Hacking Installing B9S and Keeping EmuNAND Saves/Games

[dpad_5678]

So my N3DS XL is on Sys 9.2.0 and EmuNAND 11.1.0 (ReiNAND and Gateway). I think it's time for an upgrade as I noticed Luma no longer supports any entry points besides B9S. I never updated to A9LH because I'm kind of a pussy.

I have a lot of games and saves on my current EmuNAND and would like to keep them. If I install B9S will I still be able to use EmuNAND (I just don't like using sysnand in CFW. Too much of a pussy like I said.)? More importantly, will I be able to keep my games and saves without having to reinstall everything?

Thanks in advance.

 

[sora10pls]

If you follow http://3ds.guide/ and all of its steps as they're written, yes, you will keep all of your data working the way it currently works. Don't follow ANY guides other than the one I just linked you.

Though, despite you wishing to keep EmuNAND, I highly urge you to follow the "Move EmuNAND" portion of the guide (when it brings it up). Nowadays, EmuNAND is no more safe than SysNAND is when you have B9S and Luma.

It's up to you but there are numerous benefits over having SysNAND instead of EmuNAND if you're just a regular user.

 

[dpad_5678]

If you follow http://3ds.guide/ and all of its steps as they're written, yes, you will keep all of your data working the way it currently works. Don't follow ANY guides other than the one I just linked you.

Though, despite you wishing to keep EmuNAND, I highly urge you to follow the "Move EmuNAND" portion of the guide (when it brings it up). Nowadays, EmuNAND is no more safe than SysNAND is when you have B9S and Luma.

It's up to you but there are numerous benefits over having SysNAND instead of EmuNAND if you're just a regular user.

Thanks for the quick response! If I remember correctly, if I brick (and have B9S installed) I'll be able to restore from a NAND backup without a hard mod? If that's the case I don't really care about using EmuNAND.

 

[sora10pls]

Thanks for the quick response! If I remember correctly, if I brick (and have B9S installed) I'll be able to restore from a NAND backup without a hard mod? If that's the case I don't really care about using EmuNAND.

Yep, that's correct. You would just load GodMode9 by holding (Start) on boot, and restoring your NAND backup.

Once you complete the guide, refer to the GodMode9 Usage page so you can do just that.

 

[nl255]

Thanks for the quick response! If I remember correctly, if I brick (and have B9S installed) I'll be able to restore from a NAND backup without a hard mod? If that's the case I don't really care about using EmuNAND.

Yes, you can recover from almost any brick using b9s and godmode9/hourglass9. The only kind of brick you can't recover from that way is a MCU brick but using emunand won't protect you from that either. Fortunately, unless you are a developer messing around with certain stuff you don't have to worry about MCU bricks.

 

[dpad_5678]

Thank you @nl255 and @sora10pls for your help! I'll be sure to report back.

 

[dpad_5678]

Yes, you can recover from almost any brick using b9s and godmode9/hourglass9. The only kind of brick you can't recover from that way is a MCU brick but using emunand won't protect you from that either. Fortunately, unless you are a developer messing around with certain stuff you don't have to worry about MCU bricks.

Before I start the boot9strap installation, what would you say the chances of bricking are? Of course I fully intend to follow the instructions completely.

 

[sora10pls]

Before I start the boot9strap installation, what would you say the chances of bricking are? Of course I fully intend to follow the instructions completely.

About as common as finding a finger on your foot. The guide is super streamlined compared to what it used to be, so you'll be fine as long as you follow the steps exactly as they're shown. If you have questions while doing the guide don't hesitate to ask.

 

[nl255]

Before I start the boot9strap installation, what would you say the chances of bricking are? Of course I fully intend to follow the instructions completely.

Less than the chances of bricking when doing an official update without having a9lh/b9s and cfw. Just make sure your battery is fully charged and you will be fine as b9s has tons of safety checks built in.

 

[dpad_5678]

About as common as finding a finger on your foot. The guide is super streamlined compared to what it used to be, so you'll be fine as long as you follow the steps exactly as they're shown. If you have questions while doing the guide don't hesitate to ask.

Less than the chances of bricking when doing an official update without having a9lh/b9s and cfw. Just make sure your battery is fully charged and you will be fine as b9s has tons of safety checks built in.

Just finished hte B9S installation. I now have my ENTIRE EmuNAND moved to my SysNAND, and all my games and saves are there. The process was INCREDIBLY easy, and now I feel extra happy that I am brick-proof (although I never do anything that could cause a brick). Thank you both so much for your help, and thank you @Plailect for your incredibly detailed and up-to-date guide.

 

[nl255]

Just finished hte B9S installation. I now have my ENTIRE EmuNAND moved to my SysNAND, and all my games and saves are there. The process was INCREDIBLY easy, and now I feel extra happy that I am brick-proof (although I never do anything that could cause a brick). Thank you both so much for your help, and thank you @Plailect for your incredibly detailed and up-to-date guide.

