Hacking Luma3DS Noob Question + Bricked?

[JoshuaGadg]

Hello, first of all im sorry if there has been case like this that has been solved... but i've browsed through threads and find no similar case of mine (if there is, i apologize in advanced.) so here's what's going on.

Last year i've purchased a second had New 3DS XL from a buy/sell community here in our local place. So it was fine, i think it was using Luma3ds, because i saw the blue star logo icon in my home screen (again please i apologize if im just describing things that i saw rather than giving you full info) everything was fine, i can play just fine, install just fine using CIA installer. so one time i charged it and do my usual daily stuff, then decided to play. So id flip the 3ds and there you go, no display but has sounds (the menu music and i can even here the cursor as it moves). so i thought it just need to reset, i did and did the same thing (no display but i hear sounds) so i begin to panic search for help, tried going to recovery. R+L+A+D-up it displays the recovery mode and all were functioning fine... i updated it successfully but to no avail still doing the same thing (sounds no display). So im running out of options, i've formatted my sd card FAT32 and inserted to 3ds, booted it as usual. IT did showed me a new thing a black screen with menu on it (like a bios on computer) it says Luma3DS 6.6 configuration something etc...

My question is, is this fixable? (i wanted to play MH, please help :/ :/ :/ )

 

[lone_wolf323]

Hello, first of all im sorry if there has been case like this that has been solved... but i've browsed through threads and find no similar case of mine (if there is, i apologize in advanced.) so here's what's going on.

Last year i've purchased a second had New 3DS XL from a buy/sell community here in our local place. So it was fine, i think it was using Luma3ds, because i saw the blue star logo icon in my home screen (again please i apologize if im just describing things that i saw rather than giving you full info) everything was fine, i can play just fine, install just fine using CIA installer. so one time i charged it and do my usual daily stuff, then decided to play. So id flip the 3ds and there you go, no display but has sounds (the menu music and i can even here the cursor as it moves). so i thought it just need to reset, i did and did the same thing (no display but i hear sounds) so i begin to panic search for help, tried going to recovery. R+L+A+D-up it displays the recovery mode and all were functioning fine... i updated it successfully but to no avail still doing the same thing (sounds no display). So im running out of options, i've formatted my sd card FAT32 and inserted to 3ds, booted it as usual. IT did showed me a new thing a black screen with menu on it (like a bios on computer) it says Luma3DS 6.6 configuration something etc...

My question is, is this fixable? (i wanted to play MH, please help :/ :/ :/ )

There is https://gbatemp.net/threads/help-my-3ds-boots-with-black-screens.496966/ that has somewhat the same thing. @TurdPooCharger may have a idea of whats going on. Just give that thread a read on the info.

 

[JoshuaGadg]

thank you, i'll check this out! i'll update here quickly what happened.

 

[Hunter]

thank you, i'll check this out! i'll update here quickly what happened.

try and follow https://3ds.hacks.guide/a9lh-to-b9s

it should get you working again

 

[JoshuaGadg]

followed it but stopped before Section IV because i can't go to other settings / settings given the fact that im still facing the black screen/with sound issue. I'm starting to lose hope

 

[Hunter]

followed it but stopped before Section IV because i can't go to other settings / settings given the fact that im still facing the black screen/with sound issue. I'm starting to lose hope

have you tried taking your battery out for about 10mins,
if it still persists leave it on for 10-20mins and see if that works

another option
follow https://3ds.hacks.guide/ctrtransfer competely so you dont lose anything

since you got to Section IV you can still recover hopefully, since screen works etc, so you can still fix it someway

 

[JoshuaGadg]

ok i'll take it out for 20 mins i'll get back here

 

[JoshuaGadg]

still no display after 20 mins or more of battery removal

 

[Hunter]

still no display after 20 mins or more of battery removal

there are 2 other option in that post from before

 

[RHOPKINS13]

Well, it sounds to me like you've successfully upgraded to B9S and the latest version of Luma, and you're able to launch other B9S payloads like GodMode9. You only encounter this blank screen problem when loading the 3DS OS.

If you have a NAND backup from before this problem started, restoring it is almost a surefire fix. But I kinda doubt you have that, since it sounds like you bought it already hacked, and a NAND backup is usually done at some point during the hax setup.

Your second-best option is CTRTransfer, which was already linked above. And finally, if that doesn't work, try Lazarus3DS.

If none of those options work, you may have a somewhat rare brick that cannot be fixed (at least from what we know currently.) Also, try booting without a game cart or sd card, just for the hell of it. Some people have said this might work.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

My question is, is this fixable?

Unfortunately, no. Not with our current understanding of 3DS homebrew. There's a lot we still don't know about the 3DS, and this BSoD bug is up there on that list.

The only one who can fix this brick is Nintendo.. Users who decided to keep their 3DS had to go through warranty work to get theirs up and running again.

In that thread @lone_wolf323 provided, I proposed using an EmuNAND setup as a way of protecting your 3DS from this BSoD brick. There are pros and cons in using EmuNAND, with the general opinion against it. On top of that, we're not sure EmuNAND can prevent that brick from happening in the first place. This is going by the assumption whatever this BSoD brick is, it is software based and affected something in SysNAND that we haven't identified yet.

There is https://gbatemp.net/threads/help-my-3ds-boots-with-black-screens.496966/ that has somewhat the same thing. @TurdPooCharger may have a idea of whats going on. Just give that thread a read on the info.

You and whoever read that and other threads know just as much as I do about this bug. At this point, we got nothing in fixing it.

