GBA FlashLink
5. Checksum Tests
Flash Advance Linker and Card - Page 5
Checksum Tests
- Test Software: Flash Advance Writer version 2.0 and Gameboy Advance Header Viewer version 0.93, for the Flash Advance Linker. GBX Tool version 1.7 and GB File Information version 0.9, for the GBXchanger.
- Backup Tests: We decided to test the backup procedure first. So the thing we needed was some material to try our teeth on. Without any further delay we paid a visit to our local videogame rental store. The cleck there looked at us pretty suspiciously when we approached the counter with 15 different Gameboy Advance cartridges. We took them home with us and started dumping them like crazy. The games that we tried were the following :
| Men in Black | Bomberman Tournament | F-Zero Maximum Velocity |
| Hot Potato | Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 | Final Fight One |
| Castlevania | Tweety & the Magic Gems | Pitfall - Mayan Adventure |
| Mario Advance | Earthworm Jim | Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 |
| Jurassic Park 3 | Konami Krazy Racers | Namco Museum Advance |
We copied each game twice and after each dump we verified the checksum of the produced file using a handy utility, Gameboy Advance Header Viewer. The reason we got into all this trouble is that we needed to find out the Linker success rates as a copier, and to compare it with its ancestor, the GBXChanger. We already had the results from back when we did the same task with the GBXchanger, using all kinds of Gameboy Color cartridges.The results were the following:
As you can see, the Flash Advance Linker scored a whopping 100%, since all 30 dumps we made had OK checksums. The GBXChanger had problems with certain Gameboy Color carts, but managed to get them on second attempts.
- Flashing Tests: After backing up every cartridge we flashed those backups to the Flash Card. The flashing procedure never failed to execute, and the Flash Card always seemed to be an exact duplicate of the original game.
Another feature that we tested at this point was the ability of the Flash Card to hold not just one but two games. This is because many Gameboy Advance titles are 32M and the card had hold up to 64M of data. The way to do it is through a menu program, which is flashed to the card and sits on top of the two games. After that menu program each game is flashed separately. When you boot your Gameboy Advance with a two-game Flash Card, a menu shows up and lets you choose which one of the two to play.
That specific feature was tested extensively with all kinds of games and in many different orders. We were happy and pleased that it worked flawlessly in all cases. We were even more happy that we had two games packed inside one cartridge.
