Replacing a broken Micro SD card in a region swapped n3dsLL

[DeVito]

I bought a n3dsLL from Japan and region changed it so I could navigate the menus. I installed a 128gb microSD card to store all of my homebrew downloads and ROMs. Due to a series of unfortunate events, the microSD card sustained significant physical damage and is no longer able to be read or recovered. I have a new SD card, but I have now got the problem of trying to reinstall all of the necessary files to run homebrew. I can't copy them over from the old sd card due to it being dead and I am afraid trying to factory reset will result in bricking. What should I do in this instance?

 

[anotherthing]

For the future, back up your SD cards regularly. I know this won't help you now, but it will from now on.

Here's the question, what does the New 2DS XL do when you power it on? Is boot.firm on your NAND? If not, you'll get the blue and white LED lighting up and the machine will power off.

If it does boot, you should check and see what version of Luma3DS you have. This guide will help you:

https://3ds.hacks.guide/checking-for-cfw#what-to-do-next

 

[DeVito]

For the future, back up your SD cards regularly. I know this won't help you now, but it will from now on.

Here's the question, what does the New 2DS XL do when you power it on? Is boot.firm on your NAND? If not, you'll get the blue and white LED lighting up and the machine will power off.

If it does boot, you should check and see what version of Luma3DS you have. This guide will help you:

When I hit the power button, the blue light comes on for a few seconds before powering off.

Also, while I didn't back up the entire SSD, I should have a copy of (one of) the NAND files. IDK if it's the one I need, because I can't remember if I backed up the latest one, but can I use that in my recovery efforts?

 

[anotherthing]

What I would try first is charging the thing all the way up, then try to enter Recovery Mode. This might take several tries.

To enter recovery mode, Hold down L + R + A + D-Pad Up and hit the power button while holding down those keys. You should eventually get a screen to update the firmware. You don't have to do the update. I didn't update when this happened to me.

Always start with the least extreme fix, and work your way up.

 

[DeVito]

When I hit the power button, the blue light comes on for a few seconds before powering off.

Also, while I didn't back up the entire SSD, I should have a copy of (one of) the NAND files. IDK if it's the one I need, because I can't remember if I backed up the latest one, but can I use that in my recovery efforts?

What I would try first is charging the thing all the way up, then try to enter Recovery Mode. This might take several tries.

To enter recovery mode, Hold down L + R + A + D-Pad Up and hit the power button while holding down those keys. You should eventually get a screen to update the firmware. You don't have to do the update. I didn't update when this happened to me.

Always start with the least extreme fix, and work your way up.

That didn't work, but I did get it to start. I removed some electrical tape I had over a couple connectors on the motherboard. It now boots to the home menu, but the only things there are TwiLightMenu++ and LoZ Four Swords. I assume that is because they are stored as DSIWare on the system memory instead of on the SD card. Now, what do I do to reinstall the essential homebrew apps? (Universal Updater, Homebrew Menu, FBI, etc.)
If I can get Universal Updater and Homebrew menu down I think I can manage the rest.

 

[Neptunexz]

Follow this guide: https://3ds.hacks.guide/finalizing-setup