nds-bootstrap:

Thanks to the work of ahezard, Gericom, Apache, Robz8, _catcatcat, and shutterbug2000 and other contributors, we can now load NDS games from the SD card, without any flashcard/SLOT-1 card.

Don't expect high compatibility, but do expect many, many updates.

Compatibility listing:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

The official Discord server for nds-bootstrap:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7bxTQfZ

The thread for the recommended loader (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/twloader-ctr-mode-nds-app.448375/

SRLoader for softmodded DSis (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/srloader-nds-app-for-dsi.472200/

If you're more of a forwarder person:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

Link to the releases page:
https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap/releases

Anti-Piracy patch list by Robz8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ap-patch-preservation.477536/

Also, thank you to our testers:
Historian
JoshuaDoes
thejsa
Alerdy
PokeAcer

Spoiler: Videos

Also, a video thanks to Robz8:


And another thanks to Alerdy:

 

[RocketRobz]

How do I force a donor rom? There isn't any force option under Use set donor rom.

Did you press SELECT on the game, and change the "Use set donor ROM" option?

 

[HikkiFan7]

Did you press SELECT on the game, and change the "Use set donor ROM" option?

Yes I press select and under Use set donor rom there's only "on" "off" and "default"

 

[RocketRobz]

Yes I press select and under Use set donor rom there's only "on" "off" and "default"

Huh? There's no "Default" option under Use set donor rom. It's confirmed.
Are you using the latest TWLoader version?

 

[HikkiFan7]

Huh? There's no "Default" option under Use set donor rom. It's confirmed.
Are you using the latest TWLoader version?

I'm pretty sure it's the latest I updated yesterday.

 

[RocketRobz]

I'm pretty sure it's the latest I updated yesterday.

Mind posting a screenshot?
It can be taken with Luma's Rosalina. (Hold L+DOWN+SELECT).

 

[lordkaos]

Is there compatibility with any of the Zelda games yet?

no

 

[HikkiFan7]

Mind posting a screenshot?
It can be taken with Luma's Rosalina. (Hold L+DOWN+SELECT).

There's a "default" when I use the touch screen.

 

[RocketRobz]

There's a "default" when I use the touch screen.
View attachment 97109 View attachment 97108

Ohhhhh, that explains it.
I mostly just use the buttons, not the touch screen.

EDIT: You're on an outdated version. I think it's fixed in the latest.

 

[lordkaos]

There's a "default" when I use the touch screen.
View attachment 97109 View attachment 97108

the latest twloader is 5.5.1, if it doesn't get updated automatically, update it manually

 

[HikkiFan7]

I updated and that fixed it.

 

[EridiumMiner]

My tests with the latest commit available (9d2a064):
Guilty Gear Dust Strikers: works with some lag in the menus, but it's playable
Colin McRae Dirt 2: gives a red screen
Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings: red screen
Disgaea DS: doesn't boot
Bust-a-Move DS: playable
Metroid Prime Hunters: doesn't boot
Pokémon Link: playable

 

[Damin72]

Tested two more games...
Mystery Mansion - Working perfect without any problem.
Tetris DS - Now working perfect.

 

[levepedro]

Contra 4 - Boot and black screen.

 

[EridiumMiner]

Soul Silver gives a red screen with the latest commit D:

 

[TheZoroark007]

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (E) and NSMB (E) also just boot to a red screen with the latest unofficial bootstrap

 

[Damin72]

With last commit not broken:

RESIDENT EVIL DS - Movies works fine, but lag after load room not disappeared.
TRAUMA CENTER - Work too.

All others games - or Red Screen, or not working.

 

[SaberLilly]

Mechassault Phantom War boots to white, and then goes black

Also i can't seem to update my TWLoader as the program throws an Arm9 exception (probably because its so old) V5.3.0

 

[bennyman123abc]

So, I got to thinking about something. We all know how slow NDS Bootstrap can be when loading and running games. So, what if we could load a game slower but run it faster? What if we took a DeSmuME approach? Let that sink in for a minute... You done thinking? Good because I'm proposing my idea with information to back it up. My idea is simple. What if we loaded the DS game into RAM before running it? Now, I know that some DS games won't fit into RAM on the O3DS (1024 MBit games) and some won't even load into RAM on the N3DS (I'm looking at you Pokémon Black and White 2 with your 2048 MBit size ) but what about the smaller games? Like the 128 Mbit (16 MB) or even 512 MBit (64 MB). Now, I realize this might not be possible on the O3DS considering it only has a measly 128 MB of RAM. However, it could surely be possible for games except the 2048 MBit ones on the N3DS as it has a whopping 256 MB of RAM. This is all just a theory however and I don't know how possible it would be for the bootstrap to load the ROM into RAM and then have DSi Mode read from it. Maybe if it could read from a RAM Disk of some sort. That would make things easier. Anyway, the only real research I did was on 3DS, N3DS, and DS RAM amounts and not really what can and can't be done in DSi mode. This was all just a thought and me rambling but, I would like to know if this could be possible. Thanks for reading this!

 

[StarTrekVoyager]

So, I got to thinking about something. We all know how slow NDS Bootstrap can be when loading and running games. So, what if we could load a game slower but run it faster? What if we took a DeSmuME approach? Let that sink in for a minute... You done thinking? Good because I'm proposing my idea with information to back it up. My idea is simple. What if we loaded the DS game into RAM before running it? Now, I know that some DS games won't fit into RAM on the O3DS (1024 MBit games) and some won't even load into RAM on the N3DS (I'm looking at you Pokémon Black and White 2 with your 2048 MBit size ) but what about the smaller games? Like the 128 Mbit (16 MB) or even 512 MBit (64 MB). Now, I realize this might not be possible on the O3DS considering it only has a measly 128 MB of RAM. However, it could surely be possible for games except the 2048 MBit ones on the N3DS as it has a whopping 256 MB of RAM. This is all just a theory however and I don't know how possible it would be for the bootstrap to load the ROM into RAM and then have DSi Mode read from it. Maybe if it could read from a RAM Disk of some sort. That would make things easier. Anyway, the only real research I did was on 3DS, N3DS, and DS RAM amounts and not really what can and can't be done in DSi mode. This was all just a thought and me rambling but, I would like to know if this could be possible. Thanks for reading this!

You don't have access to the 3DS's RAM in TWL_MODE, only to a DSi's RAM.

 

[bennyman123abc]

You don't have access to the 3DS's RAM in TWL_MODE, only to a DSi's RAM.

Ok. That's that then. Thanks for the quick response. And I doubt there's any way around this limitation?