Hacking Official Corbenik - Another CFW for advanced users (with bytecode patches!)

[The Catboy]

Offtopic:

Now, if devs can get network init and an ftp client working through arm9(is this even possible?), I'd be happy. Has anyone been able to mounted their 3ds on linux using micro SD Management @chaoskagami? I'm currently using mtheall's ftpd server to fit my needs, but it's so unstable with large files.

It's not possible to get networking working through A9LH, because A9LH boots so early, that it boots before the home menu boots. Without the Home menu, there's no network.
I don't use that myself since I have an old3DS, but looking it up, I did end up finding this post

 

[chaoskagami]

Offtopic:

Now, if devs can get network init and an ftp client working through arm9(is this even possible?), I'd be happy. Has anyone been able to mounted their 3ds on linux using micro SD Management @chaoskagami? I'm currently using mtheall's ftpd server to fit my needs, but it's so unstable with large files.

...Are you insane? No. Not possible. Just boot the console.

Meanwhile. I've been porting Corbenik onto libctr9_io and fixing up shit. Next stable will be a while due to many reasons.

 

[3xkrazy]

...Are you insane? No. Not possible. Just boot the console.

Meanwhile. I've been porting Corbenik onto libctr9_io and fixing up shit. Next stable will be a while due to many reasons.

Hah. I just thought it was possible to develop something hardcore from the ground up to initiate network, that doesn't rely on homemenu.

 

[Wolfvak]

Hah. I just thought it was possible to develop something hardcore from the ground up to initiate network, that doesn't rely on homemenu.

Oh it's perfectly "possible". Worth it? I doubt it.

 

[The Catboy]

Hah. I just thought it was possible to develop something hardcore from the ground up to initiate network, that doesn't rely on homemenu.

It's physically possible, but really not worth it. There's just no real reason for it when everything can be done either through home menu or just removing the SD/MicroSD card itself.

...Are you insane? No. Not possible. Just boot the console.

Meanwhile. I've been porting Corbenik onto libctr9_io and fixing up shit. Next stable will be a while due to many reasons.

Take your time, since you now have nightlies, testing has become a lot easier for me.

 

[chaoskagami]

Oh it's perfectly "possible". Worth it? I doubt it.

Yeah, that's a waste of time. Unless you're doing that for xerpi's Linux port, at least. I mean, it's "possible" but no way will I do that. I draw the line there. A FTP server has no place in the first process on a system. Read: Corbenik is not systemd.

But yeah, useful context for anyone curious. @Wolfvak knows where it's at.

Take your time, since you now have nightlies, testing has become a lot easier for me.

<3

 

[astronautlevel]

Remember how much work screen init was on a9lh?

Now imagine trying to RE the network registers.

 

[Kirtai]

Remember how much work screen init was on a9lh?

Now imagine trying to RE the network registers.

Wifi registers at that which is a whole new level of nastiness.

 

[chaoskagami]

Remember how much work screen init was on a9lh?

Now imagine trying to RE the network registers.

I don't want to even imagine what that looks like given the screen-init register disco, never mind RE it.

 

[Kirtai]

Ugh, reading the thread about the SDK worries me. Will random people under an NDA they don't understand start trying to contribute thinking they're helping?

Maybe homebrew like corbenik will need to specify somewhere that code from people under the NDA can't be accepted.

 

[chaoskagami]

Ugh, reading the thread about the SDK worries me. Will random people under an NDA they don't understand start trying to contribute thinking they're helping?

Maybe homebrew like corbenik will need to specify somewhere that code from people under the NDA can't be accepted.

Sadly, I think this may be needed. It's too risky for me to accept code from people who've signed the NDA. I'm probably going to have to update the guidelines and add a contributing agreement you have to sign on github (for the sake of my own safety.)

Luckily, I'm paranoid and that smelled like a trap, so I'm not NDA'd.

 

[3xkrazy]

Hi chaoskagami,

I'm trying to use the convert the 8x8 font used in Decrypt9WIP into termfont.bin. Can you guide me into the right direction?

1) I cant find the .bdf file... so I need to magically convert this:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/d...9f4da1a3c2e55432ee526f31a713de2/source/font.h
into to single lines that looks similar to:

Spoiler: tewi-font font.h snip

// Converted Font Size 6x13

/* STARTCHAR SPACE */
/* ENCODING 32 */
/* BBX 0 0 0 0 */
/*    32 ' ' |012345| */
0x00, /*   0|      | */
0x00, /*   1|      | */
0x00, /*   2|      | */
0x00, /*   3|      | */
0x00, /*   4|      | */
0x00, /*   5|      | */
0x00, /*   6|      | */
0x00, /*   7|      | */
0x00, /*   8|      | */
0x00, /*   9|      | */
0x00, /*  10|      | */
0x00, /*  11|      | */
0x00, /*  12|      | */

