My N3DS froze and didn't come back to life!I tried to flash a CTRNAND to my N3DS but it still didn't work!

[FLITZ5]

Hey Guys!
Hope you all are doing fine.

So here's my case,
I bought a N3DS and it was in a fine condition. It was running Luma3DS and I updated it to 10.2.1 with the latest System Updates and Game Updates running perfectly. Up until I decided to upgrade my SD Card. I copied the files over and downloaded more games from this site "hShop". I haven't encountered any problems with it up until 2 weeks later, My 3DS completely froze on Pokémon Sun and it turned off. I booted it back on and then it turned off again! Up until it couldn't turn on anymore even if plugged in to my wall charger(But it's still on half battery). So I saw a video on youtube and followed the instructions and did the Boot9strap thing on softbricked 3ds' and the guide where you flash a new CTRNAND image to your 3DS. It worked but it died again. And now everytime I boot up GodMod9, it stays on for a couple of seconds until it freezes and starts showing me random numbers on the top screen. My dumbass thought it was a good idea to format the SD Card, so I did. But it only made things worse. I don't have a backup NAND and now my SD Card is empty and I've been attempting the CTRNAND Transfer thing for about 5 times already and that boot9strap thingy twice and nothing is still popping up. Now even with the Luka boot.firm on my SD Card, It shows no sign of life anymore. It flashes the blue light on my indicator and quickly turns off. I tried the Recovery Method on my computer and it turns out my SD is bad and that it's pre-owned. So it shows billions of files on the recovery program and I can't tell what folder to recover. Now my 3DS won't boot anymore and I can't access GodMod9 or anything. My conclusion is that maybe the NAND image I flashed to my 3DS was a corrupted download and it corrupted my 3DS.Please help me, I love my N3DS and have only had it for 4 Months. Please help me guys. I've been crying for the past 3 days. Will the NTRBoot with the R4 Card and Magnets work on my N3DS?

 

[Kwyjor]

Do you really think you're the first person who has ever had an SD card go bad?

Follow http://3ds.guide/restoring-updating-cfw.

Also:

So I saw a video on youtube

Don't follow video guides.

So it shows billions of files on the recovery program

Try to be accurate when you describe your problems.

 

[FLITZ5]

[/QUOTE]
I tried the Recovery Program on my computer where an app goes and recovers files that were previously on the drive. But the program detected loads of stuff like documents and other files. And I'm sorry, the video guides where my only opt.. I'm from a country that has only a handful of people that knows how to deal with these problems.


EDIT: I've done the first section but only the first section because my 3DS now can't boot. Even if I get the boot.firm on my SD, it won't boot anymore

 

[KleinesSinchen]

And now everytime I boot up GodMod9, it stays on for a couple of seconds until it freezes and starts showing me random numbers on the top screen.

My question here is: Did this happen with your new SD only – or with the old SD as well? How about without any SD (assuming boot.firm is installed to CTRNAND like it should be)? In cases of unknown error source it is a good idea to remove peripherals from a system (in case of the 3DS family this is only the game card and the SD).

So I saw a video on youtube and followed the instructions

*Sigh* Why do people first follow YouTube videos and sign up on GBAtemp afterwards?

I don't have a backup NAND

Why?? Creating a NAND image should even be part of random video guides.

did the Boot9strap thing on softbricked 3ds'

Sorry, I don't understand this part. Did you reinstall B9S multiple times (not needed)?

Please help me, I love my N3DS and have only had it for 4 Months. Please help me guys. I've been crying for the past 3 days

Having a device inoperable is always enraging and/or sad and at least very disappointing. Not worth crying though in my opinion: It is just a machine.
=================

From your description it sounds like random hardware failure (could be wrong). I can't find the thread at the moment. We have had a similar case before where CTRTransfer solved the issue temporarily. The problem came back again and again and in the end the console failed. GodMode9 crashing isn't a good sign. I hope you made sure the (old and new) SDs are free of errors and don't have fake capacity (h2testw, F3). Having a bad SD and performing CTRTransfer can lead to further damage.

