I turned on my DS and I noticed that it didn't autosave the last game I played (sonic rush). When I started a couple other games, tehy had old save files (pokemon emerald, star wars 3). I tryed saving in pokemon and restarting my DS, and it autosaved, but "movie" was higlighted in the main menu ratehr than game. When I started pokemon again it gave me this message "your internal battery has run dry, your save file will still be loaded but clock based eevnts will not work". Does this mean my M3's battery ran out? If so, then why did it run out so fast (Ive had it for about a month) and should I get it replaced?
the battery inside the M3 is only for real time clock functions. it may have run dry depending on how often you play Pokemon.. and i'm not 100% sure but it may be running all the time (even when your M3 is off). mr_hanky would be able to enlighten you on that most likely.. sorry man i would suggest get it replaced.. it costs maybe $3 at the store
Sounds like your battery is dead, which leaves you with two options: 1. Replace the battery, which is more difficult than it sounds, and requires some basic soldering. 2. Use soft-reset on all your games and backup the save manually, catch here is some games don't work with soft-reset. Should also mention the battery is not just for the RTC, but to keep items stored in the SRAM of the M3 (i.e Gamesaves) which is why you lose you saves if you turn the DS off. Still, it's unlucky for the battery to run out so quickly, it chould last fro a good 2-3 years even with heavy usuage. EDIT: Here is a guide to replacng the battery in an M3CF, it should be a similar process for the other M3s
http://www.m3adapter.com it's printed on the front of the M3. Also shown in the Help/System Info memu.
Does the G6 also have a similar setup in order to facilitate games that have real time clock features? And if so, any reports on battery life?
G6 uses the same idea of having a battery to run RTC and power the SRAM, however the G6 battery is rechargable, so if it gets low (theres a battery meter in the GUI) just plug it into the USB burner for a few hours. The battery will last quite a few months on a full charge.
apparently M3 doesn't have much in the way of customer service. They simply ignored every email I sent. As of right now, In order to save, I have to turn my DS on immediatley after turning it off. Is there a number I can call?
They are located in Hong Kong so I'm not sure if it would be worth it to call Either way.. its cheap to buy a battery at a store than have it shipped from Hong Kong.. its like $3 or so. I know its not really what you want to hear, but shipping to and from hong kong costs $15 each way (they'll ship it out to you free though) if you want it to get back to you anytime soon
but the thing is, I noticed that on the back and front of my m3 the pain t is sort of scraped, and when I got it, the box was wrinkled, so Im thinking that I might have got one that was used and returned. do they have a distribution center in the US?
Not that I am aware of. Where'd you get it from? I'd say ask them about it and see what they can do first before asking the M3 people