/* STARTCHAR EXCLAMATION MARK */
/* ENCODING 33 */
/* BBX 1 7 2 0 */
/*    33 '!' |012345| */
0x00, /*   0|      | */
0x00, /*   1|      | */
0x00, /*   2|      | */
0x20, /*   3|  #   | */
0x20, /*   4|  #   | */
0x20, /*   5|  #   | */
0x20, /*   6|  #   | */
0x20, /*   7|  #   | */
0x00, /*   8|      | */
0x20, /*   9|  #   | */
0x00, /*  10|      | */
0x00, /*  11|      | */
0x00, /*  12|      | */

2) include this:
host/font_prop.h

const int font_width = 8;
const int font_height = 8;

3) build font-emit (not sure if this is the correct compiler and CFLAGS) Edit: I can just use executable binary from runing 'make' after editing font_prop.h

arm-none-eabi-gcc -MMD -MP -Wall -Wextra -Werror -fomit-frame-pointer -Os -mlittle-endian -mcpu=arm946e-s -march=armv5te -fshort-wchar -fno-builtin -std=gnu11 -o host/font-emit host/font-emit.c

4) build termfont.bin

./host/font-emit

5) place termfont.bin into corbenik/bits/

 

[chaoskagami]

Hi chaoskagami,

I'm trying to use the convert the 8x8 font used in Decrypt9WIP into termfont.bin. Can you guide me into the right direction?

1) I cant find the .bdf file... so I need to magically convert this:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/d...9f4da1a3c2e55432ee526f31a713de2/source/font.h
into to single lines that looks similar to:

Spoiler: tewi-font font.h snip

// Converted Font Size 6x13

/* STARTCHAR SPACE */
/* ENCODING 32 */
/* BBX 0 0 0 0 */
/*    32 ' ' |012345| */
0x00, /*   0|      | */
0x00, /*   1|      | */
0x00, /*   2|      | */
0x00, /*   3|      | */
0x00, /*   4|      | */
0x00, /*   5|      | */
0x00, /*   6|      | */
0x00, /*   7|      | */
0x00, /*   8|      | */
0x00, /*   9|      | */
0x00, /*  10|      | */
0x00, /*  11|      | */
0x00, /*  12|      | */

/* STARTCHAR EXCLAMATION MARK */
/* ENCODING 33 */
/* BBX 1 7 2 0 */
/*    33 '!' |012345| */
0x00, /*   0|      | */
0x00, /*   1|      | */
0x00, /*   2|      | */
0x20, /*   3|  #   | */
0x20, /*   4|  #   | */
0x20, /*   5|  #   | */
0x20, /*   6|  #   | */
0x20, /*   7|  #   | */
0x00, /*   8|      | */
0x20, /*   9|  #   | */
0x00, /*  10|      | */
0x00, /*  11|      | */
0x00, /*  12|      | */

2) include this:
host/font_prop.h

const int font_width = 8;
const int font_height = 8;

3) build font-emit (not sure if this is the correct compiler and CFLAGS) Edit: I can just use executable binary from runing 'make' after editing font_prop.h

arm-none-eabi-gcc -MMD -MP -Wall -Wextra -Werror -fomit-frame-pointer -Os -mlittle-endian -mcpu=arm946e-s -march=armv5te -fshort-wchar -fno-builtin -std=gnu11 -o host/font-emit host/font-emit.c

4) build termfont.bin

./host/font-emit

5) place termfont.bin into corbenik/bits/

Read https://github.com/chaoskagami/corbenik/wiki/Fonts.

Just use the devkitPro font as-is and remove everything before space. Nonprintables aren't part of the data.

It's 8x8, for reference.

Let me remind you I used to use that font and stopped deliberately also.

 

[3xkrazy]

Sorry to be a bother again, but I think i'm beggining to make progress. I cant find the devkitPro font that you instructed... can you give me the exact path/file name?

I went ahead and removed all the functions from Decrypt9WIP font.h just to mess around, and added it to corbenik/host/font.h.

