WARNING: This thread got pretty long while I was writing it. There was so much I wanted to say that I completely lost track and messed up the structure pretty good.
My goal might not be clear at first, but the text is about getting to know what the blue cart bundled with the Gateway 3DS actually is and if there might be way to update it, to support later 3DS firmwares, since I read that the bootstap can't be updated, yet I found "proof" that it might work ... at least I hope so.
Hi,
I'm pretty new to this whole DS flashcart thing. I knew such things existed because a lot of my buddies got Nintendo DS' with flashcarts, but I never realy bothered about the Nintendo world that much, since I'm more into the PlayStation scene.
But every now and then I buy a new console just for fun and so I got myself a 3DS XL together with the Gateway 3DS flashcart.
Now the thing is, everytime I buy a new console which has a huge community behind it and an ongoing hacking scene which I never cared about, I find myself lost in all of the information which is available for the specific device, I'm pretty sure we've all been there once.
For the 3DS part of the Gateway 3DS it's a piece of cake, since this thing is "brand new" and the news and information about it can be overwatched.
But a few days ago the DS part of the Gateway 3DS (the blue cart) got some of my attention, so I set out to check whats the deal with DS flashcarts and found myself in a chaos of information.
From Wood Firmware, to 2000 R4 clones, over words like DLDI, Bootstrap, Kernel and whatnot my brain began to crack my skull in order to break out because it didn't fit anymore.
I'm that kind of person who wants to know everything about each of my devices, to see whats possible and what is not.
But I also know that there are peeps out there who just want to play their games and don't give a damn about how the stuff works, as long as it works, tell them what to do and of they go.
Which is fine actually, but also wrong, in case you ever decide to check whats going on and find yourself in the same situation as me and realise pretty quick that there is way to much information to keep track of everything.
But lets get to the goal of this thread, I just wanted to share my point on things first and show that it isn't easy for someone whos is completly new to the whole thing, but I think I got my around all that stuff pretty well.
So, back to the blue cart...
On my journey to figure out the whole NDS scene, I first tried to understand what I actually got with my Gateway 3DS.
I looked around several sites and reviews of the GW3DS and saw pics of the PCB from the blue cart.
After reading through the review and inspecting the GW3DS firmware folder I understood that the cart is a R4i clone, so I got my first clue to look for further information about the cart, since I knew that the GW3DS Team wasn't building those carts themselfs.
The PCB from the blue cart had this "X-B" marking close to its pins, which I tried to use as a reference on my search and found out that the Ace3DS+ has to be the manufacturer for these carts.
X-B marking on GW3DS review samples:
X-B marking on Ace3DS+:
Now that I knew what cart it is, I tried to compare the files that the GW3DS and Ace3DS+ Teams are offering to see if there is anything suspecious in there.
One thing that caught my attention was the menu file. The GW3DS Team uses the name "_DSMENU.DAT", while the Ace3DS+ Team uses "_DS_MENU.DAT".
My understanding about this .dat file is, that its the first file the bootloader/bootstrap is looking for, if it can't be found you get an error during startup.
I don't know if both names are accepted or not, but to me it was a clue that the GW3DS Team is buying the DS cart hardware from different teams and installing their custom bootstrap onto them to somehow make it unique / not of the shelf.
I think at a certain point they began to identify those carts by altering the markings on them, as you can see on the following pictures, where the "X" in the "X-B" marking is blacked out:
It looks like the GW3DS Team buys the PCBs. programs them and sent them out to the retailers where they get labled with "Gateway" stickers etc.
Without labels:
Stickers:
Noticed the yellow PCB on the DS cart ? ... I'll get to that at the end
Now that I knew there was more than just one cart (with the X-B marking), I checked my blue cart and was surprised to find a 003 marking on it.
During my research I found out that the Ace3DS+ Team was building carts with 001-002a markings on them, so I was still on the Ace3DS+ track which is good, since I couldn't find anything useful on the cart with the yellow PCB other than a name of a possible manufacturer (but again, more at the end).
On the Ace3DS+ page I found out that at one point they offered firmware updates for their carts, which confirms that those carts can be written to. They also tried to offer updates for the very first Ace3DS+ ("ACE" marking). Even today they are offering a fix to patch some kind of savegame bug.
