Tutorial
Updated
The Easy Way to Swap your Sysnand and Emunand (A9LH ONLY)
NOTE: The original guide is completely outdated now. Just use Decrypt9's 'keep a9lh' option to flash emunand backups to sysnand and you're good to go.
But if you really want to use this guide as currently written for some reason, here it is I guess:
But if you really want to use this guide as currently written for some reason, here it is I guess:
DISCLAIMER STUFF: Switching to sysnand isn't for everybody. It makes Virtual Console games easier to work with and it boots a little faster than emunand does, but if those things don't matter to you then you might be fine keeping everything on your emunand. Just be warned that switching everything to sysnand means you need to take more care when it comes to dealing with system updates and when performing NAND restores. Make sure you understand what features are available in your CFW of choice when it comes to preventing updates from overwriting a9lh. AuReiNand and CakesFW both support this feature so I recommend you use one of them if you aren't already.
And while the arm9loaderhax installer is pretty well tested at this point, there still is a possibility of the installer bricking your system even if you've successfully used it before. If you would prefer to follow a guide that does not require running the arm9loaderhax installer again, you might want to check out Part 5 of Plailect's arm9loaderhax guide which details an alternate and more up-to-date method of how to get your emunand swapped to sysnand.
If that didn't scare you off, then let's get right down to things.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
-The latest version of your custom firmware of choice. Chances are you're using AuReiNand or Cakes if you're reading this.
-Decrypt9. Everybody loves them some Decrypt9.
-arm9loaderhax.3dsx compiled with your OTP.
note about arm9loaderhax.3dsx: You might want to recompile your arm9loaderhax.3dsx if you don't already have the latest version of a9lh. Just make sure that you use your own OTP file if you download the a9lh source again and it includes a dummy file. Some people have been caught off guard by that before. Alternatively you could simply use your current arm9loaderhax.3dsx and then use the newer SafeA9LHInstaller to update your setup afterwards.
You also might want to do a bit of housekeeping before performing the swap. Do you still have Menuhax hanging around on either of your NANDs, for example? Uninstall it. It will just confuse you later on.
HOW TO GET SWAPPIN':
1) Boot Decrypt9 and back up your sysnand to sysNAND.bin and your emunand to emuNAND.bin
If you're using AuReiNand, you'll need to hold L when booting the console to start your 3DS using firmware90.bin. That way Decrypt9 won't give you a red screen glare of displeasure when you try to run it.
2) Unmount the card in Decrypt9 and open it on your computer. Rename emuNAND.bin to NAND.bin, then rename sysNAND.bin to emuNAND.bin
3) Go back into Decrypt9 and flash emuNAND.bin (formerly sysNAND.bin) to your emunand. The end result is that both your sysnand and emunand will be clones of each other on 9.2 again.
4) This next step is very important: DO NOT FLASH NAND.BIN TO SYSNAND WITH DECRYPT9. Your emunand did not have a9lh installed to it, so if you do a direct flash of an image of your emunand to sysnand, you will end up with an updated sysnand and no a9lh. And that would be no fun at all.
Instead, what you do is leave Decrypt9 and run arm9loaderhax.3dsx. The installer has a feature where, if a NAND.bin exists on your SD card, it will flash it to your sysnand, and then install a9lh to your newly flashed sysnand. That way, you will end up with your emunand successfully swapped to your sysnand, and a9lh will be there to keep you from becoming a fully updated no-hacks peasant. The NAND.bin install takes somewhat longer than Decrypt9 does, so sit back and watch the memory addresses zip on by. Or go find something to eat instead. It will reboot automatically when the process is finished.
5) Now that you're done with the swap, you need to make sure your CFW is set to boot your sysnand by default. AuReiNand users should hold Select on boot then toggle updated sysnand to yes, and CakesFW users should hold L on boot and be sure that sysnand boot is selected. Selecting the a9lh detection/FIRM writes blocking patches is also HIGHLY recommended. That will keep future updates from overwriting arm9loaderhax. Either way, once you're done selecting your patches, you can continue booting the cfw.
