Forums · Pokemon Diamond/Pearl General Notes
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Primary Information
Emulator: No$GBA 2.4c (LINK, MIRROR - Outdated)
Other Software Required:
* Decompression Utility (Such as WinZip, WinRAR or 7Zip)
Files required:
biosnds7.rom (16KB)
biosnds9.rom (4KB)
firmware.bin (256KB)
key.cfg (13B)
DOWNLOAD ALL (MIRROR)
Other files:
IPS Patching:
IPSWin (LINK, MIRROR)
Patch for Diamond (LINK, MIRROR)
Setting Up the Emulator:
1) Download No$GBA and the required files.
2) Extract No$GBA to a directory.
3) Extract the required files (biosnds7.rom, biosnds9.rom, firmware.bin and key.cfg) to the No$GBA directory.
5) Set the settings as shown below.
6) Start the game.
Optimal Settings:
1) Enter in these options by starting up the emulator, going to Options --> Emulation Setup.
2) Once the settings have been selected hit OK and then go Options --> Save Settings.
Emulation Speed/LCD Refresh: Unlimited MHz-Disaster, 10%
Reset/Startup Entrypoint: Start Cartridge directly
Video Output: 24bit True Color
GBA Mode: VGA (poppy bright)
GBA Cartridge Backup Media: Auto
NDS Cartridge Backup Media: Flash 512KBytes
Solar Sensor Level: Bright Sunlight
Sound Output Mode: Digital Mono (fast)
Sound Desired Sample Rate: Low (10kHz) (fast)
Issues:
1) The game freezes during a battle/when a Pokemon faints or when viewing the Pokedex entry for a newly caught Pokemon
Turn the sound on.
2) Blue screen with Japanese writing appears when trying to run D/P (J).
Please use the optimized settings as written above.
3) The touch screen doesn't work.
You need the firmware.bin file present in your No$GBA directory. If this does exist, a different version maybe required.
4) Can't save in Diamond/Pearl Japanese.
1) Rename the 256kb firmware.bin to something else.
2) You should see a file known as No$GBA.INP.
3) Rename that to firmware.bin
NOTE: You will probably need to revert the filenames back if you want to play any other game (including D/P US)
5) No$GBA Snaphots don't work.
They won't work, save using the ingame function.
6) A communication error is received when starting up D/P US.
Make sure you have a real firmware.bin file in the No$GBA directory as opposed to the dummy one used to make D/P Jap work.
7) The game is too slow.
i) Wait for a new version of the emulator and see if that helps
ii) Increase the process priority to High and you should get a speedup. (See below.)
iii) Ensure that there are no background applications running.
iv) Disable sound when not in battles. (Revert setting when in battles)
v) Get a better computer
8) I can save in D/P US but I can't load the games -- just hangs on a black screen.
See the top of this post for a patch which when applied to the ROM will enable saving. The author of the patch says it is for Diamond, however people have reported it still works on Pearl.
9) Do I need to encrypt my ROM's?
Doing this is no longer required with the new No$GBA version.
10) Data Loading Failed. Please turn power off and reinsert the Game Card..
Change your save settings to the correct format (Flash 512kb)
11) Frames are being skipped/3D is extremely slow.
Your best bet is to wait for the next version of No$GBA.
12) No$GBA is constantly crashing.
While the exact cause is not known, people have attributed it to:
* The "Emulation Speed/LCD Refresh" Setting
* Changing sound modes
* Graphics Drivers (My system doesn't like No$GBA and Catalyst 7.4)
13) Top screen turns white in some areas.
This is caused becasue No$Gba doesn't render fog properly (yet). When entering an area such as this simply use HM05 (Removes Fog) and then reset the screen by opening up the Bag/Pokemon Menu and then closing it.
14) Screen turns white or freezes during a movie sequence.
Patience is the key (Just wait and it should resume automatically, Time required not known)
15) Game freezes when attempting to deposit Pokemon.
Use another menu option to change to another box, then return and depositing should work.
So do the following:
* Deposit, use the Move Pokemon option to switch to box 2, then deposit normally.
* Withdraw, use the Move Pokemon option to move a pokemon to an empty box and then withdraw normally.
Note: This will stop working in later stages of the game.
Other Questions:
1) Does Night/Day work?
Yes, the time settings are automatically taken from your system clock.
2) How do I get the best sound regardless of speed?
Change the following options:
Emulation Speed, LCD Refresh: 16.78 MHz Realtime, Auto
Sound Output Mode: Digital Stereo
Sound Desired Sample Rate: High (44kHz) (best)
3) Why doesn't the start button open up the menu?
It's changed - Hit X instead.
4) How do I enlarge the screen?
See this topic. I'll post my own instructions when I have time.
Unresolved:
* Microphone Wave Failure (Possible sound card/driver issue)
* Freezing at the start of battle in and around Jubilife city
How To Change the Process Priority:
1) Start Up Task Manager.
2) In the Processes Tab, right click the No$GBA process.
3) There should be a "Set Priority" sub menu and then select High.
Editing the Savegame (Cheating):
1) Download the the editing tool (LINK, MIRROR)
2) You need to change "SAV/SNA File Format == Compressed" to "SAV/SNA File Format == Uncompressed" in no$gba.ini. Then resave the game ingame using No$GBA.
3) Use this (LINK, MIRROR) to remove the first 76 bytes of the SAV file. You could also do this in a hex editor.
3) Load it up in the editor and make your changes.
4) Replace it the original file with the edited file.
It's best if you back everything up first before trying.
COMDLG32.ocx Missing? Try this.
Thanks to:
* Aerithia for the BIOS/Firmware download link.
* Anyone I haven't mentioned.