Spoiler: font.h

hle@x60 ~/Downloads/corbenik/host $ cat font.h
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x81, 0xa5, 0x81, 0xbd, 0x99, 0x81, 0x7e,
    0x7e, 0xff, 0xdb, 0xff, 0xc3, 0xe7, 0xff, 0x7e, 0x6c, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0x7c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0x7c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0xff, 0xe7, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0xee, 0x10, 0x38, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00,
    0xff, 0xff, 0xe7, 0xc3, 0xc3, 0xe7, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x66, 0x42, 0x42, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xff, 0xc3, 0x99, 0xbd, 0xbd, 0x99, 0xc3, 0xff, 0x0f, 0x07, 0x0f, 0x7d, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x78,
    0x3c, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x08, 0x0c, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x08, 0x78, 0xf0, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x14, 0x1a, 0x16, 0x72, 0xe2, 0x0e, 0x1c, 0x10, 0x54, 0x38, 0xee, 0x38, 0x54, 0x10, 0x00,
    0x80, 0xe0, 0xf8, 0xfe, 0xf8, 0xe0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x02, 0x0e, 0x3e, 0xfe, 0x3e, 0x0e, 0x02, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x3c, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x5a, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x00, 0x66, 0x00,
    0x7f, 0xdb, 0xdb, 0xdb, 0x7b, 0x1b, 0x1b, 0x00, 0x1c, 0x22, 0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38, 0x88, 0x70,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x7e, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x5a, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x7e,
    0x18, 0x3c, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x5a, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x18, 0x0c, 0xfe, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x60, 0xfe, 0x60, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x24, 0x42, 0xff, 0x42, 0x24, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0x7c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x6c, 0x24, 0x24, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0xfe, 0x6c, 0xfe, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x7c, 0xd0, 0x7c, 0x16, 0xfc, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x66, 0xac, 0xd8, 0x36, 0x6a, 0xcc, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x4c, 0x38, 0x78, 0xce, 0xcc, 0x7a, 0x00, 0x30, 0x10, 0x20, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x00, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x66, 0x3c, 0xff, 0x3c, 0x66, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x30, 0xfc, 0x30, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x10, 0x20, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x02, 0x06, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0xc0, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xce, 0xde, 0xf6, 0xe6, 0xe6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x38, 0x78, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0x06, 0x1c, 0x70, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0x06, 0x3c, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x1c, 0x3c, 0x6c, 0xcc, 0xfe, 0x0c, 0x1e, 0x00, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0xfc, 0x06, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xfc, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x30, 0x30, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7e, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x10, 0x20,
    0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x00, 0x78, 0xcc, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0x9e, 0xa6, 0x9e, 0x80, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x66, 0x66, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0xfc, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x62, 0x68, 0x78, 0x68, 0x62, 0xfe, 0x00,
    0xfe, 0x62, 0x68, 0x78, 0x68, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xce, 0xc6, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x1e, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x78, 0x00, 0xe6, 0x66, 0x6c, 0x78, 0x6c, 0x66, 0xe6, 0x00,
    0xf0, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x62, 0x66, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x82, 0xc6, 0xee, 0xfe, 0xd6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0xe6, 0xf6, 0xde, 0xce, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x60, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xd6, 0xde, 0x7c, 0x06,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x66, 0x66, 0xe6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7e, 0x5a, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xd6, 0xfe, 0xee, 0xc6, 0x82, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x38, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xfe, 0xc6, 0x8c, 0x18, 0x32, 0x66, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x78, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x78, 0x00,
    0xc0, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x06, 0x02, 0x00, 0x78, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x78, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff,
    0x30, 0x20, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0xe0, 0x60, 0x60, 0x7c, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x1c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x1c, 0x36, 0x30, 0x78, 0x30, 0x30, 0x78, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x76, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0x78,
    0xe0, 0x60, 0x6c, 0x76, 0x66, 0x66, 0xe6, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x1c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0xcc, 0x78, 0xe0, 0x60, 0x66, 0x6c, 0x78, 0x6c, 0xe6, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xfe, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xdc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xdc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0x1e,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xde, 0x76, 0x60, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x06, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x30, 0xfc, 0x30, 0x30, 0x34, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0xfe, 0x6c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0xf8,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0x98, 0x30, 0x64, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x18, 0x18, 0x30, 0x18, 0x18, 0x0e, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x30, 0x30, 0x18, 0x30, 0x30, 0xe0, 0x00,
    0x76, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x10, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x18, 0x70, 0xcc, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x82, 0x38, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0xcc, 0x00, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x30, 0x30, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x18, 0x70,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xe0, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x66, 0x00, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x38, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0xfe, 0x60, 0x78, 0x60, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x12, 0x7e, 0xd0, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0x7e, 0xc8, 0xc8, 0xfe, 0xc8, 0xc8, 0xce, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x82, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0xcc, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0xf8, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x7c, 0xd6, 0xd0, 0xd6, 0x7c, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x6c, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x60, 0xf2, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x00,
    0xf8, 0xcc, 0xf8, 0xc4, 0xcc, 0xde, 0xcc, 0x06, 0x0e, 0x1b, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0xd8, 0x70,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x10, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x10, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x66, 0x98, 0xdc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x00, 0x66, 0x98, 0xe6, 0xf6, 0xde, 0xce, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x0c, 0x3c, 0x34, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x00, 0x38, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x30, 0x00, 0x30, 0x60, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x00, 0xc0, 0xc8, 0xd0, 0xfe, 0x46, 0x8c, 0x1e, 0x00,
    0xc0, 0xc8, 0xd0, 0xec, 0x5c, 0xbe, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x36, 0x6c, 0xd8, 0x6c, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xd8, 0x6c, 0x36, 0x6c, 0xd8, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x22, 0x88, 0x22, 0x88, 0x22, 0x88, 0x22, 0x88, 0x55, 0xaa, 0x55, 0xaa, 0x55, 0xaa, 0x55, 0xaa,
    0xdb, 0x77, 0xdb, 0xee, 0xdb, 0x77, 0xdb, 0xee, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xf6, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xf8, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x36, 0x36, 0xf6, 0x06, 0xf6, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x06, 0xf6, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0xf6, 0x06, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x37, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x37, 0x30, 0x3f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0x30, 0x37, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0xf7, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0xf7, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x37, 0x30, 0x37, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x36, 0x36, 0xf7, 0x00, 0xf7, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x3f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xff, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x18, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0,
    0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x74, 0xcc, 0xc8, 0xdc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x78, 0xcc, 0xd8, 0xcc, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xdc, 0x40,
    0xfe, 0x62, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x7e, 0xec, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x48, 0x00,
    0xfe, 0x62, 0x30, 0x18, 0x30, 0x62, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0xd0, 0xc8, 0xc8, 0x70, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xf8, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0xd8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x10, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0x7c, 0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x28, 0xee, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x22, 0x18, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x78, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x66, 0x99, 0x99, 0x66, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x06, 0x7c, 0x9e, 0xf2, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0xf8, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0x00, 0xfe, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x1b, 0x1b, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xd8, 0xd8, 0x70,
    0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x76, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x76, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0f, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0xec, 0x6c, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xd8, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xf0, 0x30, 0xc0, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00