"ACE" marking:
001-002a markings:
Their official news log has some nice information about previous releases:
On the 27th of April 2012 they released an update for the Ace3DS (NOT Ace3DS+ !!!), which enabled it to work on 3DS' with FW 4.0.0-7 and introduced the Deep Labyrinth bootstrap, which is also present on my Ace3DS+ rev 003 which came with the Gateway 3DS:
On the 3rd of October 2012 they released another update, this time around for the Ace3DS+ which actually confirms that they can be updated via software.
Here is page archived by the wayback machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/20130115201154/http://ace3ds.com/ace-3ds-download.html
The download link back then was: ftp://ace3dssoft:[email protected]/ace3ds plus/Ace3dsplus_4.40_update.zip which doesn't work anymore.
They changed their download server overtime and moved all the files with it, so here is the new working link if you want to check it out (I'll also attach it, just in case):
ftp://files.ace3ds.com/ace3ds plus/Ace3dsplus_4.40_update.zip
On the 3rd of January 2013 they said the following:
On the 19th of January 2013 they released their modified Wood FW v1.56. The changelog looks similiar to the one in the GW3DS FW package, yet a lot of checksums differ.
Ace3DS+ Changelog:
Gateway 3DS Changelog:
Does anybody recognize the changelog from Team GW3DS? I don't think they would modify it themselfs and write anything FW related in there.
Maybe again another Team ? Another indication that R4i cloned hardware can be updated ?
On the 22nd of January 2013 they released a fix for all their carts which patches a savegame bug, which is another indication that their hardware is indeed writeable.
Since my rev 003 cart came pre-installed with the Deep Labyrinth bootstrap, I wondered which 3DS firmware is still going to support it.
Another user here in the forums has a rev 002 cart which still works perfectly fine on 5.1.0-11.
http://gbatemp.net/threads/ace3ds-plus-on-3ds-version-5-1-0-11e.347875/#post-4669738
Now I wonder the difference might be between his rev 002 and my rev 003 cart, since the Ace3DS+ Team said the following:
On the 23rd of March 2013:
What confuses me tho is the fact that a lot of people on youtube are running the Ace3DS+ with the Alex Rider bootstrap even on 6.1.0-11U and none of them has the Deep Labyrinth bootstrap:
3DS 4.3.0-10J (Alex Rider bootstrap - works):
3DS 4.4.0-10 (Alex Rider bootstrap - works - updates it to Metroid Prime bootstrap - writing confirmed !!):
3DS 4.4.0-10J (Alex Rider bootstrap doesn't work ?? - but again, another udpate proof !!!):
http://www.ndshop.jp/blog/?p=2382
3DS 5.0.0-11U (Alex Rider bootstrap working again ??):
3DS 6.1.0-11U (Alex Rider bootstrap still working fine):
3DS 6.3.0-12 (Spongebob bootstrap, seems to be the newest revision, dunno which tho ):
The Ace3DS+ seems to be a clone of the R4i Gold and the R4i DSN clones, which actually can be udpated. They don't look that much different actually:
Update procedure (PCB at 10:10):
Oh boy what a f***** up thread :/
This is all the information I could get about the GW3DS blue cart and its Ace3DS+ counterpart.
I hope someone can make some sense out of it, so that we might be able to update this cart with a firmware from another manufacturer or something like that, since they are similiar to each other hardware wise.
Even tho those carts are cheap, I don't see why we should buy new ones everytime Nintendo pushes another FW Update for the 3DS.
Oh yeah btw, the cart with the yellow PCB seems to be a R4infinity 2 (J-B marking), like with the blacked out X-B marking on the red PCB, they are doing the same here with the "J" in J-B:
To make it work on 6.1.0-12 you had to make a hardware mod and cut a trace as demonstrated in the picture:
Blacked out:
I just noticed that the PCB is 1:1 the same as the Ace3DS+ X-B rev., which is probably why the GW3DS Team chose these as an alternative. Now it makes me wonder what my rev 003 PCB lloks like.
Kindest regards,
iCEQB
My goal might not be clear at first, but the text is about getting to know what the blue cart bundled with the Gateway 3DS actually is and if there might be way to update it, to support later 3DS firmwares, since I read that the bootstap can't be updated, yet I found "proof" that it might work ... at least I hope so.
