ROMs are saved to and where save games are saved to and loaded from. This
might be useful if you have multiple saves for the same game.
When you click “Directory” in the menu it will advise you the folder where you opened the software from.
You can then click the folder listed and it will let you change the folder location.
To always remember the location, make sure “Remember” is set to Yes.
Options: Add date/time to Save File and Prompt for Save Game file when restoring
The “Always add date/time to backed up Save Game files” option is useful if you are backing up a game regularly as
you progress through it. This will add the date/time to your save file so you won’t overwrite your existing save file, for
example, F1RACE_2018.02.25-15.33.12.sav.
The “Always prompt for Save Game file when restoring” option will allow you to choose your save file to restore, this is
useful if you use the option above.
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Console Program
Windows Setup
1. Open \Interface_Programs\GBxCart_RW_vx.x_Console_Interface\GBxCart_RW_Console_vx.x.exe and the options
menu should appear.
2. If the device couldn’t be autoamatically detected, open the
\Interface_Programs\GBxCart_RW_vx.x_Console_Interface\config.ini file and change the first number to your
COM port, e.g. 9 = COM9 and change the second number to the baud rate, default is 1Mbit (1000000) which
should work fine. Your COM port can be found in device manager.
Mac Setup
1. Extract the software zip file (found in Downloads) and plug in GBxCart RW.
2. Open a terminal window and change directory to the Console Interface
(Interface_Programs\GBxCart_RW_vx.x_Console_Interface)
3. You will need to compile the application by typing in "sudo make".
4. You can then run the application by typing in "./gbxcart_rw_console_v1.20" for example.
Inserting/Removing Cartridges
1. Before inserting the cartridge, select the correct voltage for your cartridge using the switch (GB/GBC use 5V while
GBA uses 3.3V). If you have the v1.3 board, this is controlled by software – in the GUI you choose GB or GBA mode
and press connect. Connect the USB cable to ensure the correct voltage LED lights up.
2. Unplug the device from your computer. Insert your cartridge to the device (make sure the cartridge sticker is facing
up and that you can see the pins on the bottom of the cartridge), connect the device again and click Open Port as
before.
3. You can now read the cart info, read the ROM, etc.
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4. When removing cartridges, always unplug the USB cable from the device first before removing the cartridge.
Reading the Cart Info
Press “0” and hit enter to read the cartridge information. Make sure that the “Logo check” comes back as OK
otherwise the cartridge may not be read correctly and you will have to disconnect the device, remove and re-insert the
cartridge.
If the cartridge information doesn’t match what you know to be correct, you can press “4” or “5” and hit change the
ROM size and RAM size/type.
Read the ROM
You can press “1” and hit enter to button to download the ROM from the cartridge to your PC, it will be saved as
.gb or .gba.
We recommended verifying your Gameboy/Gameboy Advance ROMs and Saves by using emulators such as BGB for
Gameboy and VisualBoyAdvance for Gameboy Advance.
Backup save from Cartridge to PC
You can download the save game from your cartridge to your PC by pressing “2” and hit enter, it will be saved as
.sav. If a save file exists on your PC, you will be asked to confirm you wish to overwrite the save file.
Restore save from PC to Cartridge
You can upload the save game from your PC to your cartridge by pressing “3” and hit enter, it will load the save file
.sav. You will always be asked to confirm you wish to overwrite the save game on the cartridge.
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Erase save from cartridge
You can erase the save game from the cartridge by pressing “4” and hit enter. You will always be asked to confirm. This
is useful if you wish to wipe the cartridge and insert it back to the Gameboy/Gameboy Advance to start a new save.
Sachen ROM Mapper support
You can use the “Other options” in console program to select ROMs to dump within a Sachen cart; the ROMs will be
dumped into their own file. You will be required to input the ROM starting address in hex and the number of banks.
