Hacking [Release]ARDS Firmware Tool -Improved NTRBoot for ARDS(EZ/ME/i), flash your own FIRMs and more!

RattletraPM

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
897
Trophies
1
XP
8,341
Country
Italy
-ARDS Firmware Tool-
screen_ardsfwtool.png


ARDS Firmware Tool is an all-in-one tool meant for regular users and developers alike to edit, extract and create NTRBoot compatible firmware files for the Action Replay DS/EZ/Media Edition/DSi. You don't need to patch Code Manager to flash firmware files generated with this tool, as it automatically calculates the correct checksum for them! Not only that, but generated files also tend to be very small as everything that's not needed is trimmed away (the file size of a firmware containing Boot9Strap v1.3 is only 62kb, less than a third of the size of the previous implementation!)

The tool also brings lots of other improvements to the table, such as the ability to super easy NTRBoot firmware generation for those of you following the guide, a function to inject your own NTRBoot compatible FIRMs (such as Godmode9),NTRBoot support for both retail and devkit consoles (the previous implementation for ARDS only worked on retail units) and an easier way to install NTRBoot on an ARDS Media Edition without a flashcart, aswell as a method to fully restore it afterwards. There are also a lot of other functions intended for devs and power users, as well as detailed guides in the readme.

See the Github page or the Readme file for a list of what this tool can do, as well as the guides and a list of FAQs.

Github releases page: https://github.com/RattletraPM/ards-firmwaretool/releases

Source: https://github.com/RattletraPM/ards-firmwaretool
 

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: RIP Akira Toriyama
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,736
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,495
Country
Antarctica
If it's not too much to ask, but would be able to make a universal Linux launcher? I have an action replay I am not using and would love to turn it into my dedicated NTRBoot cart
 
  • Like
Reactions: CaptainSwag101

RattletraPM

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
897
Trophies
1
XP
8,341
Country
Italy
I've never used Linux for 3DS but if the FIRM is small enough (needs to be a bit smaller than 1 MB) and is signed to work with NTRBoot then yes, you can. Keep in mind that the FIRM also needs a proper screeninit function or else it'll boot, but you won't see anything onscreen.
 

iAqua

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
2,848
Trophies
1
Location
XP
2,476
Country
United Kingdom
I know i've been repetitive with this but once again i'm wondering if it's possible to flash the ards with a 3ds instead of the cable?
 

dj505

Inexperienced Romhacker
Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
556
Trophies
0
Location
Most likely at the arcade
Website
www.youtube.com
XP
844
Country
Canada
So, I keep getting the message "There is not enough free space to update the action replay device. Please delete any unused codes and try again." with my ARDSi. Tried resetting the device to factory defaults but I get the same message. Any idea what the issue could be?
 

Hundredears

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
38
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
257
Country
United States
When I tried the advance tab, I wanted to flash gm9-ntr.firm onto my ARdsi, it generated successfully, but in the codemanager there's a pop up saying "not a firm" when I drag it to update my cart. Is this suppose to happen?

Edit: My ardsi is the black sticker not the yellow sticker.
 
Last edited by Hundredears,
D

Deleted User

Guest
-ARDS Firmware Tool-
screen_ardsfwtool.png


ARDS Firmware Tool is an all-in-one tool meant for regular users and developers alike to edit, extract and create NTRBoot compatible firmware files for the Action Replay DS/EZ/Media Edition/DSi. You don't need to patch Code Manager to flash firmware files generated with this tool, as it automatically calculates the correct checksum for them! Not only that, but generated files also tend to be very small as everything that's not needed is trimmed away (the file size of a firmware containing Boot9Strap v1.3 is only 62kb, less than a third of the size of the previous implementation!)

The tool also brings lots of other improvements to the table, such as the ability to super easy NTRBoot firmware generation for those of you following the guide, a function to inject your own NTRBoot compatible FIRMs (such as Godmode9),NTRBoot support for both retail and devkit consoles (the previous implementation for ARDS only worked on retail units) and an easier way to install NTRBoot on an ARDS Media Edition without a flashcart, aswell as a method to fully restore it afterwards. There are also a lot of other functions intended for devs and power users, as well as detailed guides in the readme.

See the Github page or the Readme file for a list of what this tool can do, as well as the guides and a list of FAQs.

Github releases page: https://github.com/RattletraPM/ards-firmwaretool/releases

Source: https://github.com/RattletraPM/ards-firmwaretool
Just used this with my AR DSi and it worked perfectly. Nice work!

For those of you that are using windows 10 and are getting a runtime error with the code manager, run it in compatibility mode for Windows Vista
 

Hundredears

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
38
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
257
Country
United States
Just used this with my AR DSi and it worked perfectly. Nice work!

For those of you that are using windows 10 and are getting a runtime error with the code manager, run it in compatibility mode for Windows Vista

Ur able to boot into ntrboothax with a magnet? Is ur n/3ds CFW'ed alrdy?
 

luigismentor

Well-Known Member
Newcomer
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
73
Trophies
0
Age
28
XP
818
Country
United States
I dunno, I tried with the other thread, and I got no results. The working theory behind the problem is that my ARDSi doesn't work on my 2DS as-is, making the whole process a waste of time. Would this actually fix that issue?
 

Hundredears

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
38
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
257
Country
United States
Yes, and yes(not sure why already having CFW would matter)

Which boot.firm or ntrboot.firm did u use?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I dunno, I tried with the other thread, and I got no results. The working theory behind the problem is that my ARDSi doesn't work on my 2DS as-is, making the whole process a waste of time. Would this actually fix that issue?

What color ARdsi sticker do u have? Black? Yellow? Blue? only the black one is supported atm.
 