Hi,
I'm pretty new to this whole DS flashcart thing. I knew such things existed because a lot of my buddies got Nintendo DS' with flashcarts, but I never realy bothered about the Nintendo world that much, since I'm more into the PlayStation scene.
But every now and then I buy a new console just for fun and so I got myself a 3DS XL together with the Gateway 3DS flashcart.
Now the thing is, everytime I buy a new console which has a huge community behind it and an ongoing hacking scene which I never cared about, I find myself lost in all of the information which is available for the specific device, I'm pretty sure we've all been there once.
For the 3DS part of the Gateway 3DS it's a piece of cake, since this thing is "brand new" and the news and information about it can be overwatched.
But a few days ago the DS part of the Gateway 3DS (the blue cart) got some of my attention, so I set out to check whats the deal with DS flashcarts and found myself in a chaos of information.
From Wood Firmware, to 2000 R4 clones, over words like DLDI, Bootstrap, Kernel and whatnot my brain began to crack my skull in order to break out because it didn't fit anymore.
I'm that kind of person who wants to know everything about each of my devices, to see whats possible and what is not.
But I also know that there are peeps out there who just want to play their games and don't give a damn about how the stuff works, as long as it works, tell them what to do and of they go.
Which is fine actually, but also wrong, in case you ever decide to check whats going on and find yourself in the same situation as me and realise pretty quick that there is way to much information to keep track of everything.
But lets get to the goal of this thread, I just wanted to share my point on things first and show that it isn't easy for someone whos is completly new to the whole thing, but I think I got my around all that stuff pretty well.
So, back to the blue cart...
On my journey to figure out the whole NDS scene, I first tried to understand what I actually got with my Gateway 3DS.
I looked around several sites and reviews of the GW3DS and saw pics of the PCB from the blue cart.
After reading through the review and inspecting the GW3DS firmware folder I understood that the cart is a R4i clone, so I got my first clue to look for further information about the cart, since I knew that the GW3DS Team wasn't building those carts themselfs.
The PCB from the blue cart had this "X-B" marking close to its pins, which I tried to use as a reference on my search and found out that the Ace3DS+ has to be the manufacturer for these carts.
X-B marking on GW3DS review samples:
X-B marking on Ace3DS+:
Now that I knew what cart it is, I tried to compare the files that the GW3DS and Ace3DS+ Teams are offering to see if there is anything suspecious in there.
One thing that caught my attention was the menu file. The GW3DS Team uses the name "_DSMENU.DAT", while the Ace3DS+ Team uses "_DS_MENU.DAT".
My understanding about this .dat file is, that its the first file the bootloader/bootstrap is looking for, if it can't be found you get an error during startup.
I don't know if both names are accepted or not, but to me it was a clue that the GW3DS Team is buying the DS cart hardware from different teams and installing their custom bootstrap onto them to somehow make it unique / not of the shelf.
I think at a certain point they began to identify those carts by altering the markings on them, as you can see on the following pictures, where the "X" in the "X-B" marking is blacked out:
It looks like the GW3DS Team buys the PCBs. programs them and sent them out to the retailers where they get labled with "Gateway" stickers etc.
Without labels:
Stickers:
Noticed the yellow PCB on the DS cart ? ... I'll get to that at the end
Now that I knew there was more than just one cart (with the X-B marking), I checked my blue cart and was surprised to find a 003 marking on it.
During my research I found out that the Ace3DS+ Team was building carts with 001-002a markings on them, so I was still on the Ace3DS+ track which is good, since I couldn't find anything useful on the cart with the yellow PCB other than a name of a possible manufacturer (but again, more at the end).
On the Ace3DS+ page I found out that at one point they offered firmware updates for their carts, which confirms that those carts can be written to. They also tried to offer updates for the very first Ace3DS+ ("ACE" marking). Even today they are offering a fix to patch some kind of savegame bug.
"ACE" marking:
001-002a markings:
Their official news log has some nice information about previous releases:
On the 27th of April 2012 they released an update for the Ace3DS (NOT Ace3DS+ !!!), which enabled it to work on 3DS' with FW 4.0.0-7 and introduced the Deep Labyrinth bootstrap, which is also present on my Ace3DS+ rev 003 which came with the Gateway 3DS:
On the 3rd of October 2012 they released another update, this time around for the Ace3DS+ which actually confirms that they can be updated via software.
