Hacking 3DS blue light on but no display

[IceBlueLugia]

So I was playing ACNL, then I put my 3DS in sleep mode after I was done playing. A week later, I come back to play and the screen is all black, though the blue light is still there. I figured it must have somehow froze, so I held the power button to turn it off entirely.

Unfortunately, after that, every time I tried to turn the system on, the blue light appears, but the screens remain black, and I can’t actually do anything on the system. I‘m not sure what to do. I have not created a NAND backup prior to this either. In general I’m not that experienced with CFW, I just installed it and used some of its basic features.

I tried holding L, R, A, and Up when booting, and it didn’t work. I then tried holding start while boosting, and it actually did work. Then I pressed Start to reboot the system and it took me to the home menu. Not long after, the system froze, and I was forced to turn it off again, but this time when I tried that thing where I hold start then reboot, it went back to no display. I have no idea what else to try and I’m not particularly comfortable taking apart the 3DS.

 

[Kubas_inko]

Try it without SD.
This seems like a problem with home menu.
But I have no idea how to fix it the proper way...
So I always say (because I don't know anything else), do CTRTransfer via Godmode9, Decrypt9 and lazarus3ds.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Try removing and reinserting the battery.

Is it a New 3DS XL model by any chance?

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

So I was playing ACNL, then I put my 3DS in sleep mode after I was done playing. A week later, I come back to play and the screen is all black, though the blue light is still there. I figured it must have somehow froze, so I held the power button to turn it off entirely.

Unfortunately, after that, every time I tried to turn the system on, the blue light appears, but the screens remain black, and I can’t actually do anything on the system. I‘m not sure what to do. I have not created a NAND backup prior to this either. In general I’m not that experienced with CFW, I just installed it and used some of its basic features.

I tried holding L, R, A, and Up when booting, and it didn’t work. I then tried holding start while boosting, and it actually did work. Then I pressed Start to reboot the system and it took me to the home menu. Not long after, the system froze, and I was forced to turn it off again, but this time when I tried that thing where I hold start then reboot, it went back to no display. I have no idea what else to try and I’m not particularly comfortable taking apart the 3DS.

https://3ds.hacks.guide/troubleshooting#black-screen-on-sysnand-boot
Follow these troubleshooting steps

 

[IceBlueLugia]

Try removing and reinserting the battery.

Is it a New 3DS XL model by any chance?

Yes, it is.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Yes, it is.

1. Try a test custom firmware setup on a another SD card found here. Use nothing from your main setup.

2. Make sure your custom firmware is using the latest Luma3DS v9.1, boot9strap v1.3, and GodMode9 v1.7.1 on both your SD card and CTRNAND.

• If you have Luma3DS v7.0.5 or older:
  • A9LH to B9S

- or -​

• If you Luma3DS (v7.1 to v9.0) and/or boot9strap (v1.0 to v1.2), or don't know what you have:
  • Updating B9S
  • Section VI - CTRNAND Luma3DS
  • The totally-not-freeShop guide in updating your custom firmware.

3. Try the battery trick, Recovery Mode, and the troubleshooting sections as per @zacchi4k's Troubleshooting post once more.

• Black screen on SysNAND boot
• Clear Home Menu extdata
• Black screen on SysNAND boot after Installing boot9strap

4. If you're at this point and the n3DSXL still doesn't resolve itself, use your SysNAND backup image for recovery. You were suppose to make this when you first installed custom firmware.

• GodMode9 Usage - Restoring a NAND Backup

5. If you did NOT dump and keep your SysNAND image beforehand refer to:

• CTRTransfer

6. If step 5's CTRTransfer did not work for you, try an older version of it:

• 9.2.0 CTRTransfer

7. You may have some sort of hardware damage. A broken flex cable from either the speakers, top LCD, or camera is suspected.​

 

[IceBlueLugia]

https://3ds.hacks.guide/troubleshooting#black-screen-on-sysnand-boot
Follow these troubleshooting steps

That didn’t work unfortunately. When I try booting without the SD Card, the blue light turns on for a second then disappears. Recovery mode doesn’t work either.

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

That didn’t work unfortunately. When I try booting without the SD Card, the blue light turns on for a second then disappears. Recovery mode doesn’t work either.

On the SD card root, do you have an arm9loaderhax.bin file?

 

[IceBlueLugia]

On the SD card root, do you have an arm9loaderhax.bin file?

Yes, I do.

1. Try a test custom firmware setup on a another SD card found here. Use nothing from your main setup.

2. Make sure your custom firmware is using the latest Luma3DS v9.1, boot9strap v1.3, and GodMode9 v1.7.1 on both your SD card and CTRNAND.