Supplied my own:
corbenik/host/font_prop.h

const int font_width = 8;
const int font_height = 8;

commented out:
corbenik/host/conv-font-bin.sh

#!/bin/bash
if [ "${CC}" == "" ]; then
CC=gcc
fi
set -e
#./host/bdfe/bdfe -n -L -v -A external/tewi-font/tewi-medium-11.bdf > host/font.h
#grep "// Converted Font Size" host/font.h | sed -e 's|.* ||g' \
#-e 's|^|const int font_width = |g' \
#-e 's|x|;\nconst int font_height = |g' \
#-e 's|$|;|g' > host/font_prop.h
${CC} ${CFLAGS} -o host/font-emit host/font-emit.c
./host/font-emit

Ran make and copied corbenik/host/termfont.bin to my existing install. Here's what it looks like

 

[chaoskagami]

Sorry to be a bother again, but I think i'm beggining to make progress. I cant find the devkitPro font that you instructed... can you give me the exact path/file name?

I went ahead and removed all the functions from Decrypt9WIP font.h just to mess around, and added it to corbenik/host/font.h.

Spoiler: font.h

hle@x60 ~/Downloads/corbenik/host $ cat font.h
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x81, 0xa5, 0x81, 0xbd, 0x99, 0x81, 0x7e,
    0x7e, 0xff, 0xdb, 0xff, 0xc3, 0xe7, 0xff, 0x7e, 0x6c, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0x7c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0x7c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0xff, 0xe7, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0xee, 0x10, 0x38, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00,
    0xff, 0xff, 0xe7, 0xc3, 0xc3, 0xe7, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x66, 0x42, 0x42, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xff, 0xc3, 0x99, 0xbd, 0xbd, 0x99, 0xc3, 0xff, 0x0f, 0x07, 0x0f, 0x7d, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x78,
    0x3c, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x08, 0x0c, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x08, 0x78, 0xf0, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x14, 0x1a, 0x16, 0x72, 0xe2, 0x0e, 0x1c, 0x10, 0x54, 0x38, 0xee, 0x38, 0x54, 0x10, 0x00,
    0x80, 0xe0, 0xf8, 0xfe, 0xf8, 0xe0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x02, 0x0e, 0x3e, 0xfe, 0x3e, 0x0e, 0x02, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x3c, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x5a, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x00, 0x66, 0x00,
    0x7f, 0xdb, 0xdb, 0xdb, 0x7b, 0x1b, 0x1b, 0x00, 0x1c, 0x22, 0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38, 0x88, 0x70,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x7e, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x5a, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x7e,
    0x18, 0x3c, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x5a, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x18, 0x0c, 0xfe, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x60, 0xfe, 0x60, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x24, 0x42, 0xff, 0x42, 0x24, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfe, 0xfe, 0x7c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x6c, 0x24, 0x24, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0xfe, 0x6c, 0xfe, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x7c, 0xd0, 0x7c, 0x16, 0xfc, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x66, 0xac, 0xd8, 0x36, 0x6a, 0xcc, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x4c, 0x38, 0x78, 0xce, 0xcc, 0x7a, 0x00, 0x30, 0x10, 0x20, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x00, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x66, 0x3c, 0xff, 0x3c, 0x66, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x30, 0xfc, 0x30, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x10, 0x20, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x02, 0x06, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0xc0, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xce, 0xde, 0xf6, 0xe6, 0xe6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x38, 0x78, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0x06, 0x1c, 0x70, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0x06, 0x3c, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x1c, 0x3c, 0x6c, 0xcc, 0xfe, 0x0c, 0x1e, 0x00, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0xfc, 0x06, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xfc, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x30, 0x30, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7e, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x30, 0x10, 0x20,
    0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x00, 0x78, 0xcc, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x00, 0x30, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0x9e, 0xa6, 0x9e, 0x80, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x66, 0x66, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0xfc, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x62, 0x68, 0x78, 0x68, 0x62, 0xfe, 0x00,
    0xfe, 0x62, 0x68, 0x78, 0x68, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xce, 0xc6, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x1e, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x78, 0x00, 0xe6, 0x66, 0x6c, 0x78, 0x6c, 0x66, 0xe6, 0x00,
    0xf0, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x62, 0x66, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x82, 0xc6, 0xee, 0xfe, 0xd6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0xe6, 0xf6, 0xde, 0xce, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x60, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xd6, 0xde, 0x7c, 0x06,
    0xfc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x66, 0x66, 0xe6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x06, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7e, 0x5a, 0x5a, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xd6, 0xfe, 0xee, 0xc6, 0x82, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x38, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xfe, 0xc6, 0x8c, 0x18, 0x32, 0x66, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x78, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x78, 0x00,
    0xc0, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x06, 0x02, 0x00, 0x78, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x78, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff,
    0x30, 0x20, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0xe0, 0x60, 0x60, 0x7c, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x1c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x1c, 0x36, 0x30, 0x78, 0x30, 0x30, 0x78, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x76, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0x78,
