I've got a 'R4' - HELP !!!!!

Firstly a bit of background

What is/was the 'R4' ?

The ORIGINAL R4 flashcard was one of the first 'Slot-1' flashcards on the market, and was also known as the 'R4DS revolution for DS'. It could only accept standard MicroSD cards (up to 2Gb) but because of the price of it, it became very popular

So what's a R4 'Clone' ?

Put simply, because the original R4 was so popular, many other companies started creating their own versions of this card, with slight modifications (mainly to the firmware - but some even did alterations to the hardware like adding SDHC support) so that they could basically cash in on the popularity of it.

They mass produced these cards & sell them with limited support, meaning that updates to the firmware are not kept up-to-date & you could find out that the R4 you have may not be able to run the latest games.

In fact despite the 'R4' name, you may find that some 'R4' are actually based on other popular flashcards... some may be based on the Acekard, others on the DSTT or even the M3 (which in itself is a 'clone' of the original R4)

This is not to say that ALL R4 cards are just terrible knock-offs of the original, there ARE some R4 cards that - as long as they are still supported & get regular updates,or even able to run alternative Firmwares - are still pretty good to own...

... SOME R4 cards are classed as 1:1 'clones' meaning that they are virtually identical to the original R4 cards (these are far and few though) and luckily up-to-date support for these cards is possible by using 'Wood R4' firmware created by Yellow Wood Goblin


I'm about to buy a R4 card?

DON'T !!! - no seriously don't !!
If you're buying 'direct' from a 'R4' manufacturer - try & first see when the last firmware update was made & how often they update
If it's over 5 months - it's a good chance that it'll never be updated, so don't buy it

If you're buying from a distributer, try & find out more info about it first - you will most probably see a picture of the card/packaging - & you might be able to determine the web address..
Google for the name of the card, check the website(s) found & check the packaging it comes in & see if it matches that on the shopping site....
If it's the same - then once again check the download section to see how often (& how long ago) it was updated

Some reptable sites will mention whether the R4 card will work with the WoodR4 firmware, these are usually 1:1 'clones' of the original R4 card & 'Wood' is regularly updated

So how can I tell what R4 card I have then ?

You can't - not easily, since many of the R4 clones all look similar to each other with virtually identical stickers on the front

Some clues MAY help though.

1) Does the sticker on the R4 card or the box it came in have a web address ??
If it does - pop along to that site using your favorite Web browser, & look in the Download section of the site to see what is the latest firmware version avalible.
You may also find the 'date of release' of that firmware & this could give you some idea on how often it's updated

If you are unlucky & the site is now defunct, you might be lucky in getting a newer firmware than what you already have by popping over to http://www.linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds/ as this site has a massive list of virtually every Flashcard ever made, including R4 clones, & it even give the 'last updated' date

2) If you are unlucky and DON'T have a webaddress on the card's sticker or box - but you have a 'full name' on the card, then once again visit the linfox website & look through the R4 clones list to see if you can see one that matches your card (e.g you may know you have a 'R4i NDSiLL' card) - you can then try that firmware to see if it works

3) If you have neither a name or web address to visit, then you COULD try downloading each firmware on the Linfox site & trying each out.
You might strike lucky & find one that works. Alternatively you can pop over to Evo.lve Mega list of R4 clones to see if your card is there - if it is, then you may find an alternative firmware to use

4) If you can't find one (or can't be bothered to download all those firmwares) - you best course of action is asking for help.

However for anyone to help you, you must help them as much as possible to try & determine what your R4 is a clone of,
By knowing what type of clone it is may help determine what your best options are

One way to help narrow down what clone you have - is to look at the file/folders found on the ROOT of your memory card (although this is no guarentee)


Some examples
Typical DSTT files/folders
If you have a R4 that has folders/files similar to these - then an alternative Firmware that may work on these types of cards is called 'YSMenu'

Typical Acekard Files/Folders
Note: You may find that the folder may be called '__aio' or '__rpg'

If your R4 card has files/folder similar to these, then your best bet is to use AKAIO although not all R4's will work with the newer AKAIO firmwares, alternatively you may be able to use the 'Wood' firmware

Typical R4 capable of running WOOD firmware
If your R4 card has files/folder similar to these, then your best bet is to use 'Wood R4'

[Note that you may have slightly different named folders or files - but the 'layout' would generally be the same]

Now if you post your request for help with the details of

• your cards full name - if possible
• The type of packaging it came in
• The web address on the box or card
• The files/folder found on the root of the memory card

Then there's a better chance that someone may be able to give you a definite answer to what you can do to upgrade (if it is at all possible) your R4 card


Now onto the really bad news !!!.....
If your R4 clone is one of the [very] customised versions of an R4 clone, & it's firmware hasn't been updated in quite a while
then there's virtually no chance in being able to upgrade it & you are best to follow the advice in Evo.lve guide to playing games on R4 Clones

Edited by CannonFoddr, 08 May 2011 - 01:10 PM.

Nice guide, should help noobs a lot.

One thing though, the link in the last paragraph doesn't really make sense.

oops sorry - for some reason the link didn't get posted right - now fixed

nice job, but you downplay the r4 too much. they aren't that bad. the old ones and the really bad clones are, but i got two r4s (one being a genuine original in white cartridge and all) and they are cool. AK2i is better but they both get the job done in most cases.

True - there are SOME R4's that aren't to bad (maybe I should make the bit about 1:1 clones a bit clearer) as long as they can be updated regularly (i.e can run WoodR4).
You, yourself say you have an 'genuine original R4' & I guess you've got WOOD on it ?? - so that card - even though it's 'old' is still supported

- but how many times have you seen people asking 'I've got an R4 but it can't run the latest game(s)' & after asking/checking up you find they either haven't even bothered looking for their latest firmware, that their 'latest firmware' is over 5months old/that the card isn't supported anymore OR it isn't even a 'R4 clone' based on the original R4's ?!?

True that's a kick in the guts for those cards - but at least (I hope) my guide does explain WHY their R4 cards can't run recent games while other can, & maybe also offer some tips to how they may be able to update to alternative firmwares

It's funny how you link to my EoF thread on how to make them work...

and then completely ignore my serious, actually helpful stickied thread.

What I want to know is is my museum piece R4DS from way back in 2007 worth anything? I still have it sitting in a drawer.

Oopsss - you want to know something...I've just checked & I DID include your 'Mega list of R4 clones' in the original (offline) post I did [@ work] - It was originally on the end of step 3)
But when I got home, I must've posted the 'older' offline copy for some perculiar reason...

Now fixed

^^Spammer

jimmyemunoz, on 15 January 2012 - 04:31 AM, said:

IRONY

How do I do that for next time. Are you just a sarcastic person or do you not like me or something?

jimmyemunoz, on 15 January 2012 - 04:37 AM, said:

I was just pointing out that it's ironic how you're basically spamming, while accusing somebody else of spamming. Don't worry, I'm a dick, so I would've done it to anybody in the temp.

You can find the report button on every post, towards the bottom-left (where the 3 buttons are side-to-side). It's besides the "Blog This" button.

Edited by s4mid4re, 15 January 2012 - 04:41 AM.

I see it now, thank you.

To ppl who want to buy R4s DON'T! why? even tho the R4 is cheap and awesome there are lots of clones and scams out there in the market, so choose something like an Acekard, or TTDS. Better to be safe than sorry

1c3 5n0w, on 15 January 2012 - 04:52 AM, said:

I find it funny that you suggest not to buy an R4, but suggest a DSTT instead.