Hacking GW or CFW ?

[Baallrog]

Hi,

I have currently a Gateway since my Sky3ds V2 isn't usable anymore with the recent games.

Since I have bought the GW, I'm learning how to use it and what I can do with it.
It's amazing.

But now I dig a little I see there is CFW.

So which is best ? GW or CFW ?

If GW, how can I easily boot to emuNand (the method describe in the manual is not very user friendly and take time) ? Coldboot ? And how can I boot classic emuNand in order to play my retail cardridge ?

If CFW, which one ?

I've got a new 3ds XL with firmware 9.2. And a 16gb sd card. I can put a 32 or maybe 64gb if needed.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Caseyfam]

I recommend CFW, but...

If using GW, probably use MenuHax to autoboot into the Gateway.3dsx file, automatically launching Gateway's emunand.

If using CFW, there's a lot of good choices. Personally, I would look into what I'm using: Arm9LoaderHax with AuReiNand, leading to an auto-booting emunand (or patched sysnand) that also allows for some brick recoveries and other cool things.

Your firmware is fine, you just need to decide on how many games you want and what sd card size you'll need.

 

[Baallrog]

Thanks for your response.

If I choose to cold boot with MenuHax, will it take longer time to boot than the stock firmware ?
And if I chose this solution, the Gateway.3dsx file will show me the GW menu and I will be able to chose between emuNand and classic emuNand ?
If the boot time is not too long and 100% successfull it could be a solution.
GW + Arm9LoaderHax could be another solution ?

About the CFW, there is too many of them and too few informations about what are the functionnality.
You talk about AuReiNand, I thought this was a CFW that only patch sysNand and doesn't support emuNand ...
Is there somewhere something that sum up the functionnality and the fact that the CFW is still alive ?

I must tell something : I don't want to loose any data in the process and during the usage of my configuration.
In addition I think I will do some regular backup in order to minimize the loss of data in case of problem.

Again many thanks.

 

[Deleted User]

Cfw is great since its free but gw has some extras I think and it lets you store data on the gateway carts micro sd card slot.This means you can use both cfw to store games on your 3ds's main sd card,and gateway to store even more games on the gateway carts micro sd aswell.

 

[samiam144]

Imo if you don't care about the Cheat Engine or the flawless Region-Free patching that Gateway provides, then go with CFW.
Personally I enjoy the cheat engine a lot so I mainly use Gateway.

 

[Hakamdeebad]

Thanks for your response.

If I choose to cold boot with MenuHax, will it take longer time to boot than the stock firmware ?
And if I chose this solution, the Gateway.3dsx file will show me the GW menu and I will be able to chose between emuNand and classic emuNand ?
If the boot time is not too long and 100% successfull it could be a solution.
GW + Arm9LoaderHax could be another solution ?

About the CFW, there is too many of them and too few informations about what are the functionnality.
You talk about AuReiNand, I thought this was a CFW that only patch sysNand and doesn't support emuNand ...
Is there somewhere something that sum up the functionnality and the fact that the CFW is still alive ?

I must tell something : I don't want to loose any data in the process and during the usage of my configuration.
In addition I think I will do some regular backup in order to minimize the loss of data in case of problem.

Again many thanks.

I'm in the same situation as you. I have 2 O3DSes. They're both on 9.2 SysNAND and 10.7 EmuNAND. I use Gateway and I have Menuhax installed on both. That currently seems like the easiest setup, but everyone says to look into Arm9 because it actually hacks your SysNAND, so you don't even need EmuNAND for it (You can still use EmuNAND with O3DS, not N3DS, because EmuNAND bricks when you try to get the OTP file needed for Arm9 according to the guide), Arm9 boots a lot faster than Menuhax, and you can also update your SysNAND with it without really risking being locked out of hacks.

AuReiNAND is definitely still alive as it is very new, and everyone says it is currently the best setup with Arm9, AuReiNAND, and NTR. AuReiNAND doesn't have region free patching though, so you install it with NTR (which is a CFW that you install with any CFW you want) to get region free patching, you also get the perk of cheat plugins with NTR amongst others. I'm currently debating whether I should do ARM9 with AuRei and NTR, because I still want to use my Gateway card as I still have a 32GB microSD card in there, but I've heard that Gateway clashes with that setup.

 

[GBAFail]

I'd say CFW. I wouldn't trust GW. They've put in brick code that even gets false positives and bricks actual GW users TWICE NOW. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still hidden in there.

 

[Hakamdeebad]

I'd say CFW. I wouldn't trust GW. They've put in brick code that even gets false positives and bricks actual GW users TWICE NOW. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still hidden in there.

Uhhhh, they put in brick codes to fight against Gateway clones... Not to just brick people... IIRC.

