nds-bootstrap loader: Run commercial NDS backups from an SD Card

nds-bootstrap:

Thanks to the work of ahezard, Gericom, Apache, Robz8, _catcatcat, and shutterbug2000 and other contributors, we can now load NDS games from the SD card, without any flashcard/SLOT-1 card.

Don't expect high compatibility, but do expect many, many updates.

:arrow: Compatibility listing:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

:arrow: The official Discord server for nds-bootstrap:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7bxTQfZ

:arrow: The thread for the recommended loader (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/twloader-ctr-mode-nds-app.448375/

:arrow: SRLoader for softmodded DSis (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/srloader-nds-app-for-dsi.472200/

:arrow: If you're more of a forwarder person:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

:arrow: Link to the releases page:
https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap/releases

:arrow: Anti-Piracy patch list by Robz8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ap-patch-preservation.477536/

Also, thank you to our testers:
Historian
JoshuaDoes
thejsa
Alerdy
PokeAcer


Also, a video thanks to Robz8:


And another thanks to Alerdy:
 
Last edited by shutterbug2000,

jt_1258

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nl255

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The arm7 binary is copyrighted content, I believe.

I think the idea would be to make our own arm7 binary rather than using one from Nintendo. That way there wouldn't be any problem (except for possible API copyrights, in which case any emulator including the Wine project has the same problem).
 

lordkaos

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Trust me, there is a lot of noobs that doesn't know how to ser MKDS as donor ROM.
yeah, that's true, maybe the developers could make a popup menu that appears the first time you boot twloader to assist people in that and other problems, it would be similar to those annoying tutorials in normal games but it would save people a lot of time.
 

RocketRobz

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I think the idea would be to make our own arm7 binary rather than using one from Nintendo. That way there wouldn't be any problem (except for possible API copyrights, in which case any emulator including the Wine project has the same problem).
Except that wouldn't work, as the game expects an arm7 binary compiled from the Nintendo SDK, which is also copyrighted content.
 

nl255

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Except that wouldn't work, as the game expects an arm7 binary compiled from the Nintendo SDK, which is also copyrighted content.

And Windows software like Starcraft or MS office expects a bunch of Windows dlls compiled by Microsoft yet that doesn't cause any problems as long as all the necessary functions are available. The point would be to have a more compatible arm7 binary that does not rely on Nintendo's code or SDK yet provides all the necessary stuff the game expects.
 

Joom

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And Windows software like Starcraft or MS office expects a bunch of Windows dlls compiled by Microsoft yet that doesn't cause any problems as long as all the necessary functions are available. The point would be to have a more compatible arm7 binary that does not rely on Nintendo's code or SDK yet provides all the necessary stuff the game expects.
When using WINE, first party libraries and runtimes are installed to the prefix. Stuff doesn't typically run out of the box without those. WINE isn't a replacement for those either.
 

nl255

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When using WINE, first party libraries and runtimes are installed to the prefix. Stuff doesn't typically run out of the box without those. WINE isn't a replacement for those either.

You are thinking of the old Wabi which required a copy of Windows to work because it only reimplemented a few things (user.dll, kernel.dll and gdi.dll) but Wine is intended as a full replacement. Of course, Wine's reimplementation is not complete and some things require the use of "native" dll libraries which is what software like winetricks is for. But plenty of stuff runs in Wine without needing anything more than the standard wine-gecko and mono downloads, neither of which are Microsoft code. That is what all those .dll.so files that come with wine are for, they are non-Microsoft replacement versions.
 

Joom

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That is what all those .dll.so files that come with wine are for, they are non-Microsoft replacement versions.
For a very limited scope of software. Microsoft's C++ and VB runtimes and still have to be installed for a large amount of other stuff. Mono also doesn't serve as a fully fledged replacement for .NET.
 

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Yo, signed up to thank you for your work on this, really good stuff. I can play my favorite DS game (Contact) pretty much perfectly at all times. Can't wait to see how you guys improve this further, because I consider myself too dumb to just buy a flashcart without also giving some chinese guy my credit card number.
 
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Roboman

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Yo, signed up to thank you for your work on this, really good stuff. I can play my favorite DS game (Contact) pretty much perfectly at all times. Can't wait to see how you guys improve this further, because I consider myself too dumb to just buy a flashcart without also giving some chinese guy my credit card number.
Gbatemp's official sponsor, Nds-card.Com, accepts paypal.
 

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