    0xe0, 0x60, 0x6c, 0x76, 0x66, 0x66, 0xe6, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x1c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0xcc, 0x78, 0xe0, 0x60, 0x66, 0x6c, 0x78, 0x6c, 0xe6, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xfe, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xdc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xdc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x7c, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0x1e,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xde, 0x76, 0x60, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x06, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x10, 0x30, 0xfc, 0x30, 0x30, 0x34, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0xfe, 0x6c, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0xf8,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0x98, 0x30, 0x64, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x18, 0x18, 0x30, 0x18, 0x18, 0x0e, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x30, 0x30, 0x18, 0x30, 0x30, 0xe0, 0x00,
    0x76, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x10, 0x38, 0x6c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x18, 0x70, 0xcc, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x82, 0x38, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0xcc, 0x00, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x30, 0x30, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x18, 0x70,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xe0, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x66, 0x00, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00, 0x38, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0xfe, 0x60, 0x78, 0x60, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x12, 0x7e, 0xd0, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0x7e, 0xc8, 0xc8, 0xfe, 0xc8, 0xc8, 0xce, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x82, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0x82, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x10, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0xcc, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x7c, 0x0c, 0xf8, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0xc6, 0x00, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x7c, 0xd6, 0xd0, 0xd6, 0x7c, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x6c, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x60, 0xf2, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x66, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x00,
    0xf8, 0xcc, 0xf8, 0xc4, 0xcc, 0xde, 0xcc, 0x06, 0x0e, 0x1b, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x18, 0xd8, 0x70,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0x78, 0x0c, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x10, 0x38, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x10, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x76, 0x00,
    0x66, 0x98, 0xdc, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x66, 0x00, 0x66, 0x98, 0xe6, 0xf6, 0xde, 0xce, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x0c, 0x3c, 0x34, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x00, 0x38, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x30, 0x00, 0x30, 0x60, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0xc0, 0xc0, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfc, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x00, 0xc0, 0xc8, 0xd0, 0xfe, 0x46, 0x8c, 0x1e, 0x00,
    0xc0, 0xc8, 0xd0, 0xec, 0x5c, 0xbe, 0x0c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x18, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x36, 0x6c, 0xd8, 0x6c, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xd8, 0x6c, 0x36, 0x6c, 0xd8, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x22, 0x88, 0x22, 0x88, 0x22, 0x88, 0x22, 0x88, 0x55, 0xaa, 0x55, 0xaa, 0x55, 0xaa, 0x55, 0xaa,
    0xdb, 0x77, 0xdb, 0xee, 0xdb, 0x77, 0xdb, 0xee, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xf6, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xf8, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x36, 0x36, 0xf6, 0x06, 0xf6, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x06, 0xf6, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0xf6, 0x06, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xf8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x37, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x37, 0x30, 0x3f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0x30, 0x37, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0xf7, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0xf7, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x37, 0x30, 0x37, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x36, 0x36, 0xf7, 0x00, 0xf7, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x3f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x18, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36, 0xff, 0x36, 0x36, 0x36,
    0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0x18, 0xff, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xf8, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x1f, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0, 0xf0,
    0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0x0f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x74, 0xcc, 0xc8, 0xdc, 0x76, 0x00, 0x78, 0xcc, 0xd8, 0xcc, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xdc, 0x40,
    0xfe, 0x62, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x7e, 0xec, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x48, 0x00,
    0xfe, 0x62, 0x30, 0x18, 0x30, 0x62, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0xd0, 0xc8, 0xc8, 0x70, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0xf8, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7e, 0xd8, 0x18, 0x18, 0x10, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x10, 0x7c, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0x7c, 0x10, 0x38, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xfe, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x6c, 0x28, 0xee, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x22, 0x18, 0x7c, 0xcc, 0xcc, 0x78, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x66, 0x99, 0x99, 0x66, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x06, 0x7c, 0x9e, 0xf2, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc0, 0xf8, 0xc0, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7c, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0xc6, 0x00,
    0x00, 0xfe, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x00, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x7e, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00,
    0x30, 0x18, 0x0c, 0x18, 0x30, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x00, 0x18, 0x30, 0x60, 0x30, 0x18, 0x00, 0x7c, 0x00,
    0x0e, 0x1b, 0x1b, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0x18, 0xd8, 0xd8, 0x70,
    0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x7e, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x76, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x76, 0xdc, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x38, 0x6c, 0x38, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0f, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0x0c, 0xec, 0x6c, 0x3c, 0x00,
    0xd8, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xf0, 0x30, 0xc0, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
    0x00, 0x00, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x3c, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00