 

[CoolMe]

Hey! @FLITZ5 Does it behave the same when booting it without the sdcard? I've dealt with a similar problem before, and from what you're describing it does indeed sound like a hardware problem. Mine did the same and the sd card reader was the problem, i'm assuming it's the same for yours, what i've done is i applied some pressure (not TOO much) where the sdcard slot is and keep holding it then power on the system, remove the back cover first, power it on if it boots into the home menu or if it shows anything on the screen (since you prolly messed the CTRtransfer), then you're fine. If it does nothing, then you should open it up, check maybe the WiFi board, if you're lucky, and not the cameras.

 

[FLITZ5]

Hey! @FLITZ5 Does it behave the same when booting it without the sdcard? I've dealt with a similar problem before, and from what you're describing it does indeed sound like a hardware problem. Mine did the same and the sd card reader was the problem, i'm assuming it's the same for yours, what i've done is i applied some pressure (not TOO much) where the sdcard slot is and keep holding it then power on the system, remove the back cover first, power it on if it boots into the home menu or if it shows anything on the screen (since you prolly messed the CTRtransfer), then you're fine. If it does nothing, then you should open it up, check maybe the WiFi board, if you're lucky, and not the cameras.

OK So I've done what you told me and it did boot up. Now I can access the Chainloader but that's all that I can access. It gives me the option to choose from GodMod9 and GodMod9_dev but every time I try to load up GodMod9, it says "Payload is corrupted" even though I just pasted those files freshly into the SD Card. I haven't tested the SD Card but this SD that I'm currently using is the one that this 3DS came with. It came to me almost in full capacity with only 1.2GB of free space and it help up pretty well up until I used the 64GB one I just bought. I think it's the 64GB card since I had no problems with the 32GB Card being on almost full capacity for over 3months. Now it can boot to show me that it can't load the CTRNAND Firm at the very least. So I think that the NTRBoot with R4 cards and magnet method will now work. But my only worry is that the 3DS itself may be corrupted since I did the CTRNAND image transfer with the bad SD Card. And I'm worried that maybe the 3DS can corrupt the R4 card too. So my only question left is that, Will the NTRBOOT with R4i Cards and Magnets work on my Severe case?

 

[CoolMe]

OK So I've done what you told me and it did boot up. Now I can access the Chainloader but that's all that I can access. It gives me the option to choose from GodMod9 and GodMod9_dev but every time I try to load up GodMod9, it says "Payload is corrupted" even though I just pasted those files freshly into the SD Card. I haven't tested the SD Card but this SD that I'm currently using is the one that this 3DS came with. It came to me almost in full capacity with only 1.2GB of free space and it help up pretty well up until I used the 64GB one I just bought. I think it's the 64GB card since I had no problems with the 32GB Card being on almost full capacity for over 3months. Now it can boot to show me that it can't load the CTRNAND Firm at the very least. So I think that the NTRBoot with R4 cards and magnet method will now work. But my only worry is that the 3DS itself may be corrupted since I did the CTRNAND image transfer with the bad SD Card. And I'm worried that maybe the 3DS can corrupt the R4 card too. So my only question left is that, Will the NTRBOOT with R4i Cards and Magnets work on my Severe case?

So it boots up if you apply pressure and if you release it, it doesn't ? I would suggest getting an sd card and checking it with h2testw with both read & write settings, if it doesn't error out format it as FAT32 32KB cluster size. After that, put the latest Luma3DS and GodMode9 files (redownload them if you can) into the sd card, redownload the CTRtransfer image from here the one that matches your device, and put it in the sd card. Then plug it in the 3DS, hold start on boot, click on GodMode9 and follow carefully the steps on the CTRtransfer link above.

