memcardrex VS memcarduino

If you want to try recovering the saves there are two main options: 1) Connect your card to a PC (with something like a Memcarduino or a PS3 memory card adapter) and MemcardRex to "undelete" the slot. If after connecting nothing shows up, the date is probably gone for good.

MemeCardRex v1.9.cd98032 has always worked for me.

MemcardRex works with .srm, just make sure you're using the latest version: https://github.com/ShendoXT/memcardrex/releases/tag/cd98032

Zero soldering involved if you want to do it the cheap and dirty way. Just upload MemCARDuino to the Arduino, remove the memory card top shell and connect using the pins plastic part (remove the pins) and inserting the jumper cables into the pins. Then just hold the row of pins over the memory card with your hand (or pressing them down with an eraser makes it much easier). I personally prefer MemcardRex for dumping software, as it interfaces with MemCARDuino nicely.

For PS1 there is https://github.com/ShendoXT/memcarduino Fos PS2 unfortunately there is no way without a PS2 or these overpriced mem to usb adapter.

No, it doesn't, but you need some way to get it installed on a memory card, such as the PS3 memory card adapter, Memcarduino, or a PS2 that can run homebrew software. They also sell cheap memory cards with it pre-installed in case you don't have access to any of those.

Not sure if there's any card manager that can actually handle the hidden portion of the data out of the box. You would have to dump the whole card (raw) with something like Memcarduino python script, and then use a hex editor to fix the block order before it can be edited in something else.

Zero soldering involved if you want to do it the cheap and dirty way. Just upload MemCARDuino to the Arduino, remove the memory card top shell and connect using the pins plastic part (remove the pins) and inserting the jumper cables into the pins. Then just hold the row of pins over the memory card with your hand (or pressing them down with an eraser makes it much easier). I personally prefer MemcardRex for dumping software, as it interfaces with MemCARDuino nicely.

- Memcardrex on PC can see and "undelete" save files. To use it you need a way to connect a memory card to PC (like memcarduino or a commercial memory card backup device)

Memcarduino is a good option nowadays: https://github.com/ShendoXT/memcarduino

I found out an useful quirk from bootleg memory cards: You can dump the saves to PC easily if you have an Arduino board. In contrast, the OEM memory cards (and some more complex bootlegs like multi-megabyte cards) need an external power supply and a voltage divider to properly dump them with MemCARDuino, but the common bootlegs do not, and can be feed directly from the Arduino 3.3v pin, so the whole process is really simple and cheap.

What do you mean by hanging? Progress bar does not fill? Have you tried to update the arduino's firmware? From here https://github.com/ShendoXT/memcarduino