Supplied my own:
corbenik/host/font_prop.h

const int font_width = 8;
const int font_height = 8;

commented out:
corbenik/host/conv-font-bin.sh

#!/bin/bash
if [ "${CC}" == "" ]; then
CC=gcc
fi
set -e
#./host/bdfe/bdfe -n -L -v -A external/tewi-font/tewi-medium-11.bdf > host/font.h
#grep "// Converted Font Size" host/font.h | sed -e 's|.* ||g' \
#-e 's|^|const int font_width = |g' \
#-e 's|x|;\nconst int font_height = |g' \
#-e 's|$|;|g' > host/font_prop.h
${CC} ${CFLAGS} -o host/font-emit host/font-emit.c
./host/font-emit

Ran make and copied corbenik/host/termfont.bin to my existing install. Here's what it looks like
View attachment 55700

The devkitPro font and Decrypt9WIP font are identical, FYI. That font originates from long ago, possibly on the GBA even. You are using the correct font header. I have long since removed it, which is why you won't find it in corbenik.

That is a very weird formatting issue. I can say at least that the glitchy substitutions are consistent. I expect this is caused by a one-off issue or something. Forget to copy a line, perhaps?

 

[3xkrazy]

Forget to copy a line, perhaps?

I thought it was do to the missing comma at the end of font.h, but I still get the same result when I added it. The only thing i removed was:

Top of font.h

/*
  This file was autogenerated by raw2c.
Visit http://www.devkitpro.org
*/

//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#ifndef _font_h_
#define _font_h_
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
static const unsigned char font[] = {

and

End of font.h

};
const int font_size = sizeof(font);
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#endif //_font_h_
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I give up for now. I'll try again later.

 

[Selver]

The screws are easy to strip as I found to my displeasure...

I found the 2DS quite easy to disassemble...

... adds extra inefficiency since directory seeks already suck on FAT.

To open the 3DS, use a JIS screwdriver, not Phillips.

There are ways to work around some of the problems that plague FAT32. I previously wrote an example for micro-optimizing the SD when there's a ton of files, targeting mostly read-only usage. The most useful is to (a) reformat or defrag regularly, (b) create the file system structures first, before adding the file data. The first is well known. The second is less known, but can be done on Windows using ROBOCOPY.EXE with the option that creates zero-byte files (see linked post) in the first pass, then copying the full data in a second pass...

 

[3xkrazy]

or defrag regularly

Defragging a microSD?

 

[chaoskagami]

There are ways to work around some of the problems that plague FAT32. I previously wrote an example for micro-optimizing the SD when there's a ton of files, targeting mostly read-only usage. The most useful is to (a) reformat or defrag regularly, (b) create the file system structures first, before adding the file data. The first is well known. The second is less known, but can be done on Windows using ROBOCOPY.EXE with the option that creates zero-byte files (see linked post) in the first pass, then copying the full data in a second pass...

Excuse me while I tear this apart.

A) Defragmenting an SD is a bad idea for multiple reasons. It will only shorten lifespan, and not improve speeds. It only has use when you're nearing the limit on storage and fragmentation prevents new copies.

B) No. That's not how FAT works, nor is it "well known." Go read on the structures involved in storage before you start saying this stuff. This is called 'cargo cult debugging' or something. Either way, this does not improve performance.

C) Any sane person should not be formatting drives with the built in Windows disk formatting utility. In fact, you can't on drives >32GB. What you *should* do to get better performance is ensure that the partition is aligned to a large size and you're not using tiny cluster sizes (which slows down accesses.)

 

[Selver]

Spoiler: Quote from Chaoskagami

Excuse me while I tear this apart.

A) Defragmenting an SD is a bad idea for multiple reasons. It will only shorten lifespan, and not improve speeds. It only has use when you're nearing the limit on storage and fragmentation prevents new copies.

B) No. That's not how FAT works, nor is it "well known." Go read on the structures involved in storage before you start saying this stuff. This is called 'cargo cult debugging' or something. Either way, this does not improve performance.

C) Any sane person should not be formatting drives with the built in Windows disk formatting utility. In fact, you can't on drives >32GB. What you *should* do to get better performance is ensure that the partition is aligned to a large size and you're not using tiny cluster sizes (which slows down accesses.)

Hi Chaoskagami,

We may not be that far from agreement. I'd appreciate your help understanding what aspects I may have gotten wrong.

See quick TLDR and then full-blown technical details that I hope you agree avoids 'cargo cult debugging'.

