Hacking DSTwo Card not inserted

[dsids2]

hi guys,

i have several dsi xl's for my kids. All have dstwo cards with 8gb microsd cards. Unfortunately, one of the dstwo cards has gone faulty with the DSI saying "Card not inserted" and now i have a crying kid who wants her dsi ASAP.

The reason i know the problem is with a dstwo card and not the slot or microsd, is because i have swapped both of these with my other kids ds cards and tried them on the dsi which i thought may have been faulty. everything works and vice versa.

I have also disassembled the faulty dstwo card and cleaned it's contacts as well as tried a small piece of paper to put pressure on the contacts, but have had no luck.

Could anyone recommend anything please as i'm desperate to have this sorted ASAP.

 

[CannonFoddr]

Not sure about this but just to check....
You have a 'faulty' DSTwo card that doesn't work on your girls DSi but the other DSTwo does work on the same DSi ??

Does the 'faulty' DSTwo work in any of the other DSi's??
(If you have one) Does the DSTwo card work/show up in a DSLite/DSPhat ??

AFAIK, if the DSi states no card is inserted - it's usually because there's no MicroSD card in it, or that the DS2 can't see a microSD card

Have you tried putting the MicroSD card into one of the other DSTwo & see if it works ??
- If it DOESN'T then it could be the MicroSD card is no good.
I've had a MSD go wrong on me & when checking on WinXP, Sometimes it said that the card wasn't formatted or 'please insert'

OR
Have you tried a different MicroSD card in the 'faulty' DSTwo & tried it ?? (it doesn't need to have tany of the DSTwo OS installed)
If it STILL doesn't show up - it could be the MicroSD slot is no good, or the DSTwo can't 'see' the MSD


IIRC - I think I also remember seeing something about the 'firmware header' of the DSTwo can sometimes go wrong (I've never had this) but perhaps as a last resort your could (re)try updating the firmware ?? (NOT the OS)

 

[dsids2]

Not sure about this but just to check....

You have a 'faulty' DSTwo card that doesn't work on your girls DSi but the other DSTwo does work on the same DSi ??

Yes the faulty DSTwo card does not work in any DSi's, but the other DSTwo cards work fine in this DSi console, so i know the console is NOT faulty - its my DSTwo card.

Does the 'faulty' DSTwo work in any of the other DSi's??

(If you have one) Does the DSTwo card work/show up in a DSLite/DSPhat ??

No it does not work in the other DSi's and I don't have a DSLite/DSPhat

AFAIK, if the DSi states no card is inserted - it's usually because there's no MicroSD card in it, or that the DS2 can't see a microSD card

Have you tried putting the MicroSD card into one of the other DSTwo & see if it works ??
- If it DOESN'T then it could be the MicroSD card is no good.
I've had a MSD go wrong on me & when checking on WinXP, Sometimes it said that the card wasn't formatted or 'please insert'

OR
Have you tried a different MicroSD card in the 'faulty' DSTwo & tried it ?? (it doesn't need to have tany of the DSTwo OS installed)
If it STILL doesn't show up - it could be the MicroSD slot is no good, or the DSTwo can't 'see' the MSD

The microsd card works fine in the other DSTwo cards. Also the other DSTwo card microsd's don't work in the faulty DSTwo card slot.

IIRC - I think I also remember seeing something about the 'firmware header' of the DSTwo can sometimes go wrong (I've never had this) but perhaps as a last resort your could (re)try updating the firmware ?? (NOT the OS)

Isn't the firmware on the microsd card? If so, then surely it shouldn't matter as the DSTwo won't detect it anyway?

 

[rockstar99]

It's a problem in the DSTWO cartridge.
Return it for a new one

 

[Buleste]

IIRC - I think I also remember seeing something about the 'firmware header' of the DSTwo can sometimes go wrong (I've never had this) but perhaps as a last resort your could (re)try updating the firmware ?? (NOT the OS)

Isn't the firmware on the microsd card? If so, then surely it shouldn't matter as the DSTwo won't detect it anyway?

No. Firmware is located on the SCDS2 and the kernel/OS is on the micro SDHC card.

