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[Seik]

Excellent and detailed write-up OP

Two questions though,

Is it possible for a dummy like me to permanently ruin the console doing this?

Can I also download NES games to it?

As long as you keep your dumped original kernel file (which Robin stresses a lot) this whole thing is 100% fool proof.

 

[Maxrunner]

I used Hakchi, there's an option to do it in the app.

I don't have my computer near, but I just picked the file I dumped and everything went back to normal.

Did you choose uninstall? It seems the unistall does more than installing the factory kernel. What happens if i do everything except installing the original kernel in the uninstall option?

 

[Syriel]

As long as you keep your dumped original kernel file (which Robin stresses a lot) this whole thing is 100% fool proof.

I asked this earlier, but didn't get a response.

If it is just a kernel backup (and not a system backup), how does that make it 100% foolproof?

The kernel isn't going to contain ROM files or other data.

 

[Maxrunner]

I asked this earlier, but didn't get a response.

If it is just a kernel backup (and not a system backup), how does that make it 100% foolproof?

The kernel isn't going to contain ROM files or other data.

yeah i asked the question what happens if you change anything related to the original 21 games and then revert to the factory kernel...

 

[mntorankusu]

Doom runs kinda crappy. Not because of the SNES port job but it runs at a lower framerate than even an original SNES.

It's probably not running the Super FX chip at the right clock speed. Add -boost-fx 2 to the command line options and see if it's closer to the original speed.

 

[Seik]

yeah i asked the question what happens if you change anything related to the original 21 games and then revert to the factory kernel...

Aren't the OG 21 games on a read-only segment of the SNES Mini?

Did you choose uninstall? It seems the unistall does more than installing the factory kernel. What happens if i do everything except installing the original kernel in the uninstall option?

Nope, I uninstalled nothing, just chose 'Flash Original Kernel' and it took the dumped kernel and put it back on my SNES, which started working again normally after that.

 

[Vital Tundra]

So whats the deal with header and unheader? I want to patch FF6 with the TD hack but have no clue what having an unheadered ROM means.

 

[soundtest]

Doom runs kinda crappy. Not because of the SNES port job but it runs at a lower framerate than even an original SNES.

Yeah it's a slideshow on the mini, it's basically unplayable

 

[OmegaDL50]

I asked this earlier, but didn't get a response.

If it is just a kernel backup (and not a system backup), how does that make it 100% foolproof?

The kernel isn't going to contain ROM files or other data.

A portion of the SNES Classic contains a read-only sector that contains the default 21 games. No data can be written to this area. So in the event of restoring the original Kernel to stock, the original 21 games will still be present.

Unchecking the Original Games in the games list in Hakchi does not delete the original 21 games, It can only hide them because they read only.

 

[Shifty1897]

Does using the RetroArch cores solve the HiRes text issue with games like Treasure of the Rudras and Seiken Densetsu 3?

 

[sotojuan]

Is loading up a save state a tad slower or is it just me being paranoid I broke something?

Anyway, just got to the future in Chrono Trigger. Strongly considering doing an all nighter of this game. RIP my PS4/Switch/3DS backlog.

 

[FSLink]

Very stupid question. No chance of getting viruses from those yeah? Not the album link but ones in the dump thread?

I'm just very cautious coz I've been burnt before.


Also I might wait a couple weeks before I attempt this because I know I'll screw it up somehow lol

Uh, we have some very tech savvy people on this forum. If there were viruses, I'm 100% positive people would call it out and it'd get taken down pretty much immediately.

Have a good anti-virus yourself and just have a go. And I'd like to verify that all the files I've used were 100% clean, so there you go.

yeah i asked the question what happens if you change anything related to the original 21 games and then revert to the factory kernel...

It uses a backup of the original kernel when you revert it, so...nothing?

 

[OmegaDL50]

So whats the deal with header and unheader? I want to patch FF6 with the TD hack but have no clue what having an unheadered ROM means.

