Potential fix method for the 3DS GBA Virtual Console screen wrap issue. (128GB SD Card Issue - Fix by Formatting to 64kb FAT32 Clusters)

Let me just start by saying that I did not discover this fix on my own and there is a possibility it simply won't work. I'm posting this because I don't see much talk of the issue here and so people can try the method to fix the problem on a permanent basis.

The issue in question is a widely know issue with 128gb microSD cards and the GBA Virtual Console. When attempting to load GBA games from a 128gb microSD card, there is a high chance the screen image will be improperly wrapped and a few lines of pixels that are supposed to be the top of the image, will be displayed at the bottom. I was having the issue with most all of my injected GBA games on pretty much every startup. I have been trying to find a permanent solution for a bit but had been coming up short. Most places I read said that the issue was unavoidable with 128gb cards and you best bet was to repeatedly spam the home button to get the screen to slowly wrap back around to the proper place. I finally came across someone who said they fixed their issue.

How I fixed the issue: Thanks to a helpful post from KJack on GBAtemp, I was also able to permanently fix the issue.

• Back-up the contents of your SD card to your PC. (The next step will wipe the card, so this is necessary.)

• Using a program such as guiformat, or any other formatting tool, fully format the SD card with 64kb clusters as opposed to 32kb. The card must also be FAT32 format, which it already should be if you've been using it on your 3DS.

• You can use guiformat or MiniTool Partition Wizard to format your drive in Windows

• Copy all of your files back to your SD card and load up some GBA titles.

Oddly, everywhere else I raid said that clusters above 32k would cause the issue, but this immediately fixed the issue for me on a 128gb card.

Disclaimer - I have not tried this method with any microSD card size other than 128gb. The issue seems to be mostly related to 128gb cards, so that's what I fixed it on. There are reports than 64kb cluster sizes will actually cause the issue on 64gb and lower cards but, for whatever reason, it appears to fix it with 128gb. My sample size of two 3DSs and 2 128gb cards is very small, so I can't guarantee it will work for everyone, but it worked for me and KJack, so hopefully it will help anyone else who is having the issue.

via https://www.reddit.com/r/3dshacks/comments/7t6pb1/potential_fix_method_for_the_gba_virtual_console/

3DS GBA Virtual Console Game Save Backup and Restore with GodMode9

If you have followed my previous tutorial on Nintendo 3DS GBA Game Injection to play GBA games on the 3DS then you might be wondering how you can backup your save games or even restore a save game from an emulator or from a real GBA game cartridge.

You can do this quite easily with GodMode9 once you know how.

If you have injected some GBA games on to your 3DS then you have CFW and should have GodMode9 installed as this is used during the process to install CFW on your 3DS when following the popular https://3ds.guide however if you hacked your 3DS a long time ago then its quite possible your version of GodMode9 is out of date. The ability to backup GBA savegame is quite a new feature on GodMode9, so first download the latest version of GodMode9.

Unzip this to your 3DS's SD card in the luma\payloads folder, overwriting the existing payload:



Your all set to backup your GBA save games on the 3DS now.

Backing up GBA Saves on the 3DS:

Keep in mind you can only backup the save of the last GBA game you played, so launch the GBA game you wish to backup:



Let the game load, then press the home button and exit back to the 3DS home screen before powering the 3DS off.

Now hold the start button and press the power button to turn the 3DS on, this should launch GodMode9 by default. If it doesn't you have likely assigned a different button to hold when powering the 3DS on to load GodMode9.

When GodMode9 loads go down to Sysnand Virtual and press A:



Press A on agbsave.bin, this is the save game which was restored to the 3DS's nand when you loaded the last GBA game you played up:



Press A on AGBSAVE options:



Select Dump GBA VC save:



The GBA save should be dumped to gm9/out on the SD card:



As you can see the save game has been dumped with the title ID of the installed GBA game with .gbavc.sav as the file extension:



You have now backed the save up and can use it on an emulator, or even restore it to a real GBA game cartridge if you have a DS / DS Lite with a Flash Card and GBA Backup Tool. Either way i'd suggest copying it to somewhere safe on your computer.

Restore GBA Saves on the 3DS:

You are almost doing the reverse of what you have just done to backup a save.

Again keep in mind you can only restore the save of the last GBA game you played, so launch the GBA game you wish to restore the save to:



Let the game load, then press the home button and exit back to the 3DS home screen before powering the 3DS off.

Now hold the start button and press the power button to turn the 3DS on, this should launch GodMode9 by default. If it doesn't you have likely assigned a different button to hold when powering the 3DS on to load GodMode9.

Go to the SD card and find the GBA save you wish to restore:



Press Y on the save you wish to restore and it will be copied to the clipboard, you will see [Clipboard] in the top right of the bottom screen when you have done this, as shown below:



Now navigate to Sysnand Virtual:



Press A on agbsave.bin, then on the bottom screen select AGBSAVE options:



Then inject GBA VC Save:



The save game will then be injected:



You now know how to restore a GBA save, you can restore a save from an emulator, or even from a real GBA cartridge if you dump the save with a tool such as GBA Backup Tool using a DS or DS Lite.

I have personally been enjoying playing my GBA games on a much larger screen:



Hopefully this tutorial has been some help to you.

via https://digiex.net/threads/3ds-gba-save-backup-and-restore-with-godmode9.15395/