Tutorial  Updated

How to switch your MenuHax CFW Setup to Luma3DS

I've noticed a lot of this questions related to switching CFWs popping up lately on the forum, so here's a quick tutorial on how to switch to Luma3DS from other outdated CFW solutions, such as rxTools, AuReiNAND, or a handful of other outdated CFW options.

This guide is kind of a WIP, but it should be simple enough to get most people running Luma3DS at the very least. Feedback on how I can make steps clearer is appreciated, but please be civil, of course. (:

Why switch to Luma3DS? Easy, you lose nothing, it's being well maintained, and it's a lot faster and more consistent than many of the older CFW options.

Need all those Tools from rxTools? Switch to using Decrypt9WIP and EmuNAND9 to perform the various functions that it's menu had and more. These tools are being well maintained, while rxTools is not*. This means they are safer tools for you, the end user.
*dukesrg made an effort to try to fix some bugs in them with his fork "Yet another rxtools" but this doesn't resolve any of the CFW related things, and that fork is still not recommended for use

MenuHax Users:
  1. Download the latest Luma3DS (non-dev) build from the github here.
  2. Place your 3DS's SD Card in your computer.
  3. Copy over the "3DS" folder, the "luma" folder, and "Luma3DS.dat" from the archive to your SD card.
  4. Delete your other CFW's files.
  5. Add an entry in your Boot Manager Configuration to load the Luma3DS.dat with offset 0x12000. See "Additional Information" below for the exact text to copy if you are unsure. If you have no boot manager and do not wish to set one up, but wish to load Luma3DS instantly once MenuHax runs, you may use the "boot.3dsx" inside the "menuhax" folder of the Luma3DS archive.
  6. Insert SD Card back into your 3DS.
  7. Start up Luma3DS CFW and turn on:
    "Show current NAND in System Settings."
  8. You may also set "New 3DS CPU" to "Clock+L2" if you have a New 3DS and would like better performance in titles that do not support the New 3DS features normally.
  9. You may also enable "Show GBA boot screen in patched AGB_FIRM" should you have the desire to see the old GBA Logo flash when running GBA games.
  10. When done press start to boot CFW EmuNAND.
  11. Future boots of Luma3DS will no longer show the Config, should you need to get into it to change things, you may do so by holding Select while you start it up, should you want to boot CFW SysNAND, you may do so by holding L while starting Luma3DS. For additional information on how Luma3DS works and it's options, read the Luma3DS Wiki.
  12. Consider switching to Arm9LoaderHax by following Plailect's Guide because it is an objectively better entrypoint, especially for CFW users. If you decide to do this, make sure your boot.3dsx is the Homebrew Launcher.
Additional Information:
For MenuHax users running CTRBootManager, here is the entry you must add to the top of your boot.cfg, either replacing your old CFW's entry, or adding it if you for some reason like being able to boot multiple CFWs.
Code:
{

title = "Luma3DS";

path = "/Luma3DS.dat";

offset = "0x12000";

},

For MenuHax users running BootCTR, replace your existing [DEFAULT] entry in boot_config.ini with the following. BootCTR's default values for offset and delay handle the Luma3DS dat properly by default and do not need to be specified.
Code:
[DEFAULT]
path = /Luma3DS.dat

Writer's Notes:
This guide is what it is. It's a supplement for people that used outdated guides in this forum to get them on the right track to running something modern and fast, rather than bloated and slow, but not requiring them to go through Plailect's Guide necessarily, even if they should. I didn't like the way existing guide's of this nature were handled or laid out, so I did one myself.

If I've made any mistake, please feel free to tell me about it in this thread and I'll correct it.
 
Last edited by CheatFreak47,

Temarile

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Thanks! I'll link this guide to noobies who don't know how to switch CFW. Maybe put in that you won't lose anything while switching as that's the question everyone asks when you tell them to switch.
 

CheatFreak47

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The wiki itself
Technically, Luma3DS is tailored for use with Arm9LoaderHax as it doubles as a A9LH Payload Chainloader, but using it with CTRBootManager or BootCTR via MenuHax has no negative effects beyond the issues that are at the fault of MenuHax itself. [I.E. Boot Rate issues, slow startup time, need for emunand etc.]
 

YugamiSekai

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Technically, Luma3DS is tailored for use with Arm9LoaderHax as it doubles as a A9LH Payload Chainloader, but using it with CTRBootManager or BootCTR via MenuHax has no negative effects beyond the issues that are at the fault of MenuHax itself. [I.E. Boot Rate issues, slow startup time, need for emunand etc.]
I'm talking about DSiWare/N3DS Speed/etc.
 

