Is there any way to recover this old Platinum save?

[captaingrovyle]

Hello, I am looking to see if there is a way to recover my old platinum save file. trying to load it on hardware has the blue screen saying it's corrupted. i did manage to extract the sav with Checkpoint. PKHeX can't read it, and when i import the save to a cleam rom on an emulator, it seems to be read as empty and enters the new game sequence.

if anyone is willing to help me recover the pokemon on the save, or at least point me in the right direction, i would be very grateful.

thanks

POKEMON PL.sav

[ICanSnake]

This isn't a valid save file. The file size should be 512 KB, not 512 bytes. I'm not sure what went wrong with the way you extracted it, but are you able to try a different method? Personally I use TWL Save Tool to extract gen 4 saves.

If you find your correct 512 KB size save file and it still doesn't load into PKHeX, I recommend opening them up in a hex editor and finding your main save file (between 0x000000 and 0x00E000) or your backup save file (between 0x00E000 and 0x01C000) and either switching them around or copying them into a known working save file. This will allow you to see if the backup save still works in your current save file, or if you place them into a new save file you can see if either of your saves work.

[captaingrovyle]

1 hour ago, ICanSnake said:

This isn't a valid save file. The file size should be 512 KB, not 512 bytes. I'm not sure what went wrong with the way you extracted it, but are you able to try a different method? Personally I use TWL Save Tool to extract gen 4 saves.

If you find your correct 512 KB size save file and it still doesn't load into PKHeX, I recommend opening them up in a hex editor and finding your main save file (between 0x000000 and 0x00E000) or your backup save file (between 0x00E000 and 0x01C000) and either switching them around or copying them into a known working save file. This will allow you to see if the backup save still works in your current save file, or if you place them into a new save file you can see if either of your saves work.

alright, looks like the problem is bigger than i thought. i've tried a handful of other save extractors, and they can't even read the cartridge. (TWL crashes the 3ds entirely trying to read it) i've looked around and tried what i could find. cleaned the gold pins, etc. seems like there's something seriously wrong with the cartridge itself. what's weird to me is the DS still reads it as a plat cartridge. i attempted to see what i could get by dumping the cart with gm9, but as far as i could tell all that would have yielded me were two .nds files, neither of which contain save data to my knowledge. just the rom itself. i tested with a working cartridge and this was still the case. 

unless i'm wrong and i AM able to retrieve save data from a .nds and/or its trim file. but it's looking like as of now getting the .sav through normal save editors isn't possible.

i'm not sure where to go from here, feeling hopeless. game's been dead for probably around a decade now. if it helps, the exact error message i get when booting is "The save data could not be accessed.  Please turn the power off and reinsert the DS Game Card."

[Atrius97]

It's possible that your cart is not legitimate, bootleg/reproduction carts often have this issue of not being recognized properly, because their internal structure is not identical to an official copy.

You may have to find a NDS cart reader/writer to properly extract what you need, and even then it may be difficult to obtain your save in a readable format, and potentially even harder to edit and then replace.

There are many guides online you can find to identify counterfeit NDS carts, especially Pokémon games. I suggest double checking your cart's legitimacy, as reproduction carts have even been accidentally resold "as legitimate" by certain retailers who couldn't tell the difference.

[captaingrovyle]

7 hours ago, Atrius97 said:

It's possible that your cart is not legitimate, bootleg/reproduction carts often have this issue of not being recognized properly, because their internal structure is not identical to an official copy.

You may have to find a NDS cart reader/writer to properly extract what you need, and even then it may be difficult to obtain your save in a readable format, and potentially even harder to edit and then replace.

There are many guides online you can find to identify counterfeit NDS carts, especially Pokémon games. I suggest double checking your cart's legitimacy, as reproduction carts have even been accidentally resold "as legitimate" by certain retailers who couldn't tell the difference.

I've just watched a video on how to differentiate a bootleg, and it's 100% authentic. Pretty sure it's a day 1 copy actually. 

Would you be able to point me in the right direction for one of these reader/writers? 

