Hacking 3DS Flashcarts - News, Updates, and Support Thread

[Pleng]

1. I don't know where I read that Gateway is limited to 32GB, but it's very probable that their hardware doesn't support more than 32GB in a MicroSD. GW will still work if you decide to use a 64GB MicroSD, but it you have, for example, 28GB conformed by 7 ROMs, and the eighth is an 8GB ROM, this 8th ROM will be ignored by the system since it surpasses the 32GB limit.

Ummm that doesn't sound right at all...?

If they implement multi-roms then presumably the SD card will be formatted with a filesystem (I believe it's a raw image that's created on the card at the moment?) a filesystem doesn't just 'stop working after the xth GB' it's either understood by the host, or it isn't.

 

[kyogre123]

Ummm that doesn't sound right at all...?

If that's a question, no, it sounds right.

If they implement multi-roms then presumably the SD card will be formatted with a filesystem

Presumably?? That's more than obvious.

a filesystem doesn't just 'stop working after the xth GB' it's either understood by the host, or it isn't.

The issue has nothing to do with the file system, but with the space of storage. There's a limit of readable bytes for systems that don't support MicroSDs of higher capacity.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

I t
I thought I read the Japanese ver of bravely has English audio+subs. Is the jap relapse out yet?

No. Release date is Dec. 5th.

 

[Pleng]

If that's a question, no, it sounds right.
The issue has nothing to do with the file system, but with the space of storage. There's a limit of readable bytes for systems that don't support MicroSDs of higher capacity.

Do you have a source for this?

As far as I understand it SDXC cards are generally formatted with the xFat filesystem, which is why they are unreadable in devices that don't specifically support them. It is possible to format (all? as far as I'm aware) current SDXC cards as Fat32 which would then result any device with SDHC support to be able to read them. I've never heard of a limit of readable bytes.

 

[Ennea]

Presumably?? That's more than obvious..

Technically, a file system is not a requirement. In fact, I'd say implementing the desired functionality using a file system is more difficult in this case. Instead, several ROMs could be written to the card, and then you just point to the correct offset for the ROM you want to read.

 

[phanteon]

I t
I thought I read the Japanese ver of bravely has English audio+subs. Is the jap relapse out yet?

sure it has, look. haha

 

[kyogre123]

Do you have a source for this?

As far as I understand it SDXC cards are generally formatted with the xFat filesystem, which is why they are unreadable in devices that don't specifically support them. It is possible to format (all? as far as I'm aware) current SDXC cards as Fat32 which would then result any device with SDHC support to be able to read them. I've never heard of a limit of readable bytes.

Actually xFat will be necessary in order to support a ROM with more than 4GB (or 3.72GB, I'm not sure) of file size, but that's not the issue I'm talking about.

About the source, yes; another user reported this not too long ago:

actually sdhc and sdxc has more to it than just the formatting it comes with... sdxc card formatted with fat32 will read fine in sdhc readers but anything beyond the first 27gb will not be addressable.. i ran into that limitation with my dstwo.. i was able to access all the roms i copied over to the first 27gb (keeping in mind the 255 roms per folder limitation) and all the folders beyond the first 27gb would freeze the system when accessed and using any type of file browser homebrew would show the last file it was able to address before hitting the limit.. everything copied over after it was missing... i tested this multiple times by deleting everything and re-copying everything again and every time the folders that ran into the issue changed.. tried different adapters and even a separate laptop with a built in reader to ensure it wasnt a bad adapter or my computer doing this and same situation also tried a different 64gb sdxc card i had in my phone to make sure i didnt have a fake sandisk card but same story..... now this doesnt rule out a firmware update fixing the ability to address beyond 27gb but idk if sdhc readers can be updated to read sdxc like the wii was able to do with sd and sdhc.... in anycase im using the 64gb card as a 27gb card for now...

---

Technically, a file system is not a requirement. In fact, I'd say implementing the desired functionality using a file system is more difficult in this case. Instead, several ROMs could be written to the card, and then you just point to the correct offset for the ROM you want to read.

