Author Topic: Transferring Save Data from Emulator to Cart  (Read 392 times)

Transferring Save Data from Emulator to Cart
« on: December 28, 2024, 04:40:29 am »
Is there a way to connect a cart to a PC in order to extract the save data from a ROM? I just got a copy of FF3 (FF6) but the guy sent the PAL cart by mistake so I have to wait longer for a replacement NTSC one (takes a long time because he's in Malaysia). Can I buy a dumper or something and connect my cart to a PC and extract the save data from a ROM and continue playing on the cart?

tripredacus

Re: Transferring Save Data from Emulator to Cart
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2024, 10:20:43 am »
First, save data isn't stored in ROM. If I were to guess it would be stored on the MS6264CLL as seen in this picture:
https://snescentral.com/pcb.php?id=0043&num=2&side=front

Of course there are various dumpers that can connect to various computers, but you'll first need to see if you can find one that can read from that chip. I looked at one right away and it doesn't really clarify what it actually reads. I imagine it is designed to read the ROM. However it is possible that the other data is made available to the computer when connected via a cartridge interface but the data manipulator you use will need to have the ability to know which part is which.

My recommendation is that you'll have to do a lot of reading before figuring out which peripheral to use and which program to use. There is a lot of info around and I'm personally not that knowledgeable in the particulars, so some links like this look promising:
https://dumping.guide/carts/nintendo/nes

One of the programs listed in the previous link has the ability to write to SRAM but I don't know if it means an actual NES cart or a flash cart.
https://consolemods.org/wiki/RetroBlaster