Spoiler: TLDR, In reverse order...

As to C, we totally agree. Neither Windows nor the official SD formatter allow FAT32 on SD media larger than 32GB. We also agree that partition alignment is critical to performance on SD, due at least in part to the physical flash page sizes (erase and write) being larger than the logical sector size of 512 bytes.

As to B, I think you were disagreeing that creation of zero-byte files first would improve performance on FAT32. I still believe this to be true, and provided some technical details below as to how this helps. In return, can you please help me understand if there are parts which don't make sense, are wrong, etc.?

As to A, I think you were stating that having FS metadata and file data contigous on the SD would never be beneficial, and defrag is bad. I agree in part; Old style defragmenters would not improve speed and would shorten the SD lifespan. FYI, in the linked post, I was responding to someone with a heavily-used SD card, which likely had both file and file system metadata fragmentation. As listed below via the technical details, I think there are some benefits to be had.

I agree that most of these wouldn't have any appreciable effect on PC hardware. Given the terrible read and write perf of the 3DS's SD, small changes can add up.

Spoiler: FAT32 -- Technical reasons for micro-optimizations

I will reference the 1999 Microsoft whitepaper on FAT32, named FatGen102.pdf (google it).

The micro-optimizations I will address target two aspects: the FAT and file system metadata. I'll start with an overview of the FAT, then directory entry structure (file system metadata), and then the FAT.

Spoiler: Background -- File Allocation Table

Background reading can include page 12-18 of the FatGen102.pdf whitepaper.

The File Allocation Table (FAT) is a singly-linked list indicating the clusters (extents) of a file. See page 12. One can logically view the FAT as a single large array of 32-bit entries. However, each 32-bit FAT entry has only 28 valid bits... the top four bits of each are reserved (ignored). See page 15. The first two clusters are reserved. See page 14.

There are two special values in the FAT. The first is "end of clusterchain", indicating that no further clusters are allocated for the file. The second is a "bad cluster" mark, indicating that the cluster should not be considered as free (e.g., due to unreliability). See pages 16-17.

The FAT entry for cluster zero (reserved cluster) is always set to the special value indicating "end of clusterchain". A zero-length file has cluster zero listed as its first cluster number. See page 16.

Spoiler: Metadata -- background

Background reading can include pages 16, 20-22.

1. Any directory (including the root directory) is simply a file whose contents contain "directory entry" structures. See page 16.
2. The first two entries for all directories (other than the root directory) are the special directory entries "." and "..". See page 23.
3. FAT32 uses 32-byte "directory entry" structures. See page 22.
4. Thus, a single 512 byte sector may only contain 16 entries, and a 32k cluster size will allow a single cluster to contain at most 1024 entries. See page 22.
5. Each file (or directory) in FAT32 uses one or more of these 32-byte entries. See page 22.
6. Any filename that doesn't fit in the 8dot3 notation uses at least one additional directory entry for the long file name. (not explicitly listed in this document).
7. If all files have a long file name, the maximums are 8 entries per sector, and 512 entries per cluster.
8. The first byte of the directory entry structure may have special values. The value 0xE5 indicates the entry is free and can be re-used. The value 0x00 also indicates the entry is free and can be re-used, but also indicates that there are no other valid entries following it. See page 22.
9. Interestingly, it does not appear to be explicitly required that invalid entries following the first 0x00 entry have any specific contents, although they are commonly also set to 0x00.
10. There is no requirement that entries are sorted in any way. See Note 1 on page 25.
11. Each directory entry for a file includes 32-bits for the entry's first cluster (DIR_FstClusLO and DIR_FstClusHI). See page 22.
12. As file sizes are not always multiples of cluster size, each directory entry for a file has a 32-bit entry storing the size, in bytes, of the file. See page 22.
13. FAT32 stores a hint for the next free cluster. See page 20.

Spoiler: Zero-byte files -- background

Zero-byte files are a special case. A zero-byte file's directory entry puts zero as the first cluster for the file. This avoids any allocation of "real" space in the FAT for the file. See last paragraph of page 16.

Spoiler: Micro-Opt -- Finding file/directory

I suggest there is some benefit to preventing the need to read more than a single sector of data to find the most commonly used files.

For this section, please presume the volume has just been mounted. Thus, the only cached information is the location of the FAT, and the location of the first cluster of the root directory. All reads will read an entire cluster at a time (not 512 byte sector). Edge cases ignored (such as a directory entry's long file name being in different cluster than the directory entry with the 8dot3 name, or corrupt entries).

