Hacking A bit new and have a couple of questions

[Perilomo]

Heya everyone

First of all, this forum is AWESOME! I've learnt so much already and am checking every day to clarify on topics related to 3DS.

I personally am going to get a new 3DSXL on Christmas and I have a couple of questions.

I have been poking around on The FAQ Section and some of the things are still unclear for me.

To backup the NAND i still need to install some sort of a custome profile on the 3DS. Does it work with versions exceeding 4.5?
What do I actually need to do the backup of the NAND? Do I have to get the specific 3DS carts (Like R4I Gold etc) or any cart will do?

Also I am really interested on how to reverse hacks to a 3DS? I understand that all I gotta do is to delete certain files from the SD card? But it says that the partition is still created for the EmuNAND, is it then possible to just put a brand new SD card which I can buy online so it doesn't have any such modifications with it so it can just work?

Thanks in advance for answers and understanding
I might ask another question or two in the same post in the future as I cannot remember right now what I've needed except these two questions =)

Edit:

Remembered my other question -
If I understand correctly only Gateway hack allows to update to latest 3DS menu and allow internet access + eShop and such (Unlike the R4I Gold)
Do I still need 2 carts for the hack to work? Where can I get more information about how exactly the Gateway cart works and how to update it and such?

Thanks in advance =)

 

[Perilomo]

Bump + Another question that have popped up since the last post

Is "Gateway" is some sort of software? Or is it a cart in itself?
I am asking as in to will i be ok with just buying R4i Gold for example and just install said "Gateway" software on it? Or will i need to buy a specific cart which is made by "Gateway"?

Thanks in advance, it's just not been clear from all the posts i've read so far

Hope for a reply soon =D

 

[Lucifer666]

To dump your NAND you can either use a hardware mod, Gateway (which is a flashcart, not software), or an MT-Card (another flashcart)

To "reverse hacks", just get rid of EmuNAND, i.e. wipe your SD card and really you're good to go

Hope that answers some of your questions!

 

[Perilomo]

That's brilliant =D Thank you

That only leaves the question regarding if the NAND can be dumped even while on higher version menu than 4.5 as well as the question about "Gateway" carts being able to access eShop and online play

 

[weatMod]

gateway is both software and a card , for GW to work you need to first run a .nds file from a ds mode card(GW blue card or other ds flashcard that will work on 3ds 4.5 FW) that installs the exploit ,the exploit will remain active on your 3ds until you enter ds mode on the 3ds that will uninstall the GW exploit ,

yes if you have a regular ds mode card then you can back up your NAND without a GW card or any hardware modification , you just put the GW launcher file
"launcher.dat" on the root of the big SD card in your 3ds, put the GW installer file "GW_INSTALLER.NDS" onto a ds mode flashcart
install the GW exploit by running the .nds file from a ds mode card, then you go to ds profile to launch the GW menu and you will have a options to backup your NAND, from there. you will have to use an older version of GW firmware launcher.dat , newer GW firmware requires the GW red card to be inserted into the 3ds to work , i forget which GW firmware added emunand and which one after that added red card detection , but you can just use the 1st one they put out that had the GW menu the first GW emunand fw

 

[Perilomo]

the exploit will remain active on your 3ds until you enter ds mode on the 3ds that will uninstall the GW exploit ,

Firstly thanks for the clarification, but could you expand on this part please? I didn't really get it. As i currently do not own a 3DS yet i just want to gather as much info as possible.
What does it mean "Until you enter DS mode that will uninstall the GW exploit"?

Thanks again for the support

 

[weatMod]

Firstly thanks for the clarification, but could you expand on this part please? I didn't really get it. As i currently do not own a 3DS yet i just want to gather as much info as possible.
What does it mean "Until you enter DS mode that will uninstall the GW exploit"?

Thanks again for the support

if you play a ds game on the 3ds , either from a ds cart or a ds eshop game or if you go into 3ds settings and go into the ds settings menu, any of these things will make the GW exploit you installed via the ds mode flashcard go away, to reinstall it you simply put your ds mode flashcard back in your 3ds and run the .nds file to install it again i you can turn your 3ds on and off and the GW exploit will still remain , when you power the 3ds off and then on again you just go to the setting s and enter ds settings and you will get the GW menu
also nothing works except on 3ds FW 4.1 - 4.5 , if you are below those you update it with a game card with one those firmware , if you are above 4.5 you sell your 3ds on ebay and buy a new one that has 4.5 fw from ebay

 

[Perilomo]

Isn't it true though that by dumping my NAND i can restore to it at a later date even if i have updated to the latest menu version?

Also, I still do not understand why for 3DS you need 2 carts. I understand that they say that 1 is for hacking and 1 is for games, but why have 2 to begin with? Cannot i just install the "Hack" on the cart, then take it out and put a game on it instead?

