The Visual Boy Advance is indeed one of the best emulators out there for the Gameboy Advance. It is easy to use and allows you to put cheats, record your gameplay, and do the old quick save, then quick load feature.
However, there are times when people will encounter a problem with the VBA, and one of them is the dreaded white screen. Don’t worry because you can learn how to fix the white screen problem on Visual Boy Advance with these easy steps.
Related: Visual Boy Advance: How To Fix Internal Battery Run Dry Error
Fixing White Screen Problem for Visual Boy Advance
Solution 1
The problem could be is that you’re using an older version of the VBA. Back in the day, the VBA had numerous versions because the newer versions updated something. You can look for the latest VBA assuming the one you’re using isn’t up to date. You need to download the latest version because you can’t just update the one you’re using.
Solution 2
It could be a case, where the ROM is the problem. There are some ROMs that are faulty and even damaged. You can try using another ROM and see if the problem persists.
Solution 3
This one may only be applicable for Visual Boy Advance emulators that you get from an app store. You can get them for free, and there are those that you have to pay for. The problem could be is that the VBA isn’t compatible with your current OS. You could also do the good old trick of uninstalling and installing the VBA app again.
Solution 4
If all of the above-mentioned solutions won’t alleviate the problem, then this solution usually works most of the time.
Step 1
Click on Options in your Visual Boy Advance and then click on Emulator.
Step 2
Click on the Save Type.
Step 3
Based on the image below, you need to click on Flash 128K. This changes the save type, and on the image, it is set on Flash 64K. You don’t need to change it if there isn’t any problem with the game in the first place hence, it is set to Flash 64K.
Setting it to Flash 128K from the start doesn’t change anything so you can do that as well. Once you’re done setting it to 128K, simply restart or close your VBA and open it again, and everything should be working fine.
In closing
Now that you know how to fix the white screen on Visual Boy Advance, you can enjoy your games once again. Just remember that not all of the games turn the screen white, but in case it happens, you can always fix it with ease.
what if they all don’t work
so I patched ash grey onto a FireRed ROM and it doesn’t show the game
I use lunarIPS for patching if it helps
What FireRed rom version did you use for patching? Most ROM hacks work best for V1.0 FireRed rom version. Check yours, if that’s v1.1 then most likely the patching will not succeed.
Hi, do you know how to do it on mac? Because if I start the game and have the white screen I can’t click on the options. Thank you
Hmm.. I’m not really sure on Mac, just curious, which GBA emulator are you using?
did not work for me
Thank you very much for this help. The very last step was the life saver.
Awesome! I’m glad that this fixing guide worked on you Ryan. Thanks for coming here.
i used this to fix pokemon fire red the 4th solution fixed my problem tysm
Thank you for your feedback max.
OMG! it actually worked thankyou so much
Nice.. I’m happy for you pal.
Oh my god thank you so much!
hey just did the final step to change the save type, thanks a lot!
I’m so grateful that it worked for you pal.
Hey! i tried a few methods and while it did start up the sound for me the screen itself is still white. ive tried a few different roms at this point and im not sure how to fix this!
I think the same thing is happening to me. I have tried many different roms, but pokemon game roms just don’t work, while other roms of different games do work.
another solution is change video settings going in
options>video>configure and change from opengl to simple
Awesome, thank you so much for sharing this useful information Daniele.
2 Lines that actually fix the problem. Better than the actual article. Thank you.
how do you fix this if you play on the wii and not a pc
didnt work at all for pokemon ruby
Changing the save type to flash128k did the job for me . Thanks a lot dude !
It’s my pleasure to help dude, and I’m glad this guide I created just helped you.
Thanks! this guide really helped!
No problem dude, I’m glad it helped you and thanks for dropping your comments here.
“You can simply download another ROM of the game…”
Nope! That’s piracy, even if you own the game. How ROMs and piracy work: Even if you own the game, its still illegal to download a copy of the game off the internet, because you’re technically downloading someone else’s copy. HOWEVER, if you rip a ROM of a game off of YOUR LEGITIMATE CARTDRIDGE, that’s perfectly fine.
Thanks for the heads up Stephen, I’d better remove that statement then.
You’re not much fun at parties, are you?