ROM Hack Question Different approach to replace edited save data to NAND

[sumi]

I've been wanting to import saves on my clean switch via something like a nand backup (y'know, without the cfw trails and all that) for quite a while now.
Although all this reads a bit too simple to possibly work, I've ultimately come up with this alternate procedure after doing some lurking:

1. Back up "clean NAND"
2. Install CFW, use Checkpoint to edit save
3. Back up "edited save NAND"
-
4. Mount "edited save NAND" in HacDiskMount
5. Copy edited save file
6. Mount "clean NAND" in HacDiskMount
7. Paste edited save file
-
8. Restore the "new clean NAND", which includes the edited save file, with Hekate.

What do you think, would something this straightforward even work, let alone be safe? I'd be ready to do it right now, but am still afraid to test it and get possibly booted with a full console ban, if I ever went online with it (even supposing that the save modifications made should be pretty safe according to people here and on twitter).

I've already seen the thread by kimbra and tried following all the steps, but it's a bit tough. I can't seem to "convert" my save that's in ".bin" format back to these non-extension 00000000000000XX files, which is why I came up with this potential solution.

Hope anyone knows how this stuff works..!

 

[pkmnTobi]

That is an extremely over complicated method for just a simple save edit.

From my own experience and others here, simply booting into CFW on NAND does not flag you for ban. Obviously this can eventually change, however it is extremely unlikely at this given time.

My method that I have been using for over 6+ months is simply booting up NAND in CFW to inject the save via checkpoint, then I turn off the console to do a cold boot to eliminate the CFW. Then I play my game normally on my NAND without CFW. I simply never launch games or software (aside from Album) while using CFW on my NAND and I have airplane mode on when using CFW-NAND.

I feel these methods are enough.

 

[Akumara]

That is an extremely over complicated method for just a simple save edit.

From my own experience and others here, simply booting into CFW on NAND does not flag you for ban. Obviously this can eventually change, however it is extremely unlikely at this given time.

My method that I have been using for over 6+ months is simply booting up NAND in CFW to inject the save via checkpoint, then I turn off the console to do a cold boot to eliminate the CFW. Then I play my game normally on my NAND without CFW. I simply never launch games or software (aside from Album) while using CFW on my NAND and I have airplane mode on when using CFW-NAND.

I feel these methods are enough.

6 months is good, but there are older reports of people getting banned since booting into cfw with sysnand in general already flags your switch eventually.

 

[mc711]

assuming you're willing to wear the shit out of your nand. you only need to get the save file from cfw then copy save to sysnand backup.

1. boot into cfw
2. mod save
3. backup save
4. backup sysnand
5. copy save into sysnand
6. restore sysnand

game saves shouldnt keep traces of cfw. unless you use hacked items like the custom trees in animal crossing

 

[sumi]

6 months is good, but there are older reports of people getting banned since booting into cfw with sysnand in general already flags your switch eventually.

This is true. Another user on reddit reported getting banned after two whole years, even taking all the safety precautions.

assuming you're willing to wear the shit out of your nand. you only need to get the save file from cfw then copy save to sysnand backup.

1. boot into cfw
2. mod save
3. backup save
4. backup sysnand
5. copy save into sysnand
6. restore sysnand

game saves shouldnt keep traces of cfw. unless you use hacked items like the custom trees in animal crossing

So basically the same steps as mentioned in the OP. I think I'll try it right now, will report how it goes. Won't go online yet though, unless I can find confirmation that doing so is safe.

Define "wearing the shit out of my nand" please. Would restoring a backup slow down my device or what?

 

[sumi]

Just wanted to report back - my method successfully worked and my cfw save file is now on a nand backup that's hopefully clean.

I can't find any assurance that it's safe to go online like that, and I doubt anyone will tell me in this thread either, so I'll just risk it for the biscuit. Nevertheless, I'll still come back and tell if something happened to me. If I had to guess, worst case scenario would be that I'll get a game ban. Hopefully I could help someone that's having the same dilemma I had for a while now.

 

[pkmnTobi]

This is true. Another user on reddit reported getting banned after two whole years, even taking all the safety precautions.

Keep in mind the scene was much less advanced and iirc emunand wasn't even around back then. So I'd take something a reddit user says happened after 2 years with a grain of salt. There's so much that could of happened, and I trust very little the amount of people saying they "did nothing wrong" when they got banned. I saw it all the time back in 3ds days as well.

Regardless, just was putting in my two-cents on an overly complicated method just to edit saves.

 

[mc711]

Define "wearing the shit out of my nand" please. Would restoring a backup slow down my device or what?

nand only has limited number of writes, if you constantly reflash your nand it will wear it out much faster since nand reflash rewrites the WHOLE nand...

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I've been wanting to import saves on my clean switch via something like a nand backup (y'know, without the cfw trails and all that) for quite a while now.
Although all this reads a bit too simple to possibly work, I've ultimately come up with this alternate procedure after doing some lurking:

1. Back up "clean NAND"
2. Install CFW, use Checkpoint to edit save
3. Back up "edited save NAND"
-
4. Mount "edited save NAND" in HacDiskMount
5. Copy edited save file
6. Mount "clean NAND" in HacDiskMount
7. Paste edited save file
-
8. Restore the "new clean NAND", which includes the edited save file, with Hekate.

What do you think, would something this straightforward even work, let alone be safe? I'd be ready to do it right now, but am still afraid to test it and get possibly booted with a full console ban, if I ever went online with it (even supposing that the save modifications made should be pretty safe according to people here and on twitter).

I've already seen the thread by kimbra and tried following all the steps, but it's a bit tough. I can't seem to "convert" my save that's in ".bin" format back to these non-extension 00000000000000XX files, which is why I came up with this potential solution.

Hope anyone knows how this stuff works..!

You can skip a lot of those steps. There is a tool to dump saves from a NAND backup so you can skip the second NAND backup + the CFW step. Just dump the save from your clean NAND backup using the tool, edit it and then use HacDiskMount. And since you can mount the NAND directly instead of mounting a NAND backup which needs to be restored in full, that also saves the NAND from unnecessary wear and tear.
Using edited saves in any game with online functionality could come with increased ban risks though.