How would you do that? We are currently using plain images, are you suggesting to use partitions?

 

[mechadylan]

(paranoia)
So I got a 3DS on 4.5 and a Gateway and got it all set up, but now my kids are like, "ooh, you got a 3DS. Now we can meet, Streetpass, multi-player..." etc. When I first set up my 3DS, I turned on the Parental Lock, locked everything, and didn't set up any wireless connections (shoot, I even make sure that the yellow wireless light is off before I begin playing.) But now I'm wondering if some/none/all of these features are safe to turn on. Obviously I don't intend to update my 3DS, but I've only had the console for about a week and don't know if it's possible for it to be accidentally updated other than with a cartridge.

tl;dr Which 3DS features (if any) should I avoid completely so as to not update past 4.5, and how likely is it to accidentally update my 3DS with the features (if any) that pose a likely threat of updating.
(/paranoia)

 

[mr. fancypants]

No. Release date is Dec. 5th.

really thats great (5dec= sinterklaas something like christmas)

 

[kyogre123]

(paranoia)
So I got a 3DS on 4.5 and a Gateway and got it all set up, but now my kids are like, "ooh, you got a 3DS. Now we can meet, Streetpass, multi-player..." etc. When I first set up my 3DS, I turned on the Parental Lock, locked everything, and didn't set up any wireless connections (shoot, I even make sure that the yellow wireless light is off before I begin playing.) But now I'm wondering if some/none/all of these features are safe to turn on. Obviously I don't intend to update my 3DS, but I've only had the console for about a week and don't know if it's possible for it to be accidentally updated other than with a cartridge.

tl;dr Which 3DS features (if any) should I avoid completely so as to not update past 4.5, and how likely is it to accidentally update my 3DS with the features (if any) that pose a likely threat of updating.
(/paranoia)

Apparently, setting parental controls on doesn't prevent downloading updates to the system/update prompts anymore.
Here, there are some individual points to consider in order to avoid downloading an update, sorted by effectiveness:

*Turn the wireless off forever.

*Delete any registered hotspot. Avoid Nintendo Zone areas.

*Connect to the internet only while playing a game. After exiting a game, make sure to disconnect the system from the internet by turning the wireless off or remaining far away enough from the area of the registered hotspot. Turn the wireless off when approaching to a Nintendo Zone.

About the infamous update prompt: Don't fear it...

It first asks for a confirmation to proceed, which can either be activated by presing A or by tapping the "OK" option.

Did you accidentally pressed A? Don't worry, it asks once again for confirmation. This time is showing the terms of the service and you can only accept them by tapping the "I accept" option. As you can see in the image, pressing A is no use, so it's impossible to "accidentally update".

After declining, it returns this screen and that's all.

As you can see, having the update prompt is not that bad. I have had it 7 months and is not really a problem to me.

 

[Bonovox40]

sure it has, look. haha

Haha. But I came across a import 3ds game site, and it stated Bravely Default will have multiple spoken and dub options, including english. Is that incorrect? I really don't know anything about it, just noticed it the other day.

 

[Ennea]

How would you do that? We are currently using plain images, are you suggesting to use partitions?

Just write the images one after the other to the SD card. It shouldn't be an issue to point the start offset somewhere else, so the 3DS gets the ROM info from another point of the SD card instead of the start. As to how "far" it reads, it depends if it will automatically stop after the expected ROM size has been reached, or if the end of the medium needs to be simulated as well. I don't know the exact behavior of the 3DS.

 

[Sentinell]

Hey guys.
I just bought a 3DS xl (firmware v4.4) and ordered a gateway card.

I'd love to play the new zelda, but gateway doesn't support it (yet?).
I'd buy it, but will it update my firmware to 6.x?
I'm guessing yes? So i can't buy te game unless i want to make my gateway card useless?

 

[dagro]

Hey guys.
I just bought a 3DS xl (firmware v4.4) and ordered a gateway card.