You are not entirely brick proof but you are as close as you can get without a ntrboothax cart (which doesn't exist yet). It is still possible to mess up FIRM0/FIRM1 with godmode9 if you aren't careful and that is the one thing b9s can't save you from.

 

[sora10pls]

You are not entirely brick proof but you are as close as you can get without a ntrboothax cart (which doesn't exist yet). It is still possible to mess up FIRM0/FIRM1 with godmode9 if you aren't careful and that is the one thing b9s can't save you from.

For a general user they've basically got all the brick protection they need.

 

[dpad_5678]

You are not entirely brick proof but you are as close as you can get without a ntrboothax cart (which doesn't exist yet). It is still possible to mess up FIRM0/FIRM1 with godmode9 if you aren't careful and that is the one thing b9s can't save you from.

Is there a way I could, maybe, disable booting Godmode9 while holding start? I was thinking I could delete the Godmode9.firm from [1:] SYSNAND CTRNAND/rw/luma/payloads/Godmode9.firm? 'Im guessing that would disable Godmode9 (and I could restore it by running the 3dsx of Godmode9 and replacing the file).

 

[nl255]

Is there a way I could, maybe, disable booting Godmode9 while holding start? I was thinking I could delete the Godmode9.firm from [1:] SYSNAND CTRNAND/rw/luma/payloads/Godmode9.firm? 'Im guessing that would disable Godmode9 (and I could restore it by running the 3dsx of Godmode9 and replacing the file).

That would work, or you could add another payload like hourglass9 (which is available as a .firm now). Then rename godmode9.firm to z-godmode9.firm so it will appear at the end of the list when you hold start while booting (normally holding start while booting displays a list of payloads to choose from, but if you have only one then it just boots it rather than displaying the boot menu).

Note that hourglass9 has some bugs that won't be fixed since it is no longer in development but none of them affect nand backup/restore.

 

[sora10pls]

You can't run GodMode9 as a 3DSX if you're on 11.4, as it would require ARM9 kernel access which can't be granted with 11.4 unless you're running it as an ARM9 payload (.bin) or firmware file (.firm) from Luma's Chainloader Menu.

I recommend doing what @nl255 suggested if you're really hesitant about using GodMode9, but don't even bother renaming Hourglass9.firm if you decide to do so. If you hold (Start) on boot, the Luma Chainloader Menu will load allowing you to pick from a list of payloads you can run. Button-specific payloads aren't required with Luma 7.1 onwards.

 

[dpad_5678]

That would work, or you could add another payload like hourglass9 (which is available as a .firm now). Then rename godmode9.firm to z-godmode9.firm so it will appear at the end of the list when you hold start while booting (normally holding start while booting displays a list of payloads to choose from, but if you have only one then it just boots it rather than displaying the boot menu).

Here's what I just did:
I moved the Godmode9.firm file out of the /luma/payloads/ folder, and put it in the /luma/Godmode9.firm folder. So instead of Godmode9.firm being INSIDE[ CODE]/luma/payloads/, it's in the same directory, so the system won't recognize it, thus preventing the Power On+Start Combination from working. I had to do this on both the SYSNAND CTRNAND and the SDCARD partitions, as it seems that if the payload is missing from the SYSNAND CTRNAND, it will try to load it from the SDCARD (and possibly vise versa).

This way, I can still boot into Godmode9 by moving the /luma/Godmode9.firm/ back into /luma/payloads/ on my SD card.

 

[nl255]

You can't run GodMode9 as a 3DSX if you're on 11.4, as it would require ARM9 kernel access which can't be granted with 11.4 unless you're running it as an ARM9 payload (.bin) or firmware file (.firm) from Luma's Chainloader Menu.

I recommend doing what @nl255 suggested if you're really hesitant about using GodMode9, but don't even bother renaming Hourglass9.firm if you decide to do so. If you hold (Start) on boot, the Luma Chainloader Menu will load allowing you to pick from a list of payloads you can run. Button-specific payloads aren't required with Luma 7.1 onwards.

The only thing with that is that if you don't rename it, then godmode9 will be the first payload on the list making it easier to accidentally select. Personally I have my payloads named a-hourglass9, b-decrypt9wip, c-godmode9.

 

[sora10pls]

The only thing with that is that if you don't rename it, then godmode9 will be the first payload on the list making it easier to accidentally select. Personally I have my payloads named a-hourglass9, b-decrypt9wip, c-godmode9.

That could interfere with shortcuts though. To avoid conflict with A, B, X, and Y, you'd probably be better off doing them numerically if you're extremely paranoid of launching a payload like that.

 

[nl255]

That could interfere with shortcuts though. To avoid conflict with A, B, X, and Y, you'd probably be better off doing them numerically if you're extremely paranoid of launching a payload like that.

Good idea, though I think A and B are already reserved (and thus would require holding down l plus a/b).