Hacking ROM Hack Nintendo swith unpatched v1 not working - failed to inizialize mmc

[fabio85]

Hello everyone,
I have a NS running atmosphere 1.7.1, hekate 6.2.1, firmware 18.0.1 on a 256GB microsd exFat formatted.
everything was working fine until 3 days ago then all of the sudden I got black screen. I can't load atmo "a fatal error occured....failed to initialize mmc:0x00004a18", I can load into hekate but getting the notification "your emmc is initialized in slower mode". For the record, I never enabled emuMMC, only sysMMC (both Atmo and Original firmware get the same error, as mentioned before).

I wasn't able to do a nand backup due to the emmc error however I still got a backup of: boot0, boot1, rawnand, prod.keys (taken when I upgraded to 1.7.1 and 18.01).

I have also tried to upgrade atmo to 1.8, hekate to 6.2 and firmware 19.0.1 but same errors.

Is there any procedure I can apply to rebuild any memory storage or I am dealing with a pure hardware issue (nand chip to be replaced)

Thank you in advance for you help, support and understanding if I missed any similar thread!

 

[thesjaakspoiler]

This is usually a hardware issue where the emmc chip has a bad contact with the motherboard.
If one ore more datalines are not connected, the emmc goes into a special mode where it used 1 bit data transfers instead of the usual 8 bit data transfers.
This is very slow so that is why it is called 'slow mode'.

A skilled repairshop can reflow/reball your emmc and fix the problem.
This is not something you can repair without the right skills, experience and equipment.

You could set up an emmc on your SD card and use the SD card.
Afaik, you should be able to create an emummc even if your emmc is in slow mode.
As long as the emmc continues to operate in slow mode, you should be able to boot into CFW/emummc.

 

[fabio85]

@thesjaakspoiler thank you so much for your reply, much appreciated.

Regarding the emmc, I already tried that path, with a fat32 64GB card, on yesterday. I was able to setup the sd partition (step 1) but then during part 1 partioning the process failed (step 2). Not sure if there is any workaroud or alternative solution, happy to hear from you if you have any insights.

cheers

 

[l7777]

His emmc isn't just in 1bit mode, it isn't initialized and my be dead. OP can try to open the Switch and reseat (unplug/replug) the emmc daughtercard but if that doesn't work the solution is a replacement emmc and rebuilding with OP's existing but older backup. Reflowing doesn't always solve the problem either. I have one that was completely dead and the only way to resurrect it was an emmc rebuild with donor prodkeys. Since the OP has a backup it should simply be a matter of restoring that backup to a replacement emmc.

 

[Earthshine]

I had this happen before. It went away when I replaced the sd card reader. Also, can you please rotate your images prior to uploading? Having their orientation wrong makes it difficult to read. Maybe also clean it before taking pics so there isn't a long pube hair on your image.

 

[l7777]

I had this happen before. It went away when I replaced the sd card reader. Also, can you please rotate your images prior to uploading? Having their orientation wrong makes it difficult to read. Maybe also clean it before taking pics so there isn't a long pube hair on your image.

His second screenshot clearly shows that it is the internal emmc and it has failed to initialize. If it was the SD Card he wouldn't be able to load NYX (Hekate UI) and get that image.

 

[Earthshine]

If it was the SD Card he wouldn't be able to load NYX (Hekate UI) and get that image.

That is not true. If your sd card reader is going bad and gives the low speed message, you can still access the Hekate UI and even boot into both sysMMC and emuMMC. At least myself and others have been able to. Certainly not all as if it's completely dead, it's completely dead. How have people with bad sd readers been able to post their screenshots if they couldn't load NYX to get that same second image?

 

[l7777]

That is not true. If your sd card reader is going bad and gives the low speed message, you can still access the Hekate UI and even boot into both sysMMC and emuMMC. At least myself and others have been able to. Certainly not all as if it's completely dead, it's completely dead. How have people with bad sd readers been able to post their screenshots if they couldn't load NYX to get that same second image?

Apologies for not being clear, I was talking about a complete failure as shown in the screen shot. Yes, in 1bit mode things will still work but slowly.

 

[Earthshine]

Apologies for not being clear, I was talking about a complete failure as shown in the screen shot. Yes, in 1bit mode things will still work but slowly.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[fabio85]

@Earthshine @l7777 thank you for the contribution. I just uploaded the rotated pictures, but my dog's hair is still there, sorry,

quick recap:
- Hekate is working but in slow mode
- I tried to create and enable emmc, I was able to partition the SD but then I got an error continuing with "Part 1"
- I can't launch the original firmware
- I can't launch the custom firmware, I also tried with another SD card with a newest version of atm and hekate

based on some researches it was suggested to replace the emmc 32gb memory and I think l777 had the same opinion

however, according to Earthshine, an sd card reader replacement should fix the error: do we all agree on this? I just want to make sure I am following before to purchase the spare part or going to a repair shop

Many thanks!