 

[GBAFail]

Uhhhh, they put in brick codes to fight against Gateway clones... Not to just brick people... IIRC.

1) That makes it right?
2) What about the false positives that brick with the GW card?

 

[Hayleia]

Lol, almost the same thread was created just yesterday... https://gbatemp.net/threads/cfw-vs-gateway.420588/
Anyways, let's repeat stuff.

CFW vs Gateway depends on your use. If you're a full pirate, then using a Gateway and just having to drag and drop .3ds files is more convenient than having to install .cia files, which you can also do when you have to. If you're not a full pirate and if you use retail cartridges often, then it is very annoying to have to insert the red cart whenever you want to boot your 3DS to then swap with the cartridge you wanted.

Then, there is also the argument that Gateway used to be first but they are now always late. See how we're still waiting for their 10.3 solution when everybody in the world already downgraded to 9.2, and even to 2.1 to install A9LH...

 

[Hakamdeebad]

1) That makes it right?
2) What about the false positives that brick with the GW card?

1) No, it doesn't, but it explains it.
2) I've had my GW for 3 years and never had an issue with it. Anyway, this is not the place to discuss this.

 

[GBAFail]

1) No, it doesn't, but it explains it.
2) I've had my GW for 3 years and never had an issue with it. Anyway, this is not the place to discuss this.

1) Well I already knew that. They still can't be trusted.
2) You aren't everyone. It does happen. (LINK) This thread is called "GW or CFW", it's the exact place to discus this...

 

[lukands]

I've been on GW since day one, never had an issue or reason to complain.

 

[crimpshrine]

I have 3 Gateway units that are used daily, never had any issues for 3 years . I understand their choice to fight clones rubs some people the wrong way.

Has never impacted me negatively personally.

One thing that people don't discuss in detail when talking about the pro's to CFW, is the time sink it can be if you copy allot of roms on and off. For me the cost of the GW is worth the time I would have wasted dealing with CIA's on the 2 units I switch games on frequently..

From a post I made yesterday:

If you don't like spending allot of time installing things (CIA is REALLY slow compared to just copying .3ds files to a flash card and playing)

As an example copying 35 gigs of CIA's to a card and installing them would probably take you 5 + hours (1 hour to copy, over 4 hours to install)

Where 50 gig of .3ds files would only be like 1 hour 10 minutes to copy and be ready to play.

I use 35 gig compared to 50 gig of 3ds files because .cia does tend to take less space.

Plus if you move things on and off pretty frequently, using CIA's beside being time consuming is pretty cumbersome to manage compared to just dealing with a filesystem with self explanatory .3ds rom names.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Hi,

I have currently a Gateway since my Sky3ds V2 isn't usable anymore with the recent games.

Since I have bought the GW, I'm learning how to use it and what I can do with it.
It's amazing.

But now I dig a little I see there is CFW.

So which is best ? GW or CFW ?

If GW, how can I easily boot to emuNand (the method describe in the manual is not very user friendly and take time) ? Coldboot ? And how can I boot classic emuNand in order to play my retail cardridge ?

If CFW, which one ?

I've got a new 3ds XL with firmware 9.2. And a 16gb sd card. I can put a 32 or maybe 64gb if needed.

Thank you for your help.

Gateway is basically CFW with some extra features, if you don't want/need a9lh, GW is an improvement over other CFW. It includes several features that are not possible with CFW like firmware spoofing, a realtime cheat editor, loading .3DS roms and so on.
.3DS roms are easier/faster to use because you can just copy it on to the cart and play, no need for lengthy install processes.

Thanks for your response.

If I choose to cold boot with MenuHax, will it take longer time to boot than the stock firmware ?
And if I chose this solution, the Gateway.3dsx file will show me the GW menu and I will be able to chose between emuNand and classic emuNand ?
If the boot time is not too long and 100% successfull it could be a solution.
GW + Arm9LoaderHax could be another solution ?

About the CFW, there is too many of them and too few informations about what are the functionnality.
You talk about AuReiNand, I thought this was a CFW that only patch sysNand and doesn't support emuNand ...
Is there somewhere something that sum up the functionnality and the fact that the CFW is still alive ?

I must tell something : I don't want to loose any data in the process and during the usage of my configuration.
In addition I think I will do some regular backup in order to minimize the loss of data in case of problem.

Again many thanks.