Here is page archived by the wayback machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/20130115201154/http://ace3ds.com/ace-3ds-download.html
The download link back then was: ftp://ace3dssoft:[email protected]/ace3ds plus/Ace3dsplus_4.40_update.zip which doesn't work anymore.
They changed their download server overtime and moved all the files with it, so here is the new working link if you want to check it out (I'll also attach it, just in case):
ftp://files.ace3ds.com/ace3ds plus/Ace3dsplus_4.40_update.zip
On the 3rd of January 2013 they said the following:
Which is another indication that their hardware is indeed writeable.
On the 19th of January 2013 they released their modified Wood FW v1.56. The changelog looks similiar to the one in the GW3DS FW package, yet a lot of checksums differ.
Ace3DS+ Changelog:
Code:
1.56
core:
- fatfs updated to 0.09a.
compatibility:
- 'apprends avec pokemon a la conquete du clavier (france)' fixed.Gateway 3DS Changelog:
Code:
1.56
Support 3DS V4.5.0-10 and DSi V1.45.
Compatibility:
'apprends avec pokemon a la conquete du clavier (france)' fixed.Does anybody recognize the changelog from Team GW3DS? I don't think they would modify it themselfs and write anything FW related in there.
Maybe again another Team ? Another indication that R4i cloned hardware can be updated ?
On the 22nd of January 2013 they released a fix for all their carts which patches a savegame bug, which is another indication that their hardware is indeed writeable.
The executable looks exactly like their firmware update for 4.4.0 (I'll also attach it): ftp://ace3dssoft:[email protected]/ace3ds plus/ace3ds_fix_all.zip
Since my rev 003 cart came pre-installed with the Deep Labyrinth bootstrap, I wondered which 3DS firmware is still going to support it.
Another user here in the forums has a rev 002 cart which still works perfectly fine on 5.1.0-11.
http://gbatemp.net/threads/ace3ds-plus-on-3ds-version-5-1-0-11e.347875/#post-4669738
Now I wonder the difference might be between his rev 002 and my rev 003 cart, since the Ace3DS+ Team said the following:
On the 23rd of March 2013:
and on the 5th of April 2013:
which can be confirmed by the other user here on the forums.
What confuses me tho is the fact that a lot of people on youtube are running the Ace3DS+ with the Alex Rider bootstrap even on 6.1.0-11U and none of them has the Deep Labyrinth bootstrap:
3DS 4.3.0-10J (Alex Rider bootstrap - works):
3DS 4.4.0-10 (Alex Rider bootstrap - works - updates it to Metroid Prime bootstrap - writing confirmed !!):
3DS 4.4.0-10J (Alex Rider bootstrap doesn't work ?? - but again, another udpate proof !!!):
http://www.ndshop.jp/blog/?p=2382
3DS 5.0.0-11U (Alex Rider bootstrap working again ??):
3DS 6.1.0-11U (Alex Rider bootstrap still working fine):
3DS 6.3.0-12 (Spongebob bootstrap, seems to be the newest revision, dunno which tho
):The Ace3DS+ seems to be a clone of the R4i Gold and the R4i DSN clones, which actually can be udpated. They don't look that much different actually:
Update procedure (PCB at 10:10):
Oh boy what a f***** up thread :/
This is all the information I could get about the GW3DS blue cart and its Ace3DS+ counterpart.
I hope someone can make some sense out of it, so that we might be able to update this cart with a firmware from another manufacturer or something like that, since they are similiar to each other hardware wise.
Even tho those carts are cheap, I don't see why we should buy new ones everytime Nintendo pushes another FW Update for the 3DS.
Oh yeah btw, the cart with the yellow PCB seems to be a R4infinity 2 (J-B marking), like with the blacked out X-B marking on the red PCB, they are doing the same here with the "J" in J-B:
To make it work on 6.1.0-12 you had to make a hardware mod and cut a trace as demonstrated in the picture:
Blacked out:
I just noticed that the PCB is 1:1 the same as the Ace3DS+ X-B rev., which is probably why the GW3DS Team chose these as an alternative. Now it makes me wonder what my rev 003 PCB lloks like.
Kindest regards,
iCEQB
full size
full size