• If you have Luma3DS v7.0.5 or older:
  • A9LH to B9S

- or -​

• If you Luma3DS (v7.1 to v9.0) and/or boot9strap (v1.0 to v1.2), or don't know what you have:
  • Updating B9S
  • Section VI - CTRNAND Luma3DS
  • The totally-not-freeShop guide in updating your custom firmware.

3. Try the battery trick, Recovery Mode, and the troubleshooting sections as per @zacchi4k's Troubleshooting post once more.

• Black screen on SysNAND boot
• Clear Home Menu extdata
• Black screen on SysNAND boot after Installing boot9strap

4. If you're at this point and the n3DSXL still doesn't resolve itself, use your SysNAND backup image for recovery. You were suppose to make this when you first installed custom firmware.

• GodMode9 Usage - Restoring a NAND Backup

5. If you did NOT dump and keep your SysNAND image beforehand refer to:

• CTRTransfer

6. If step 5's CTRTransfer did not work for you, try an older version of it:

• 9.2.0 CTRTransfer

7. You may have some sort of hardware damage. A broken flex cable from either the speakers, top LCD, or camera is suspected.​

So I don’t think I actually have this boot9strap thing installed. I tried following the guide to installing it but when I hold start to boot up GodMode9 it just goes to Luma config mode, and after that when I try to reboot it, even when holding start, it doesn’t work. I want to try the other methods to fix this, but can’t because of this, so what should I do?

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Yes, I do.


So I don’t think I actually have this boot9strap thing installed. I tried following the guide to installing it but when I hold start to boot up GodMode9 it just goes to Luma config mode, and after that when I try to reboot it, even when holding start, it doesn’t work. I want to try the other methods to fix this, but can’t because of this, so what should I do?

Step 2's first bubble got you covered: a9lh (arm9loaderhax) to b9s (boot9strap).

Only stop at whichever step that gets your n3DSXL working again.

 

[IceBlueLugia]

Step 2's first bubble got you covered: a9lh (arm9loaderhax) to b9s (boot9strap).

Only stop at whichever step that gets your n3DSXL working again.

The thing is, I'm trying to follow it, and I'm able to do all of Section 1. But in Section 2 when you have to hold start and boot the system in the B9SSafeInstaller, it doesn't work. The first time I do it, it takes me to the Luma configuration screen, so I hit start to save the settings, then try it again. But this time when I hold start and turn the system on, it just has no display with the blue light like before. I'm not sure what the problem is.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

The thing is, I'm trying to follow it, and I'm able to do all of Section 1. But in Section 2 when you have to hold start and boot the system in the B9SSafeInstaller, it doesn't work. The first time I do it, it takes me to the Luma configuration screen, so I hit start to save the settings, then try it again. But this time when I hold start and turn the system on, it just has no display with the blue light like before. I'm not sure what the problem is.

Your n3DSXL might not be booting its custom firmware from the SD card but from it's internal CTRNAND.

Perhaps your n3DSXL can't read the card itself. Can you verify if your SD card was correctly formatted?
Use MiniTool Partition Wizard (free edition) to look for these settings; check this post for instructions.

• Partition: Primary
• Disk: MBR
• File System: FAT32
• Cluster size: 32 KB

***

Your luma/payloads folder should have only these files and nothing else (ie, no other *.bin):

• GodMode9.firm
• SafeB9SInstaller.bin

For the n3DSXL, the boot9strap folder should have:

• boot9strap.firm
• boot9strap.firm.sha
• secret_sector.bin

And of course, both the arm9loaderhax.bin and boot.firm on the root of the SD card.

Oh, another weird thing to look out for: have no flashcart or game cart inserted at this moment. I don't know why, but this can mess with custom firmware troubleshooting (saw this reported once at another thread).

***

If all of these are verified to be good, suspicion would point to a faulty SD card reader or a corrupted A9LH SysNAND. Old time 3DS users will have to fill you in how the older CFW was repaired if it's not fixed with a NTRboot flashcart... I have no experience with pre-B9S stuff. :-{

 

[IceBlueLugia]

Your n3DSXL might not be booting its custom firmware from the SD card but from it's internal CTRNAND.

Perhaps your n3DSXL can't read the card itself. Can you verify if your SD card was correctly formatted?
Use MiniTool Partition Wizard (free edition) to look for these settings; check this post for instructions.

• Partition: Primary
• Disk: MBR
• File System: FAT32
• Cluster size: 32 KB

***

Your luma/payloads folder should have only these files and nothing else (ie, no other *.bin):

• GodMode9.firm
• SafeB9SInstaller.bin

For the n3DSXL, the boot9strap folder should have:

• boot9strap.firm
• boot9strap.firm.sha
• secret_sector.bin

And of course, both the arm9loaderhax.bin and boot.firm on the root of the SD card.

