nds-bootstrap loader: Run commercial NDS backups from an SD Card

nds-bootstrap:

Thanks to the work of ahezard, Gericom, Apache, Robz8, _catcatcat, and shutterbug2000 and other contributors, we can now load NDS games from the SD card, without any flashcard/SLOT-1 card.

Don't expect high compatibility, but do expect many, many updates.

:arrow: Compatibility listing:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

:arrow: The official Discord server for nds-bootstrap:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7bxTQfZ

:arrow: The thread for the recommended loader (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/twloader-ctr-mode-nds-app.448375/

:arrow: SRLoader for softmodded DSis (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/srloader-nds-app-for-dsi.472200/

:arrow: If you're more of a forwarder person:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

:arrow: Link to the releases page:
https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap/releases

:arrow: Anti-Piracy patch list by Robz8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ap-patch-preservation.477536/

Also, thank you to our testers:
Historian
JoshuaDoes
thejsa
Alerdy
PokeAcer


Also, a video thanks to Robz8:


And another thanks to Alerdy:
 
Last edited by shutterbug2000,

Pakhitew-Island

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2017
Messages
177
Trophies
0
Age
30
XP
291
Country
Jamaica
Hoping the new release increases the speed for HeartGold.

The problem is with nds-bootstrap, since TWLoader is just a frontend for it.
The red screen is caused by either a broken or unpatched function(s).
I dont have any red screen issues but does that mean multiplayer for say, pokemon cant happen? I do sometimes pull off multiplayer in maro kart ds
 

RocketRobz

Stylish TWiLight Hero
Developer
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
16,614
Trophies
3
Age
24
XP
21,032
Country
United States
Are there any games that run in full speed yet?
All games that work and their size is about 30 MB or less work at full speed. Advance Wars DS for example.
28MB or less.
Is there a list of all?
For games above 28MB:
3DS users: Games that have (near) cart speeds
  • Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (U/E)
  • Animal Crossing: Wild World (U)
  • Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (J/U/E)
  • Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 (U/E)
  • Final Fantasy III (J/U/E) (Opening video is full speed)
  • Kirby Squeak Squad (J/U/E)
  • Kirby Super Star Ultra (J/U/K)
  • Lost in Blue (U)
  • Lunar Knights (U/E) (Videos are full speed)
  • Mario Hoops 3 on 3 (J/U/E)
  • Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (U/E)
  • MegaMan ZX (J/U/E) (Videos are full speed)
  • MegaMan ZX Advent (J/U/E) (Videos are full speed)
  • Miami Nights: Singles in the City (U/E)
  • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (J/U/E/K)
  • Ridge Racer DS (U)
  • Sonic Rush (J/U/E)
  • Sonic Rush Adventure (J/U/E/K)
  • WarioWare: Touched (J/U/E/C/K)
 

nl255

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Messages
3,000
Trophies
2
XP
2,796
Country
Most games released 2004-2008 will work, but most games released 2009- will not work.
Games <28MB will load at cart speeds or slightly faster, but games above that size will use caching.

As I understand it, some games above 28MB use a specific list of what parts of the game to load into RAM rather than just using standard caching, right?
 

DarkLordDemaar

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
29
Trophies
0
Age
30
XP
119
Country
Japan
Not sure where to post this but I tried out a few games not on the Compatibility list.
Note that I only played the games a few minutes to the first save point.

Digimon World Dusk : Works
Rune Factory 2 : Works (Long Loading Times)
Rune Factory 3 : Works (Long Loading Times + Sound Problems -White Noise playing over music-)
Sands of Destruction : Doesn't Work (White Screen)
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    @Sicklyboy I am wanting to fully change the game and bend it to my will lol. I would like to eventually have the ability to add more characters, enemies, even have a completely different story if i wanted. I already have the ability to change the tilemaps in the US version, so I can basically make my own map and warp to it in game - so I'm pretty far into it!
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I really would like to make a hack that I would enjoy playing, and maybe other people would too. swapping to the EU version would also mean my US friends could not legally play it
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I am definitely considering porting over some of the EU features without using the actual ROM itself, tbh that would probably be the best way to go about it... but i'm sad that the voice acting is so.... not good on the US version. May not be a way around that though
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    I appreciate the insight!
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    @TwoSpikedHands just switch, all the knowledge you learned still applies and most of the code and assets should be the same anyway
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    and realistically they wouldn't

    be able to play it legally anyway since they need a ROM and they probably don't have the means to dump it themselves
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    why the shit does the shitbox randomly insert newlines in my messages
  • Veho @ Veho:
    It does that when I edit a post.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    It inserts a newline in a random spot.
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    never had that i don't think
  • Karma177 @ Karma177:
    do y'all think having an sd card that has a write speed of 700kb/s is a bad idea?
    trying to restore emunand rn but it's taking ages... (also when I finished the first time hekate decided to delete all my fucking files :wacko:)
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    @Karma177 that sd card is 100% faulty so yes, its a bad idea
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    even the slowest non-sdhc sd cards are a few MB/s
  • Karma177 @ Karma177:
    @The Real Jdbye it hasn't given me any error trying to write things on it so I don't really think it's faulty (pasted 40/50gb+ folders and no write errors)
  • DinohScene @ DinohScene:
    run h2testw on it
    +1
  • DinohScene @ DinohScene:
    when SD cards/microSD write speeds drop below a meg a sec, they're usually on the verge of dying
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Samsung SD format can sometimes fix them too
  • Purple_Heart @ Purple_Heart:
    yes looks like an faulty sd
  • Purple_Heart @ Purple_Heart:
    @Psionic Roshambo i may try that with my dead sd cards
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    It's always worth a shot
  • TwoSpikedHands @ TwoSpikedHands:
    @The Real Jdbye, I considered that, but i'll have to wait until i can get the eu version in the mail lol
  • I @ I-need-help-with-wup-wiiu:
    i need help with nusspli failed downloads, can someone respond to my thread? pretty please:wub:
  • Sheeba- @ Sheeba-:
    I can't wait to hack my 11.00 PS4 pro
    Sheeba- @ Sheeba-: I can't wait to hack my 11.00 PS4 pro