In the (far) future, I have plans to try BSoD bricking my N3DSXL. I'm extremely reluctant to do so for obvious reasons... If the problem isn't solve then by somebody else, and I've completed all my other 3DS to-do bucket list, I'll try recreating the bug for study. Or get a sacrificial N3DSXL on the cheap through eBay if time/money allows it. The thought of purposely killing perfectly hardware doesn't bode well with my beliefs, but it's for science, and she a bitch.

If none of those options work, you may have a somewhat rare brick that cannot be fixed (at least from what we know currently.) Also, try booting without a game cart or sd card, just for the hell of it. Some people have said this might work.

This is case #7. All that I can do at this moment is keep track and record when this exact brick crops up. This is for future reference and research purposes.

6 - Help my 3ds boots with black screens

5 - Black Screens, Everything works in system update mode, Error when camera disconnected

4 - N3DS XL Black Screen of Death

3 - 3ds bricked itself, can't figure out why or how to fix.

2 - Big Problem with a possible Brick on New 3ds XL

1 - Black screens on n3ds xl

***

Post Update
On August 22, 2018, gisel213 solved and provided the solution in fixing this BSoD brick.

• New 3DS XL Screens only display recovery mode

 

[rassular]

https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/304268/3ds+xl+powers+on+but+won't+boot
This was solved so maybe try the answer for this?

 

[JoshuaGadg]

thank you guys, i really appreciate your time and effort to help me, unfortunately i've decided i would just keep this bigass paper weight at the moment and hopefully some new fix will be discovered in the future.

 

[RHOPKINS13]

This is case #7. All that I can do at this moment is keep track and record when this exact brick crops up. This is for future reference and research purposes.

What would be really helpful is if somebody runs into this problem that has a working NAND backup from before it happened. Then they can make a NAND backup after it "bricked", and we can make comparisons and try to figure out which piece of the puzzle got corrupted.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

What would be really helpful is if somebody runs into this problem that has a working NAND backup from before it happened. Then they can make a NAND backup after it "bricked", and we can make comparisons and try to figure out which piece of the puzzle got corrupted.

No one's gonna purposely step up to the plate and take one for the team. I will try to at some point, but I got some unfinished 3DS business to attend to before that happens.

No typical and sane person will waste their $200 investment to research a deadly 3DS phenomena that might not pan out with a solution. Even if we did, we don't know the exact mechanism of triggering this BSoD brick. We could also try cross comparing before and after copies of all the NAND files, but this too might not reveal anything significant or noticeable to the root cause of the bug.

 

[RHOPKINS13]

No one's gonna purposely step up to the plate and take one for the team. I will try to at some point, but I got some unfinished 3DS business to attend to before that happens.

No typical and sane person will waste their $200 investment to research a deadly 3DS phenomena that might not pan out with a solution. Even if we did, we don't know the exact mechanism of triggering this BSoD brick. We could also try cross comparing before and after copies of all the NAND files, but this too might not reveal anything significant or noticeable to the root cause of the bug.

No, I'm not suggesting that anybody risks a $200 investment by trying to brick it. But correct me if I'm wrong, did any of people in the 7 cases you've been following have a working NAND backup beforehand?

Do we have any case were restoring a known-to-be-good NAND backup did not solve the problem?

Because I think if someone was to run into this problem, one of the first things they might try is restoring from said NAND backup, if they had it, and they may not bother to post at all if that fixed the problem. What we need is for someone to run into this problem that has a NAND backup, and posts a copy of their NAND before and after the brick. You're right, it may or may not reveal anything significant, but I'd be willing to bet it does.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

No, I'm not suggesting that anybody risks a $200 investment by trying to brick it. But correct me if I'm wrong, did any of people in the 7 cases you've been following have a working NAND backup beforehand?

Yes. A few had backed up their NAND files. Those that were experienced did everything they could with known and established unbricking methods.

Do we have any case were restoring a known-to-be-good NAND backup did not solve the problem?

Not one of them resolved their BSoD-with-working-sound brick. When they restored their SysNAND, known to be good created shortly after installing CFW (ie, prior to the BSoD brick), the brick persisted.

Because I think if someone was to run into this problem, one of the first things they might try is restoring from said NAND backup, if they had it, and they may not bother to post at all if that fixed the problem. What we need is for someone to run into this problem that has a NAND backup, and posts a copy of their NAND before and after the brick. You're right, it may or may not reveal anything significant, but I'd be willing to bet it does.

Because these bricks happen infrequently, sometimes misattributed for other BSoD bricks (with similar characteristics to this one but fixable), underreported (not every CFW 3DS user participates in GBAtemp forum), and those who do get the brick, some of them are not super technically knowledgeable about the ins-and-outs of everything 3DS, we're not going to get far in researching this bug.

Until conditions are met where someone,

1. gets this exact BSoD brick
2. knows how to study software bugs of this caliber
3. spends considerable time testing and documenting their findings

this BSoD will largely remain as a mystery.

 

[JoshuaGadg]

update:
somehow i was able to get the old sdcard which i have the working files before. it donest seem to have the gm9 folder that has systemnand backup on it. but there is however a CTRTransfer folder which has the following files:
2.1.0-4U_ctrtransfer_o3ds.bin
QW10603647_nand.bin <---------- can i restore the sysnand using this? from gm9?
sorry for noobness.

 

[Hunter]

update:
somehow i was able to get the old sdcard which i have the working files before. it donest seem to have the gm9 folder that has systemnand backup on it. but there is however a CTRTransfer folder which has the following files:
2.1.0-4U_ctrtransfer_o3ds.bin
QW10603647_nand.bin <---------- can i restore the sysnand using this? from gm9?
sorry for noobness.

you should be able to resume from that nand.bin as long as it's from the same system