Hacking Restoring old headers for the Acekard 2i

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: Boywife
OP
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,801
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,778
Country
Antarctica
I will not be updating or maintaining any of the links in this thread. All of the files can be found here
https://web.archive.org/web/20120628114903/http://www.acekard.com:80/download/ak2/

This thread is to be about the headers. All possible suggestions or corrections you may have towards my previous research, please PM me. I do not want to spread anymore misinformation than I already have.
Thank you all for understanding
So upon stumbling into this thread, I thought to myself, "I do hate that horse icon." Then I forgot about because life got busy. While I was drinking and screwing around, I was like, "I do really hate that horse icon! I wonder if I can change that?" So with a little digging, I came up with a web archive of the old firmware files. That's when I discovered running the Acekard 2i through NTR Launcher actually allows me to run the Acekard 2i updater and change the icon.
So that's just what I did (ง⌐□ل͜□)ง
HNI_0068.JPG HNI_0066.JPG HNI_0065.JPG
So there's really not much required to accomplish this. You need a hacked 3DS with NTR Launcher installed in order to launch the "dsi" updater. You can also use any older method; DS Lite/Phat or DSi(XL) v1.4.4 or below.
What can you get out of this?

01_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_df_icon.gif
Danny Phantom - Urban Jungle (DSi v1.4.0)
Shows up as ak2i.png


02_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_ar_icon.gif
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (DSi v1.4.1)
Shows up as ak2i.png


03_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_ar_icon.gif
Atama de Do! Koten Kotenko DORASU (3DS v1.0.0-0)


04_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_ar_icon.gif
Chessmaster - The Art of Learning (DSi v1.4.2 & 3DS 2.0.0-2)


05_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_hkpss_icon.gif
Hello Kitty no Panda Sport Stadium DORASU (DSi v1.4.3 & 3DS 2.1.0-3/2.1.0-4)


06_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_conpc_icon.gif
Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian (3DS 3.0.0-6)


07_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_dldb_icon.gif
Deep Labyrinth - Digital Bros (DSi v1.4.4 & 3DS 4.0.0-7/4.1.0-8)


08_ak2i_bootloader_wiki_dldb_icon.gif
Rafa Nadal Tennis (3DS 4.2.0-9)


Ak2i_Pippa_Funnell_4.3.0_update_icon.png
Pippa Funnell (3DS 4.3.0-10)



Theme made by BRKUN and used in the screenshots
Filetrip
Mega
Google
 
Last edited by The Catboy,

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: Boywife
OP
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,801
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,778
Country
Antarctica
So what happened?
I am nuked my old thread because there's just no way to clean up some of the confusion I may have caused. All research is going private and will be turned into it's own separate thread if I can find anything. Few reasons why:
1: The Ak2i doesn't have a 1GB NAND, it looks like there may have been some mix up in the documents that we found.
2: It seems the ROMs dumped had some skewed results
3: I feel like I am getting people's hopes up when in reality, I am no expert here. Everything I am doing is pure speculation and it shouldn't be treated like fact. There's facts in there, but a lot of speculations on my end. I can't allow the public to be mislead by someone like me. You guys trust me and I can't abuse that trust.
Well my previous thread had a lot of misinformation that made sense when you considered how we got the results, but it turns out everything was wrong and I was in too deep to keep the thread going.
A little history, early on in my research another dev and I theorized that the Ak2i simply used small ROMs containing no real game data. Basically they only had enough information to fool the system into thinking it was a game. This was the previously believed method of how DSi carts worked. The issue came up when we tried dumped the ROM with GodMode9 and it came up with full ROMs with each dump. Which basically didn't make sense so we kept digging until we believed we found the answer. Which was the NAND onboard answer. It made sense and explain a lot the previously unexamplable. Thus I posted this information and no one corrected me, so it seemed we were onto something.
Well it turns out another dev and I actually figured out why the cart dumps to a full ROM. It actually turns out when dumper is looking at the header, the header basically says, "Hey! These files/folders are suppose to be here at this size!" To which the dumper basically goes, ""¯\_(ツ)_/¯ k" and creates a bunch of files with zeros. Basically the dumper fills in the blanks for the header. So the files are the right size, but basically there's only enough information to make the game launchable and the rest are just junk files.
It seems some of my results were skewed due to some mix up in my files as well. Looking through my files, it seems I compressed the ROM file as well.
Either way, it turns out our early research was right. They simply found games that they could map out the memory to work with with their exploit, then only used enough game data to make it work. I even proved that by making my own launchable exploit file that was only 1.1MB (updater is 1.2MB.)
So what does this mean for my research? It means that I have a lot to learn and also means that I need to do detailed reports before bringing them to the public. I am deeply sorry that I accidentally spread misinformation. Even if it's information that made sense, it was still wrong information and that's why I am nuked my previous thread to prevent it from spreading and made this one to correct it.
 
Last edited by The Catboy,

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: Boywife
OP
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,801
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,778
Country
Antarctica
is there a way to do this with a spongebob version?
the firmware on this card has a spongebob game as its icon
What cart is it? I don't recall an A2ki update using any other icons other than the ones posted
 

DeadSkullzJr

Developer
Developer
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
1,550
Trophies
1
XP
3,349
Country
United States
is their an acekard 2i orginal?

will it work with wood r4igold?
I am kinda confused by your question. The original Acekard 2i just states it's "DSi Compatible", the newer version says "3DS & DSi Compatible" if that's what you mean. That is really the only difference. I got my Acekard 2i right when it first came out so mine is technically one of the originals.
 