It takes longer to boot than stock firmware, but it's the fastest way of booting Gateway, and the success rate is very high, probably 90%+
AuReiNand works with emuNAND as well as sysNAND, but it's the preferred CFW for a9lh, which is why many people use it with a9lh+sysNAND.
Most CFW are very similar feature-wise but a9lh offers a couple more features than other CFW, especially when using a9lh since it offers a bunch of a9lh-specific features. Whether using *hax or a9lh AuReiNAND is still a very good option though.
You won't lose any data no matter what you do, since you already have emuNAND set up (I'm assuming since you're using Gateway) you can just keep using that same emuNAND with any CFW.

I'm in the same situation as you. I have 2 O3DSes. They're both on 9.2 SysNAND and 10.7 EmuNAND. I use Gateway and I have Menuhax installed on both. That currently seems like the easiest setup, but everyone says to look into Arm9 because it actually hacks your SysNAND, so you don't even need EmuNAND for it (You can still use EmuNAND with O3DS, not N3DS, because EmuNAND bricks when you try to get the OTP file needed for Arm9 according to the guide), Arm9 boots a lot faster than Menuhax, and you can also update your SysNAND with it without really risking being locked out of hacks.

AuReiNAND is definitely still alive as it is very new, and everyone says it is currently the best setup with Arm9, AuReiNAND, and NTR. AuReiNAND doesn't have region free patching though, so you install it with NTR (which is a CFW that you install with any CFW you want) to get region free patching, you also get the perk of cheat plugins with NTR amongst others. I'm currently debating whether I should do ARM9 with AuRei and NTR, because I still want to use my Gateway card as I still have a 32GB microSD card in there, but I've heard that Gateway clashes with that setup.

You can certainly use emuNAND with either o3DS or n3DS with a9lh installed. You just can't boot a 2.1 emuNAND, CFW is simply unable to boot a 2.1 emuNAND because they were designed for 4.x+ and 2.1 firmware is very different from newer firmwares.

I'd say CFW. I wouldn't trust GW. They've put in brick code that even gets false positives and bricks actual GW users TWICE NOW. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still hidden in there.

There have been no false positives since the version where it was implemented. (which was in 2.2 or around there)

1) That makes it right?
2) What about the false positives that brick with the GW card?

There were a few confirmed cases of people using a legit GW cart getting bricked, and it turned out it was mainly a bug in the diagnostics test that caused it. It shouldn't have happened, but it wasn't intentional on GW's part, it was a bug in their brick code. Make of that what you will.

 

[Just3DS]

GW with AutoBoot Menuhax is the best option for people who own GW (at the moment).

The boot time isn't that horrible like GW people complaining (roughly less than 30 seconds fom coldboot), and the bootrate is also not bad 9/10 bootrate with old ThemeHax or LessHax.

The advantages, (like Ominous, samiam144 mentioned) makes it hassle-free soultion. One main advantge is that you can simply put all your games in .3ds format on GW microSD card and that's it. It's similar to Sky3DS, but even better because you can select games via GW menu and use cheat codes (and can create your own cheat codes).
Unlike CFW where you cannot use .3ds and as such have to go through installing games on console SD card one by one using .cia files.

Also A9LH is while been best option however since GW doesn't have theirs so after installing A9LH you still have to use the same method which is AutoBoot Menuhax or other exploits.

About bricking issue, never had one. Been using two GW red carts for three years now and none of them broke, and have been serving since I owned O3DS, O3DS XL, and now N3DS XL.

 

[Hakamdeebad]

You can certainly use emuNAND with either o3DS or n3DS with a9lh installed. You just can't boot a 2.1 emuNAND, CFW is simply unable to boot a 2.1 emuNAND because they were designed for 4.x+ and 2.1 firmware is very different from newer firmwares.

Ahhhh, I read that wrong then. Never mind! I feel so educated now. Thanks!!!!

 

[Baallrog]

Wow !
So much answers !

Thank you guys.

First I need to mention that I downgrade my N3DS but actually I'm not using the GW.

I forgot to mention what I want to do with my N3DS.
I've got a lot of cardridge (NDS and 3DS). When I bought the GW my idea was to dump my games with the saves dans put it on the GW. In order to be able to play at any game without the need to carry all my games.
Also the cheat can be interesting, sometimes you screw your savegame in a way that you can no longer go one ...

Another thing, be able to dump the saves and reinject the saves in the cardridge. It's not something I have done before but for some reason it could be good to be able to do it (backup, inject a save with hax, ...).

Homebrew can interest me. The ability to install CIA can be good too.
I'm not the kind of people who download games and never buy one. That's why I want to be able to go on the eShop to buy things and download DLC and updates.

The boot time can be a pain with GW because sometimes you need to go on classic emuNand to play retail cardridge and sometimes you need to go emuNand to play with the GW cardridge ...

One thing that is not clear for me is the emuNand made by GW and the emuNand made by CFW : are the emuNand the same ? The possibilities ares the same ?