Using Gateway on A9LH V2

Cosmic_Link · Jun 18, 2016

Temptress Cerise said:
And to add to this, you don't have to have your a9lb.bin payloads on the root of your SD card. You could throw them into a payloads folder, or any folder for that matter, so long as you tell BootCtr9 where it is.

Temptress Cerise said:
Odd. Did you have the / in front? Anyways. I don't have mine on the root. That's terribly messy and annoys me to no end. I have mine inside /k9lh/payloads I also have CtrBootManager9 on my BootCtr9 config, so when I want to look at a GUI menu for my payloads.

lol You're right about things being on the root, it looks incredibly untidy. Sheer laziness is what has caused me to put everything on the root. XD That coupled with the fact that everything else is just thrown into root anyway, so it's not going to look any better whether I have everything in root or folders. lol Things like launcher.dat, gateway save files, and others. It looks pretty cluttered already. >.<

Emenaria · Jun 19, 2016

https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-three-stage-2.429303/#post-6459731
Today, liomajor updated "Three Stage 2" to work with SafeA9LHInstaller v2.x(thanks liomajor), so if you want to keep A9LH v2 and use Luma3DS's chainloader instead of BootCTR9, then I suppose you can try this out.

Temptress Cerise · Jun 19, 2016

Cosmic_Link said:
lol You're right about things being on the root, it looks incredibly untidy. Sheer laziness is what has caused me to put everything on the root. XD That coupled with the fact that everything else is just thrown into root anyway, so it's not going to look any better whether I have everything in root or folders. lol Things like launcher.dat, gateway save files, and others. It looks pretty cluttered already. >.<

Ah, yes, those darn Gateway saves. I usually only just use my GW for Pokemon .3ds rom hacks, and cheats.

Or for play testing, before converting fully to .CIA. So mine is pretty tidy in that regard.

Emenaria said:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-three-stage-2.429303/#post-6459731
Today, liomajor updated "Three Stage 2" to work with SafeA9LHInstaller v2.x(thanks liomajor), so if you want to keep A9LH v2 and use Luma3DS's chainloader instead of BootCTR9, then I suppose you can try this out.

To be honest, that just updates//replaces A9LH v2, with liomajor's Three Stage 2. For some people, they like that. However, I am not too much of a fan of that method. Don't get me wrong, I used it back when it was the only method and we didn't have a compatible a9lh.bin on v1 A9LH. But now, I just use the A9LH.bin GW has provided. Also, with BootCTR9, people don't have to bother running SafeA9LHInstaller and worrying about making sure they have all the correct files to flash.

I don't know, I feel BootCTR9 is a much more friendlier way of getting GW to work on v2 A9LH. But that's just my opinion.

Edit: The "USE AT YOUR OWN RISK" also doesn't scream noob friendly.

retrofan_k · Jun 19, 2016

Personally, i'd stick with V1 or if you are on currently on V2, use BootCTR to get GW to work and the whole purpose of CFW is to ideally do away with flash carts and if CFW in the future enables multi-rom drag n drop/cheats, GW will be a thing of the past.

The risks involved using modified stages with "Use at your own risk" is not something to take lightly when V2 does not bring anything exciting or useful to the table at present. Anyone without a "hard mod" or little experience should not play with fire.

ken28 · Jun 19, 2016

hoe do use it with bootanim9 without losing luma?

gohan127 · Jun 19, 2016

Neo Draven said:
Everything I have seen says that if you use BootCTR, you can no longer play GBA or DSiWare games because of how much RAM the boot manager requires. That's not worth it for me to have Gateway mode.

hey draven, i had the same problem, what helped for me was to boot holding select--> tell luma not to force boot from sysnand. everytime GWtried to boot luma would somehow interfere and cause black screens. hope it helps. ..

Kazuma77 · Jun 19, 2016

Cosmic_Link said:
Just a quick guide for people who may be having trouble with getting Gateway to work with A9LH V2 after following Plailect's Guide.

I posted this in another thread and has helped a few people, so thought I would post it here for others to see and hope it helps somebody else too.