CheatFreak47

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I'm talking about DSiWare/N3DS Speed/etc.
N3DS Clock Speed option works fine under Luma+MenuHax, and the issues pertaining to DSiware and GBA games are fault of MenuHax, as the 3DS has to reboot to enter alternative firmware modes, and because you don't go to the home menu on those reboots, MenuHax never runs.
 

Alex658

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N3DS Clock Speed option works fine under Luma+MenuHax, and the issues pertaining to DSiware and GBA games are fault of MenuHax, as the 3DS has to reboot to enter alternative firmware modes, and because you don't go to the home menu on those reboots, MenuHax never runs.

I'm not quite sure i am getting this, so you can't possibly run dsiware/gba unless your NANDS are linked or are installed in both nands at once?
Or is it just that you can't boot back into emunand unless you completely turn off your console?
 

CheatFreak47

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I'm not quite sure i am getting this, so you can't possibly run dsiware/gba unless your NANDS are linked or are installed in both nands at once?
Or is it just that you can't boot back into emunand unless you completely turn off your console?

Correct, and DSiware need to be installed on the sysNAND no matter what because the system looks for them on the TWL NAND partition of the SysNAND when it reboots. GBA games may work if the NANDs are linked but it's a bad idea to keep linked NANDs due to multiple inconsistencies it can cause.

Custom GBA games can only be run if you've manually patched AGB FIRM on SysNAND, and the same goes for custom DSiware with TWL FIRM too, actually. Again, because once the system reboots into another firmware mode, we lose control of the system, we can't patch anything on the fly, like we do with A9LH. The fault lies where the MenuHax entrypoint itself is, combined with how the 3DS operates and loads into alternate firmware modes.

While Arm9LoaderHax solves the above issues, nobody has attempted or found any ways to patch reads/writes to the EmuNAND partition yet in the alternate firmware modes, probably either due to it being extremely difficult to pull off or because the need for it is now moot, as A9LH negates the need for an EmuNAND at all to begin with.

One thing A9LH does solve though is that it does run each and every time the system boots, meaning that headway could be developed in that area, also, it allows us to have a CFW patch AGB FIRM and TWL FIRM on the fly, rather than needing pre patched firmwares pre installed to the 3DS itself.

So basically, if you want the best possible support for GBA and DSiware, you should get Arm9LoaderHax and stop using EmuNAND at all as the guide recommends.
 
Last edited by CheatFreak47,

Empu1

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Works just fine for me, thanks! Is it safe to update my emunand though, or should I simply stick to 10.7 which is what I'm currently running?
Before people come to suggest, yes I know, I should be using A9LH, but I don't quite have enough time to follow the lenghty tutorial for now so I'm sticking with MenuHax
 

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Works just fine for me, thanks! Is it safe to update my emunand though, or should I simply stick to 10.7 which is what I'm currently running?
Before people come to suggest, yes I know, I should be using A9LH, but I don't quite have enough time to follow the lenghty tutorial for now so I'm sticking with MenuHax

As long as your cfw supports it, you can update your Emunand to 11.0. Most, if not all, support it, so updating is fine. Make sure you're using Emunand though and not accidentally update sysnand!
 

Empu1

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As long as your cfw supports it, you can update your Emunand to 11.0. Most, if not all, support it, so updating is fine. Make sure you're using Emunand though and not accidentally update sysnand!

Well, considering I just switched the old ReiNand I was using with the latest Luma 3DS, I guess it's safe to assume it should be possible to upgrade to 11.0 without screwing up, right? Just gotta double check I'm in my emunand (which is shown when opening the system settings anyway :D) and go for an update. Thank you for the quick response!
 

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I must've deleted a wrong file or something cuz I couldn't get emunand to boot anymore. Oh well I just setup a9lh from step 1, was fun.
 

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I've noticed a lot of this questions related to switching CFWs popping up lately on the forum, so here's a quick tutorial on how to switch to Luma3DS from other outdated CFW solutions, such as rxTools, AuReiNAND, or a handful of other outdated CFW options.

This guide is kind of a WIP, but it should be simple enough to get most people running Luma3DS at the very least. Feedback on how I can make steps clearer is appreciated, but please be civil, of course. (:

Why switch to Luma3DS? Easy, you lose nothing, it's being well maintained, and it's a lot faster and more consistent than many of the older CFW options.