Spoiler: Psuedo-code to find a directory entry

# Directory entries are not sorted
# Thus must sequentially search

unsigned long currentCluster <== dirEntry.FirstCluster
signed long remainingEntries <== dirEntry.FileSize / 32 # count of directory entries
bool keepParsing <== totalEntries > 0
short entryIndex <== -1;

while(keepParsing) {
# read the directory entries from the cluster
ReadCluster(currentCluster, buffer);
# determine number of valid entries read
short validEntries <== min(CLUSTER_SIZE/sizeof(DIR_ENTRY32), remainingEntries);
remainingEntries <== remainingEntries - validEntries;
# check these entries for a match
entryIndex <== FindMatchingEntry(nameToFind, buffer);
if(-1 <> entryIndex) {
# found entry, so stop parsing
keepParsing <== false;
}else if(0 < remainingEntries) {
# more entries, so figure out next cluster
currentCluster <== DetermineNextClusterFromFAT(currentCluster);
}else{
# no more entries, and not found...
keepParsing <== false;
}
}
if (-1 == entryIndex) return null;
else ... # allocate and return copy of directory entry;

Normally only a single cluster is read from the SD for each directory's metadata. As can be seen, if the number of entries exceeds what fits in that cluster, then TWO additional reads may be required: one to parse the FAT and determine the next cluster, and a second to read that cluster's actual data.

Let's say someone loaded a directory with 3000 files (numbered 0..2999), and then deleted all but the last 20 files. In this case, multiple clusters of directory_entry will all be filled with "free" entries, and it would take additional reads and processing time to find the directory from the last cluster. This is not an unusual pattern for consumer electronics, such as cameras. It may also occur when installing many applications, then deleting many of the older applications.

If the first 20 files were not deleted, they would be found with a single sector read.

Micro-Optimization: By copy files off, re-formatting, and copying the files back, the "free" directory entries are removed and the files end up in the first few directory entries in the sector. Reduces sectors read from the SD card, as well as processor time spent parsing the data.

Spoiler: Micro-Opt -- Creating zero-byte files first

As previously noted, zero-byte files don't have any clusters allocated to them.

Therefore, consider the allocated cluster layout, in cheesy ASCII, where "D" is used for directory entries (directory data) and "f" is used for file data.

Normal recursive copy of 3000 files:
DfffffDfffffDfffffDfffff...

After robocopy of 3000 zero-byte files:
DDDD.......................

After robocopy of 3000 zero-byte files, then robocopy of full file data:
DDDDffffffffffffffffffff...

In the first case, parsing that directory's data may require reading multiple sectors of the FAT. In the second / third, the first read of the FAT will include the clusters for all file system metadata.

This improvement in metadata layout can be further multiplied in any of the following situations:
1. Lack of any caching of file system metadata, such as during initial boot / A9LH
2. On-demand caching of file system metadata, as it only reads what is actually needed
3. Any read-ahead caching implemented at any layer (hardware, firmware, OS, app, ...)
5. Any other additional hardware/firmware optimizations for sequential reads of data

Micro-Optimization: By first creating zero-byte files, the file system metadata is located contiguously on the media. Contiguously allocated file system metadata reduces the amount of the FAT that is read and/or cached, and allows benefits from read-ahead caching. In some file systems, it can also allow multi-cluster read commands to the SD card (when detecting contiguous allocation from the FAT).

Spoiler: Micro-Opt -- Boot files first

Similar to the above two micro-optimizations, this is simply putting the files needed during boot onto the media first. This ensures that the first sector of that directory has the information needed, and thus avoids additional reads from the FAT to determine second (or third, or...) clusters for the directory.

I only briefly referred to this in the post, because the information needed is not really something most people would have available. It's most useful when the reading of the data can occur in parallel with parsing previously-read data....

This might have some benefit for systems with many, many applications installed....

Spoiler: Micro-Opt -- Allocating space

I suggest there is some benefit to having free space be contiguous.

When allocating space using FAT32, the file system must parse the FAT to find the first cluster that is marked as free. Especially with larger FATs, it can be costly to read the FAT from SD and/or parse the entire FAT as the SD card reaches capacity. The FAT32 file system even includes a hint to help optimize this by recording the last-allocated cluster as a good starting point for future searches. See FSI_Nxt_Free in FSInfo structure on page 20. Open source implementations of FAT32 also keep this hint in memory, to optimize finding the next free cluster.

Without this hint, allocation of a cluster on a half-full SD card would require reading and parsing half the FAT, for each cluster being allocated. With this hint, allocation becomes a single check that succeeds the first time, when the free space is contiguous. Even mostly-contiguous free space is beneficial here. In contrast, a heavily-fragmented SD card would negate the benefits of the hint.

Note: We likely agree that read speed, presuming a properly aligned partition, is not affected because of the cluster-based alignment and allocation unit.

Micro-Optimization: When the free space is contiguous, allocations become marginally faster, because the hint points directly to a free cluster.

Thanks for reading!

As you can see, I freely admit these are all micro-optimizations. Given the terrible performance of the 3DS SD card and the CPU, the reduced processor use, memory overhead, and IO through the SD card can still add up..

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Defragging a microSD?

Yeah, it's the concept I am referring to, not the old-school style defrag utilities that copy the data around on the same piece of media.

There is some (admittedly small) benefit to having the file system metadata, as well as the data for each file, be contiguously allocated on the media. There is additional benefit

See a related post I wrote a few minutes ago. It's long, but I try to organize in SPOILER tags to help readability.