Download BootCTR from here: https://github.com/hartmannaf/BootCtr9/releases/tag/v0.4.1-alpha_

And put all the files onto the root of your SD card.

Replace the text in the boot_config.ini with the text in the below spoiler.

;Comments starts with ";" or "#", so you need to remove it first to the
;line actually do something.
[BOOTCTR9]
screenEnabled = 1
screenLog = 0
fileLog = 0
key_delay = 1000
boot_splash = 3
boot_splash_image = /arm9loaderhax/image2.bin
screenBrightness = 0xFF

[DEFAULT]
path = /GW.bin
delay = 100
offset = 0
payload = -1
splash = 1

[KEY_L]
path = /Luma.bin
delay = 1000
offset = 0
payload = -1
splash = 1

[KEY_R]
path = /Luma.bin
delay = 1000
offset = 0
payload = -1
screenEnabled = 1
splash = 1

[KEY_SELECT]
path = /Luma.bin
delay = 1000
offset = 0
payload = -1
screenEnabled = 1
splash = 1

[KEY_X]
path = /Uncart.bin
delay = 1000
offset = 0
payload = 1
splash = 3
screenEnabled = 1

[KEY_Y]
path = /Emunand9.bin
delay = 1000
offset = 0
payload = 1
splash = 3
screenEnabled = 1

[KEY_START]
path = /Hourglass.bin
delay = 1000
offset = 0
payload = 1
splash = 3
screenEnabled = 1

;Each key can be defined using a section, like the example below. Section
;names must be ALL caps, and between "[]". Valid keys:
; * Common keys: KEY_A, KEY_B, KEY_X, KEY_Y, KEY_L, KEY_R, KEY_SELECT,
; KEY_START.
; * D-PAD: KEY_DUP, KEY_DDOWN, KEY_DLEFT, KEY_DRIGHT.
;You MUST set at least "path" for each section, and it is the ONLY option you
;should set in the majority of cases.
;You may pass a .3dsx file or a .dat/.bin payload, the file type is detect
;automatically based on extension. Double check the path, since it must be
;correct (including caps).
;[KEY_CPAD_LEFT] ;MUST BE ALL CAPS
;path = /And/Respect_Caps_in_Path.3dsx

;Boot examples for almost every CFW out there.
;You can use both .3dsx files or binary (.bin, .dat) payloads
;[KEY_A]
;path = /rxTools/sys/code.bin
;[KEY_B]
;path = /Cakes.dat
;[KEY_X]
;path = /3ds/GW/GW.3dsx
;[KEY_Y]
;path = /ReiNand.dat

;An important remark: the majority of CFWs set L button to show menu instead
;of autobooting. So it is generally a bad idea to set L button to CFW boot,
;or the CFW menu will be shown instead of booting directly to CFW.
;[KEY_L]

Put the Gateway payload on the root of the SD and name it "GW.bin"

Put the Luma payload on the root of the SD and name it "Luma.bin"

Put the Uncart payload on the root of the SD and name it "Uncart.bin"

Put the Emunand9 payload on the root of the SD and name it "Emunand9.bin"

Put the Hourglass9 payload on the root of the SD and name it "Hourglass.bin"

Links to these files will have been provided with Plailect's guide and the files will already be in the Luma folder if you followed that guide properly.

It works for me. Might not be for you, but will allow you to boot gateway by default and Luma with L or R for when you want to update the sysnand firmware and you can still access Luma settings with select should you need it.

Also, make sure the gateway LAUNCHER.DAT is on the root of the SD card too.

No need to waste 3 hotkeys on Luma. Just put it on A. All Luma hotkeys seem to work with A held. I guess that breaks your pattern of placing tools on the right side buttons though. I prefer them on the d-pad myself.

Temptress Cerise said:
I'll assume you are on v2 A9LH. In which case, you have to use BootCTR9 as this guide describes.