I'd love to play the new zelda, but gateway doesn't support it (yet?).
I'd buy it, but will it update my firmware to 6.x?
I'm guessing yes? So i can't buy te game unless i want to make my gateway card useless?

The Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Worlds is 6.2 so won't work (even with firmware spoofing)
Yes pick one or the either for now, you can play The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 3D while you wait for gateway 2.0
If you really want to buy the game learn how to dump your nand so you can rollback after you are done playing. This involves opening your system and soldiering so if its your first time just wait.

 

[phanteon]

i got the gateway and the 3ds about 2 weeks ago. and there are a lot of games that you can enjoy before zelda. just dont think in the games that you cant play and you will be fine.

do not update (the 3ds)

 

[justinkb]

Technically, a file system is not a requirement. In fact, I'd say implementing the desired functionality using a file system is more difficult in this case. Instead, several ROMs could be written to the card, and then you just point to the correct offset for the ROM you want to read.

I'd suggest a rudimentary file system (accompanied by a tool from gateway team which can manage this), where the first megabyte is some superblock with pointers to the headers of the actual roms written to the rest of the card, all of which would be 1M aligned.

 

[dagro]

So I finally got tracking for my gateway 3ds and I am planning to use the blue card for emulating gba etc and playing ds games. My only other flashcard was the original R4 like 6 years ago so can someone help me out. I read that Gateway Blue is r4i hacked with woodr4 1.54, which means it should be able to run normal ds games if i just copy them over right? Also the current woodr4 is 1.63(i think), can i just use the files from 1.63 on the Gateway Blue card. Also if you got any other tips on running ds games on Blue please reply.

 

[kyogre123]

So I finally got tracking for my gateway 3ds and I am planning to use the blue card for emulating gba etc and playing ds games. My only other flashcard was the original R4 like 6 years ago so can someone help me out. I read that Gateway Blue is r4i hacked with woodr4 1.54, which means it should be able to run normal ds games if i just copy them over right? Also the current woodr4 is 1.63(i think), can i just use the files from 1.63 on the Gateway Blue card. Also if you got any other tips on running ds games on Blue please reply.

You can't emulate GBA on a DS, you need a slot 2 cartridge for this or DSTWO, which has an internal processor to emulate it (IIRC). The Blue GW is indeed a clone, and as such it can't utilise the original woodr4 firmwares, so it will be stuck on the firmware that GW copied for it.

I had a problem with this blue cart because I haven't figured out how to boot my old saves from Supercard on this and until know I haven't fixed this problem. So, what I'm trying to say is that their DS cart may not be good for playing DS ROMs constantly, it was made with the purpose of launching their exploit on the 3DS.

 

[dagro]

You can't emulate GBA on a DS, you need a slot 2 cartridge for this or DSTWO, which has an internal processor to emulate it (IIRC). The Blue GW is indeed a clone, and as such it can't utilise the original woodr4 firmwares, so it will be stuck on the firmware that GW copied for it.

I had a problem with this blue cart because I haven't figured out how to boot my old saves from Supercard on this and until know I haven't fixed this problem. So, what I'm trying to say is that their DS cart may not be good for playing DS ROMs constantly, it was made with the purpose of launching their exploit on the 3DS.

Thanks for the reply. I was looking on the fake site http://www.gateway3ds.info/Homebrew-Emulators-for-Gateway3DS-DS-Mode.htm which has some info on it and thought I could. You mentioned that I can run DS ROMs from Blue card, do i just copy the roms over since I can't change the firmware. The only reason I ask this is I want to play some DS games on a gaint screen. I have DS Lite with R4 in it but if I can play it on 3DS would be nice. I know you can buy additional flashcard if gateway blue is able to run it. Atm i have 5 microsds (3 for games on gateway red, 1 for exploit and 1 I wanted to use for DS games)

 

[kyogre123]

You mentioned that I can run DS ROMs from Blue card, do i just copy the roms over since I can't change the firmware.

All DS flashcarts work like this and this one is not the exception. About the firmware, you copy these files, including the ROMs to a MicroSD card; these files are on the official site of Gateway 3DS.