Tutorial  Updated

How to use LayeredFS for Backup Loading + What Games Work/Don't

This thread is outdated
A lot of information in this thread is heavilly out of date.
If you have time, and have Staff permission, feel free to edit this thread and remove this statement once necessary.

Some information that needs to be addressed:
  • SX OS and Atmosphere now supports proper LayeredFS, instructions for using it has changed since this tutorial was made
  • Supported Firmware information is out of date
  • LFSKit needs to be updated to properly support non 5.x.x firmware
  • Compatability chart needs to be re-made
-PRAGMA


WARNING
  • DO NOT GO ONLINE WHEN DOING THIS (YOU WILL BE BANNED)


How to use LayeredFS for Backup Loading

Firmware Supported: ONLY 5.x.x
Use the PRAGMA LFS Kit below.

PRAGMA's LFS Kit

DOWNLOAD
SOURCE

  • Go from NOTHING in your SD Card to playing a game backup in a few clicks!
  • Decrypt .XCI -> romfs/exefs folder with main.nmpd auto edited aswell as folder's name auto renamed to donor titleid
  • Download NOTHING except LFSKit!
ENJOY!

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Picking a Donor Title and getting Donor TitleIDRunning Game Backups!


    1. A donor title is the application we will run to open the backup.
      Pick a game you don't care about (Download a Demo or a free game from eShop, for example Octopath Demo)
      saves are something no one knows much about, we don't fully know where or how they are stored.
      They might overwrite the donor titles save, so seriously pick a game you DONT care about, not a game you rarely play.

    2. I also recommend picking a donor title/game combo that has been tested and reported working just so you know if YOU did something wrong or not.
    3. Find the TitleID of the donor title you chose from http://nswdb.com or http://switchbrew.org/index.php?title=Title_list/Games
      Region must be the same, choose the TitleID for the base-game NOT for the update title, even if your updated.

    1. Once again, boot into Hekate-IPL (Step 1).
    2. Enter "Launch firmware" and select "RomFS".
    3. Your now in your system's home menu.
    4. Open the Donor Title you set the TitleID of on that folder and .npmd file earlier.
    5. The game will load up flawlessly.
      If you opened the Title lets say, Fortnite, and Fortnite booted, the titleid of the folder in sd:/atmosphere/titles/{fortnitetitleid} doesnt exist, or doesnt start with 0100.
      If it gives you an error screen, either you didnt edit the main.npmd properly, or its an incompatible title/donor combo.
    To see which games work and which dont using which donor titles, look below.
    If you notice that you used a combination of Game and Donor title that isnt in the list below, post in the thread and I will add it. (look under to see what I need to add to chart).


Troubleshooting

  • Black Screen/Infinitely Loading
    Leave it for around 5 minutes then press the home button and go back into the game without closing it. Often this can do the job.
  • Freeze when Loading
    Close the game and try again, its a common occurence, you may have to try up to 4-5 times before getting it to work, sometimes you may even have to reboot between retries.
 
Last edited by PRAGMA,

lumo93

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FW: 4.1.0
Game: The Binding of Issac: Afterbirth+
Donor: Fast RMX
Boot: No?
Save: No

For whatever reason, the switch thinks there's corrupt save data, meaning it's doing something, I just don't know if we can consider it booting cause it's not. As far as I tell it doesn't actually corrupt anything, but use checkpoint save manager just in case.

Can I use cartridge games as the donor game? I only have Fast RMX as an owned digital game and Kirby and Pokken Demos. I have BOTW and Odyssey Cartridges though.

Edit: I realized I wasn't changing the main.npdm file...woops XD Anyway I'm back to black screen again.
 
Last edited by lumo93,

ghorricks

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ah, same problem : https://mega.nz/#!HwZEzYzb!dcqTpQ9IGj2bST6UleAeU27LZ2xTzvJ09hJHCVymQDI
copy this over, it worked for me, I found it from some guy on youtube

Thank you - this worked fine.
Looks like this had the "kernel-patched.bin" in the root of the SD CARD - where as none of the tutorials mention this!

New
FW: 5.1.0
Game: Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
Donor: Stern Pinball
Boot: Yes
Save: yes

I really do think that there need to be a clear list of what should be on the SD card, precise tools and tutorial needed as the method suggested here may or may not be working.
 
Last edited by ghorricks,

TotalJustice

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Got some new games

game: batman telltale
donor: pacman vs
Boot: ye
Save: yahahaaa

Game:Sushi striker
Donor: Pix-a-mix demo
Boot: yup
save: yes

Game: legend of kay aniversery
Donor: pinball arcade
Boot: YES
Save: YES


Ive got some other obscure ones to test as well.
 

Biuz

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Firmware: 5.1.0 EU
Game: Cave Story Plus
Donor: Fallout Shelter & Pokèmon Quest
Result: Black screen with Fallout (tried 4-5 times), Black screen with Pokèmon Quest (after 5 tries, it shows 2001-0123 error.)
 
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Ty_

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Has anyone done any proper testing with saves?

For example let's say I run Rayman Legends, then Bayonetta, then back to Rayman, all using the same donor, will the saves file be lost between game switching?

So to answer my own question, I tested DK: Tropical Freeze, LA Noire and Monopoly, all with the Fortnite donor. I took the advice of someone in this thread (apologies, can't remember who it was) who suggested using FTPD to rename folders on the micro SD card to essentially 'unlock' each game as needed. For example one folder called ACE123DONKEYKONG and another with ACE123LANOIR, removing the name off the end each time I wanted to load it (so it just had the title ID).

The good news is that after various console restarts and switching the actively used game around, it does seem to keep the saves for each game, even when all 3 used Fortnite as the donor.

One issue I found was after loading a game I couldn't then rename it's folder, I'm assuming something to do with recently loaded games being kept in memory. I thought maybe I could bypass this by closing the gane, loading another game off the Switch (a legit one, no donors etc), then renaming the folder. However after loading the 2nd game, then trying to load HBL, I get an error then the console crashes. Happens consistently.


Edit: Just to clarify a point for anyone doing the same, if you restart the Switch then use FTPD to change folder names before starting any games, that works fine
 
Last edited by Ty_,
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skflich

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So I am getting the following error message when trying to use pragmas kit "
upload_2018-6-17_10-55-28.png
" does anyone know what I am missing. any help would be great thanks
 

aslk

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when using PRAGMAsLayeredFSKit to set up my sd and run hekate for layered fs I get stuck on

"Rebuilt and loaded package2
Booting..."
 

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