Some translation patches require a headered or non-headered rom.

For example using a patch that needs a headered game on a non-header rom can result in graphical garbage or the game simply refusing to load.

Use a Tool such as NSRT to see if your Rom needs one. You can add and remove headers using it.

Be mindful any translations romhacks patching a game must be done prior to moving them to your SNES Classic via Hakchi.

Does using the RetroArch cores solve the HiRes text issue with games like Treasure of the Rudras and Seiken Densetsu 3?

Yes.

It will also run other games with problems such as Terranigma and Illusion of Gaia as well

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Yay, I have Chrono Trigger on this now. I can rest easy.

 

[Kiro]

I have never done anything like this. No idea what a kernel or ROMs or what different lines of code are. But I am gonna give this a chance.

How do I keep my original kernel safe? Save it to multiple hard drives?

 

[FSLink]

I have never done anything like this. No idea what a kernel or ROMs or what different lines of code are. But I am gonna give this a chance.

How do I keep my original kernel safe? Save it to multiple hard drives?

I'd back it up to at least one physical location (so a different hard drive) and at least one cloud based location (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)

 

[Lettuce]

So i just loaded the RetroArch 'crt-pi' shader on to the mini which is designed to run on a Raspberry Pi 2 and upwards at full speed without effecting the performance of the game and it brings the SNES mini to its knees, see this is supposed to be a super light weigh shader it doesnt bode well for getting a nice scanline shader working on this system

 

[Kiro]

I'd back it up to at least one physical location (so a different hard drive) and at least one cloud based location (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)

Okay will do! Thanks.

Is it confirmed this doesn't overheat the system?

 

[Schucky Ducky]

It's probably not running the Super FX chip at the right clock speed. Add -boost-fx 2 to the command line options and see if it's closer to the original speed.

Might be a dumb question, but how do you add things to the command line options?

 

[FSLink]

Might be a dumb question, but how do you add things to the command line options?

Right side above editing box art, there's a place for Command line (for advanced users only).

Okay will do! Thanks.

Is it confirmed this doesn't overheat the system?

Haven't noticed anything so far.

 

[Dimentios]

Here is my Yoshi' Island border for everyone to use: https://www.file-upload.net/download-12750880/12_yoshi.rar.html.
It works best with ... Yoshi's Island! But also Super Mario World.
Keep in mind it will reduce your system storage by 1,45 MB. Feel free to compress it anyhow. The image files have to be .png tho! (jpg does not work).

Image source: https://orioto.deviantart.com/

 

[MrGreencastle]

I've grabbed retroarch-clover from github and copied over through hakchi2. I've installed the retroarch and mgba modules in hakchi.

I'm trying to run a .gba game, but it just goes to a black screen.

What am I missing? I've tried adding /bin/gba or --retroarch to the command line options.

 

[apieceofstrange]

I added 11 games to mine. Super easy to do.

Not necessarily the best of the best, but ones I associate most closely with the console. DKC 2/3, Final Fight 3, Maximum Carnage, Chrono Trigger, Turtles in Time, Tetris Attack, NBA Jam TE, Mortal Kombat 2, Earthworm Jim and Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

Have a good amount of pick up and play 2 player titles now. The thumbnail area is maxed out and I don’t really want to mess around with resizing stuff so I guess I’m content with those additions for now.

 

[Kiro]

Sad to see no one is adding Mario missing. That game's educational.

 

[wrowa]

I've grabbed retroarch-clover from github and copied over through hakchi2. I've installed the retroarch and mgba modules in hakchi.

I'm trying to run a .gba game, but it just goes to a black screen.

What am I missing? I've tried adding /bin/gba or --retroarch to the command line options.

I can’t help you, but I’ve got the same problem with Retroarch (although with the SNES module). So, at least it isn’t just you.

 

[FSLink]

Sad to see no one is adding Mario missing. That game's educational.

