The latest release of Hourglass9//Decrypt9WIP, now allows us to dump our physical 3DS and NDS//DSi Games, as well as our Private Headers from our 3DS games~!
This guide was made for MenuHax and A9LH users, alike~ So you should be good, regardless of your setup~

~♥ The Table of Contents ♥~
~Setting Up Hourglass9 with Luma3DS (A9LH-Only)~
~Setting Up Decrypt9WIP with Luma3DS (A9LH)~
~Setting Up Decrypt9WIP (MenuHax)~
~Dump 3DS Cart to .CIA~
~Dump 3DS Cart to .3DS format~
~Converting .3DS to .CIA (On 3DS)~
~Converting Encrypted .3DS to Decrypted .3DS~
~Converting Decrypted .3DS to .CIA (On Windows-PC)~
~Converting Encrypted .3DS to .CIA (On Windows-PC)~
~Creating .CIA file(s) from installed content//game(s) (On 3DS)~
~Dumping//Extracting our Private Header(s)~
~Dump NDS//DSi Carts to .NDS format~
​

~Setting Up Hourglass9 with Luma3DS (A9LH-Only)~​

As of the latest revision of Plailect's Guide, you should have Hourglass9 on your Start Key, effectively replacing Uncart from previous revisions of the guide. However, for the purpose of this guide, I'll still assume you don't have the latest version. I'll also be making the assumption you are using Luma3DS.
Adapt the guide to whatever CFW or BootManager you are using~ Should be easy enough to figure out by looking at the documentation of your given CFW or BootManager~

Files we'll need:
Latest release of Hourglass9: https://github.com/d0k3/Hourglass9/releases/
aeskeydb.bin (Somewhere here: https://3ds.guide/installing-arm9loaderhax)

Note: I recommend that you delete Uncart, since Hourglass9 now makes it effectively useless.

1. Copy Hourglass9.bin from the Hourglass9 zip to the /luma/payloads/ folder on your SD card.
2. In the /luma/payloads folder, rename Hourglass9.bin to start_Hourglass9.bin
Note: You can change the button behavior to whatever you want that Luma3DS' payload chainloader allows, just look at the wiki for other button options.
Link: https://github.com/AuroraWright/Luma3DS/wiki/Other-features-and-notes#payload-chainloading
3. Once you've gotten aeskeydb.bin, make sure to copy it to the /files9/ folder on your SD card. (If /files9/ does not exist, make one now, and put the aeskeydb.bin there)
4. With the above recommendation, hold the Start key time at boot time to load Hourglass9.

~Setting Up Decrypt9WIP with Luma3DS (A9LH)~​

Certain sections of this guide only work with Decrypt9WIP. Sooooooooo, putting this here for people who need to setup Decrypt9WIP for those sections~ Otherwise, skip this~
Adapt the guide to whatever CFW or BootManager you are using~ Should be easy enough to figure out by looking at the documentation of your given CFW or BootManager~

Files we'll need:
Latest release of Decrypt9WIP: https://github.com/d0k3/Decrypt9WIP/releases
aeskeydb.bin (Somewhere here: https://3ds.guide/installing-arm9loaderhax)

Note: I do not recommend replacing Decrypt9WIP with Hourglass9, as Hourglass9 is still a much safer and simpler way of restoring//managing NAND backups on A9LH setups.

1. Copy Decrypt9WIP.bin from the Decrypt9WIP zip to the /luma/payloads/ folder on your SD card.
2. In the /luma/payloads folder, rename Decrypt9WIP.bin to x_Decrypt9WIP.bin
Note: You can change the button behavior to whatever you want that Luma3DS' payload chainloader allows, just look at the wiki for the other options.
Link: https://github.com/AuroraWright/Luma3DS/wiki/Other-features-and-notes#payload-chainloading
3. Once you've gotten aeskeydb.bin, make sure to copy it to the /files9/ folder on your SD card. (If /files9/ does not exist, make one now, and put the aeskeydb.bin there)
4. With the above recommendation, hold the X key time at boot time to load Decrypt9WIP.