Now if you don't want to use BootCTR9, and you want to use Luma3DS' chainloader for this, then you have to downgrade to v1 A9LH, or use a compatible v2 A9LH build.
For a compatible v2 A9LH build, you have to compile it yourself.
Link: https://gbatemp.net/threads/safea9lhinstaller.419577/page-29#post-6432075

As for downgrading, your on your own for that.

Actually, d0k3 has a modified Safe A9LH Installer v1.5.2 here that works. Also, "payload_stage[x]" files are not console-specific. Not even delebile's. If I posted them, they would work for everyone. The reason I haven't done that is because they seem to break BootCTR9 (at least the Github release, but I'll check the dev build since you provided a link to the pre-compiled one). It's only the installer that gets built that is console-specific, but if you're using Safe A9LH Installer, all you need are the compiled stage payloads, which are not.

Emenaria said:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-three-stage-2.429303/#post-6459731
Today, liomajor updated "Three Stage 2" to work with SafeA9LHInstaller v2.x(thanks liomajor), so if you want to keep A9LH v2 and use Luma3DS's chainloader instead of BootCTR9, then I suppose you can try this out.

Why people add another chain loader to their boot sequence just to hold onto Luma's chain loader is beyond me. BootCTR9's configuration file isn't that much of a hassle to setup. If you ask me, liomajor's time would be better spent fixing Arm9Select. It's almost identical to Luma's chain loader, but not CFW-dependent. Then you could stick to just having one chain loader.

noctis90210 · Jun 19, 2016

@retrofan_k @Cosmic_Link
just found out easy steps without messing too much about boot_config.ini

the only content of my boot_config.ini is this:

Code:

[DEFAULT]
path = /luma/Luma3DS.bin
delay = 0
offset = 0
payload = -1

no more no less, but i can still boot into d9, e9, hg9, gm9, gw, lumaconfig...

what i did was:
i pathchanged the luma a9lh payload to /luma/Luma3DS.bin
and the luma will work as before (like without the bootctr9)

the logic of the less clutter boot_config.ini is this:

Code:

                        |---d9 (luma payload folder)
                        |---e9 (luma payload folder)
                        |---gw (luma payload folder)
bootctr----luma---------|---gm9 (luma payload folder)
                        |---lumaconfig
                        |---hg9 (luma payload folder)
                        |---etc payload (luma payload folder)


(bootctr only handles luma and Luma handes most of the payload)
(payload still on luma/payload folder but boot_config.ini is clutter less)

and the logic of the cluttery boot__config.ini that being talked about since this thread is opened is this:

Code:

              |---d9 (random file directory)
              |---luma (random file directory)
              |---gw (random file directory)
bootctr-------|---e9 (random file directory)
              |---gm9 (random file directory)
              |---lumaconfig
              |---hg9 (random file directory)
              |---etc payload (random file directory)

(bootctr handles all the payload)
(payload directory is the users choice, but the boot_config.ini is cluttery)

Cosmic_Link · Jun 19, 2016

Kazuma77 said:
No need to waste 3 hotkeys on Luma. Just put it on A. All Luma hotkeys seem to work with A held. I guess that breaks your pattern of placing tools on the right side buttons though. I prefer them on the d-pad myself.

Yeah, I know there's no need. I would have just kept Luma on L and Select. The reason for L and Select is for still being able to access Luma settings holding select should the need arise. The reason for me putting the other hotkeys as they were was to match plailect's guide and removes any confusion. There is method to the madness. XD There was no real reason for Luma being hotkey to R though. Just for the sake of it I guess.

Don't forget, that particular confit was for my own preference and not necessarily for everybody!

@noctis90210 Thanks for this. I will have a look at cleaning up my own boot_config.ini later on. However, I don't imagine it will benefit me much since the idea for me was to boot into Gateway by default as I am most likely to use my Gateway card and only have Luma on there for other things that I can't do in Gateway mode.

gartlan · Jun 20, 2016

I noticed today that Plailect's Guide at: 'https://github.com/Plailect/Guide/wiki/Updating-arm9loaderhax/' now says the following:
"..CtrBootManager9 users, you must use OperationNT414C's fork of CtrBootManager which is compatible with arm9loaderhax v2.."
The link is: 'https://github.com/OperationNT414C/CtrBootManager/releases/tag/V7'

Unless I am not understanding something here ...(quite possible)...this has implications for this thread?
People's thoughts on this?

