Looking to ROM dump just a handful of games, so I’m trying not to spend hundreds on a Sanni or Retrode. I saw this on AliExpress for $15.
I’ve personally had good luck with Alibaba and Aliexpress, but I recognize that this could just straight not work. There’s no documentation, but it claims the game data will show up like files on a USB flash drive.
Anybody know where this design came from?
A sketchy USB device from Alibaba with 0 documentation is significantly less safe than grabbing a ROM, which are widely available and have known file hashes. The security risk alone from a no name USB device is probably not worth it unless there’s a save file you reeeeeeeeally care about, as another user mentioned.
N64 cartridges rely on a battery inside it to keep the storage alive, and all those batteries are likely all dead now, so there will be no stored game in there any more
I have a super Mario world cart that has retained its save data. 20 years old now…pretty nuts
My OG Legend of Zelda cart (NES) still has working saves on it with the original battery…
Stop making me sad. I have hundreds of hours poured into VPW2 customizations on a cart that hasn’t been powered up in 20 years at least. In my heart, that save is still alive.
Don’t take this from me dammit.
Why dump roms when you can just download them faster and free
I think any n64 cartridge has long since had the battery inside the cartridge die, which is what kept the game save info stored. So there won’t be any saved game in there any more.
https://howchoo.com/nintendo/nintendo-64-cartridge-save-battery-change/
If that was the case they could’ve replaced the battery since and still have a save on that cartridge that needs backing up
Call it a hobby. Having the data from the physical cart brings me joy. Also, I’m looking to rebuild my collection from childhood for when the Analogue3D finally comes out.
The binary blob is essentially just a number stored in a fancy configuration of electrons, OP. In the best case scenario, this device is just e-waste.
I really can’t stand it when people feel the need to denigrate other people’s hobbies.
Some people don’t want to do something illegal even if they think the law is stupid
The basic concept seems to be floating out there, and I’ve bought many empty RP2040 boards from AE without issue, but if you’re determined to do this, maybe disconnect from any networks, back up your PC, and start with an expendable cartridge. :-)
I don’t THINK a Pi Pico clone could send enough voltage back up into a board to fry a cart, but it’s your risk. 98% chance everything is fine, but you’re spending money on what should have a 100% chance of being fine.
Or, accept the almost-inevitable and just grab ROMs of your carts. If you really want to experiment, maybe build the dumper itself as a DIY project. Buying someone else’s device to create files somebody already ripped twenty years ago doesn’t quite pull the right nostalgia or hobbyist levers for me, but we have to go where our nerdery takes us, and from that perspective, I understand.
https://youtu.be/V0CPjHO_3Yo?si=Gnzc1ZDAaEBHZDIh
You can build one out of an Arduino.
Am I the only one bothered by the cart being censored?