~Setting Up Decrypt9WIP (MenuHax)~​

I'll assume you don't have the latest version.
If you have followed my adapted MenuHax Guide, then you should have a CtrBootManager entry for Decrypt9WIP, just updating it is enough.
If you didn't follow my adapted MenuHax Guide, you'll have to figure out how to launch it with whatever version//method you are using. However it should be pretty similar and easy to figure out.

Files we'll need:
Latest release of Decrypt9WIP: https://github.com/d0k3/Decrypt9WIP/releases
aeskeydb.bin (Somewhere here: https://3ds.guide/installing-arm9loaderhax)

1. Copy the Decrypt9WIP folder from the Decrypt9WIP zip to the /3ds/ folder on your SD card.
2. Once you've gotten aeskeydb.bin, make a /files9/ folder, and make sure to copy aeskeydb.bin to the /files9/ folder on your SD card
3. Depending on your MenuHax setup, will depend on how you launch Decrypt9WIP.
For some users, they'll need to load up the Homebrew Launcher then launch Decrypt9WIP from there.
Assuming you used my adapted MenuHax Guide, you should be able to use CtrBootManager to launch Decrypt9WIP.
Figure out the method of how your MenuHax Setup launches Decrypt9WIP and you should be good to go~

~Dump 3DS Cart to .CIA~​

The latest version of both Hourglass9 or Decrypt9WIP support dumping our physical 3DS cartridges directly to .CIA format. No PC needed~!

1. Open up Hourglass9//Decrypt9WIP.
2. Go to "Gamecart Dumper Options"
3. Select "Dump Cart to CIA"
4. Let it finish and done~! It's that easy~ Just use your favorite CIA Installer, like FBI, and that's it~!
5. You can find the created CIA file(s) under your files9 folder. Enjoy!

~Dump 3DS Cart to .3DS format~​

The latest version of both Hourglass9 or Decrypt9WIP support dumping our physical 3DS cartridges to four .3DS types (Encrypted-full, Encrypted-trim, Decrypted-full, Decrypted-trim)
Taken from the README

*Dump Cart (full): This feature dumps the full, unaltered data from the inserted cartridge. For 4GB cartridges, the last sector is silently discarded, because the FAT32 file system can't handle files equal or above 4GB. This feature also handles NTR/TWL cartridges (aka. NDS and DSi crtridges).
*Dump Cart (trim): Same as the above feature, but discards the unused padding for smaller output and faster processing. Using this is recommended unless the padding is required for digital preservation purposes.
*Dump & Decrypt Cart (full): Same as 'Dump Cart (full)', but also decrypts the cartridge data on-the-fly. Decrypted cartridge data is required for emulators and recommended for CIA conversion. The recommended CIA conversion tool is 3dsconv. NTR/TWL cartridges are not encrypted and thus won't be decrypted.
*Dump & Decrypt Cart (trim): Same as above, but discards the unused padding for smaller output and faster processing. This is recommended over the above feature.

1. Open up Hourglass9//Decrypt9WIP.
2. Go to "Gamecart Dumper Options"
3. Select between the four options: "Dump Cart (full)" ; "Dump Cart (trim)" ; "[Dump & Decrypt Cart (full)" ; "Dump & Decrypt Cart (trim)" - Depending on your needs and from the descriptions given above.
4. Let it finish and done~! If you want to convert your .3DS dump to .CIA, you must use Decrypt9WIP, so A9LH users will need to set that up, but read on if you want to see how it works~!
5. You can find the created 3DS file(s) under your files9 folder. Enjoy!

~Converting .3DS to .CIA (On 3DS)~​

The latest version of Decrypt9WIP supports converting .3DS dumps to .CIA~

1. Make sure all the .3DS dumps that you want to convert to CIA are in the /files9/ directory of your SD Card.
2. Open up Decrypt9WIP.
3. Go to "Content Decryptor Options"
4. Go to "NCCH/NCSD File Options..."
5. Go to "NCCH/NCSD to CIA Converter"
6. Let it finish and done~! It's that easy~ Just use your favorite CIA Installer, like FBI, and that's it~!
7. You can find the converted CIA file(s) under your files9 folder. Enjoy!