Need all those Tools from rxTools? Switch to using Decrypt9WIP and EmuNAND9 to perform the various functions that it's menu had and more. These tools are being well maintained, while rxTools is not*. This means they are safer tools for you, the end user.
*dukesrg made an effort to try to fix some bugs in them with his fork "Yet another rxtools" but this doesn't resolve any of the CFW related things, and that fork is still not recommended for use

MenuHax Users:
  1. Download the latest Luma3DS (non-dev) build from the github here.
  2. Place your 3DS's SD Card in your computer.
  3. Copy over the "3DS" folder, the "luma" folder, and "Luma3DS.dat" from the archive to your SD card.
  4. Delete your other CFW's files.
  5. Add an entry in your Boot Manager Configuration to load the Luma3DS.dat with offset 0x12000. See "Additional Information" below for the exact text to copy if you are unsure. If you have no boot manager and do not wish to set one up, but wish to load Luma3DS instantly once MenuHax runs, you may use the "boot.3dsx" inside the "menuhax" folder of the Luma3DS archive.
  6. Insert SD Card back into your 3DS.
  7. Start up Luma3DS CFW and turn on:
    "Show current NAND in System Settings."
  8. You may also set "New 3DS CPU" to "Clock+L2" if you have a New 3DS and would like better performance in titles that do not support the New 3DS features normally.
  9. You may also enable "Show GBA boot screen in patched AGB_FIRM" should you have the desire to see the old GBA Logo flash when running GBA games.
  10. When done press start to boot CFW EmuNAND.
  11. Future boots of Luma3DS will no longer show the Config, should you need to get into it to change things, you may do so by holding Select while you start it up, should you want to boot CFW SysNAND, you may do so by holding L while starting Luma3DS. For additional information on how Luma3DS works and it's options, read the Luma3DS Wiki.
  12. Consider switching to Arm9LoaderHax by following Plailect's Guide because it is an objectively better entrypoint, especially for CFW users. If you decide to do this, make sure your boot.3dsx is the Homebrew Launcher. Specifically, that page denotes instructions on on how you should set up to skip to Part 4 of the guide, which is what you'd need to do if you are already able to run CFW through MenuHax.
Additional Information:
For MenuHax users running CTRBootManager, here is the entry you must add to the top of your boot.cfg, either replacing your old CFW's entry, or adding it if you for some reason like being able to boot multiple CFWs.
Code:
{

title = "Luma3DS";

path = "/Luma3DS.dat";

offset = "0x12000";

},

For MenuHax users running BootCTR, replace your existing [DEFAULT] entry in boot_config.ini with the following. BootCTR's default values for offset and delay handle the Luma3DS dat properly by default and do not need to be specified.
Code:
[DEFAULT]
path = /Luma3DS.dat

Writer's Notes:
This guide is what it is. It's a supplement for people that used outdated guides in this forum to get them on the right track to running something modern and fast, rather than bloated and slow, but not requiring them to go through Plailect's Guide necessarily, even if they should. I didn't like the way existing guide's of this nature were handled or laid out, so I did one myself.

If I've made any mistake, please feel free to tell me about it in this thread and I'll correct it.



I have question how would i change the offset of my boot.cfg? I actually have set it to Rxtools on boot up of menuehax then use ctr boot manger for homebrew launcher
 

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is there any pros/cons for enabling the Clock/L2 on New 3DS (faster game/more battery consumption)?

also is there any difference between booting into HBL from Ctrbootmanager vs from emunand using HBL cia? If there is none i can bypass the Ctrl limitation.
 
Last edited by sterob,

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Awesome now how do I make the HB launcher cia available again, since with Luma3ds menuhax boot.3dsx if I run HBL it hangs on red screen since It uses that, any way I can use another boot.3dsx without affecting Luma?
 

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Awesome now how do I make the HB launcher cia available again, since with Luma3ds menuhax boot.3dsx if I run HBL it hangs on red screen since It uses that, any way I can use another boot.3dsx without affecting Luma?

Open the HBL cia payload .bin file in your sd card folder with notepad++. You will see some incomprehensive character but it is ok. Search for every instance of "boot.3dsx" word and replace it with the name of your HBL .3dsx file.
 

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Open the HBL cia payload .bin file in your sd card folder with notepad++. You will see some incomprehensive character but it is ok. Search for every instance of "boot.3dsx" word and replace it with the name of your HBL .3dsx file.
Thanks that worked like a charm.
 

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