 

[FLITZ5]

So it boots up if you apply pressure and if you release it, it doesn't ? I would suggest getting an sd card and checking it with

I'm pretty sure this 32GB Memory Card is good but everytime I plug it in, it'll work but once I do the CTRNAND Transfer on GodMod9...It stops and shows random numbers on the top screen. I pull the SD Card out and the CTRNAND.bin file is now 0 Bytes instead of 1.1GB

 

[KleinesSinchen]

I'm pretty sure this 32GB Memory Card is good but everytime I plug it in, it'll work but once I do the CTRNAND Transfer on GodMod9...It stops and shows random numbers on the top screen. I pull the SD Card out and the CTRNAND.bin file is now 0 Bytes instead of 1.1GB

Being pretty sure isn't sufficient. The empty SD has to be checked before trusting it (rule out a possible source of error instead of just assuming it is okay).

And if the SD reader in the console has loose connection: Please do not try to do CTRTransfer until you have replaced the reader (or verified it is working normally again). Randomly removing¹ the source (SD) while doing CTRTransfer is… not exactly promising.

I would try this a few times for "science", but my test device is so finicky and damaged by now that I can't possibly remove the SD without risking a shutoff. I have to repair that thing if possible!
======

@CoolMe On what model did this happen to you (and how did you permanently solve the problem)?


_____________________
¹ I know it is not you removing the SD – the reader will randomly loose contact.

 

[Kwyjor]

Yes, I should have specified in my post that you need to thoroughly test your empty SD card when it appears to have been corrupted. (Maybe someone should update that particular page of the Guide.)

So my only question left is that, Will the NTRBOOT with R4i Cards and Magnets work on my Severe case?

If you can still get into the chainloader, ntrboot is not going to help you, especially if you don't have a verified-working SD card.

 

[CoolMe]

On what model did this happen to you (and how did you permanently solve the problem)?

N3DS XL, i replaced the sdcard reader with a new one, though before replacing it i stuck a piece of paper on top of the sd card reader, and after putting it together and screwing the back cover, it provided enough pressure for the contacts to sit properly without losing touch, of course unplugging it and putting it back didn't help either. I've come to this conclusion by accident as the system was erroring out left and right without any apparent reason, the SD card was properly tested, when i started encountering it GodMode9 i knew something wasn't right, i just didn't know what was causing it.
I haven't encountered any error ever since.

 

[FLITZ5]

So now I have miraculously installed the Luma boot.firm to my FIRM0 and FIRM1. Now it can boot to show me a CTRNAND Error at the very least. But the SystemNAND is still corrupted I think cause even with newly downloaded gm9 and luma files...it still gives me an "Payload is invalid or corrupted" error. But I can still access the Chainloader!

EDIT: So I noticed something whenever I load up the Luma3DS Configuration menu.., On the bottom of the screen, It tells me which drive the Luma boot.firm came from! So if I put the SD card in, the bottom will say "Booted from SD via FIRM0" and when I take the SD Card off and boot Luma, it'll say "Booted from CTRNAND via FIRM0". So I think the SD Card isn't corrupted or the Card Reader isn't broken or defective. I think it's the gm9 and luma folders I copied to my SystemNAND back when I used the bad SD(The 64GB one). And now it's interfering with the GodMod9 Payloads on my SD Card. I think once get lucky and boot up GodMod9, I'll immediately delete the copies of gm9 and luma on my SystemNAND and hopefully I can boot my copies of it from my SD Card instead.

 

[Kwyjor]

So did you test your SD card or not? SD cards go bad all the time; that's what h2testw is for. No amount of fiddling is going to help you if your SD card is corrupt!

 

[FLITZ5]

So did you test your SD card or not? SD cards go bad all the time; that's what h2testw is for. No amount of fiddling is going to help you if your SD card is corrupt!

