How do patches work?

I downloaded Chrono trigger, and the patch for it, but I dont really know if there is anything else I should be doing....help please?Darn you square enix for not wanting me to have games fofree :-\

Which flashcart are you using?
Do you have the latest firmware version?
If so, which rom did you download?
Which patch did you download?

I am using the R4, and I downloaded a patch from....I dont know where I just copied and pasted it from someone's comment.
I do have the latest firmwear, I just want to make sure I have everything right before I play the game again, and it freezes.

Well, since I don't know which patch you're referring to, it'll probably be easier to just use the anti-piracy bypass code in GBATemp's cheat database.

hm well i just gotta put this out there, when it comes to computers and codes and all that stuff...Im a tar tar, so please could you elaborate a little bit? =]

1. Download this.
2. Right-click on the downloaded file and click "Extract".
3. Copy the cheat.dat file to the _system_ folder on your microSD card, deleting the existing file beforehand.
4. In the R4's game menu, highlight Chrono Trigger and press Y.
5. Enable the anti-piracy bypass code.
6. Enjoy.

which existing file?

The cheat.dat file that's already in the _system_ folder. Delete that before you copy across the new one. Some say that simply overwriting it may cause problems.

so if i download that, and the patch, I should be able to play the game??

You won't need the patch.

darn...it didnt work. nothing happened when I pressed y

Did you follow the instructions I gave you earlier?

yes I did, and I even did it again and nothing happened

If you've already tried patching the rom, that would change the game ID and thus the cheat codes won't be associated with the rom. You could try using a clean, unmodified rom but if you've already patched it then there's no point.

oh my problem was the patch i downloaded didnt work. it keeps freezing at the first warp in the game

Then try again with an unpatched rom.