Hacking DSTWO isn't recognized

[goemon_guy]

It's been a couple of weeks since I last used my DSTWO, and now it just refuses to be recognized by any of my DS consoles.

I've tried it in a DS, my DSi and my 3DS and it just won't show the icon.
I've tried formatting my microSD card and starting fresh, but no success.
I've even tried a second microSD card and it didn't make a difference.

I've had the card since 2011, and haven't had any issues since then.

Is my cart likely dead, or is there anything I can do to try and fix it?

EDIT:
The DSTWO still causes battery drain when inserted, so it is making contact with the slot.

 

[goemon_guy]

I've read that maybe my cart could be bricked; in this case, running a homebrew app from another flash cart may be able to unbrick it.

Would an Action Replay DSi (with the MicroSD card slot) be able to run the app to unbrick the Supercard?

 

[Sicklyboy]

The only way you'd have bricked it was if you were updating it and the update was interrupted (DS died, cart was removed, etc)

 

[Another World]

how can you gauge that its making contact because the battery is going down? just leaving the ds turned on will drain the battery. doing so with wifi on will drain it even faster. unless perhaps you did an experiment where you left the ds on and timed how long it took to fully drain and then did the same thing but this time with the ds2 inserted. is that what you did?

what you are describing sounds like a contact issue. a bricked bootloader would still attempt to boot, i know because i'm purposely bricked cards to test it. sometimes they show up with a blank icon and when you try to boot the ds freezes. other times the icon shows up. sometimes they boot to a black screen, sometimes a white screen. if you are unable to click on the card at all then it isn't being detected.

if that is indeed the case then its a common problem with ds2 units dating back for more than a year. what changed exactly i do not know. i have not attempted to purchase a new one in the hopes it had contact issues just to compare the differences between the builds. it is very possible that your unit from 2011 is experiencing something similar. we have seen this with the ak2i, over time it develops a contact issue. perhaps you need to reposition the PCB, but without a proper set of images it is hard to do much but speculate.

the dsi/dsixl/3ds seem to have a more finicky slot-1. have you tried inserting the ds2 and then ever-so-slightly applied pressure to different points? on the edges, the back, downwards, etc? you may also be able to get a contact by holding the ds upside down. so if you were sitting in a chair and looking up at the ceiling, the ds screens would be pointing down at your head. i've found that i can get contact this way on some cards while using my dsi xl, and its a sure sign the card has contact issues.

the fact that it isn't detected in your ds lite is the thing that has me the most curious. have you confirmed that a retail card and/or another flash kit work in the ds lite?

-another world

 

[goemon_guy]

how can you gauge that its making contact because the battery is going down? just leaving the ds turned on will drain the battery. doing so with wifi on will drain it even faster. unless perhaps you did an experiment where you left the ds on and timed how long it took to fully drain and then did the same thing but this time with the ds2 inserted. is that what you did?

I tested this in an original DS, and it was on the verge of going into 'low' battery state. If I inserted the Supercard, it would enter the low-state. If I then removed it, it would revert to the other battery state. I'm not sure if this is a reputable test, it was just a spur of the moment idea.

what you are describing sounds like a contact issue. a bricked bootloader would still attempt to boot, i know because i'm purposely bricked cards to test it. sometimes they show up with a blank icon and when you try to boot the ds freezes. other times the icon shows up. sometimes they boot to a black screen, sometimes a white screen. if you are unable to click on the card at all then it isn't being detected.

Nothing shows up at all in any of my systems.

if that is indeed the case then its a common problem with ds2 units dating back for more than a year. what changed exactly i do not know. i have not attempted to purchase a new one in the hopes it had contact issues just to compare the differences between the builds. it is very possible that your unit from 2011 is experiencing something similar. we have seen this with the ak2i, over time it develops a contact issue. perhaps you need to reposition the PCB, but without a proper set of images it is hard to do much but speculate.

How would I go about repositioning it? I can get it opened, but would it just be a matter of removing the PCB and putting it in again, or would I need precision in doing so?

the dsi/dsixl/3ds seem to have a more finicky slot-1. have you tried inserting the ds2 and then ever-so-slightly applied pressure to different points? on the edges, the back, downwards, etc? you may also be able to get a contact by holding the ds upside down. so if you were sitting in a chair and looking up at the ceiling, the ds screens would be pointing down at your head. i've found that i can get contact this way on some cards while using my dsi xl, and its a sure sign the card has contact issues.

the fact that it isn't detected in your ds lite is the thing that has me the most curious. have you confirmed that a retail card and/or another flash kit work in the ds lite?

