Gaming Got my black 1.0J DSi yesterday! What shouldn't I do?

[Volga163]

Hello! The thread name mostly about it :-)

A bit more: yesterday got a DSi with firmware version 1.0J. It had Unlaunch preinstalled (by the previous owner I guess), with HiyaCFW and TwilightMenu++. I couldn't find anything like nand.bin or band.dat on the DSi memory card so I'd like to ask you, what shouldn't I do to my console to prevent bricking and turning to sweet black paperweight?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DinohScene]

Does it have a abnormal connector on the casing?
If yes then you might have a hardmodded unit (hardware NAND access, basically brick proof)

I'd first dump the NAND with dumpTool.
Always a good idea to keep a copy.

 

[Volga163]

Does it have a abnormal connector on the casing?

Nope, it doesn't.

I'd first dump the NAND with dumpTool.

Is it a good idea to dump the NAND with already flashed Unlaunch? Will it help in case of something bad happening? :-) I thought I need a clean NAND for that, without anything except stock DSi menu.

 

[DinohScene]

Pity, you'd had one hell of a deal otherwise.

Nah, DSi can't connect to the Nintendo servers anymore so it doesn't matter.
Most important thing is having a working state of your DSi backed up, be it hacked or clean.

Clean NANDs just allow you to revert to retail, that's the only added benefit.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

What you shouldn't do:

• Update the firmware. I don't think it would brick. But it is of no use. See for yourself what updates do: https://dsibrew.org/wiki/System_Menu Having a 1.0J is pretty cool and you won't miss any functionality.
  
• Uninstall unlaunch. It seems to be rare, but bricks happened. Since there is really no reason to remove are working unlaunch installation: Just enjoy having it.

Does it have a abnormal connector on the casing?
If yes then you might have a hardmodded unit (hardware NAND access, basically brick proof)

I'd first dump the NAND with dumpTool.
Always a good idea to keep a copy.

Even though no hardmod here: I want to add that sometimes good hardmod installations on DSi/3DS have a standard micro-USB connector. BUT they require the use of a special cable ending in an SD adapter that is plugged into an SD reader. Connecting a normal micro-USB cable or even a charger will put 5V onto the NAND. NAND chips tend to… not really like this.

Nope, it doesn't.

Is it a good idea to dump the NAND with already flashed Unlaunch? Will it help in case of something bad happening? :-) I thought I need a clean NAND for that, without anything except stock DSi menu.

If you want an additional clean image: Load a copy of your backup with no$gba and uninstall unlaunch in the emulator. Zero risk.

Nah, DSi can't connect to the Nintendo servers anymore so it doesn't matter.

Is that so? Not even updates and redownloading purchased DSiWare anymore? I thought we had some "I updated and now my random R4i does not work anymore" threads recently. I didn't try to connect a DSi for quite some time.


In any case: Having backups is a must and:

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Volga163]

One more newbie question (haven't touched a DSi before).

When it booted for the first couple of times, it told me that it was creating a "new dummy file". I know that it's a workaround for a free space bug. Does it need to appear every time I boot the system? Because when I tweaked some options in TwilightMenu, this message has disappeared. Just booting straight to the CFW. Did I break something? :-D

 

[KleinesSinchen]

One more newbie question (haven't touched a DSi before).

When it booted for the first couple of times, it told me that it was creating a "new dummy file". I know that it's a workaround for a free space bug. Does it need to appear every time I boot the system? Because when I tweaked some options in TwilightMenu, this message has disappeared. Just booting straight to the CFW. Did I break something? :-D

It is needed for HiyaCFW. I always thought it would only show once when a dummy file is needed (unless the file gets deleted or free space changes).

No, you didn't break anything. And even if you did: Everything¹ regarding TWiLight Menu++ and HiyaCFW is on SD and does not change SysNAND. Even if you would shoot your SD to the moon, it wouldn't harm the DSi. Backup the SD contents if you are worried about breaking anything.





______________________________
¹ TWL++ has options to replace the unlaunch image and disable some unlaunch patches. That would write to NAND – but I don't think this is a problem.

 

[DinohScene]

What you shouldn't do:

• Update the firmware. I don't think it would brick. But it is of no use. See for yourself what updates do: https://dsibrew.org/wiki/System_Menu Having a 1.0J is pretty cool and you won't miss any functionality.
  
• Uninstall unlaunch. It seems to be rare, but bricks happened. Since there is really no reason to remove are working unlaunch installation: Just enjoy having it.

Even though no hardmod here: I want to add that sometimes good hardmod installations on DSi/3DS have a standard micro-USB connector. BUT they require the use of a special cable ending in an SD adapter that is plugged into an SD reader. Connecting a normal micro-USB cable or even a charger will put 5V onto the NAND. NAND chips tend to… not really like this.



If you want an additional clean image: Load a copy of your backup with no$gba and uninstall unlaunch in the emulator. Zero risk.


Is that so? Not even updates and redownloading purchased DSiWare anymore? I thought we had some "I updated and now my random R4i does not work anymore" threads recently. I didn't try to connect a DSi for quite some time.


In any case: Having backups is a must and:

Good luck and have fun!

I've got some pinheaders on mine.
With abnormal I meant any connector that's not stock on a DSi.

As for not being able to connect, didn't Nintendo shut everything down on the DSi in favor for the Switch?
I can remember the shop going down at one point.

Regardless, there's nothing much a DSi can do on the web these days.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

I've got some pinheaders on mine.
With abnormal I meant any connector that's not stock on a DSi.

As for not being able to connect, didn't Nintendo shut everything down on the DSi in favor for the Switch?
I can remember the shop going down at one point.

Regardless, there's nothing much a DSi can do on the web these days.

Nintendo WFC was shutdown in 2014. Never bothered looking into the replacement options as I never played a single game online in my life.

Instead of guesswork, I just tested it. (I'm the Testing Sina after all).

Result: The DSi Shop is still online in the sense it allows redownloading purchased DSiWare. The only thing still available is the DSi → 3DS transfer program. Depressing. The same undead zombie state as on the Wii Shop Channel which only offers the Wii → Wii U program and the Skyward Sword savegame repair channel.


This means updating is still possible (and will be forced to access the defunct shop). Updating should be avoided unless somebody wants to redownload software which they paid before the shop closed.

 

[Volga163]

Having backups is a must

Is there a way to confirm that my dump is okay? Will it be enough to dump the NAND 2-3 times on different microSD cards and compare the checksum of dumps? Thanks!

 

[KleinesSinchen]

Is there a way to confirm that my dump is okay? Will it be enough to dump the NAND 2-3 times on different microSD cards and compare the checksum of dumps? Thanks!

Definitely sounds like me. Overly worrying. I don't think that there will be a problem with dumping the NAND. If you want to do it you can dump the NAND multiple times and compare the checksums, BUT keep in mind that you must not boot into SysNAND between two dumps. Even just loading "Launcher" (the normal DSi Menu) will change NAND contents and therefore the checksum and you might be wondering why you fail getting the same result twice.

 

[Volga163]

If you want to do it you can dump the NAND multiple times and compare the checksums

Well, two backups stored on different places are still better than a single backup laying... *somewhere*.

keep in mind that you must not boot into SysNAND between two dumps.

Yeah, I was expecting that