The Catboy

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: Boywife
OP
Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
27,801
Trophies
4
Location
Making a non-binary fuss
XP
38,778
Country
Antarctica
is their an acekard 2i orginal?

will it work with wood r4igold?
I've run into two issues.
1: I need to buy a new R4i Gold, as the one I have is old as dirt.
2: I need a new laptop, mine is broken.
Once I get these two things out of the way, I will continue to expand my tests into more carts. I do know the Supercard DSOnei locks it's headers, so it won't allow me to change it.
 

Tac 21

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
Messages
913
Trophies
1
XP
941
Country
Canada
I've run into two issues.
1: I need to buy a new R4i Gold, as the one I have is old as dirt.
2: I need a new laptop, mine is broken.
Once I get these two things out of the way, I will continue to expand my tests into more carts. I do know the Supercard DSOnei locks it's headers, so it won't allow me to change it.


what do the connectors get beat up over the years?
 

DeadSkullzJr

Developer
Developer
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
1,550
Trophies
1
XP
3,349
Country
United States
You know, this just makes me want to get the AKAIO and RPG kernels working on the DSTWO, with the custom plugins, sadly I'm stupid in that department. I'm good with computer hardware, not console hardware. In this case, flashcart hardware and coding.
 

thedbz2k

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
1
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
53
Country
United States
I know this sound crazy, but the firmware "DSi v1.4.1" initial load to akaio is way faster compared to "3DS 4.3.0-10 firmware"? Thank you for posting those header files :)
 

Vultra

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Apr 27, 2019
Messages
17
Trophies
0
Age
30
XP
112
Country
United States
I have a DSi with firmware version 1.2u, can anyone help me figure out which one of the files in the link that Lilith posted is the 1.2 firmware for AceKard? I want to test it out and see if it restores the original AceKard icon since I don't like the horse icon.
 

DeadSkullzJr

Developer
Developer
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
1,550
Trophies
1
XP
3,349
Country
United States
I have a DSi with firmware version 1.2u, can anyone help me figure out which one of the files in the link that Lilith posted is the 1.2 firmware for AceKard? I want to test it out and see if it restores the original AceKard icon since I don't like the horse icon.
There wasn't a firmware for the Acekard 2i dealing with the DSi 1.2X firmware. Acekard 2i came out near the 1.4X era of the DSi, the lowest one you will find is the one labeled: Danny Phantom - Urban Jungle (DSi v1.4.0) which is the the first most version in Lilith's post.
 

Vultra

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Apr 27, 2019
Messages
17
Trophies
0
Age
30
XP
112
Country
United States
There wasn't a firmware for the Acekard 2i dealing with the DSi 1.2X firmware. Acekard 2i came out near the 1.4X era of the DSi, the lowest one you will find is the one labeled: Danny Phantom - Urban Jungle (DSi v1.4.0) which is the the first most version in Lilith's post.

Thanks for the info, it’s a shame there’s no way to get the original icon on DSi. I was thinking about getting a DS Lite anyways along with a supercard to play some gba games I missed out on and I’ll load an early firmware to get the original icon! One good thing that came out of this is that I was able to get rid of the horse icon and replace it with the dorasu icon which looks cool .
 
  • Like
Reactions: orangy57

Chal_owl

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
2
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
55
Country
Thailand
Hi,

I am totally new to this. I bought a dsi a long time ago from a friend, with games in acekard 2.
Last week, I did try update system and now card is no longer work.
I wonder how do I run nrt launcher? Once I download the laucher, what should I do with it? Where should I put it in the card?
 

DeadSkullzJr

Developer
Developer
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
1,550
Trophies
1
XP
3,349
Country
United States
Hi,

I am totally new to this. I bought a dsi a long time ago from a friend, with games in acekard 2.
Last week, I did try update system and now card is no longer work.
I wonder how do I run nrt launcher? Once I download the laucher, what should I do with it? Where should I put it in the card?
If you use an Acekard 2i then you can update it with a DSi or 3DS running on a firmware that's compatible with the flashcart on whatever firmware your flashcart is on (game icon helps determining what firmware you are on in this case). Alternatively if you have a DS or DS Lite you can update the Acekard 2i that way since the flashcart isn't blocked by neither of those consoles. Your last option would be to get custom firmware on the DSi or 3DS and just playing with the flashcart that way.
 

Chal_owl

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
2
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
55
Country
Thailand
If you use an Acekard 2i then you can update it with a DSi or 3DS running on a firmware that's compatible with the flashcart on whatever firmware your flashcart is on (game icon helps determining what firmware you are on in this case). Alternatively if you have a DS or DS Lite you can update the Acekard 2i that way since the flashcart isn't blocked by neither of those consoles. Your last option would be to get custom firmware on the DSi or 3DS and just playing with the flashcart that way.

Thank you for reply. I think it originally runs akaio. But as I just check with their website, I should not update console before run the update file on card (which I already did update console before update card).
Do you have any suggestion?
 

DeadSkullzJr

Developer
Developer
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
1,550
Trophies
1
XP
3,349
Country
United States
Thank you for reply. I think it originally runs akaio. But as I just check with their website, I should not update console before run the update file on card (which I already did update console before update card).
Do you have any suggestion?
AKAIO is the kernel, NOT the flashcart firmware. Get a DS or DS Lite and update the flashcart with that, or install custom firmware and update it that way.
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    LeoTCK @ LeoTCK: yes for nearly a month i was officially a wanted fugitive, until yesterday when it ended