Hacking emuNAND, DLC, and Save Files newbie questions

[jasonrye]

I have just received and setup my GW card last night and have several questions.

1. How does streetpass/pedometer cross over between emuNAND and sysNAND? Will streetpass tags (Mii Plaza, retail games, GW games) function in both modes? Will tags received in one mode carry over to the other mode? (Mostly - will keeping the 3DS in emuNAND while I'm out and about ruin my ability to collect a legit Mii plaza army?)

2. How do .cia and DLC work? As I understand it, .cia files are put on the large SD and are installed onto the emuNAND home screen, while .3ds files are put on the microSD to be run off the GW red card. I put Fantasy Life.3ds onto my GW card, and I think it is missing the DLC content. Is there a way to install the DLC content, or do I have to switch to using a .cia version with it already unlocked? Would I be able to carry over my save data if I were to switch?

3. Where exactly is save data kept? After testing the emuNAND with the default Nintendo/Toshiba 2gb SD card, I decided to switch to an 8gb card. I didn't see the save files in the microSD, and I didn't transfer anything from the big SD card, yet it kept my save data intact for Fantasy Life and Pokemon:αS.

4. I'm currently getting the "game card removed" error on multiple games - including SSB and M&Lream Team. sysNAND 7.1, emuNAND 9.4, 8GB Sony SD, 8GB exFAT SanDisk MicroSD. Is this an incompatibility issue, did I miss a required step, or am I using faulty .3ds files?

5. Is it possible to install and run the emuNAND to play .cia games on a second 3DS without further requiring the GW card?

 

[ubergeek77]

Answers to each of your questions:

Spoiler

I have just received and setup my GW card last night and have several questions.

1. How does streetpass/pedometer cross over between emuNAND and sysNAND? Will streetpass tags (Mii Plaza, retail games, GW games) function in both modes?

Yes.

Will tags received in one mode carry over to the other mode? (Mostly - will keeping the 3DS in emuNAND while I'm out and about ruin my ability to collect a legit Mii plaza army?)

No.

2. How do .cia and DLC work? As I understand it, .cia files are put on the large SD and are installed onto the emuNAND home screen, while .3ds files are put on the microSD to be run off the GW red card.

Correct.

I put Fantasy Life.3ds onto my GW card, and I think it is missing the DLC content. Is there a way to install the DLC content, or do I have to switch to using a .cia version with it already unlocked? Would I be able to carry over my save data if I were to switch?

DLC content installed from a .cia will work regardless of how you are playing the game, so it works for both .3ds games and .cia games. DLC content is a separate package from games, in any case.

3. Where exactly is save data kept?

Both .cia saves and .3ds saves are kept on the big SD card. For .cia games, they are in the "Nintendo 3DS" folder, and for .3ds games, they are written to the SD card when you exit the game via the home menu. This means that, for .3ds games, if you do not quit to the home menu each time, your save will be lost, even if you save within the game.

After testing the emuNAND with the default Nintendo/Toshiba 2gb SD card, I decided to switch to an 8gb card. I didn't see the save files in the microSD, and I didn't transfer anything from the big SD card, yet it kept my save data intact for Fantasy Life and Pokemon:αS.

Fantasy Life and Pokemon both have a save method called "CARD2." This means that, even on a retail cart, the saves are written directly to the .3ds ROM. This is why your saves for those games were transferred over while other saves were not.

4. I'm currently getting the "game card removed" error on multiple games - including SSB and M&L: Dream Team. sysNAND 7.1, emuNAND 9.4, 8GB Sony SD, 8GB exFAT SanDisk MicroSD. Is this an incompatibility issue, did I miss a required step, or am I using faulty .3ds files?

Your MicroSD card may be corrupted, or have bad sectors. You can either try reformatting it or finding another one. If you still have problems, make sure you've checked to see if your Gateway is real or fake, and if it is real, the microSD card slot may have a defect. Contact your reseller to negotiate an exchange.

5. Is it possible to install and run the emuNAND to play .cia games on a second 3DS without further requiring the GW card?

Yes, but if the second 3DS gets powered down for any reason, even if it crashes, it will need a Gateway cart to get it back into Gateway mode.

 

[Zidapi]

4. I'm currently getting the "game card removed" error on multiple games - including SSB and M&Lream Team. sysNAND 7.1, emuNAND 9.4, 8GB Sony SD, 8GB exFAT SanDisk MicroSD. Is this an incompatibility issue, did I miss a required step, or am I using faulty .3ds files?

Your MicroSD card is using the exFAT filesystem. Don't do that.

Disregard his response to question 4. I've never heard that before, and he provides no evidence or explanation, simply "Don't do that".

We always encourage people to format their micro SD cards to exFAT. It's the only way to play unmodified games over 4GB directly.

A corrupted micro SD is a far more likely reason that you're encountering "game card removed" errors. I'd suggest connecting it to your computer and running your OS's error checking program on it. Then reformat, and transfer all your games to it again.