Have you tried the paper trick on the micro SDHC card as it may be that the SCDS2 isn't reading the microSDHC card properly.

If that doesn't work then I'm afraid your SCDS2 has probably died.

 

[CannonFoddr]

Thanks for the feedback... as for the firmware part - not necessarily

There's the software (or 'OS' [Operating System] sometimes also called 'EOS') that is stored on the microSD card - that contains the folders like /_dstwoplug/ etc BUT there's also a Firmware Header (sometimes called a Boot loader/Boot Header) that's stored on the actual DSTwo card

It's this part that allows the DSi and 3DS to think that it has genuine game card in & not a flashcard.

I'm guessing you've read reports about how Nintendo release firmware updates for their DSi/3DS & that sometimes these will block flashcards from working... The flashcard developers find a work around & release a firmware update that bypasses Nintendos updates & get it working again.

Although thinking back, I THINK that even IF you have an older firmware on the DS2 & try running on a updated DSi/3DS, the Icon should still show up on the main menu - You would only get an error when you start to run it (white text on a black screen IIRC)

I'm guessing that you are NOT getting an icon on the DSi screen

Spoiler: Like This

In which case it does seem like the card is faulty & I doubt re-installing the Boot Loader will fix it.

You would need a DSLite/DSPhat to do it anyway - & IF the card doesn't show up on those then I would say the card is definitely faulty

 

[dsids2]

Thanks very much for your help guys. I can't send it back to Hong Kong as it'll cost almost as much as buying a new card.


A local shop is selling an ACEKARD for £15, so my questions are:-

1. Is this card any good?

2, Can it play any emulators? i.e. GBA?, Snes?, Amiga? (Not bothered about mame as the sound is messed up)

3. If not, then can you recommend another card?


I need it ASAP, otherwise my kids will drive me crazy.


Thanks!

 

[Rydian]

Is it a 2i? not a 2.1, but 2i, they're different, and only the 2i works in the DSi-series, and you have to make sure it's got the right firmware updates or it won't work.

And it doesn't run GBA games like the DSTwo, and while it does run SNES games it's not very good at it (because it's a normal flash cart).

If you want SNES/GBA properly on the DS, you need a DSTwo, it's the best at it.

 

[Buleste]

Thanks very much for your help guys. I can't send it back to Hong Kong as it'll cost almost as much as buying a new card.

A local shop is selling an ACEKARD for £15, so my questions are:-

1. Is this card any good?

IMHO it's the best low price cart that you can get.

2, Can it play any emulators? i.e. GBA?, Snes?, Amiga? (Not bothered about mame as the sound is messed up)

It can't do GBA or Amiga (only the iSmartMM can run an Amiga emulator at the moment and that is far from perfect (about 70% speed)) but it can run the SNES emulator that most carts can.

3. If not, then can you recommend another card?

The SCDS2 is the best cart for SNES and GBA emulation and I've already explained about the Amiga emulation. The iSmart MM is a good cart but it really isn't worth the money. Spend the extra and get another SCDS2 if you can (I've had mine for over 18 months with no problems).

I need it ASAP, otherwise my kids will drive me crazy.


Thanks!

Try ordering from www.xpertron.co.uk and you will get it within a few days (5 working days max is the usual).

 

[dsids2]

Thanks for ur responses. The last time i bought the DSTwo cards, they took ages to come from Hong Kong.

I can't find any uk sellers, who are reasonably cheap. Can you recommend any sellers whom have these card at a good price and are quick in delivering it?

 

[Luigi2012SM64DS]

why don't you try reflashing the dstwo? There a thing about the 1.0.8 update bricking the dstwo but since you have another you can use that to reflash the frimware to the faulty one. if the doen't work then your screwed

 

[Buleste]

Thanks for ur responses. The last time i bought the DSTwo cards, they took ages to come from Hong Kong.

I can't find any uk sellers, who are reasonably cheap. Can you recommend any sellers whom have these card at a good price and are quick in delivering it?

As I already said earlier. try www.xpertron.co.uk as they will take 5 working days usually to deliver (they are based in the U.K.) and also when you order try giving "3rd" as a voucher code (without the quotes) to see if you get 20% off (9th - 18th December).