Reason for black screen during boot into emuMMC?

[noodles75]

Hello,

one of my two Switch consoles gets stuck in a black screen when booting into emuMMC and I can't figure out what is wrong.
Note: I used the same sd card for both consoles.

Console 1.
• unpatched model, OFW 5.1.0
• SanDisk micro SD card 128 GB, FAT32, cluster size 32k
• Boot into OFW works flawlessly

Scenario A: emuMMc created with Hekate v5.7.0 (> files from SDSetup / Recommended Defaults)
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC ends in black screen after Nintendo logo ...

Scenario B: emuMMc created with Hekate v5.7.0 (> files from DeepSea 3.5.0 advanced)
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC ends in black screen after Nintendo/DeepSea logo ...

Additional infos:
This console worked perfect with a SanDisk micro SD card 400 GB (FAT32, cluster size 32k) and emuMMC for about 2 years. A few weeks ago the console became terrible slow when starting games, so I decided to set up everything new with another sd card. The 400 GB card seemed to be permanently corrupted because its writing speed is only about 2-3 Mb/s now even after formating it several times.

Console 2.
• unpatched model, OFW 3.0.2
• SanDisk micro SD card 128 GB, FAT32, cluster size 32k
• Boot into OFW works flawlessly

Scenario A: emuMMc created with Hekate v5.7.0 (> files from SDSetup / Recommended Defaults)
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC works flawlessly

Scenario B: emuMMc created with Hekate v5.7.0 (> files from DeepSea 3.5.0 advanced)
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC works flawlessly

Any ideas what could be wrong with conosle 1.? Could there be a hardware problem with the sd card reader?

Thx for help.

 

[binkinator]

I’m pretty sure the emunand is console specific. The crypto and prod.info won’t match for example. I might be misunderstandin…are you saying you’ve been able to boot CFW using another console’s SD card?

 

[noodles75]

I’m pretty sure the emunand is console specific. The crypto and prod.info won’t match for example. I might be misunderstandin…are you saying you’ve been able to boot CFW using another console’s SD card?

Nope, I just wanted to point out that the sd card I used must be ok (without errors / corrruption / hardware defetcs) cause it worked flawlessly with console 2. Of course I formated and set up the sd card and created a fresh emuMMC each time when I swapped it from one conosle to the other.

 

[binkinator]

Nope, I just wanted to point out that the sd card I used must be ok (without errors / corrruption / hardware defetcs) cause it worked flawlessly with console 2. Of course I formated and set up the sd card and created a fresh emuMMC each time when I swapped it from one conosle to the other.

Using file system or hidden partition for emunand?
Does your emunand.ini point to to the right beginning disk sector?

 

[noodles75]

Using file system or hidden partition for emunand?
Does your emunand.ini point to to the right beginning disk sector?

I've always used a hidden partition to create emuMMC. I installed the emuMMC in a partition named "Part
1" and these are the infos from the partition table: Part 1: Type: E0, Start: 0ADA8000, Size: 03A4F800
This is the content of the emummc.ini on the sd card (inside emuMMC folder):
[emummc]
enabled=1
sector=0xadb0000
path=emuMMC/RAW1
id=0x31574152
nintendo_path=emuMMC/RAW1/Nintendo

How can I check if the emummc.ini points to the right beginning disk sector?

 

[binkinator]

I've always used a hidden partition to create emuMMC. I installed the emuMMC in a partition named "Part
1" and these are the infos from the partition table: Part 1: Type: E0, Start: 0ADA8000, Size: 03A4F800
This is the content of the emummc.ini on the sd card (inside emuMMC folder):
[emummc]
enabled=1
sector=0xadb0000
path=emuMMC/RAW1
id=0x31574152
nintendo_path=emuMMC/RAW1/Nintendo

How can I check if the emummc.ini points to the right beginning disk sector?

They cleverly called it sector. I think yours might be a little off. Let me check mine and do some maths to be sure.

Edit: Well damn. No need for maths. That’s 0x8000 (32768)…all correct.
swing and a miss on my part.


What FW are you running on your emunand?

Lets try to move /atmosphere/contents to /atmosphere/contents.orig and see if we can get it to boot without any modules.

 

[noodles75]

They cleverly called it sector. I think yours might be a little off. Let me check mine and do some maths to be sure.

Edit: Well damn. No need for maths. That’s 0x8000 (32768)…all correct.
swing and a miss on my part.


What FW are you running on your emunand?

Lets try to move /atmosphere/contents to /atmosphere/contents.orig and see if we can get it to boot without any modules.

My emuNand should be on the same FW as the OFW (5.1.0) cause after the fresh SD card setup and due to the booting process stuck at the black screen I had no chance to enter Daybreak and update the emuNand FW. Or is there a way to start Daybreak from the Hekate menu?

I renamed the /atmosphere/contents folder on the sd card to /atmosphere/contents.orig but unfortunately the result is the same:
emuMMc created with Hekate v5.7.0 (> files from DeepSea 3.5.0 advanced) + /atmosphere/contents.orig
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC ends in black screen after Nintendo/DeepSea logo ...

 

[binkinator]

My emuNand should be on the same FW as the OFW (5.1.0) cause after the fresh SD card setup and due to the booting process stuck at the black screen I had no chance to enter Daybreak and update the emuNand FW. Or is there a way to start Daybreak from the Hekate menu?