Well

 

[mandiller]

What happens to my save files/save states?
If I hack my SNES Mini, does it erase any of my save files for the official games?

 

[mullet2000]

What exactly are the disadvantages to having to run a game in retroarc? A few of games (Illusion of Gaia, Seiken Densetsu 3, Fire Emblem 4 Translation) are going to need it.

 

[Kiro]

Well

Mah man.

 

[BassForever]

What exactly are the disadvantages to having to run a game in retroarc? A few of games (Illusion of Gaia, Seiken Densetsu 3) are going to need it.

You won't have access to the snes classic features like the ability to rewind.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Sad to see no one is adding Mario missing. That game's educational.

I added that.

 

[darkjedi187]

I've grabbed retroarch-clover from github and copied over through hakchi2. I've installed the retroarch and mgba modules in hakchi.

I'm trying to run a .gba game, but it just goes to a black screen.

What am I missing? I've tried adding /bin/gba or --retroarch to the command line options.

Did you compress it? I read somewhere to not compress them. I tried GBA and it worked but errored out when I tried to go back to the menu. I removed it for now, I don’t want to risk breaking anything.

 

[Sushen]

A portion of the SNES Classic contains a read-only sector that contains the default 21 games. No data can be written to this area. So in the event of restoring the original Kernel to stock, the original 21 games will still be present.

Unchecking the Original Games in the games list in Hakchi does not delete the original 21 games, It can only hide them because they read only.

So, my dumb question is that I don't need to add the original 21 games on top of additional games? The 21 games will be there if I don't hide them?

 

[OmegaDL50]

So i just loaded the RetroArch 'crt-pi' shader on to the mini which is designed to run on a Raspberry Pi 2 and upwards at full speed without effecting the performance of the game and it brings the SNES mini to its knees, see this is supposed to be a super light weigh shader it doesnt bode well for getting a nice scanline shader working on this system

The Raspberry Pi 2 may use the same Arm Cortex A7 as the SNES Mini, however I'd say the SNES Mini is clocked much lower. Quad Core A7's can run between 300Mhz to 1.2Ghz (The Pi 2 being 900Mhz in this case), Also there is significant difference in memory with the Pi 2 having four times as much (1GB DDR3 versus the 256MB DDR3 for the Nintendo Classic)

So, my dumb question is that I don't need to add the original 21 games on top of additional games? The 21 games will be there if I don't hide them?

Exactly.

However in the case you want to change one of the default games like using FF6 with a fan translation as opposed to FF3 for example. You cannot hide the default games on a individual basis, you must hide all 21 of them and re-add them manually via duplicate roms that will take up additional space.

However in this case if the default 21 games are hidden and say you add a hack of Super Mario World for example. It will show up.

So you can decide to use the default 21 games plus extras you want to add, or hide them and just copy over duplicates of the ones you really want. (As in my case for hiding them to not have Kirby's Dream Course in the library for example)

 

[soundtest]

It's probably not running the Super FX chip at the right clock speed. Add -boost-fx 2 to the command line options and see if it's closer to the original speed.

Tried 2, it runs better but the music is really warbly. Gonna try 1 now

 

[radcliff]

So to get the game to run in Retroarch, we just add "--retroarch" to the end of the command line argument?

 

[thebeeks]

Has anyone had any luck with Kirby's Dream Land 3, or is that something I'll need RetroArch for?

 

[MrGreencastle]

Did you compress it? I read somewhere to not compress them. I tried GBA and it worked but errored out when I tried to go back to the menu. I removed it for now, I don't want to risk breaking anything.

I've tried both compressed and not compressed - no dice. Black screen either way.

Anyone who has it working want to share an example of their command line args and install steps? Would be helpful to check mine against that.


edit: these are the modules I've copied over to hakchi and then installed via the modules menu: https://github.com/ClusterM/retroarch-clover/releases

 

[blainethemono]

Looks like there might be a problem with the hack doubling the power drain of the console and causing it to heat up.
Reported by several users over at gbatemp.
Might be smart to hold off for now.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/hakchi2-nes-mini-very-simple-pimp-tool.456256/page-670#post-7622366

Power leak problem in fixed in 2.0.20.14. It's available via web installer.