Kazuma77 · Jun 20, 2016

noctis90210 said:
@retrofan_k @Cosmic_Link
just found out easy steps without messing too much about boot_config.ini

the only content of my boot_config.ini is this:

Code:

[DEFAULT] path = /luma/Luma3DS.bin delay = 0 offset = 0 payload = -1

no more no less, but i can still boot into d9, e9, hg9, gm9, gw, lumaconfig...

what i did was:
i pathchanged the luma a9lh payload to /luma/Luma3DS.bin
and the luma will work as before (like without the bootctr9)

the logic of the less clutter boot_config.ini is this:

Code:

|---d9 (luma payload folder) |---e9 (luma payload folder) |---gw (luma payload folder) bootctr----luma---------|---gm9 (luma payload folder) |---lumaconfig |---hg9 (luma payload folder) |---etc payload (luma payload folder) (bootctr only handles luma and Luma handes most of the payload) (payload still on luma/payload folder but boot_config.ini is clutter less)

and the logic of the cluttery boot__config.ini that being talked about since this thread is opened is this:

Code:

|---d9 (random file directory) |---luma (random file directory) |---gw (random file directory) bootctr-------|---e9 (random file directory) |---gm9 (random file directory) |---lumaconfig |---hg9 (random file directory) |---etc payload (random file directory) (bootctr handles all the payload) (payload directory is the users choice, but the boot_config.ini is cluttery)

I guess that simplifies things if your only reason for using BootCTR9 is compatibility (and you're extremely lazy). I could understand such laziness if I hadn't already provided a complete configuration for everyone. What's wrong with this is that it has everything except Luma needlessly going through an extra chain loader. Extremely inefficient to say the least. Not to mention inflexible. If Corbenik overtakes Luma as the top CFW, then your method's useless. It's also useless for anyone that wants to run GW as the default. Basically, it only works if all you want BootCTR9 for is the compatibility. Besides, once you have one hotkey setup, it's pretty much just copy, paste, change key name, change .bin name. For me, adding extra entries is no more time-consuming than doing the rename thing for Luma.

gartlan said:
I noticed today that Plailect's Guide at: 'https://github.com/Plailect/Guide/wiki/Updating-arm9loaderhax/' now says the following:
"..CtrBootManager9 users, you must use OperationNT414C's fork of CtrBootManager which is compatible with arm9loaderhax v2.."
The link is: 'https://github.com/OperationNT414C/CtrBootManager/releases/tag/V7'

Unless I am not understanding something here ...(quite possible)...this has implications for this thread?
People's thoughts on this?

Does he give a reason for not recommending v8? That's kind-of my discovery, btw. I put it into my configuration files as the main CBM9 menu long before he said anything. My CBM9 configuration is using v8 for the main menu and the original for the submenus (I did that because I noticed GW was having issues with some forks, and haven't had time to test the unofficial version with the various CFWs and GW yet). Since GW is still actually being launched from cpajuste's original version, in theory, my CBM9 configuration should work with A9LH v2 without issues, just like my BootCTR9 one does.

WiiHoney · Jun 20, 2016

retrofan_k said:
PLEASE NOTE: Do not update while in GW sysnand, as it does not have Firm protections like Luma does, so updating in GW mode will remove a9lh and put you on OFW, so be careful.

How would i update my GW emuNAND after following the OP's directions?

If i updated GW emuNAND by accident, do i need to install A9LH v2 all over again?

Temptress Cerise · Jun 20, 2016

WiiHoney said:
How would i update my GW emuNAND after following the OP's directions?

If i updated GW emuNAND by accident, do i need to install A9LH v2 all over again?

If you followed Plailect's A9LH Guide to the very end, without skipping anything. Then you should no longer have an EmuNAND at all.

As such you are on a SysNAND only setup. To update your setup, you would use Luma3DS to Update your SysNAND, as GW does not do any FIRM Protection on A9LH.

