Hacking Suggestion Vita2sd like device for switch?

[Timburpton]

I may miss other post, but the big question here is:

IS OP PLANNING ON PIRATING THE SHITE OUT OF SWITCH?

I meant for back up purpose of their own games, 128GB even paying more in GB per dollar rate to get 200GB+, one can afford. You bought cartridge games on sale to save -> back up so you can games some in one place when travel. You access to your full library at home. In long run, the bigger memory card worth it.

The way Op put it, where he deemed to risk to damage the cartridge reader so he can offset higher GB to Dollar cost, only make sense if one never buy game. If one already afford buying digital version from Nintento shop, there is no point of backing up

You've missed a lot. This isn't about piracy. It is about getting more storage. Let say, you get a 400gb micro sd card. That's as high as you can go right now, but with this adapter you will be able to do 2x 400gb. Why do you need so much storage you might ask, well. Don't ask why. Back in the 80s people were wondering why on earth would you ever need a 40mb hard drive.

Now hang on, let's not make false equivalences here; the Vita's, if I understand correctly, replaces the proprietary memory card, which is already used for system storage already. The game card slot, on the other hand, is only designed to be accessed once it's launched from a shortcut on the home menu, in the case of both the Switch and the Vita

Yes and no. I have a vita so I have personal experiences to draw from. The vita works by swapping over the game card slot sd card as the main memory and the actual stupid sony vita memory card becomes secondary storage which is recognised by the system for media files. It is also recognised by emulators for storage too.

So theoretically, an implementation on the switch will be similar.

Default Switch SD card: Used for eshop purchases etc etc etc

SD card adapter: Used for everything else and even eshop purchases once someone patches this in.

Its not interesting as an extra storage solution but if it were possible to use as a flash cart then sure.

I beg to differ. Extra storage is always good. Flash cart is bad, nobody needs a piracy only device. I'm not saying that I have superior moral values but for the sake of this topic, extra storage provides extra options. Sure you might have a 128gb sd card inside right now and you feel it is enough for now, what if you decided to want more storage? You can get a 256gb sd card but now you have a 128gb card sitting around doing nothing for your switch. But wait, there's a sd adapter that allows you to make use of a second sd card. There you go.

 

[tivu100]

You've missed a lot. This isn't about piracy. It is about getting more storage. Let say, you get a 400gb micro sd card. That's as high as you can go right now, but with this adapter you will be able to do 2x 400gb. Why do you need so much storage you might ask, well. Don't ask why. Back in the 80s people were wondering why on earth would you ever need a 40mb hard drive.



Yes and no. I have a vita so I have personal experiences to draw from. The vita works by swapping over the game card slot sd card as the main memory and the actual stupid sony vita memory card becomes secondary storage which is recognised by the system for media files. It is also recognised by emulators for storage too.

So theoretically, an implementation on the switch will be similar.

Default Switch SD card: Used for eshop purchases etc etc etc

SD card adapter: Used for everything else and even eshop purchases once someone patches this in.



I beg to differ. Extra storage is always good. Flash cart is bad, nobody needs a piracy only device. I'm not saying that I have superior moral values but for the sake of this topic, extra storage provides extra options. Sure you might have a 128gb sd card inside right now and you feel it is enough for now, what if you decided to want more storage? You can get a 256gb sd card but now you have a 128gb card sitting around doing nothing for your switch. But wait, there's a sd adapter that allows you to make use of a second sd card. There you go.

LOL

The point about that question is people didn't see how huge computer gets in the future. Everyunforeseen tasks at the time got taken over by computer thus the need in upgrade in storage. Computers themselves got improved then the need for storage. Do people still use computers from the 80s and just add storage?

I didn't know Switch would magically self evolve to run 4K or whatever new tech in few years without hardware revision. And eventually auto control car in X years, thus the need for huge storage.

Edit: This part is in response to your edit

You said you have PS Vita, so it's not like you only have one device that can use micro SD card. There are many devices out there make use of micro SD card. Very different from Vita exclusive memory card scenario, where upgrading render the smaller SD card useless. My advice is once you upgrade storage size, then get a raspberry pi and start learning programming & electronic to make use of the smaller micro sd card. Then even if you can't design the adapter yourself, you can start to realize how much work involved and whether it's worth the effort to design and produce such thing on your own or with ill funded project which doesn't get enough support/ donation.

 

[SirNapkin1334]

Actually there would be a big reason for me to use a cartridge to micro SD adapter...

I want is emunand on the SD, but since Switch games have a lot of GB like ZELDA, even a expensive 128GB Micro SD runs out of space very fast and I wouldnt want to buy like 10 and have to backup the emunand everytime and copy the data to all SD cards...

On the other hand if I could have one 64GB fast Micro SD just for emunand, it would stay in the console 4 ever and I would keep changing only the Micro SD in the cartdridge with the installed games, so all my saves\data would always be on the same emunand M-SD and I would only change the game installation M-SD.