So here's an update. I got the transfer done and the 3DS System is saved. I did what the person in this thread recommend that I reseat the SD Card Reader and put paper in it to press the contacts. And it worked for a limited time only. It bought me enough time to properly do a CTRNAND Transfer and a Luma boot.firm NAND installation. Now the 3DS is booting to the homescreen and is working(Kinda). I think the Problem is that my SD Card Slot is defective because of heat or something. I'm not entirely sure though because I can boot my Luma3DS Configurator using the SD but can't boot to the homescreen. But the very start of my problem, where I was playing Pokémon Sun, I did nothing on the SD Card and it just froze and died. It was in my 3DS for 2 weeks without being touched or taken out of the console...and it just suddenly froze and died. But I put my SD on my Computer and everything is still in tact. I will be doing a h2testw so I'll ne updating this very message but I think the main issue with my 3DS is that my SD Card Slot has gone defective. The reason is.. I used my premium 32GB Sandisk SD Card and everything worked. I got the System to boot normally but I noticed something on my 3DS. The back was heating up. And so I came to the conclusion that my SD Card slot is damaged. My question is.., is there anything else on my 3DS that can make my system behave like this? It'll die on my on boot and say it can't load the CTRNAND Firm, but after a few minutes of being off, it'll normally boot back up and die again. Cause if it is the SD Card slot, then it'll be a piece of cake replacing it. A couple of weeks of waiting won't hurt me cause I've fixed the 3DS. So now, my issue is that before I buy the replacement SD Card Slot, is there anything else that could possibly make that much heat on the back of my 3DS and make it crash. Because a 3DS that is running Luma3DS can't boot without the boot.firm files on the SD Card, so my analogy is that maybe my Damaged SD Card slot dies as the system is on for some random reason and the 3DS can't access the SD which is where the boot.firm is. I just want to be sure thay if I buy the replacement SD Card slot.. it'll be the sure fix and not some other parts of the 3DS

 

[CoolMe]

@FLITZ5 it shouldn't heat up with the trick i told you, unless you over did it or something. To be sure it's not other components causing you issues other than the sd card reader, which is definitely defective, boot the system with the sdcard removed, and use a game cart and play a game for awhile, just to test it. Play online with it in order to test the WiFi chip is working correctly, another thing that could cause issues, just to root it out.
You've already installed Luma on CTRNAND, so the idea that the 3DS doesn't boot correctly because it can't access the sdcard is rooted out as well.

 

[Kwyjor]

I will be doing a h2testw so I'll ne updating this very message

Why not test the card before you waste your time writing a lengthy and speculative message!?

 

[FLITZ5]

@FLITZ5 it shouldn't heat up with the trick i told you, unless you over did it or something. To be sure it's not other components causing you issues other than the sd card reader, which is definitely defective, boot the system with the sdcard removed, and use a game cart and play a game for awhile, just to test it. Play online with it in order to test the WiFi chip is working correctly, another thing that could cause issues, just to root it out.
You've already installed Luma on CTRNAND, so the idea that the 3DS doesn't boot correctly because it can't access the sdcard is rooted out as well.

Well, I did install the boot.firm on my CTRNAND but it doesn't boot up. I'll see if I can reinstall the boot.firm again and test if I can boot it up without the SD. Second is, I've observed something absolutely weird, the night before I got this console to work..I slept early. So I put the 3DS to bed and it had a really really long break. The morning after, I saw the paper in the SD Card slot thingy and I put a good amount of paper in there and it worked! So I fixed the CTRNAND and it booted! and then I was able to play a bit of Mario Kart installed on my SD but after a half an hour, it stopped working again, it said "Unable to load CTRNAND Firm". So I left it alone again cause I was away from my computer cause I was at work. After an hour of work, I booted the 3DS and it Randomly worked again! So I'm assuming if I give the SD Card Slot a rest.. It'll work. Kinda like a ticking clock, It'll only work for a limited amount of time. This observation leading me to believe that the SD Card is the very issue. But I can still boot the Luma Configurator right after the 3DS Died that morning.