If after that, you're still having issues you may have a fake SD card.

 

[ubergeek77]

Disregard his response to question 4. I've never heard that before, and he provides no evidence or explanation, simply "Don't do that".

We always encourage people to format their micro SD cards to exFAT. It's the only way to play unmodified games over 4GB directly.

A corrupted micro SD is a far more likely reason that you're encountering "game card removed" errors. I'd suggest connecting it to your computer and running your OS's error checking program on it. Then reformat, and transfer all your games to it again.

If after that, you're still having issues you may have a fake SD card.

My apologies. I thought I remembered that being a problem in the past, but as I wrote this up rather quickly I didn't double check myself.

 

[jasonrye]

Answers to each of your questions:

Thank you for all the answers, I understand how this thing works a lot better now.

A corrupted micro SD is a far more likely reason that you're encountering "game card removed" errors. I'd suggest connecting it to your computer and running your OS's error checking program on it. Then reformat, and transfer all your games to it again.

If after that, you're still having issues you may have a fake SD card.

I ran the windows error check and h2testw on the microSD, both showed no errors.
Formatted the card twice, and still no dice. I'll try again later with a different microSD.

 

[jasonrye]

If after that, you're still having issues you may have a fake SD card.

Tried using a different microSD, Samsung 16gb. No errors with the windows checked, also formatted to exFat, still won't work with SSB or M&L.

I used to use this microSD several years ago for my Acekard2, so I don't think it's a fake. Is there any other reason I would be receiving the game card removed error?

 

[pokemoner2500]

Tried using a different microSD, Samsung 16gb. No errors with the windows checked, also formatted to exFat, still won't work with SSB or M&L.

I used to use this microSD several years ago for my Acekard2, so I don't think it's a fake. Is there any other reason I would be receiving the game card removed error?

Try formatting it Fat32 if your not using any roms bigger than 4 Gigs

 

[jasonrye]

Try formatting it Fat32 if your not using any roms bigger than 4 Gigs

Still no luck.

 

[ubergeek77]

Still no luck.

You may want to talk to your reseller and see about getting your card exchanged. The microSD card slot and/or the pin connectors (the things at the end of tue cart that plug in to the 3DS) might be faulty. It's starting to sound like you either have bad pins, or your 3DS slot is dirty.

 

[pokemoner2500]

Still no luck.

Amazon sells a 32gb for $16

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Mobile-MicroSDHC-Adapter--SDSDQM-032G-B35A/dp/B003HIWHN0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1421283150&sr=8-7&keywords=32 gig micro sd card

 

[thorasgar]

I had some similar problems. I ran the SPI from the gateway menu and that seemed to help with one card, though I am not sure if it really did anything. I also determined my card reader was flaking out becuase it would not recognize two brand new cards. A quick trip to Walmart for a new one fixed that. It could have been corrupting the data and transfer. I have also had the adapters flake out in the past as well,Mary a different one.

Are these dumps from your own carts or downloaded. Try redumping them or download from a different source.

 

[thorasgar]

Amazon sells a 32gb for $16

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Mobile-MicroSDHC-Adapter--SDSDQM-032G-B35A/dp/B003HIWHN0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1421283150&sr=8-7&keywords=32 gig micro sd card

That card is ok but is class 4. If you look at Nintendo's support pages they only recommend class 10 cards like the Sandisk extreme.

 

[viral777]

Answers to each of your questions:

Spoiler

Yes.


No.


Correct.


DLC content installed from a .cia will work regardless of how you are playing the game, so it works for both .3ds games and .cia games. DLC content is a separate package from games, in any case.


Both .cia saves and .3ds saves are kept on the big SD card. For .cia games, they are in the "Nintendo 3DS" folder, and for .3ds games, they are written to the SD card when you exit the game via the home menu. This means that, for .3ds games, if you do not quit to the home menu each time, your save will be lost, even if you save within the game.


Fantasy Life and Pokemon both have a save method called "CARD2." This means that, even on a retail cart, the saves are written directly to the .3ds ROM. This is why your saves for those games were transferred over while other saves were not.


Your MicroSD card may be corrupted, or have bad sectors. You can either try reformatting it or finding another one. If you still have problems, make sure you've checked to see if your Gateway is real or fake, and if it is real, the microSD card slot may have a defect. Contact your reseller to negotiate an exchange.





Yes, but if the second 3DS gets powered down for any reason, even if it crashes, it will need a Gateway cart to get it back into Gateway mode.

thank you uber, these helped me too a bit.

 

[wendeng]

That card is ok but is class 4. If you look at Nintendo's support pages they only recommend class 10 cards like the Sandisk extreme.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M5..._rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2015187942&pf_rd_i=mobile

 

[jasonrye]

After much more google-ing, I found that this was a common glitch with the 3.0 launcher.
Somehow, after running the Diagnostics Test on the Gateway menu, all games started working normally despite not changing anything.