Edit: If you happen to update SysNAND while in GW Mode, with A9LH, two things will either happen. On o3DS, you will lose A9LH and be on the latest OFW//Stock version, or maybe brick. On N3DS, you will brick. At least that's what I recall from previous info.

WiiHoney · Jun 20, 2016

@Temptress Cerise I actually had to install GW emuNAND to my SD card. Following Plailect's guide made me loose all the MII's and the MII plaza accomplishments . so right now i have GW3D 11.0.0-33U and EmuS 11.0.0-33U, Without GW emuNAND i have no access to GW RED card.

Now i dont have any option to update GW emuNAND. If i update i lose A9LH or worst is brick. If i dont update i wont be able to play latest games that required online play.

If i update my Luma3DS sysNAND (holding R while booting) i still cant access MII plaza

Temptress Cerise · Jun 20, 2016

WiiHoney said:
@Temptress Cerise I actually had to install GW emuNAND to my SD card. Following Plailect's guide made me loose all the MII's and the MII plaza accomplishments . so right now i have GW3D 11.0.0-33U and EmuS 11.0.0-33U, Without GW emuNAND i have no access to GW RED card.

Now i dont have any option to update GW emuNAND. If i update i lose A9LH or worst is brick. If i dont update i wont be able to play latest games that required online play.

If i update my Luma3DS sysNAND (holding R while booting) i still cant access MII plaza

If you are booting into EmuNAND while using GW, then there really shouldn't be any problems updating via GW, as this is the method that GW actually recommends with their own locked down GW-A9LH. I would assume on Standard A9LH, with GW's a9lh.bin, the same would apply.

You could use Luma3DS to boot your EmuNAND, and update via that, making sure you are in EmuNAND. But I honestly don't think this be necessary.

Again, if you update EmuNAND via GW Mode or Luma3DS, FIRM Protection shouldn't really matter. Since A9LH lives on the FIRM partition of SysNAND, not the one of EmuNAND.

WiiHoney · Jun 20, 2016

I got it now, Thank you again @Temptress Cerise .

Update GW emuNAND the normal way through System Setting in GW mode
Update Luma3DS sysNAND through Luma3D updater cia

Temptress Cerise · Jun 20, 2016

WiiHoney said:
I got it now, Thank you again @Temptress Cerise .

Update GW emuNAND the normal way through System Setting in GW mode
Update Luma3DS sysNAND through Luma3D updater cia

The Luma3DS Updater .CIA will only update your Luma3DS payload, you'll still need to update via System Settings with Luma3DS to update your SysNAND.

retrofan_k · Jun 20, 2016

WiiHoney said:
I got it now, Thank you again @Temptress Cerise .

Update GW emuNAND the normal way through System Setting in GW mode
Update Luma3DS sysNAND through Luma3D updater cia

Yes, that is the correct way to update. Just double check when in sysnand it says "Sys" before the version number, as one can easily forget that they are in GW sysnand if using using GW on a regular basis.

Temptress Cerise · Jun 20, 2016

retrofan_k said:
Yes, that is the correct way to update. Just double check when in sysnand it says "Sys" before the version number, as one can easily forget that they are in GW sysnand if using using GW on a regular basis.

To add to this, just make sure you are using Launcher.dat 4.0b, as it'll nag you if you try to boot into SysNAND, and as such would be a clear indicator that, you shouldn't update. The nag will not appear if using EmuNAND, and it'll just boot right into your GW EmuNAND.

retrofan_k · Jun 20, 2016

Temptress Cerise said:
To add to this, just make sure you are using Launcher.dat 4.0b, as it'll nag you if you try to boot into SysNAND, and as such would be a clear indicator that, you shouldn't update. The nag will not appear if using EmuNAND, and it'll just boot right into your GW EmuNAND.

I'm using 3.7.1 without the nag, so didn't mention that. Reason being, is I'm not comfortable with possible hidden code that might be in the 4.0b launcher.dat. Still don't trust GW and their shady practices.

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