And that's it! Your sysnand and emunand are swapped and you're now a cool kid instead of being a poor guy stuck on 10.7 with no hacks to his name! You might want to make one more sysnand backup at this point, since the new backup that you create will have a9lh preinstalled to FIRM0 and FIRM1 this time around. That way you can restore without fear in the event you find yourself in trouble one day in the future.
And while the arm9loaderhax installer is pretty well tested at this point, there still is a possibility of the installer bricking your system even if you've successfully used it before. If you would prefer to follow a guide that does not require running the arm9loaderhax installer again, you might want to check out Part 5 of Plailect's arm9loaderhax guide which details an alternate and more up-to-date method of how to get your emunand swapped to sysnand.
If that didn't scare you off, then let's get right down to things.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
-The latest version of your custom firmware of choice. Chances are you're using AuReiNand or Cakes if you're reading this.
-Decrypt9. Everybody loves them some Decrypt9.
-arm9loaderhax.3dsx compiled with your OTP.
note about arm9loaderhax.3dsx: You might want to recompile your arm9loaderhax.3dsx if you don't already have the latest version of a9lh. Just make sure that you use your own OTP file if you download the a9lh source again and it includes a dummy file. Some people have been caught off guard by that before. Alternatively you could simply use your current arm9loaderhax.3dsx and then use the newer SafeA9LHInstaller to update your setup afterwards.
You also might want to do a bit of housekeeping before performing the swap. Do you still have Menuhax hanging around on either of your NANDs, for example? Uninstall it. It will just confuse you later on.
HOW TO GET SWAPPIN':
1) Boot Decrypt9 and back up your sysnand to sysNAND.bin and your emunand to emuNAND.bin
If you're using AuReiNand, you'll need to hold L when booting the console to start your 3DS using firmware90.bin. That way Decrypt9 won't give you a red screen glare of displeasure when you try to run it.
2) Unmount the card in Decrypt9 and open it on your computer. Rename emuNAND.bin to NAND.bin, then rename sysNAND.bin to emuNAND.bin
3) Go back into Decrypt9 and flash emuNAND.bin (formerly sysNAND.bin) to your emunand. The end result is that both your sysnand and emunand will be clones of each other on 9.2 again.
4) This next step is very important: DO NOT FLASH NAND.BIN TO SYSNAND WITH DECRYPT9. Your emunand did not have a9lh installed to it, so if you do a direct flash of an image of your emunand to sysnand, you will end up with an updated sysnand and no a9lh. And that would be no fun at all.
Instead, what you do is leave Decrypt9 and run arm9loaderhax.3dsx. The installer has a feature where, if a NAND.bin exists on your SD card, it will flash it to your sysnand, and then install a9lh to your newly flashed sysnand. That way, you will end up with your emunand successfully swapped to your sysnand, and a9lh will be there to keep you from becoming a fully updated no-hacks peasant. The NAND.bin install takes somewhat longer than Decrypt9 does, so sit back and watch the memory addresses zip on by. Or go find something to eat instead. It will reboot automatically when the process is finished.
5) Now that you're done with the swap, you need to make sure your CFW is set to boot your sysnand by default. AuReiNand users should hold Select on boot then toggle updated sysnand to yes, and CakesFW users should hold L on boot and be sure that sysnand boot is selected. Selecting the a9lh detection/FIRM writes blocking patches is also HIGHLY recommended. That will keep future updates from overwriting arm9loaderhax. Either way, once you're done selecting your patches, you can continue booting the cfw.
And that's it! Your sysnand and emunand are swapped and you're now a cool kid instead of being a poor guy stuck on 10.7 with no hacks to his name! You might want to make one more sysnand backup at this point, since the new backup that you create will have a9lh preinstalled to FIRM0 and FIRM1 this time around. That way you can restore without fear in the event you find yourself in trouble one day in the future.
Last edited by FenrirWolf,