Well... Team-Xecuter is a hardware mod, and they will probably be able to do it... I remember in the Xbox original they used to sell LCD's with custom info from their chip too...

a Cartdridge to SD in it self would be a hardware mod... I don't think it will be just pins from the cartridge to SD...

I'm pretty sure that flashcarts are impossible though.

Are flashcarts impossible? Why? they are - because of over-designed crypto and a very complex on-card ASIC security controller

 

[subcon959]

I beg to differ. Extra storage is always good. Flash cart is bad, nobody needs a piracy only device. I'm not saying that I have superior moral values but for the sake of this topic, extra storage provides extra options. Sure you might have a 128gb sd card inside right now and you feel it is enough for now, what if you decided to want more storage? You can get a 256gb sd card but now you have a 128gb card sitting around doing nothing for your switch. But wait, there's a sd adapter that allows you to make use of a second sd card. There you go.

I'm not convinced people would want such huge amounts of storage for anything other than piracy. Unless we end up getting a decent media player, then it would be cool for binge watching entire seasons.

 

[Timburpton]

I'm not convinced people would want such huge amounts of storage for anything other than piracy. Unless we end up getting a decent media player, then it would be cool for binge watching entire seasons.

Except there is no point in trying to convince you or another other person of either option. Also, you are missing out a huge point. I have a bunch of leftover 64gb cards since I started transitioning all my devices to 128gb, having this idea come to fulfilment can also allow me to make use of my 64gb cards lying around.

All I am trying to do is to plant this seed of an idea so that people would be aware of such a possibility for when the time comes such as a decent media player etc.

 

[Yepi69]

Also, hackers would probably make use of the console's USB-C port or the dock's USB ports for something like pen drives and/or external HDDs rather than killing their minds to build a Gamecart adapter when the former seems to work better.

Except there is no point in trying to convince you or another other person of either option. Also, you are missing out a huge point. I have a bunch of leftover 64gb cards since I started transitioning all my devices to 128gb, having this idea come to fulfilment can also allow me to make use of my 64gb cards lying around.

All I am trying to do is to plant this seed of an idea so that people would be aware of such a possibility for when the time comes such as a decent media player etc.

MicroSD to SATA adapter > SATA to USB adapter > connect it to the dock's USB port or use a USB-C to USB OTG adapter
Problem solved.

People are still forgetting to factor cost per GB. In Brazil the best price per GB are in 32gb microSD, 64gb are way expensive for us (the price drops that happened in the US on those didn't apply to our stock here), and anything from 120gb and up is only feasible if we can get a "traveling friend" to informally import, evading importing taxes and paying the price that is offered on amazon.
So if I can get a cheap format adapter to use the cartridge slot as memory expansion for homebrew, I'm into it. Extra 323gb for cheap x way expensive 200gb (in Brazilian prices).

You have to take into consideration that everything in Brazil is highly taxed, therefore I don't think devs would make such an adapter, like one of the tempers said, just to please a small community.
Cost per GB isn't that much in other countries and a 256GB microSD card tends to be cheaper than 2x128GB cards.

 

[guily6669]

I'm pretty sure that flashcarts are impossible though.

But after the console gets fully hacked maybe they can make the port to act as internal storage, no idea...

I don't mean making a re-writable flahcart but just make use of the flashcart reader on the switch to act as internal storage...

He'll I wouldn't even mind completely desoldering the cart reader and solder some crap else that could read SD or Micro-Sd as storage...

I'm not convinced people would want such huge amounts of storage for anything other than piracy. Unless we end up getting a decent media player, then it would be cool for binge watching entire seasons.

Well my friend also thought 2TB + 1TB was enough on his PS4, guess what? The 2TB external went to Xbox One and he had to get a 4TB external HDD for the PS4 since lot of games there are near 80+ GB...

Switch has just started and even if I had money for games I would never buy physic carts... On my PS4 I have 0 BD games and they are all digital + the PS plus games...


Switch will most likely have 50GB games some day and even 1TB will be a crap. I have 1TB on my old Xbox 360 and it just isn't enough...


Also If I always have the option to have emunand on the M-SD I want to keep with it, I don't want any CFW in the official nand, so I don't want to have a huge amount of micro SDs and have to backup the emunand to all of them all the time...

Having a 2nd M-SD just 4 games would be epic...

Also, hackers would probably make use of the console's USB-C port or the dock's USB ports for something like pen drives and/or external HDDs rather than killing their minds to build a Gamecart adapter when the former seems to work better.

MicroSD to SATA adapter > SATA to USB adapter > connect it to the dock's USB port or use a USB-C to USB OTG adapter
Problem solved.