~Converting Encrypted .3DS to Decrypted .3DS~​

If you dumped your .3DS files using either "Dump Cart (full)" or "Dump Cart (trim)"; Then your dumps are Encrypted, the following steps are for people who want to make them Decrypted dumps without redumping, however you'll need to use Decrypt9WIP.

1. Make sure all the Encrypted .3DS dumps that you want to convert to Decrypted .3DS dumps are in the /files9/D9Game directory of your SD Card.
2. Open up Decrypt9WIP.
3. Go to "Content Decryptor Options"
4. Go to "NCCH/NCSD File Options..."
5. Go to "NCCH/NCSD Decryptor"
6. Let it finish and done~! Your Encrypted .3DS dumps are now fully Decrypted .3DS dumps~

~Converting Decrypted .3DS to .CIA (On Windows-PC)~​

If you dumped your .3DS files using either "Dump & Decrypt Cart (full)" or "Dump & Decrypt Cart (trim)" ; Then converting to .CIA is pretty simple on a PC. Since these .3DS dumps have been decrypted.
Or if you converted Encrypted .3DS to Decrypted .3DS, then converting to .CIA is also pretty simple on a PC.
This part, will assume you are using a 64-bit Windows PC.
Linux and Mac users will have to look into using 3dsconv through python2.7 (Should be easy to figure out)

Files we'll need:
3dsconv: https://github.com/ihaveamac/3dsconv/releases

1. Download 3dsconv.exe and place it any folder//directory that you want to use as the working directory for the 3DS to CIA conversion.
2. Copy over your 3DS file dumps to the same working directory as 3dsconv.exe (They'll probably be named after the Product ID of the game you dumped)
3. If you dumped your 3DS games as decrypted, then it's a simple drag-and-drop of your decrypted .3ds files onto the 3dsconv.exe, it'll process them and convert the to .CIA (The .CIA converted files will be in the same directory as the .3DS files were)
4. And that's basically it, you're done~! Just drag-and-drop the .CIA files back to your SD Card and install them with your favorite CIA Installer, like FBI.

~Converting Encrypted .3DS to .CIA (On Windows-PC)~​

If you dumped your .3DS files using either "Dump Cart (full)" or "Dump Cart (trim)" ; Then converting to .CIA is a bit more involved, since these dumps are Encrypted, we'll need to generate XORPads with Decrypt9WIP to convert them.
This part, will assume you are using a 64-bit Windows PC.
Linux and Mac users will have to look into using 3dsconv through python2.7 (Should be easy to figure out)

Files we'll need:
3dsconv: https://github.com/ihaveamac/3dsconv/releases

1. Download 3dsconv.exe and place it any folder//directory that you want to use as the working directory for the 3DS to CIA conversion.
2. Copy over your 3DS file dumps to the same working directory as 3dsconv.exe (They'll probably be named after the Product ID of the game you dumped)
3. If you dumped your 3DS games as encrypted, then we need to use the command prompt to get our ncchinfo.bin for use with Decrypt9WIP to get our xorpads.
4. On the same directory where 3dsconv.exe and your .3DS dumps are, Shift-RightClick and select "Open command window here"
5. This should have opened a command prompt window with the focus on that working directory of our files.
6. Type in "3dsconv.exe --gen-ncchinfo *.3ds" (This will generate a ncchinfo of all .3ds files in that directory.)
7. Copy and paste the ncchinfo.bin to the root of your SD Card (can also be placed inside the /files9 folder) and insert it into your 3DS.
8. Open up Decrypt9WIP.
9. Go to "XORpad Generator" then to "NCCH Padgen" ~ Now watch it generate//create your xorpads~!
10. Once it's done, make sure it has a "succeeded!" message, once you see that, go ahead and press B to return to the menu.
11. Press dpad left + start to power off.
12. Remove your SD Card from your 3DS, and insert it into your Computer and copy all the files that end with .xorpad to the same working directory as 3dsconv.exe and your .3ds dumps.
13. With all that done, it's now a simple drag-and-drop of your encrypted .3ds files onto the 3dsconv.exe, it'll process them and convert the to .CIA (The .CIA converted files will be in the same directory as the .3DS files were)
14. And that's basically it, you're done~! Just drag-and-drop the .CIA files back to your SD Card and install them with your favorite CIA Installer, like FBI.