Updated non-portable version too. Don't forget to reflash custom kernel.

 

[gweemz]

This has probably been asked before but does this support the Select + down combo to reset?

 

[Seik]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/hakchi2-nes-mini-very-simple-pimp-tool.456256/page-670#post-7622366

Great, back on my PC reinstalling custom kernel right away, this is the answer I was looking for, thanks!

This has probably been asked before but does this support the Select + down combo to reset?

Yes.

 

[shira]

dumb question 1: how do we apply the fixes in the snes hax thread?

get rom, apply fix, send to snes mini?

dumb question 2: is there going to be more/better updates in the future or is this the "big one"?

 

[inner-G]

dumb question 2: is there going to be more/better updates in the future or is this the "big one"?

This is the big one, but there will probably be incremental future updates also

 

[MrGreencastle]

I've tried both compressed and not compressed - no dice. Black screen either way.

Anyone who has it working want to share an example of their command line args and install steps? Would be helpful to check mine against that.


edit: these are the modules I've copied over to hakchi and then installed via the modules menu: https://github.com/ClusterM/retroarch-clover/releases

OK, quoting myself here... But I've updated hakchi via the web installer.

Then, I uninstalled the custom kernel and flashed the stock kernel. After that, I then reinstalled the custom kernel and modules for retroarch, GBA and Genesis.

I've disabled the "Compress" button in the Genesis and GBA games, and also added " --retroarch" flag to th eend of the command line options for each.

Both games for GBA and Genesis are now working!

Awesome

 

[mibm]

-magfilter is what controls the display filter. Set it to 3 to disable the bilinear filter, or set it to 2 to enable the horizontal-only linear filter.

-filter controls the scanline filter. You can turn it on by setting it to 2, for example if you want to use scanlines in pixel perfect mode as well.
[snip]

Thank you for the detailed write up, tried it and works great.
The hidden linear filter looks very good on some of the games.

 

[jwhit28]

Has anyone tried Y's III yet? My copy fell out it's box and has been sitting on the floor in a garage for I don't know how long. It's too dirty to get dumped right now and I'm not gonna bother if it doesn't work on SNESMC.

 

[MrMephistoX]

Anyone know if Sailor Moon: Another Story (English Patched) SNES ROM works with his hack? Can't wait to test this hack out when I get home!

It should work if you have s good Rom the tricky part is tracking them down. Live Alive, DQV and this crazy cowboy western Zelda clone work beautifully. Still trying to find a copy of BS Zelda and Marvelous that work.

 

[SomewhatGroovy]

played 20 mins of Aladdin , the first in almost 20 years, and its almost like i played it yesterday. Game has aged so well

As long as you keep your dumped original kernel file (which Robin stresses a lot) this whole thing is 100% fool proof.

I'm trying to find that file to know where it was saved but can't find it. why is it so important again?

 

[Vital Tundra]

Some translation patches require a headered or non-headered rom.

For example using a patch that needs a headered game on a non-header rom can result in graphical garbage or the game simply refusing to load.

Use a Tool such as NSRT to see if your Rom needs one. You can add and remove headers using it.

Be mindful any translations romhacks patching a game must be done prior to moving them to your SNES Classic via Hakchi.

Thanks friend!

 

[OmegaDL50]

So to get the game to run in Retroarch, we just add "--retroarch" to the end of the command line argument?

Don't forget the SNES core of Retroarch does not read sfcom files. They need to be either .sfc or .smc files renamed to .snes

Also there needs to be a space in front of --

Refer to these two topics

https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNESmods/comments/74s74x/how_to_use_snes_games_that_dont_work_with_the/
https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNESmods/comments/74y6gw/cant_get_retroarch_to_work/