KNULLI second SD card: setup and Pokémon save checks

Does your handheld have the second slot?

This workflow requires a device with a second SD-card slot. Confirm the exact model and use its KNULLI image. Do not apply it to a one-slot handheld because another device uses the same software family.

The RG35XX SP and RG35XX Plus overviews are device starting points. This page does not establish compatibility of a particular card, game build or configuration.

Verify active saves after a KNULLI update

Keep storage migration and system updating as separate changes. The KNULLI update guide covers the backup and minor-versus-major decision. Afterward, identify the active userdata before judging whether progress survived.

1. Record which destination is active after reboot.
2. Find the same game build and its associated ordinary save there.
3. Keep the pre-update copy unchanged.
4. Launch and inspect Continue without creating a new blank adventure.
5. Compare trainer, party and location, then record the result.

If the ordinary checkpoint is correct but a newer state does not load, keep the state’s runtime question separate. If Continue is wrong, copying more configuration is not proof that the progress path changed. Choose the next investigation from the observed file and launch context.

Choose the right starting point

The documented fresh-setup sequence

1. Shut the handheld down and insert the second card while it is off.
2. Boot, press Start and open System settings → Storage.
3. Select the second card as the Storage device rather than Internal.
4. Restart through the Quit menu to apply the change. KNULLI creates its data folders during reboot.

Read KNULLI's second-card page for its formatting requirements. Formatting erases card contents; it is a separate decision after backup, not a routine troubleshooting step.

Migrating an established Pokémon library

Use the developer's dual-card migration guide for your existing installation. Before following its steps, record the current storage choice and keep a separate backup of readable data.

Prioritize the cartridge save from a known Continue entry. Keep states and configuration too, but do not assume a resumed session is proof that the cartridge save moved. Avoid changing firmware, core and game version during the same migration.

After copying, inspect the active destination rather than the old card alone. KNULLI uses either SD1 or SD2 as game storage at one time, not both. If the library is missing, follow the active-SHARE and gamelist checklist.

Choose computer access from the card’s existing filesystem

Read the filesystem before choosing a transfer method. KNULLI’s direct-card documentation distinguishes native exFAT access from ext4 access and also records cautions about the latter. A card reader’s failure to expose files is not enough evidence that the card is empty.

The source generally discourages third-party Linux-filesystem access because of potential data loss. This guide does not select a paid utility or promise safe recovery. If Windows offers to format an existing progress card, cancel that decision and investigate another access route.

For the exact connection steps, use Windows/macOS SHARE access or ADB setup. Changing access method leaves the game’s patch and ordinary-save format as separate questions.

Read a userdata copy by what each folder contains

The official folder map places games under roms, ordinary saves and core states under saves, screenshots under screenshots and settings under system. Those separate roles explain why a game-only copy can produce a visible library with missing progress.

1. Locate the intended playable Pokémon file within its system directory.
2. Inspect the saves copy for the progress associated with the recorded game and emulator.
3. Keep ordinary saves and states identifiable; similar names do not establish interchangeable formats.
4. Preserve system as a configuration reference without editing it during the first migration check.
5. Use screenshots for remembered context, then verify the actual adventure through Continue.

A migration copy and a clean major-update restore have different configuration rules. For a major update, follow the old-system-folder boundary; a useful reference backup is not permission to overwrite new defaults. Folder and access references checked 8 Oct 2026.

The migration sequence, with a checkpoint before switching

The official migration procedure uses KNULLI's backup tool and an SSH connection. Have a computer, a working SSH connection and sufficient power available. Preserve an independent copy before preparing the destination.

1. Keep Storage Device set to Internal and reboot.
2. Prepare the second card through System Settings → Frontend Developer Options → Tools → Format A Disk. Identify the secondary card by capacity; do not select Internal. Formatting erases the selected card. Choose exFAT if direct Windows access is required, then restart after formatting completes.
3. Use System Settings → Storage → Backup User Data. Select the secondary card as target and wait for the Finished confirmation.
4. The tool stores the copy inside batocera. Via SSH, inspect /media/SHARE and /media/SHARE_1; identify the second-card directory by its copied contents rather than assuming a fixed name.
5. Inside that verified second-card directory, the developer's move step brings the contents of batocera, including hidden items, to the card's top level. Follow the exact command and checks in the linked guide; do not run a move against a guessed directory.
6. Confirm top-level data folders and an empty backup folder, then choose the intended external storage device and reboot.

Check folder structure before testing Pokémon

A copy can finish successfully while still being in the wrong place for normal play. Inspect the destination and answer a specific question: are the game and save folders where the active storage expects them, or are they still contained inside a backup folder?

Worked example: games appear, but the adventure starts over

Keep the same game build and emulator. Inspect whether the destination contains the relevant save data, then compare the expected basename with the game's actual filename. Avoid beginning and saving a new adventure over the destination while you are still trying to identify the original.

Return to the preserved source record: trainer, team and last location. If the original setup still opens that adventure, retain it as the reference. Recopying just the game is unlikely to answer a save-location question. Conversely, a state that opens an old scene is not enough to establish that the cartridge save is correct.

Complete the Continue and normal-reopen checks below before considering the original card retired. If the source is unreadable, describe that separately; this migration procedure does not recover missing files.

Verify progress before retiring the original card

1. Load the same game build using the recorded core.
2. Open Continue without relying on an old resumed state.
3. Inspect team, location and recognizable progress.
4. Save inside the game, exit normally and reopen once more.

If it loads old progress or starts a new game, preserve both cards and investigate the save location. Do not overwrite the only readable copy while trying to reproduce the issue.

Separating system and data cards is useful organization; it is not a substitute for a separate backup. Documentation checked 6 Oct 2026. No card migration on a physical device was performed by Pocket Deal Radar.

Keep source and destination observations separate

Label the source card and destination card in your notes, then record which library the running system is actually using. Choose one familiar game and note its launch entry and expected ordinary-save progress. After the move, check that same game and progress before using a large library count as evidence that migration is complete. Record untested folders as untested.

For example: the game appears in the destination library and launches, but Continue is missing. The library migration and save selection now have different results; revisit the destination save checks rather than recopying everything immediately. Keep the original card until you have checked the items you need. These notes do not verify the filesystem or replace a backup: they preserve what you observed during the migration.

Use the local GBA session notebook to download a plain-text record of your attempt. Blank fields stay unrecorded; the notebook does not diagnose your setup.