Hacking (4.x only) CIA CFW Complete Guide

gamesquest1

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i think (4.x only) needs to be added to this thread title, i know its kinda obvious to people who have followed this stuff, but it would save the same questions over and over :)
 
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PieFace

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Does anyone know why I can't get ctrclient to connect? Everything else seems to be working properly (It boots into 'emunand') and I am 100% certain I am using the right IP address. I am also on 4.1, if it matters.
 

palantine

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Great plan. It is my hope to have commented source for arm9, arm11, boot as well as ctrclient and be able to build everything from scratch. :)

Did you see crtclient on neimods git? It looks like it's an older version that this is based off of. We could probably use it as a starting point and then reverse the added features with IDA+Wireshark PCAP.


I actually already reversed the commands, if someone wants to continue that work and reverse the protocol with wireshark, I say go for it!
 

piratesephiroth

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palantine
Could you please make a video tutorial how to install your CFW?

I'm sure that there are many noobs like me that aren't understanding some steps

A step-by-step CFW guide (especially for those who do not own a Gateway)

Requirements:
Hardware:
- A wireless router connected to the internet
- A PC connected to the router
- A 3DS on firmware 4.1 to 4.5
- A card reader
- A FAT32 formatted SD card/SD adapter for microSD (for the 3DS)
- A compatible DS flashcart
- A computer with Windows Vista/7/8 (ctrclient is compiled in VS2012 with no support for Windows XP)

Software:
- DevMenu_2x.cia or BigBlueMenu.cia
- the .bat file I attached here
- EmunandTool
- Gateway's installation files (from their website)
- Palantine's CFW files.

Instructions:
1. Have your 3DS WIFI connections configured properly (not really required, it's just to save time).
2. Copy Launcher.dat from the folder GW_OMEGA to your 3DS's big SD card. Insert that SD into your 3DS.
3. Transfer GW_INSTALLER.NDS to your flashcart's microSD's and run it on your 3DS, selecting the proper option.
Press A to close the installer after it's finished.
Press HOME to go back to the home menu after it closes.
Important: this will install the ROP Loader into the 3DS. If you run any DS game it will be removed and you'll have to run GW_INSTALLER.NDS again.

4. Go to System Settings > Profile > Nintendo DS Profile. You'll get into Gateway menu.
5. Select 'Format EMUNAND'. Confirm and wait until it's finished (the SD card will be formatted)
6. Shut down the 3DS, plug the SD card it into your PC's card reader.
7. Use EmunandTool and hit 'Extract emuNAND' to save it to your computer.

8. Drag the resultant emuNAND.bin into the bat file I uploaded. A file named REDNAND.bin will be generated when it's finished.
9. Use EmunandTool, select 'Inject NAND to emuNAND' and navigate to where your REDNAND.bin is.
(it will tell you NAND.bin doesn't exist every time you open a folder... just ignore it). Wait until it's finished. (It injects the file into a hidden partition so you won't see the file anywhere on the SD.)

10. Now get the CFW files. Copy everything that's in the 'SD Card' folder to the root of the SD card. Delete Launcher.dat and rename Launcher_GW.dat to Launcher.dat
11. Insert the SD card back in the 3DS. Let it create the software management information
12. Take the SD out of the 3DS and back into the PC's card reader. Go to the newly created 'Nintendo 3DS' folder and into the subfolders inside it.
Their names are a bunch of gibberish so let's call the first one ID1, and inside it there's an ID2 folder with a 'extdata' folder inside.
You have to create another folder inside ID2, called 'dbs'. And inside this new folder you add a file called title.db or import.db. You can add both, but it's not really necessary.
(Remember you may need to disable the option 'Hide extensions for known file types' in Windows Explorer's folder options so you can create them)
Like this:
Code:
└───Nintendo 3DS
    └───01234567890acbdef0123456789abcde        <-- ID1
        └───9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba    <-- ID2
            ├───extdata
            └───dbs  <-- create this one and add one of the files inside it(or both)
                  title.db
                  update.db

Plug the SD back into the 3DS and go to System Settings > Data Management > Nintendo 3DS > Software.
It will tell you the management information is corrupted and ask you to reset it. Confirm it.

Now to get into the CFW, go to System Settings > Other > Profile > Nintendo DS Profile. It's unstable right now and won't successfully boot everytime. You know it works when the bottom screen flashes white for a brief moment. If it stays black then you have to power off the 3DS and try again.


Installing DevMenu/BigBlueMenu from the computer:
To install CIA files using the windows tools, you need to hold down the 'L' button while you select 'Nintendo DS Profile'.
Now you're gonna use the other files in the CFW archive.
You have to edit the file 'run.bat'. It comes like this:
Code:
installcia IPTOMODIFY 1 DevMenu_2x.cia

change IPTOMODIFY to your 3DS's IP address. If you're installing BigBlueMenu.cia, change it accordingly.
For example, mine is 192.168.1.3. So my file must be:
Code:
installcia 192.168.1.3 1 DevMenu_2x.cia

To find your 3DS's IP address you can either check your router or use Wireless Network Watcher
Double-click run.bat to install DevMenu.
A successful instalation will look like this:
4fefa5df52.png


Result-code: 0 means all went fine.
  • If you get anything else, it's because you didn't create the files in the dbs folder;
  • If you get 'failed to connect', turn wifi off and on again on the 3DS, then try again;
  • If you're always getting 'failed to connect' and the 3DS is crashing/freezing, open the web browser as soon as the CFW starts and let it load a website.
If it installed fine, press the power button and then press HOME to reload the home menu.
You'll see a new gift there.

Once you have DevMenu/BigBlueMenu installed, you can start the CFW in regular mode (don't hold L) and install CIAs from the SD card using it.
 

Attachments

  • drag_emunand_here.zip
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Vappy

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Small change, but I've found you don't need to reboot a second time for the DevMenu to show after running the client. Just replacing the .db files like idunoe said while leaving the 3DS on then plugging it back in causes it to show.
 

Lordjontan

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This part: "You also have to check your SD card, find the folder Nintendo 3DS\<lotsofnumbers>\<evenmorenumbers>\dbs\". Create two files in this folder, named title.db and import.db "

Is it after or before install the CIA?
 

bobmcjr

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With this method, I can boot into the CFW, however, after ~10 seconds, whenever I scroll over icons in the home screen, banners fail to load and doing anything besides scrolling causes a freeze, and of course, It fails to connect. I know my IP is correct as whenever I run run.bat, the WiFi light on the 3DS blinks.
 
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