~Creating .CIA file(s) from installed content//game(s) (On 3DS)~​

The latest version of both Hourglass9 or Decrypt9WIP support creating a .CIA from an already installed game.

Use http://www.3dsdb.com/ to figure out what the title ID is for the game you want to build a .CIA for. Or use FBI, under Titles to find out that title ID.


1. Open up Hourglass9 -> Miscellaneous Options -> SysNAND title to CIA or EmuNAND title to CIA (depending on which NAND the 3DS game was tied to)
2. Use the arrow keys (right-left and down-up) and find the title ID for your game.
I'll use Pokemon Moon as an example, which the title id is: 0004000000175E00 - it'll be displayed in Hourglass9 as /title/00040000/00175E00
3. Once you've found and selected the folder that matchedd the title ID for your game, press A.
4. It will now attempt to build the CIA
5. You can find the created CIA file under your files9 folder. Enjoy!

1. Open up Decrypt9WIP -> Content Decryptor Options -> CIA Builder Options -> CIA Builder (SysNAND/decr.) or CIA Builder (EmuNAND/decr.)(depending on which NAND the 3DS game was tied to)
2. Use the arrow keys (right-left and down-up) and find the title ID for your game.
I'll use Pokemon Moon as an example, which the title id is: 0004000000175E00 - it'll be displayed in Decrypt9WIP as /title/00040000/00175E00
3. Once you've found and selected the folder that matchedd the title ID for your game, press A.
4. It will now attempt to build the CIA
5. You can find the created CIA file(s) under your files9 folder. Enjoy!

~Dumping//Extracting our Private Header(s)~​

The latest version of both Hourglass9 or Decrypt9WIP support dumping//extracting our Private Headers. However, they are only really useful and important for flashcard users, but I've added this for the people who want to and need this~

1. Open up Decrypt9WIP//Hourglass9.
2. Go to "Gamecart Dumper Options" and select "Dump Private Header"
3. And that's it~ It'll dump it to your SD Card named something along the lines of ProductID-private.bin
4. For the Unique ID value, it'll be displayed on the screen when dumping your header. You can go ahead and note it down. Or take the more sane approach, which I'll describe in the next couple of steps.
5. Once done, make sure it has a "succeeded!" message, once you see that, go ahead and press B to return to the menu.
6. Press dpad left + start to power off.
7. Copy your private-header.bin from the /files9 folder to somewhere safe, or if you actually wanted the .bin, just use it however you plan to.
8. Open the Decrypt9.log//Hourglass9.log with Notepad++ or with WordPad or with whatever txt editor you want (It'll look jumbled up in normal Notepad on Windows - I don't recommend you use that)
9. Look for the Unique ID entry, and there it is~! Now copy and keep it somewhere safe and use it for whatever you were going to do with it~

~Dump NDS//DSi Carts to .NDS format~​

The latest version of both Hourglass9 or Decrypt9WIP support dumping our physical DS cartridges to .NDS format~ (Either full or trimmed)
Taken from the README:

Dump Cart (full): This feature dumps the full, unaltered data from the inserted cartridge. For 4GB cartridges, the last sector is silently discarded, because the FAT32 file system can't handle files equal or above 4GB. This feature also handles NTR/TWL cartridges (aka. NDS and DSi crtridges).
Dump Cart (trim): Same as the above feature, but discards the unused padding for smaller output and faster processing. Using this is recommended unless the padding is required for digital preservation purposes.
Dump & Decrypt Cart (full): Same as 'Dump Cart (full)', but also decrypts the cartridge data on-the-fly. Decrypted cartridge data is required for emulators and recommended for CIA conversion. The recommended CIA conversion tool is 3dsconv. NTR/TWL cartridges are not encrypted and thus won't be decrypted.
Dump & Decrypt Cart (trim): Same as above, but discards the unused padding for smaller output and faster processing. This is recommended over the above feature.
Dump Cart to CIA: Use this to directly dump an inserted cartridge to a fully decrypted CIA file, which can be installed to a patched system using CIA installer software like FBI. For most users, this type of dump will be the most convenient. NTR/TWL cartridges can't be dumped to a CIA file.

1. Open up Decrypt9WIP//Hourglass9.
2. Go to "Gamecart Dumper Options"
3. Select between either: "Dump Cart (full)" or "Dump Cart (trim)" (Since NTR/TWL cartridges aren't encrypted, the decrypted options won't do anything different.)
4. Let it finish and done~! Use your .NDS dumps anyway you want~
5. Your .NDS dumps should be in the files9 folder.

 

[PrincessLillie]

You'd only get banned if you play an unreleased game online. That's all the Sun/Moon bans were, people playing them way ahead of time and going online.

So, if I play my just dumped version of Mario Kart 7, I won't get banned online?

 

[Temptress Cerise]

So, if I play my just dumped version of Mario Kart 7, I won't get banned online?

That's correct.

 

[PrincessLillie]

That's correct.

Thanks, just tried it and it works. Great guide!

 

[Xabring]

I have a question. Does the CIA I dump from a my 3DS work on someone's else 3DS with this method (both have hourglass by the way)?

 

[Temptress Cerise]

I have a question. Does the CIA I dump from a my 3DS work on someone's else 3DS with this method (both have hourglass by the way)?

Yeah. They'll work.

 

[Xabring]

Thanks for the quick answer! I though it only worked on the 3DS that dumped them! glad to know!

 

[duboisbrian]

where does hourglass save a private header in your tutorial is says it saves it along the lines "ProductID-private.bin"
i have dumped it and it says success but no where on my sd card to i have a file like that ??

im guessing the tutorial is outdated ? when i dump it shows my the "cart id" and "unique id"
which is essentially all i need (for sky3ds+)

but still your tutorial says it should output a .bin file i have have searched every inch of the sd card and there is no private.bin file or anything named that
is hourglass updated to not output a .bin file anymore ?
(if that's the case, may want to update your tutorial)

 

[Temptress Cerise]

where does hourglass save a private header in your tutorial is says it saves it along the lines "ProductID-private.bin"
i have dumped it and it says success but no where on my sd card to i have a file like that ??

im guessing the tutorial is outdated ? when i dump it shows my the "cart id" and "unique id"
which is essentially all i need (for sky3ds+)

but still your tutorial says it should output a .bin file i have have searched every inch of the sd card and there is no private.bin file or anything named that
is hourglass updated to not output a .bin file anymore ?
(if that's the case, may want to update your tutorial)

Did you check your files9 folder? Did you check the hourglass9 log file as well?

I guess I could relook at the guide and see what needs updating//clarifying.

 

[duboisbrian]

Did you check your files9 folder? Did you check the hourglass9 log file as well?

I guess I could relook at the guide and see what needs updating//clarifying.

yes i checked files 9 folder along with EVERY inch of the sd card
as well why would a .bin file be in a log file ??

im simply saying that dumping via hourglass on my 3ds it gives and shows me my cart id and unique id which i believe is all you need

im simply saying you may want to check the tutorial because NO where on my sd card was a private.... .bin file

 

[Temptress Cerise]

yes i checked files 9 folder along with EVERY inch of the sd card
as well why would a .bin file be in a log file ??

im simply saying that dumping via hourglass on my 3ds it gives and shows me my cart id and unique id which i believe is all you need

im simply saying you may want to check the tutorial because NO where on my sd card was a private.... .bin file

I am not asking you to check the log file for a bin file. I am asking you to check the log file to see what happened and what it says. The log file will always have that information.