Does anyone feel like correcting any information in here? Or adding anything new?
Primary Information
Emulator: No$GBA 2.4c (LINK, MIRROR - Outdated)
Other Software Required:
* Decompression Utility (Such as WinZip, WinRAR or 7Zip)
Files required:
biosnds7.rom (16KB)
biosnds9.rom (4KB)
firmware.bin (256KB)
key.cfg (13B)
DOWNLOAD ALL (MIRROR)
Other files:
IPS Patching:
IPSWin (LINK, MIRROR)
Patch for Diamond (LINK, MIRROR)
Setting Up the Emulator:
1) Download No$GBA and the required files.
2) Extract No$GBA to a directory.
3) Extract the required files (biosnds7.rom, biosnds9.rom, firmware.bin and key.cfg) to the No$GBA directory.
5) Set the settings as shown below.
6) Start the game.
Optimal Settings:
1) Enter in these options by starting up the emulator, going to Options --> Emulation Setup.
2) Once the settings have been selected hit OK and then go Options --> Save Settings.
Emulation Speed/LCD Refresh: Unlimited MHz-Disaster, 10%
Reset/Startup Entrypoint: Start Cartridge directly
Video Output: 24bit True Color
GBA Mode: VGA (poppy bright)
GBA Cartridge Backup Media: Auto
NDS Cartridge Backup Media: Flash 512KBytes
Solar Sensor Level: Bright Sunlight
Sound Output Mode: Digital Mono (fast)
Sound Desired Sample Rate: Low (10kHz) (fast)
Issues:
1) The game freezes during a battle/when a Pokemon faints or when viewing the Pokedex entry for a newly caught Pokemon
Turn the sound on.
2) Blue screen with Japanese writing appears when trying to run D/P (J).
Please use the optimized settings as written above.
3) The touch screen doesn't work.
You need the firmware.bin file present in your No$GBA directory. If this does exist, a different version maybe required.
4) Can't save in Diamond/Pearl Japanese.
1) Rename the 256kb firmware.bin to something else.
2) You should see a file known as No$GBA.INP.
3) Rename that to firmware.bin
NOTE: You will probably need to revert the filenames back if you want to play any other game (including D/P US)
5) No$GBA Snaphots don't work.
They won't work, save using the ingame function.
6) A communication error is received when starting up D/P US.
Make sure you have a real firmware.bin file in the No$GBA directory as opposed to the dummy one used to make D/P Jap work.
7) The game is too slow.
i) Wait for a new version of the emulator and see if that helps
ii) Increase the process priority to High and you should get a speedup. (See below.)
iii) Ensure that there are no background applications running.
iv) Disable sound when not in battles. (Revert setting when in battles)
v) Get a better computer
8) I can save in D/P US but I can't load the games -- just hangs on a black screen.
See the top of this post for a patch which when applied to the ROM will enable saving. The author of the patch says it is for Diamond, however people have reported it still works on Pearl.
9) Do I need to encrypt my ROM's?
Doing this is no longer required with the new No$GBA version.
10) Data Loading Failed. Please turn power off and reinsert the Game Card..
Change your save settings to the correct format (Flash 512kb)
11) Frames are being skipped/3D is extremely slow.
Your best bet is to wait for the next version of No$GBA.
12) No$GBA is constantly crashing.
While the exact cause is not known, people have attributed it to:
* The "Emulation Speed/LCD Refresh" Setting
* Changing sound modes
* Graphics Drivers (My system doesn't like No$GBA and Catalyst 7.4)
13) Top screen turns white in some areas.
This is caused becasue No$Gba doesn't render fog properly (yet). When entering an area such as this simply use HM05 (Removes Fog) and then reset the screen by opening up the Bag/Pokemon Menu and then closing it.
14) Screen turns white or freezes during a movie sequence.
Patience is the key (Just wait and it should resume automatically, Time required not known)
15) Game freezes when attempting to deposit Pokemon.
Use another menu option to change to another box, then return and depositing should work.
So do the following:
* Deposit, use the Move Pokemon option to switch to box 2, then deposit normally.
* Withdraw, use the Move Pokemon option to move a pokemon to an empty box and then withdraw normally.
Note: This will stop working in later stages of the game.
Other Questions:
1) Does Night/Day work?
Yes, the time settings are automatically taken from your system clock.
2) How do I get the best sound regardless of speed?
Change the following options:
Emulation Speed, LCD Refresh: 16.78 MHz Realtime, Auto
Sound Output Mode: Digital Stereo
Sound Desired Sample Rate: High (44kHz) (best)
3) Why doesn't the start button open up the menu?
It's changed - Hit X instead.
4) How do I enlarge the screen?
See this topic. I'll post my own instructions when I have time.
Unresolved:
* Microphone Wave Failure (Possible sound card/driver issue)
* Freezing at the start of battle in and around Jubilife city
How To Change the Process Priority:
1) Start Up Task Manager.
2) In the Processes Tab, right click the No$GBA process.
3) There should be a "Set Priority" sub menu and then select High.
Editing the Savegame (Cheating):
1) Download the the editing tool (LINK, MIRROR)
2) You need to change "SAV/SNA File Format == Compressed" to "SAV/SNA File Format == Uncompressed" in no$gba.ini. Then resave the game ingame using No$GBA.
3) Use this (LINK, MIRROR) to remove the first 76 bytes of the SAV file. You could also do this in a hex editor.
3) Load it up in the editor and make your changes.
4) Replace it the original file with the edited file.
It's best if you back everything up first before trying.
COMDLG32.ocx Missing? Try this.
Thanks to:
* Aerithia for the BIOS/Firmware download link.
* Anyone I haven't mentioned.
Does anyone feel like correcting any information in here? Or adding anything new?