I Just Bought A Blu, I Thought I Was Good To Go, But Not I Think I&#39

[ShaolinDrunkard123]

Hi all, I'm new to the gp32, I just bought a BLU unit off ebay... Upon reading the FAQ I noticed it said that if I had a BLU or newer then I was all set to play homebrew. But then I went to the Gamepark newbie site, it said if your firware looks like this...

Then I need the freelauncher app, I dont exactly know what that means, but that is what my firmware looks like. So Can I not play homebrew apps? What do I have to do to get this thing up and running? Oh and also of note is that I don't have the USB cable and cant find one, but I do have an SMC and a card reader on the way.


Thanks ahead of time...

 

[geo12]

Yes, the BLU was the last model of the GP32 and that is the default firmware. The freelauncher should be available on the file archive (this one should work well, although I don't know if it's the official one.)

I would recommend flashing a different firmware though since you don't have to bother going through the freelauncher. I always liked Pacrom. Just make sure you get a good guide so you don't brick your system.

 

[trooper]

Hi SD and welcome to the fold,

Hopefully things may not be as bad as they seem.

If you could do one thing for me to confirm this either way, Then we may be able to
suggest your next move.

If you could power on your GP32 while holding the select button and let me know if a black and white menu with four options to choose appears ?.

Like this, But with the colours reversed.

If so, Then you do not need freelauncher, And are free to copy programs onto your SMC`s GPMM folder.

If this menu does not appear, Then it looks as though you may indeed have the original korean firmware, And will most likely need to acquire the hacked freelauncher.

Hacked Freelauncher.

EDIT: I just had a quick look at my GP32 (with Mr Spiv`s Multi-firmware on it, That defaults to PacRom, But has the original korean firmware as a menu option), And i know for a fact that the later GP32`s (specifically the BLU and BLU+) came shipped with the european firmware.

This one,

Where as the earlier GP32`s (NLU and FLU`s) came with the original korean firmware.

This one,

Soooo, If your GP32 is indeed a BLU or BLU+, Then i am 99.9% sure you should get the menu in the first picture when holding select on power on, And have a GP32 with flashed firmware, Thus don`t need freelauncher.

Do get back to us and let us know, As it`s been nearly five years since i flashed my GP32 BLU`s + my NLU is dead and i could be completely wrong.

Trooper

 

[ShaolinDrunkard123]

Hi SD and welcome to the fold,

Hopefully things may not be as bad as they seem.

If you could do one thing for me to confirm this either way, Then we may be able to
suggest your next move.

If you could power on your GP32 while holding the select button and let me know if a black and white menu with four options to choose appears ?.

Like this, But with the colours reversed.

If so, Then you do not need freelauncher, And are free to copy programs onto your SMC`s GPMM folder.

If this menu does not appear, Then it looks as though you may indeed have the original korean firmware, And will most likely need to acquire the hacked freelauncher.

Hacked Freelauncher.

EDIT: I just had a quick look at my GP32 (with Mr Spiv`s Multi-firmware on it, That defaults to PacRom, But has the original korean firmware as a menu option), And i know for a fact that the later GP32`s (specifically the BLU and BLU+) came shipped with the european firmware.

This one,

Where as the earlier GP32`s (NLU and FLU`s) came with the original korean firmware.

This one,

Soooo, If your GP32 is indeed a BLU or BLU+, Then i am 99.9% sure you should get the menu in the first picture when holding select on power on, And have a GP32 with flashed firmware, Thus don`t need freelauncher.

Do get back to us and let us know, As it`s been nearly five years since i flashed my GP32 BLU`s + my NLU is dead and i could be completely wrong.

Trooper


Thanks for responding so quickly guys... Unfortunately though your post gave me hope, holding select and starting the unit only makes the firmware flash or blink on the screen. And it is the original korean firware. I never see either of the screens you posted. I know its a BLU because it says it right on the back...

So what are my options? I have no problem with flashing the firware, but how can I do that without the usb cable??? As you may be able to tell, I'm still a bit confused by the whole thing...

Thanks again ahead of time.

 

[barnesy]

So does it not let you go into the 'game' menu? My memory of free launcher is very hazy, and my memory of how the gp32 was before that was installed is even worse! But assuming you manage to get the free launcher sorted out, the firmware flashing part is easy. You do it by copying a few files to the SMC then running a program. You don't need a cable, but good batteries or a power supply are essential. This page: http://207.44.176.77/~admin28/gp32emu/faq/firmware.htm has the info you'd need for that.

Good luck!