[theSLAYER]

Out of curiosity, did you ever use the poke transfer lab to connect to this copy of Platinum?

[Atrius97]

After checking my cart, yours appears to be a slightly different revision (mine has CPUENOJ41, two carts can have the exact same code, there's photos online of carts with the same ID as mine), but authentic. If it isn't, it's a very good copy.
From here: Reddit post on the topic

Quote

CPUE is the Title ID. This is the only part I would expect your cart to exactly match any other. Other valid IDs for Platinum are CPUJ (Japanese Version) and CPUP (European Version). This should always match the sticker on the front. If it doesn't, it's some kind of fake, whether an actual fake cart or a label swap.

Nx is the revision. Yours is Revision 0, the cart in the pic you posted in that reply to someone else is Revision 1. This isn't necessarily common, but it's not at all unusual.

Jxx is to do with manufacturing. There's many correct values for this.

So we can rule out counterfeit copies for the moment.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Atrius97

[captaingrovyle]

On 4/5/2022 at 8:10 PM, Atrius97 said:

After checking my cart, yours appears to be a slightly different revision (mine has CPUENOJ41, two carts can have the exact same code, there's photos online of carts with the same ID as mine), but authentic. If it isn't, it's a very good copy.
From here: Reddit post on the topic

So we can rule out counterfeit copies for the moment.

yeah, i noticed the codes were slightly different, but i wasn't sure what to make of it. i am still pretty confident it's a legitimate copy; purchased brand new around late 2008-early 2009.

On 4/5/2022 at 3:55 PM, theSLAYER said:

Out of curiosity, did you ever use the poke transfer lab to connect to this copy of Platinum?

no, i haven't. the only things i've transferred to gen 5 were the few things i traded over to my HeartGold. which is the main reason i wish to get into this save. and if memory serves, the save went dead long after it had done any communication, even with other gen4 carts.

[theSLAYER]

So just to be clear:

- can any device (3DS, NDS) even boot it and play the game? This question includes any weird configuration you may have to do, like cleaning the pins, placing a coin or paper to make the contacts closer to the cart (Won’t recommend any, at your own risk). If you do anything and got it to play, should tell us that too

- if the device can play the cart, does it load back the old save?

 

I’m under the impression the cart won’t even launch, devices won’t read it. 

[captaingrovyle]

1 hour ago, theSLAYER said:

So just to be clear:

- can any device (3DS, NDS) even boot it and play the game? This question includes any weird configuration you may have to do, like cleaning the pins, placing a coin or paper to make the contacts closer to the cart (Won’t recommend any, at your own risk). If you do anything and got it to play, should tell us that too

- if the device can play the cart, does it load back the old save?

 

I’m under the impression the cart won’t even launch, devices won’t read it. 

i thought this was crazy sounding but i tried it on my brother's old DS lite and it actually worked! i don't know why my 3DS was completely unable to read it, but this is definitely more workable. i wonder why that would be like that. could it have something to do with CFW? anyway, i'm content with this for now. 

sorry to have wasted everyone's time.

[theSLAYER]

On 4/8/2022 at 7:38 AM, captaingrovyle said:

i thought this was crazy sounding but i tried it on my brother's old DS lite and it actually worked! i don't know why my 3DS was completely unable to read it, but this is definitely more workable. i wonder why that would be like that. could it have something to do with CFW? anyway, i'm content with this for now. 

sorry to have wasted everyone's time.

What you said sounds reasonable. Probably not CFW, but rather an issue with the device's contacts. Well, if the device can play the game, then should be able to dump the save. I recommend getting a backup of your save, just in case the cart fails on any device

[AlamosIT]

On 4/7/2022 at 11:38 PM, captaingrovyle said:

i thought this was crazy sounding but i tried it on my brother's old DS lite and it actually worked! i don't know why my 3DS was completely unable to read it, but this is definitely more workable. i wonder why that would be like that. could it have something to do with CFW? anyway, i'm content with this for now. 

sorry to have wasted everyone's time.

Maybe DS/DSi functionality was broken when you install CFW, it could happen.

Following this guide you shoud be able to fix it.