-another world

I have tried this, but it hasn't lead to any success.

Also, I'm sure that it isn't relevant, but I'm using an original DS, not a lite.
And other carts work; I can't say anything about any other flash kits, though, as this is my only one.

EDIT:
One of the last things I did on it was install BAGPlug (the replacement menu).
I know it's unlikely, but could I be missing something for that, which is causing it to not show up?

 

[tbgtbg]

I would try the paper trick, just to be sure it's not contact issues.

 

[goemon_guy]

I put paper in with the DSTWO, and it didn't seem to make any difference.
:S

 

[Rydian]

You often need to put the paper between the contacts and the back shell of the flash cart since it's the contacts that need to be pushed forward.

 

[goemon_guy]

You mean underneath the contacts in the casing? If so, I've tried that too, to no avail...

Unless I'm not using enough paper in it...

 

[Another World]

careful. use to much paper and you bend one of the slot-1 pins.

-another world

 

[goemon_guy]

I didn't use that much; just enough to sort of bring it out a bit more.
At any rate, it didn't work.

I dunno what else I can try...

 

[Another World]

How would I go about repositioning it? I can get it opened, but would it just be a matter of removing the PCB and putting it in again, or would I need precision in doing so?

you would only need to do this if the PCB has moved. is it perfectly flat across the back of the shell? is either end of the teeth higher from the back of the shell than the other? Is it skewed or crooked at all? if you can answer no to all of these then there wouldn't really be a reason to open the shell.

try sliding a thin slice of phonebook thickness paper under the pcb. see if it makes contact. usually 1 or 2 stacked thin slices is enough to make contact.

you said you were using BAG's menu. have you tried putting back on the default EOS setup after a full reformat?

-another world

 

[goemon_guy]

I've put the original EOS back on, (tried multiple versions just in case) I've put BAG's menu back on, and to no avail.

Also, I tried just phonebook paper and nothing happened.

However, I just found something else out:
If I remove the DSTWO while in the DS Menu, then reinsert it, (without turning it off) the DS will restart.
This does not occur with a retail cart.
I'm pretty sure that it's making contact then.

What is the proper file structure for the default EOS?

_dstwo
dsboot.dat

How about for BagPlug?

I have:

_bagui
_dstwo
dsboot.dat

Would this be causing my issue?

EDIT:

I recorded a video just to show the problem(s) as of now:

Spoiler

Forgive the crudeness of the video, if you would.

 

[Rydian]

That's... that's a physical problem. I'd get a replacement DSTwo.

 

[goemon_guy]

That's what I figured...

I'd rather not pay another $50 for a DSTWO, as I have other means of playing SNES & GBA on the go, so what would be a decent replacement cart?

 

[Rydian]

I meant try shipping it back to the shop for a replacement.

 

[goemon_guy]

I meant try shipping it back to the shop for a replacement.

Eh... It's been like, 2 years since I bought it. :S
Would they even do that?

Also, Kickgaming has been down for the last little while, (where I bought it from).

 

[Rydian]

Ah, yeah then that'd be an issue.

Generally the r4ids.cn or r4idsn.com carts are considered the alternatives to the DSTwo.

 

[goemon_guy]

Alright, thanks for the advice.

I'll keep it in mind when I decide to buy a new card!

 

[goemon_guy]

I bought a new Supercard off of somebody in my local vicinity because it was accessible.

Spoiler

However, I am trying to update it with the latest firmware, (using the dstwoupdate.dat file from Supercard's website) and if I put the update file on the card and insert the dstwo into the slot, it doesn't recognize it!
Only if the update file is on the card, though.

This strikes me as odd ; (and no, the update was not causing my old DSTWO to refuse recognition. )
What could be causing this?

EDIT: Never mind, reformatting the card seemed to do the trick.

I also tried the DSTWO unbricking application [http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/u...irmware-update-failed-fix-10-1-12-f28671.html] (just to see if anything could be done with my old DSTWO) and upon reinserting my OLD DSTWO, the system just restarts. Interestingly enough, it does this with the new DSTWO, too.
It doesn't happen with retail carts, though.