Dock?what's that LOL mine is still in the box I didn't even tested neither I plan to, I want Switch exclusively for portable since even the PS4 Pro connected to my UHD TV even disappoints me with its 4+ TFlops... Hell even my RX 480 flashed to 580 with its 6+ Troops disappoint me specially on Squad when there's to much action it runs around 30 fps on some maps

And as much I would love to connect a external HDD via OTG, there's also the problem that I would prefer to rather use a power bank to power Switch and maintain it at 100% charge all the time...

 

[Shadow#1]

and no one said it did lul

That was his thought

 

[Deleted member 381889]

That was his thought

read the post again

 

[Timburpton]

That was his thought

A mind reader I see, even though it was clearly written otherwise

 

[Shadow#1]

Just putting this out there.

The vita with CFW allowed for the use of a specialised sd card cartridge adapter called the vita2sd.

With the switch pretty much being blown open this summer, it might be a good idea to get investigate the feasibility of such a feature for the switch as well.

Thoughts?

I'm reading it

 

[Patatas]

I like the idea. People say it's unnecessary because there are high capacity SD cards... So what? There was no need for a Doom port and I'm happy we got one, and I would be happy if we got and SD adaptor for the gamecard.

Maybe the advantages are not worth it for the complexity of creating it... But for some people the challenge in itself is enough.

 

[Xandrid]

Totally, let's add a micro sd port on the micro sd port, it'll read the micro sd card twice as fast /s

 

[ANTONIOPS]

Well I think it's a great idea, we could use the micro sd slot for emunand, an ARM linux build or installing a future android port from Nvidia's tablets and load it from there and keep it as internal memory and the cartridge slot with an sd adapter for external storage or for future custom hardware like modem + sim card reader in the same cartridge (with proper drivers, of course) or anything you can imagine since the cartridge slot is more "advanced? ,(not only for storage?)" than a sd slot.

 

[sj33]

Hypothetically if it were implemented, homebrew would have to be coded specifically to support the extra storage device.

Let’s use the Vita as an example. I have an SD2Vita with a 200GB MicroSD card as well as a 64GB Sony memory card, set up so that the SD2Vita is the primary storage device and the 64GB Sony card is ‘external’ storage. It sounds like I have 264GB of storage, but the reality is that the vast majority of software don’t even see the extra 64GB. Official Vita applications such as games can only be installed to the primary storage, and homebrew support depends entirely on developers adding support for the external device. So in reality, the 64GB card just gets used as a rom storage device for emulators that recognise it.

Support will be even lower with the Switch which already has MicroSD support, you’ll be investing in an extra SD card purely for the subset of homebrew that support it. Just get a bigger primary SD card.

 

[guily6669]

Well since its a 3rd party accessory I bet they just didn't made good support of it on Vita, but I have no idea since I never cared for Vita and don't even know if it has CFW, chips or if it can have Linux or whatever, I just will never follow Vita hacking...

On the Switch if TX actually make the chip and if they also made a cartridge to M-SD I'm sure they would get a way to work like if it was internal storage, if it would be made by others not connected with any hack then it would probably not be much supported unless someone also could add it on the CFW very well.

 

[Fusion]

I think a easier/better idea for more storage is something similar to the adapter from the PSP days that you can add 2 MicroSD's into an adapter that combines the storage as a bridge which gives double storage. Problem is tho the MicroSD slot is too small to build such an adapter to fit the MircoSD slot already there, even with someone who can do tiny solder lol

 

[guily6669]

That wouldn't be hard to make and in portable you can remove the stand and it wouldn't matter if it would be hanging outside of the switch...

The problem really is probably speed if Nintendo even supported the fastest standard maybe we could have had both M-Sd at almost full speed, but it doesn't...

 

[CMDreamer]

Well I see this as something totally unnecesary (it may be usefull, but even then).

Considering that I play a game at a time, it really is unnecesary to have the whole Switch game catalog on a device that can (and they do very often) fail at anytime.

I see this something like when they try to find who's got it bigger... (LOL) But they don't know how to use it properly. A bigger microSD card means more trouble than solutions actually, in the sense of speed to read/write/access files.

This would be a total waste of time and money, and I see it also as some greed, willing to have all the games the Switch can provide, when we are only capable of playing only on at a time.

But again, this is just my opinion.

 

[guily6669]

Well I always have my 2 TB hdd almost always full on the PC with games that I don't play, same in my PS4, same in my 3Ds, the 16Gb Sd is full + the 32Gb M-sd on the gateway is full, same on my X360 1 Tb internal Hdd is almost full...

Even though I have them full of games that I don't even play, I really hate having to delete games to be able to try new games...

Also I don't want a single physical game and my Internet is expensive and slow, a game on the PS4 usually takes all day long to download like 40Gb if I'm lucky.

If my father and my brother are watching TV the speed drops to around half since its Iptv, not to mention when my bro is on the laptop getting 500KBps would need a lot of luck...

And the crap provided router doesn't support adding rules like limiting my bro Pc with like 1MBps max...