I renamed the /atmosphere/contents folder on the sd card to /atmosphere/contents.orig but unfortunately the result is the same:
emuMMc created with Hekate v5.7.0 (> files from DeepSea 3.5.0 advanced) + /atmosphere/contents.orig
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC ends in black screen after Nintendo/DeepSea logo ...

correct. Daybreak needs atmosphere to run unfortunately.

I guess next thing we could do is determine if the issue follows the sd card reader by swapping them.

 

[noodles75]

correct. Daybreak needs atmosphere to run unfortunately.

I guess next thing we could do is determine if the issue follows the sd card reader by swapping them.

Yip, I already ordered one and will report back when I got and installed it. Many thanks for your help so far anyway!

 

[noodles75]

correct. Daybreak needs atmosphere to run unfortunately.

I guess next thing we could do is determine if the issue follows the sd card reader by swapping them.

So, I have received the new card reader and installed it. Unfortunately the result was the same as before:
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC ends in black screen after Nintendo/DeepSea logo ...

As a last idea I tried to create the emuNand file based and not in a partition - and suddenly:
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC works also flawlessly!!

I have no idea what hardware or software issue could cause a file based emuNand booting flawlessly but a partition based don't. I'm really keen on any explanations or ideas. Please enlighten me

 

[binkinator]

So, I have received the new card reader and installed it. Unfortunately the result was the same as before:
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC ends in black screen after Nintendo/DeepSea logo ...

As a last idea I tried to create the emuNand file based and not in a partition - and suddenly:
> Boot into CFW-SysNAND works flawlessly
> Boot into CFW-emuMMC works also flawlessly!!

I have no idea what hardware or software issue could cause a file based emuNand booting flawlessly but a partition based don't. I'm really keen on any explanations or ideas. Please enlighten me

The only thing I can think of would be the pointer to the beginning of the file or if you formatted the drive as GPT instead of MBR as the partition and GPT use the same first 1024 header at the beginning of the disk.

 

[noodles75]

The only thing I can think of would be the pointer to the beginning of the file or if you formatted the drive as GPT instead of MBR as the partition and GPT use the same first 1024 header at the beginning of the disk.

I just wanted to report back and confirm my problem as solved. It turns out in the end that there must be something wrong with all my three sd cards that I tried out to create the partition based emuMMC or at least that the specific switch console has a problem with all three of them. I finaly ordered a brand new sd card and booting into emuMMC with the specific console works flawlessly. The weird thing for me is that I can use all the other three sd cards with partition based emuMMc on my other switch console without a problem. All three sd cards (SanDisk 400Gb, 64GB, Toshiba 128GB) are maybe two to three years old and did not offer the same write speed anymore (around 10-15 MB/s) as the new card (around 30-35 MB/s), maybe this is an issue for the specififc console... Anyway, thanks again for the help and let this be a usefull learning for others with a similar problem - always check functionality with a brand new and known good sd card first

 

[cputime]

I've encountered the same problem yesterday.
It's definitely Not the sd card as it has been working for close to a year.
I launched "reboot to payload" and the console "blue-screened".
I can't boot in my emunand since, I get a black screen.
I re-installed atmosphere and all to no avail.
It's driving me nuts, I can't just recreate another emunand I need to get my save games first.
It's driving me nuts.
I'll post the details of my config when I get home.

 

[cputime]

Turns out the main partition (exfat) was somehow corrupted.
Backed up files. Deleted it.re-created it. Moved files back.
And then it's all good

 

[binkinator]

Turns out the main partition (exfat) was somehow corrupted.
Backed up files. Deleted it.re-created it. Moved files back.
And then it's all good

Glad you’re sorted. Exfat drivers on Switch are really bad for getting corrupted. Hope you redid it with FAT32 for stability!

 

[cputime]

Glad you’re sorted. Exfat drivers on Switch are really bad for getting corrupted. Hope you redid it with FAT32 for stability!

Thanks, yep I learned my lesson

 

[sblast3]

Bumping this thread because I had the same issue with 2 of my old SD cards. I formatted them with SD Card Formatter, MiniTool 64kb cluster size, and then TegraXplorer, but none of these worked.

emuMMC would boot the first time, then rebooting would show a black screen after the Nintendo Switch logo. I tried noodles' solution, switching to a file based emunand, and it now reboots without issue.

On an unrelated note, there were other "corruption issues" I was still having while running package installers. Turns out this wasn't the SD card - this was because the nh-server guide is not for "sigpatch apps".

 

[Hayato213]

Bumping this thread because I had the same issue with 2 of my old SD cards. I formatted them with SD Card Formatter, MiniTool 64kb cluster size, and then TegraXplorer, but none of these worked.

emuMMC would boot the first time, then rebooting would show a black screen after the Nintendo Switch logo. I tried noodles' solution, switching to a file based emunand, and it now reboots without issue.

On an unrelated note, there were other "corruption issues" I was still having while running package installers. Turns out this wasn't the SD card - this was because the nh-server guide is not for "sigpatch apps".

FAT32 or exFAT?

 

[sblast3]

FAT32 or exFAT?

FAT32, formatted with TegraXplorer.

 

[Hayato213]

FAT32, formatted with TegraXplorer.

I recommend checking the SD cards with H2testw first, also you want to make sure your Sysnand boot, as your emunand is just a copy of your Sysnand, as for cluster goes, stick with 32kb.