Oh, another weird thing to look out for: have no flashcart or game cart inserted at this moment. I don't know why, but this can mess with custom firmware troubleshooting (saw this reported once at another thread).

***

If all of these are verified to be good, suspicion would point to a faulty SD card reader or a corrupted A9LH SysNAND. Old time 3DS users will have to fill you in how the older CFW was repaired if it's not fixed with a NTRboot flashcart... I have no experience with pre-B9S stuff. :-{

Yeah, I have all of those and there's no game inserted. I thought it might be a hardware issue at first, but since the Luma configuration does show up and the system has brought me to the home menu a few times (though it froze soon afterwards) the system must be working. I'm not sure how it got corrupted to be honest. By any chance do you know someone who can tell me a possible way to fix this?

 

[Kubas_inko]

Yeah, I have all of those and there's no game inserted. I thought it might be a hardware issue at first, but since the Luma configuration does show up and the system has brought me to the home menu a few times (though it froze soon afterwards) the system must be working. I'm not sure how it got corrupted to be honest. By any chance do you know someone who can tell me a possible way to fix this?

First thing I said (CTRTransfer) will fix it for sure. But you will lose everything.

 

[unvaluablespace]

By chance are you using a flash cart? I had this randomly happen to me 2 days ago. Was gonna remove battery, SD card, etc, but before I did that, I removed the flash cart and stylus and tried again. Sure enough, it turned on. Even works again with the flash cart afterwards. Not sure why it did that l. Worth a shot though! Good luck.

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

First thing I said (CTRTransfer) will fix it for sure. But you will lose everything.

He's on A9LH, doubt he can CTRTransfer

 

[Kubas_inko]

He's on A9LH, doubt he can CTRTransfer

CTRTransfer works on everything for everything.
But if OP is on A9LH, he should first update to B9S

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

CTRTransfer works on everything for everything.
But if OP is on A9LH, he should first update to B9S

Sure, but older GM9 versions don't support CTRTransfer

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@IceBlueLugia try the following:

1. Copy all the data off the microSD to a folder on your PC
2. Download Guiformat and use it to format the microSD card with 32kb cluster size
3. Use h2testw to test if the microSD card is not fake and to test for any errors
4. Once it's done, delete the test files from the microSD
5. Copy everything back onto the microSD, and put it back in the 3DS, and see if the issue has been solved

 

[Kubas_inko]

Sure, but older GM9 versions don't support CTRTransfer

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@IceBlueLugia try the following:

1. Copy all the data off the microSD to a folder on your PC
2. Download Guiformat and use it to format the microSD card with 32kb cluster size
3. Use h2testw to test if the microSD card is not fake and to test for any errors
4. Once it's done, delete the test files from the microSD
5. Copy everything back onto the microSD, and put it back in the 3DS, and see if the issue has been solved

there are newer gm9 versions for A9LH.
Also, that's why I always suggest using decrypt9 if godmode9 does not work.

 

[IceBlueLugia]

Sure, but older GM9 versions don't support CTRTransfer

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@IceBlueLugia try the following:

1. Copy all the data off the microSD to a folder on your PC
2. Download Guiformat and use it to format the microSD card with 32kb cluster size
3. Use h2testw to test if the microSD card is not fake and to test for any errors
4. Once it's done, delete the test files from the microSD
5. Copy everything back onto the microSD, and put it back in the 3DS, and see if the issue has been solved

Just tried this and still having the issue.

By chance are you using a flash cart? I had this randomly happen to me 2 days ago. Was gonna remove battery, SD card, etc, but before I did that, I removed the flash cart and stylus and tried again. Sure enough, it turned on. Even works again with the flash cart afterwards. Not sure why it did that l. Worth a shot though! Good luck.

I don’t have a flash cart, but I was actually thinking about removing the battery. Only problem is the screw is stripped so I can’t get it out. The back case broke off which is why I was able to access the SD Card but i don’t see how I can get to the battery with the stripped screw in the way.

First thing I said (CTRTransfer) will fix it for sure. But you will lose everything.

The thing is the main reason I’m trying to fix this is so that I don’t lose my data. I’ve tried updating to B9S but the installer doesn’t load when I hold start on boot, only Luma configuration does. And I made sure to have all the right files in the right places. I don’t suppose there’s anything else I can do?

 

[Kubas_inko]

The thing is the main reason I’m trying to fix this is so that I don’t lose my data. I’ve tried updating to B9S but the installer doesn’t load when I hold start on boot, only Luma configuration does. And I made sure to have all the right files in the right places. I don’t suppose there’s anything else I can do?

Where is the b9sinstaller? Root, luma/payloads?
If on root, you have to rename it to boot.bin (or how is it called on a9lh). If in luma/payloads, you need to launch luma chainloader (select+power).