Sorry for a lot of noob questions, but it doesn't really make it clear anywhere (Even not the FAQ's) about these stuff.

And i guess i will keep on researching the Gateway cart further then =)

Thanks for giving me directions though, you guys are awesome

 

[RandomOddness]

Just some quick clarification, the need for two carts exists because the Gateway Red cart is 3DS mode whereas the Blue cart runs in DS mode, as Gateway uses an exploit in DS mode it's the simplest method to simply include two cards as a firmware modification would be needed to switch between them on one card and for that you'd need access to the DS exploit in the first place. Also with a hardware mod it's possible to dump the NAND of any firmware, as you're simply making a copy of the NAND in it's current state, you can restore it at any point too on any firmware as again, you're simply writing the old NAND back. Though please note that currently it's impossible to downgrade firmware lower than your original, so if you receive a 3DS with firmware above 4.5, there is no method for Gateway to work.

 

[Perilomo]

Thanks for the clarification RandomOddness

I also have been looking into this thread to check where can I get a "Gateway" cart, but the only links provided are for other carts? Or as i suspected R4i Gold is the cart i need with just custom firmware? Not really sure how the Gateway thing is working to begin with. I have heard a lot about it, but I cannot find any feasible information about it =/

Or it can be I am missing something XD

P.S.
The prices estimation on this website suggest that R4i Gold should cost around 15$, but here in the UK - All the websites i've found sell it for around 40 pounds (Which is around 65$) =/ not sure why...

 

[Perilomo]

Also, if someone could clarify what is the difference between Slot 1 and Slot 2 carts? As the FAQ's don't seem to mention them

Thanks in advance

 

[weatMod]

Also, if someone could clarify what is the difference between Slot 1 and Slot 2 carts? As the FAQ's don't seem to mention them

Thanks in advance

slot 1 and slot 2 cards is an old school term for old ds mode cards , all ds mode cards are now slot 1 cards , slot 2 cards were on the ds and ds lite , they went into the gba cart slot , that is slot 2 ,slot 2 cards are way obsolete and have nothing to do with the 3ds

also if you want to restore your NAND you WILL need a hard mod, you can backup your NAND with just a ds mode flashcard and GW software , but if you update you will need to do a hard mod NAND flasher to put it back

the purpose of nand backup with GW is for running emulated nand from the 3ds's SD card, but it is the same as a NAND dump taken from a hardware NAND flasher, so it can be used to reflash your NAND to a lower fw , but you need the hard mod to do it

 

[EMP Knightmare]

Perilomo - Please refrain from double posting as it is against the rules, if you need to say something else or add on please use the edit button (that's why it's there)

Link to rules ---> http://gbatemp.net/help/terms

 

[Perilomo]

Thank you for the clarification weatMod that helped a lot!
As to "Hard mode" i assume you mean while using one of the 2 flash carts the one that allows to write directly into the 3DS? So many terms are used in this community and it is a real pain to track them all =(
Sorry if i am being a bit annoying with so many questions that might seem simple to some here. At any rate my worry at the moment is only a backup of the NAND and i assume you can do it with a regular DS cart with no problem. I am very new to the 3DS and at the moment i do not have the knowledge of which cart exactly i need to get to make it do what i want. Until then i will probably just use the normal carts i already have for 3DS games and thus will need to update the menu. All i wanted is make sure i can downgrade it later on.

Here is another thing i wanted to ask. Can i run normal DS games on a 3DS? As in with a normal DS cart without installing anything and using 2 carts like you need to do with the 3DS games? Or do i still need to use the exploit to run even the old DS games on it?


P.S.
EMP Knightmare - I am not sure what you mean by double post? I have created only 1 post asking for clarification to some of the existing topics after i have done some research already. Otherwise I don't see any reply being posted twice in this same topic by me. I am not trying to argue or anything I just want to know what did i do wrong

 

[weatMod]

"As to "Hard mode" i assume you mean while using one of the 2 flash carts the one that allows to write directly into the 3DS?"

no i mean you have to open up your 3ds and solder wires to the mother board where the NAND chip is and connect them to a pc to reflash your NAND

 

[Perilomo]

Woah! =O That is something i've missed on the FAQ page! Sheesh! I have completely misunderstood it. Thanks a TON! for this. You have prevented me from doing something I will regret miserably later on.
Now after re-reading the FAQ i see it clear as day written there. I just have seen the section where it says "Can I restore a NAND backup made using software tool?" and the answer is yes so i assumed it is possible to restore NAND using software only - I did not care to read for the hardware part =/ (Should have been bolded out or something for noobs like me XD)

Alright! Well that pretty much have answered all of my questions! All i have to do now is research more on how to get a Gateway cart and i'm ready =D
If anything i'll be sure to post in the corresponding topics

Thanks a lot guys!