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: RIP Akira Toriyama
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,736
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,495
Country
Antarctica
I've never used Linux for 3DS but if the FIRM is small enough (needs to be a bit smaller than 1 MB) and is signed to work with NTRBoot then yes, you can. Keep in mind that the FIRM also needs a proper screeninit function or else it'll boot, but you won't see anything onscreen.
I don’t mean Linux on the 3DS, I mean making the launcher itself work with Linux. So basically allowing me to use your tool to flash my ARi, but not having to install Windows
 

ThisIsDaAccount

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
1,158
Trophies
0
XP
944
Country
United States
This is really cool! Thanks!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I don’t mean Linux on the 3DS, I mean making the launcher itself work with Linux. So basically allowing me to use your tool to flash my ARi, but not having to install Windows
The tool just generates a firmware file for use with Datel's Code Manager, which is a Windows only tool. You'll still need Windows to boot Code Manager even if you got this tool to run on Windows.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Catboy

Hundredears

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
38
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
257
Country
United States
No, my 2DS doesn't have a CFW on it. The only reason I'm bothering with this is because I could potentially get CFW without having to pay a cent to anybody.

Lmk if it worked or not. I dun have a spare 3DS without CFW to test it. It's diff when u have CFW becuz luma autoboots the boot.firm (I think RatttletraPM said he changed it to read boot.firm instead of ntrboot.firm) )even if u use the magnet. To truely test if my ARdsi worked or not I'd have to flash GM9-ntr.firm on it which is having a problems atm.
 
Last edited by Hundredears,

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: RIP Akira Toriyama
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,736
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,495
Country
Antarctica
This is really cool! Thanks!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


The tool just generates a firmware file for use with Datel's Code Manager, which is a Windows only tool. You'll still need Windows to boot Code Manager even if you got this tool to run on Windows.
Ah, ok. Thanks for clearing that up for me!
I guess I will have to install this on my boyfriend's laptop then :P
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThisIsDaAccount

RattletraPM

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
897
Trophies
1
XP
8,341
Country
Italy
Well, that's a lot of messages!

I know i've been repetitive with this but once again i'm wondering if it's possible to flash the ards with a 3ds instead of the cable?
No, an USB cable is still required.


So, I keep getting the message "There is not enough free space to update the action replay device. Please delete any unused codes and try again." with my ARDSi. Tried resetting the device to factory defaults but I get the same message. Any idea what the issue could be?
You might be dropping the firmware in the wrong part of DSi Code Manager's window. You need to drop it in the gray bar at the top and not on the code list.


When I tried the advance tab, I wanted to flash gm9-ntr.firm onto my ARdsi, it generated successfully, but in the codemanager there's a pop up saying "not a firm" when I drag it to update my cart. Is this suppose to happen?

Edit: My ardsi is the black sticker not the yellow sticker.
Did you set the ARDS firmware model to ARDSi? (Open the generated firmware in the header tools section if you want confirm that - the header section should say AR09). If it still happens, you'll have to use al3x_10m's patched Code Manager or your ARDSi might not be compatible altogheter.

I dunno, I tried with the other thread, and I got no results. The working theory behind the problem is that my ARDSi doesn't work on my 2DS as-is, making the whole process a waste of time. Would this actually fix that issue?
The ARDSi can update its firmware without booting on a 2/3DS, so that might not be the problem. Your ARDSi might just not be compatible (keep in mind that there are tons of ARDSi models and revisions out there) but you might want to try again.

I don’t mean Linux on the 3DS, I mean making the launcher itself work with Linux. So basically allowing me to use your tool to flash my ARi, but not having to install Windows
Sorry, I misread your comment ^^". Anyways, as @ThisIsDaAccount said, this tool generates ARDS firmware files that can be flashed with (DSi) Code Manager and that program is only available for windows - so even if you ported this tool to Linux you'd still have to use Wine to flash the generated firmware to the AR, so there's little to no point in porting it.


Lmk if it worked or not. I dun have a spare 3DS without CFW to test it. It's diff when u have CFW becuz luma autoboots the boot.firm (I think RatttletraPM said he changed it to read boot.firm instead of ntrboot.firm) )even if u use the magnet. To truely test if my ARdsi worked or not I'd have to flash GM9-ntr.firm on it which is having a problems atm.
Luma nightlies make it easy to see if you're using NTRBoot because if you enter Luma3DS's settings it will tell you which method was used to boot its FIRM. So, if you want to see if NTRBoot worked with the official version of B9S, first input NTRBoot's key combo while placing the magnet in the right spot, then let go of all buttons (Luma won't boot if the key combo is still pressed) and quickly press select to go into the settings screen. In the bottom of the screen it should say "Booted from B9S (ntrboot)" if it worked.
 

Hundredears

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
38
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
257
Country
United States
Did you set the ARDS firmware model to ARDSi? (Open the generated firmware in the header tools section if you want confirm that - the header section should say AR09). If it still happens, you'll have to use al3x_10m's patched Code Manager or your ARDSi might not be compatible altogheter.

Yes I did select ARdsi, in the header it does show AR09. The simple method updated my ARdsi firmware no problem, however, attempting to flash GM9-ntr.firm instead of b9s wit the generated firmware still says not a firm while my Code manager tries updating it. al3x_10m's patch CM dun let u drag n drop firmware generated from ur tool.

Luma nightlies make it easy to see if you're using NTRBoot because if you enter Luma3DS's settings it will tell you which method was used to boot its FIRM. So, if you want to see if NTRBoot worked with the official version of B9S, first input NTRBoot's key combo while placing the magnet in the right spot, then let go of all buttons (Luma won't boot if the key combo is still pressed) and quickly press select to go into the settings screen. In the bottom of the screen it should say "Booted from B9S (ntrboot)" if it worked.

Where's the option for nightlies in 2.2 luma updater?
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2: Sorry for accidentally bending over