For more information please check https://wiki.tauwasser.eu/view/Sachen_Mappers and
https://board.byuu.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1557
GBA Flash Cart ROM Mapper support
You can use the “Other options” in console program to select ROMs to dump within a GBA Flash Cart similar to the
“24-in-1” carts; the ROMs will be dumped into their own file named “FC_.gba” after you select Address 2
and Address 3/4. Some ROMs may not work properly in emulators.
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Once entering the menu, it will prompt you if you wish to automatically scan the addresses for Game Titles.
You will be required to input the Address 2 and Address 3/4 in hex and enter the ROM size you wish to dump.
Raw I/O Access
If you wish to read/write to a special cartridge which the regular functions don’t support, you can access the raw I/O of
the ATmega8515L on board with the following COM commands. Commands should be sent as characters, a null
terminator byte (0) is used to determine the end of some strings sent. No responses will be returned except for
reading a PORT.
Enable/Disable common lines RD/WR/MREQ-CS/Reset-CS2 set high after each command
(recommended to disable so you drive these lines yourself)
To enable: M1
To disable: M0
Set pins as inputs/output
To set PB7 as an input: IB0x80 (include a null-terminator byte at the end)
The value set will be applied as DDR &= ~(setValue);
To set PB7 as an output: OB0x80 (include a null-terminator byte at the end)
The value set will be applied as DDR |= (setValue);
Set output low
To set PB7 low: LB0x80 (include a null-terminator byte at the end)
The value set will be applied as PORTB &= ~(setValue);
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Set output high
To set PB7 high: HB0x80 (include a null-terminator byte at the end)
The value set will be applied as PORTB |= (setValue);
Read all pins of a PORT
Returns a byte representing all pins of that port, e.g. 128
To read PORTB: DB
Port mappings to Gameboy Slot pins (for PCB v1.1/v1.2)
PB0 = A0
PA0 = A8
PB1 = A1
PA1 = A9
PB2 = A2
PA2 = A10
PB3 = A3
PA3 = A11
PB4 = A4
PA4 = A12
PB5 = A5
PA5 = A13
PB6 = A6
PA6 = A14
PB7 = A7
PA7 = A15
PD6 = *WR
PD5 = *RD
PD4 = *MREQ/CS
PE2 = *RESET/CS2
PC0 = D0/A16
PC1 = D1/A17
PC2 = D2/A18
PC3 = D3/A19
PC4 = D4/A20
PC5 = D5/A21
PC6 = D6/A22
PC7 = D7/A23
PE1 = Audio In
You can use “Custom commands” the console program to input these commands into by selecting option 6 (it will
automatically add null terminator bytes when needed).
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Dedicated Console Programs
Gameboy Camera Saver
This program is useful if you are constantly using the Gameboy Camera and wish to save the images quickly to BMP files.
Found in the \Interface_Programs\GBxCart_RW_GBCamera_Saver_vx.x folder.
Automatically creates a folder with the current date/time (--_--), saves
the GB camera memory to this folder and extracts the active (non-deleted) images from the save to separate BMP files
labelled 1.bmp to 30.bmp. It’s a good idea to check the images created match the images stored on the GB Camera.
If you wish to change where the folder is created, you can create a config-folder.ini file and enter in the directory where
you wish the folder should be created in.
Console Flasher
This program is useful if you would like drag and drop interface to write ROMs to your flash carts. Please check the list of
supported flash carts on the first page of this manual.
Found in the \Interface_Programs\GBxCart_RW_Console_Flasher_vx.x folder.
Open the program first and select the Flash Cart you will be writing the ROM to.
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Now you can drag and drop your ROM file to gbxcart_rw_flasher_vx.x.exe without having to select the Flash cart type
again.
Nintendo Power Cart – Backup Full ROM/Hidden Sector, Backup Saves, Restore Saves, Flasher
There are a few programs dedicated to the Nintendo Power Cart.
Backup Full ROM and Hidden Sector
Run npc_backup_full_rom_and_hidden_sector_vx.x to backup the full 1MB ROM and the hidden sector. This is useful if
you wish to restore your cartridge back to how it was.
The Full ROM will be in this format: NP_1MB_ROM_Backup__
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