Hacking Pokémon Alpha Sapphire: unable to import save to CIA version from retail cartridge

[daxtsu]

So a day ago or so, I dumped my Alpha sapphire cartridge to make it into a CIA file, and naturally, I wanted to bring over the save I had been using on the cartridge, so I attempted the following:
1. Exported the save from my retail cart using SaveDataFiler (referred to in this post from now on as SDF)
2. Ejected the cart and went to the SD tab, highlighted the save, and pressed R + A to import the save to SD.
3. Went back to User tab and deleted the secure value with R + X.
4. Went in-game and got a message about the save not being compatible with this version, even though the secure value had been erased.

Other things I tried:
-Making a new save on the CIA and simply overwriting "main" with the one from my retail cart, deleting the secure value, and got the same error.
-Deleting the 1.4 patch and importing the save, then deleting the secure value, got the same error.
-Deleting the CIA's save with SDF before importing a new one, and then deleting the secure value, got the same error.
-If I make a new save on the CIA and then export it, I can import it just fine (but this isn't really useful).
-I can export and import either save (new one created on the CIA, as well as my old retail save) onto the retail cartridge without issue.

I've pretty much reached my limit in terms of how I know to import saves, so I could use a hand. I've also searched, and the existing threads just say to delete the secure value, which I already did, and it doesn't work.

Here's my setup:
Japanese Alpha Sapphire cartridge
AS patch 1.4 from the eShop
Reinand 9.5.0 emuNAND
SDF r53438
N3DS XL on 9.0.0-20U

 

[Queno138]

It is possible that it's not SDF or its method, but rather the conversion to .cia some option was selected wrong.

Edit: try to use a copy created by someone else.

I've only gotten that error myself when they game has issues identifying the save.

An example was using OR save on AS, with switching the origin in the save.

 

[Fishaman P]

Doesn't Nintendo have an official app to transfer retail saves to the eShop versions?

 

[daxtsu]

It is possible that it's not SDF or its method, but rather the conversion to .cia some option was selected wrong.

I guess, but I simply used Riku's converter, so there were no options.

Edit: try to use a copy created by someone else.

I'd rather not, since I own the game legally..

Doesn't Nintendo have an official app to transfer retail saves to the eShop versions?

They do, but I'm waiting on Nintendo to remove my old broken 3DS off my NNID before I can get the tool (I'm not interested in installing a CIA of it). I figured SDF would be a lot faster and easier.

 

[Xenon Hacks]

Doesn't Nintendo have an official app to transfer retail saves to the eShop versions?

This is much simpler and its what I did, used the save transfer tool and imported my save to a legit Alpha sapphire CIA.

 

[Queno138]

I guess, but I simply used Riku's converter, so there were no options.



I'd rather not, since I own the game legally..



They do, but I'm waiting on Nintendo to remove my old broken 3DS off my NNID before I can get the tool (I'm not interested in installing a CIA of it). I figured SDF would be a lot faster and easier.

This is much simpler and its what I did, used the save transfer tool and imported my save to a legit Alpha sapphire CIA.

Honestly you should just download the CIA tool for file transfer temporarily.

Converting a retail cart to CIA is as bad as downloading a CIA, as it's not its intended use, but ethics aside,

I'm surprised that it doesn't work for you.

I've done retail cart to CIA , red cart to CIA, and all kinds of options before.


Wait, how did you extract your save from your retail cart, rxtools?

Questions:
1. What's the base firmware of your 3ds, before entering and Cfw
2. What firmware did you start playing AS on?

 

[daxtsu]

Okay, I figured it out. It has something to do with Reinand's emuNAND, perhaps a bug. If I boot Reinand into sysNAND mode (my NANDs are linked, and no, I will not unlink them), the problem vanishes. Edit: If I boot back into its emuNAND, the error message comes back. So yeah, this definitely looks like some weird bug with Reinand.

@Queno138, if you read the first post, you'd see that I'm on 9.0.0U sysNAND. I started playing the game on 8.x back when my other New 3DS was still working. And no, I used SDF to export the file from my retail cart. I've never touched rxTools on this N3DS XL, no reason to.

 

[Queno138]

Okay, I figured it out. It has something to do with Reinand's emuNAND, perhaps a bug. If I boot Reinand into sysNAND mode (my NANDs are linked, and no, I will not unlink them), the problem vanishes. Edit: If I boot back into its emuNAND, the error message comes back. So yeah, this definitely looks like some weird bug with Reinand.

@Queno138, if you read the first post, you'd see that I'm on 9.0.0U sysNAND. I started playing the game on 8.x back when my other New 3DS was still working. And no, I used SDF to export the file from my retail cart. I've never touched rxTools on this N3DS XL, no reason to.

Sorry, just had to be sure.

It's weird that reinand specifically has the issue.

At least you've figured it out, now you need to get support help from reinand ><

 

[daxtsu]

I suppose I could give rxTools a shot real quick to see if it exhibits the same issue on emuNAND.

Edit: I guess rxTools doesn't work on N3DS or something, it just gives me an error crash message and then the 3DS reboots (I used FBI to install the ROP, then put rxtools.dat and its folder along with firmware.bin onto the SD card).

Edit 2: It seems Gateway emuNAND mode (not classic) is also affected..but not its sysNAND mode. How strange.

 

[Xenon Hacks]

Honestly you should just download the CIA tool for file transfer temporarily.

Converting a retail cart to CIA is as bad as downloading a CIA, as it's not its intended use, but ethics aside,

I'm surprised that it doesn't work for you.

I've done retail cart to CIA , red cart to CIA, and all kinds of options before.


Wait, how did you extract your save from your retail cart, rxtools?

Questions:
1. What's the base firmware of your 3ds, before entering and Cfw
2. What firmware did you start playing AS on?

The save data transfer tool from the eShop gets the job done in 5 seconds.

 

[Queno138]

The save data transfer tool from the eShop gets the job done in 5 seconds.

Except Op wants to wait for his/her other 3ds to get unlinked, then link this 3ds

 

[daxtsu]

Okay, I figured it out, it was user error. I didn't realise you had to actually highlight the game you wanted to delete the secure value for (I totally forgot about this part, since the last time I really imported something was Pokémon Y 6 months ago, and for whatever reason I assumed it didn't matter which game you selected when deleting the secure value). Now my save is loading fine. Thank you to those who replied.