 

[Temptress Cerise]

Sorry for the double post.

Checked//Updated the guide. There seems to be no errors with it. Have added a new section for people who want to create .CIA files from already installed content//games.

Tested it and built//installed them just fine.

If a section isn't working, it's best to update to the latest version of Hourglass9//Decrypt9WIP and to try again. As well as check your files9 folder and to check your .log file to see what's going on.

 

[matlock]

Sorry noob alert.
I've just gone thru the install of HB /FBI etc. (3DS guide) and all worked well.
I've managed to convert 2 game carts to CIA and installed ok, however my first question is how do I transfer the save data from the cart to the installed game?
2nd question I used a brand new 32gb sd card to do the install, how do I copy/move the installed copy of super smash bros 2 plus save data I have on my original sd card?

I've used JK's utility to transfer save data.

Just got to work out to copy SSB from one sd to my new Sd card?

 

[Temptress Cerise]

Sorry noob alert.
I've just gone thru the install of HB /FBI etc. (3DS guide) and all worked well.
I've managed to convert 2 game carts to CIA and installed ok, however my first question is how do I transfer the save data from the cart to the installed game?
2nd question I used a brand new 32gb sd card to do the install, how do I copy/move the installed copy of super smash bros 2 plus save data I have on my original sd card?

I've used JK's utility to transfer save data.

Just got to work out to copy SSB from one sd to my new Sd card?

If it's an already installed game, then you'd have to create a .CIA from it, as detailed in the post. As for the save data of said game, use JKSM.

If the Nintendo 3DS/ID1/ID2 match though, you could just drag and drop it onto the new SD Card. If they don't. Then not sure you can.

 

[matlock]

If it's an already installed game, then you'd have to create a .CIA from it, as detailed in the post. As for the save data of said game, use JKSM.

If the Nintendo 3DS/ID1/ID2 match though, you could just drag and drop it onto the new SD Card. If they don't. Then not sure you can.

What would I have to drag and drop?

 

[Kokumotsu]

i was wondering the NDS flashcart section for Decrypt9WIP
what exactly does NTRCARDHAX do for Ak2i.
i have an AK2i and this is making me really curious to try it out, do this enable the 3ds to boot the card again?

 

[Temptress Cerise]

i was wondering the NDS flashcart section for Decrypt9WIP
what exactly does NTRCARDHAX do for Ak2i.
i have an AK2i and this is making me really curious to try it out, do this enable the 3ds to boot the card again?

Not sure what you are asking for.

But if your looking to get your AK2i working again. Look into: http://gbatemp.net/threads/twl-slot-1-launcher-first-custom-dsiware-app.414501/

 

[Kokumotsu]

Not sure what you are asking for.

But if your looking to get your AK2i working again. Look into: http://gbatemp.net/threads/twl-slot-1-launcher-first-custom-dsiware-app.414501/

thanks ill check it out, its going to be so nice having all my DQ games on one card again

 

[Ph33rm3]

Is the same thing attainable with Godmode9? Do I need these other tools to dump my carts?

 

[Temptress Cerise]

Is the same thing attainable with Godmode9? Do I need these other tools to dump my carts?

Some of it is. Though I've never really looked at the documentation // release notes of GodMode9 to see how much. But dumping carts (3DS/NDS), headers, converting .3ds to .cia, should all be covered by GodMode9.

3DS.Guide does have a section for that now: https://3ds.guide/godmode9-usage

That's why I never added//updated my guide. Since, that already has a section on it already.

 

[Micku]

i'm having a problem with luma/hourglass9 controls, can't navigate the menu, if i press A, it instantly goes back, same if i press Down (as if i were pressing B) every button triggers the B action, pls help