 

[Earthshine]

@Earthshine @l7777 thank you for the contribution. I just uploaded the rotated pictures, but my dog's hair is still there, sorry,

quick recap:
- Hekate is working but in slow mode
- I tried to create and enable emmc, I was able to partition the SD but then I got an error continuing with "Part 1"
- I can't launch the original firmware
- I can't launch the custom firmware, I also tried with another SD card with a newest version of atm and hekate

based on some researches it was suggested to replace the emmc 32gb memory and I think l777 had the same opinion
View attachment 516655
however, according to Earthshine, an sd card reader replacement should fix the error: do we all agree on this? I just want to make sure I am following before to purchase the spare part or going to a repair shop
View attachment 516657

Many thanks!

I'm really not the expert on this. Just sharing what happened with me and perhaps our situations are different as stated by l7777. I don't know myself either way. But the SD card reader you should be able to replace yourself. They are very low cost and there is zero soldering required. The SD card reader is just unplug the old one and plug the new one in. If that didn't solve the problem you could move on to the other option. Maybe others will say the other way around. lol. Best of luck to you getting it fixed.

 

[fabio85]

thanks mate @Earthshine
let's assume I can fix the HW (phase 1), the 2nd step would be restoring from hekate the data (data0, data1, rawnand) making sure to put the prodkeys into the SD (phase 2)

 

[l7777]

@Earthshine @l7777 thank you for the contribution. I just uploaded the rotated pictures, but my dog's hair is still there, sorry,

quick recap:
- Hekate is working but in slow mode
- I tried to create and enable emmc, I was able to partition the SD but then I got an error continuing with "Part 1"
- I can't launch the original firmware
- I can't launch the custom firmware, I also tried with another SD card with a newest version of atm and hekate

based on some researches it was suggested to replace the emmc 32gb memory and I think l777 had the same opinion
View attachment 516655
however, according to Earthshine, an sd card reader replacement should fix the error: do we all agree on this? I just want to make sure I am following before to purchase the spare part or going to a repair shop
View attachment 516657

Many thanks!

As I said before, you don't have an SD Card or reader problem. You have a failed EMMC. Your screen shot clearly said "Internal eMMC Info" at the top left corner. It also said that it failed to initialize it. That means its dead or unplugged. For whatever reason Hekate reports the slow mode error for a failed emmc as well as a true situation where it is in 1bit mode. You can re-confirm both the eMMC and SD Card status by launching Hekate, going to the Console Info tab, and selecting the eMMC and microSD buttons.

To fix it you will need to replace the emmc not the card reader. It is connected via a socket and some double sided tape. Be careful removing it so you don't damage the socket and you can do it. There are plenty of YouTube videos of this process. Once you replace it you'll need to launch Hekate and restore the backup you have.

 

[Earthshine]

As I said before, you don't have an SD Card or reader problem. You have a failed EMMC. Your screen shot clearly said "Internal eMMC Info" at the top left corner. It also said that it failed to initialize it. That means its dead or unplugged. For whatever reason Hekate reports the slow mode error for a failed emmc as well as a true situation where it is in 1bit mode. You can re-confirm both the eMMC and SD Card status by launching Hekate, going to the Console Info tab, and selecting the eMMC and microSD buttons.

To fix it you will need to replace the emmc not the card reader. It is connected via a socket and some double sided tape. Be careful removing it so you don't damage the socket and you can do it. There are plenty of YouTube videos of this process. Once you replace it you'll need to launch Hekate and restore the backup you have.

Thanks for helping them more than I was able. I also learned in the process.

 

[fabio85]

As I said before, you don't have an SD Card or reader problem. You have a failed EMMC. Your screen shot clearly said "Internal eMMC Info" at the top left corner. It also said that it failed to initialize it. That means its dead or unplugged. For whatever reason Hekate reports the slow mode error for a failed emmc as well as a true situation where it is in 1bit mode. You can re-confirm both the eMMC and SD Card status by launching Hekate, going to the Console Info tab, and selecting the eMMC and microSD buttons.

To fix it you will need to replace the emmc not the card reader. It is connected via a socket and some double sided tape. Be careful removing it so you don't damage the socket and you can do it. There are plenty of YouTube videos of this process. Once you replace it you'll need to launch Hekate and restore the backup you have.

all clear, thank you so much! I'll keep you posted

 

[fabio85]

Hi!
quick update, I have been able to replace the emmc, error fixed but then I got another error related to slow mode 1 bit - sd card failure. I brought the console to a repairing center, they replaced the flat fpc connector. Now if I try to boot into hekate from tegra: nothing happens (tegra recognizes the RCM mode).....The technician said he tested the console and it was booting into the OWF. I turned it off , inserted the same SD Card but the screen remains black.....What's happening guys (I am using nintendo's cable, tested on 2 different laptops, tested on various usb A ports)