A little help catching up with my 3DS?

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

Hey all, It's been years since I last took a look at my 3DS, and I know I used to have a ton of things installed on it, but I can't remember for the life of me how it all works now... So here's the current situation I'm in if anyone could lend a hand!

So, I've got an original 3DS, it's on Firmware 11.2.0-35E and has definitely been soft modded before.

• In the game card slot I have a Red Gateway 3DS card inserted with no Micro SD inserted.
• In the SD card slot I have a 16GB SD card with the files shown in the image attached in the spoiler tag

Spoiler

With the SD card inserted I get a few apps on the home screen which aren't there when it's not inserted.

• 1st is Luma Updater
• 2nd is The Homebrew Launcher
• 3rd and finally 'FBI'

So, Luna Updater won't do anything, it just brings up 'an error has occurred' dialogue box . I suspect that's because I've got to be in a CFW mode or something for it to work?
The Homebrew Loader also won't do anything, this time it says I'm probably not connected to the internet (which is right, the 3DS is not connected to the internet yet)

Also on the SD card as you can see, there's a Nintendo 3DS folder. If I remember rightly that's the folder where any games would be installed to, so that they appear on the home screen of the 3DS, is that correct? There's 12.9GB of data in that folder, so I'm assuming all the games are still there installed, but I must have to run Luma CFW for the 3DS to actually show them? I may be totally wrong with this but that's why I'm asking the questions I guess ahaha.

If anyone could shed some light on my situation to get the installed games to show I'd be grateful!
Also whether I should update the system to the highest hackable firmware, or use newer hacks that work better (That aren't luna for example), then I'm all ears.

Keen to get this thing up and running again so any help would be appreciated!

Thanks all

 

[woolywoods]

I'd highly reccomend updating luma and gm9 first! That should help significantly. It could be possible that your titles aren't showing up because your tickets got weird/messed up.

https://3ds.hacks.guide/checking-for-cfw

Follow this guide, then if it's still broken, what I'd reccomend doing is installing checkpoint, which should allow you to make copies of your save data.

https://github.com/FlagBrew/Checkpoint/releases

Download the .cia file and put it in the "cias" folder on your SD card. Then go to fbi and navigate to the checkpoint.cia file. Click "install and delete" and once it's finished installing, make copies of your save data. If no save data appears on checkpoint (keep in mind, it takes 10 or so seconds to load) that means its gone.


After doing that, I'd go onto fbi and click "titles" and uninstall and delete tickets for all of the games on there. Then do a fresh install for all of the ones you want to keep.

After that, go back into checkpoint and have it load in all of your saves to the games.

I know its kind of a long method- but a completely fresh install should make it so that there aren't any bugs.

Best of luck, and let me know if it works ^^

​

Edit: Replying to these assumptions you made earlier-

"So, Luna Updater won't do anything, it just brings up 'an error has occurred' dialogue box . I suspect that's because I've got to be in a CFW mode or something for it to work?​

The Homebrew Loader also won't do anything, this time it says I'm probably not connected to the internet (which is right, the 3DS is not connected to the internet yet)"​

​

Luna updater is actually outdated, and was replaced with "universal updater" Also, it cannot download any updates while not connected to internet, so that would explain the error.
Homebrew launcher doesn't require internet. It only loads ".3dsx" files, which are homebrew applications. No idea why it's trying to connect to the internet, but possibly because it's an old version that is trying to update? That is my best guess.

It is currently completely safe to use a hacked 3ds online. As long as you don't do hacking in online battles in games like pokemon, you are completely safe from getting softbanned. The 3ds is officially outdated so they aren't doing many bans anymore anyways.

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

Spoiler

I'd highly reccomend updating luma and gm9 first! That should help significantly. It could be possible that your titles aren't showing up because your tickets got weird/messed up.

https://3ds.hacks.guide/checking-for-cfw

Follow this guide, then if it's still broken, what I'd reccomend doing is installing checkpoint, which should allow you to make copies of your save data.

https://github.com/FlagBrew/Checkpoint/releases

Download the .cia file and put it in the "cias" folder on your SD card. Then go to fbi and navigate to the checkpoint.cia file. Click "install and delete" and once it's finished installing, make copies of your save data. If no save data appears on checkpoint (keep in mind, it takes 10 or so seconds to load) that means its gone.


After doing that, I'd go onto fbi and click "titles" and uninstall and delete tickets for all of the games on there. Then do a fresh install for all of the ones you want to keep.

After that, go back into checkpoint and have it load in all of your saves to the games.

I know its kind of a long method- but a completely fresh install should make it so that there aren't any bugs.

Best of luck, and let me know if it works ^^

​

Edit: Replying to these assumptions you made earlier-

​

"So, Luna Updater won't do anything, it just brings up 'an error has occurred' dialogue box . I suspect that's because I've got to be in a CFW mode or something for it to work?​

The Homebrew Loader also won't do anything, this time it says I'm probably not connected to the internet (which is right, the 3DS is not connected to the internet yet)"​

​

Luna updater is actually outdated, and was replaced with "universal updater" Also, it cannot download any updates while not connected to internet, so that would explain the error.
Homebrew launcher doesn't require internet. It only loads ".3dsx" files, which are homebrew applications. No idea why it's trying to connect to the internet, but possibly because it's an old version that is trying to update? That is my best guess.

It is currently completely safe to use a hacked 3ds online. As long as you don't do hacking in online battles in games like pokemon, you are completely safe from getting softbanned. The 3ds is officially outdated so they aren't doing many bans anymore anyways.

Thanks so much for your in depth answer!

I think my homebrew loader must be installed to the home menu (but on the SD card) right? Since it only shows up once I've inserted the SD card? So, how would I go about updating that?

I'm not too fussed about saves to be honest, it's been a long, long time since I used the console so I'd probably just start any games from scratch again since it's such a large effort to get them going again. Thanks though!

Should I perhaps delete all tickets through FBI then install any games I feel like playing, fresh? I'm a bit lost with it all at the moment ahaha Does luma load up as soon as I turn the 3DS on, or do I have to 'launch' the CFW somehow?

Again, any help appreciated

 

[retrospect]

I've been in a similar situation before. One time I dug out my 3DS and I decided to move everything from Gateway to CFW, including all my saves (using JKSM). Check my old posts for info.

One thing to note is that the red Gateway card can allow a recent Nintendo firmware to wipe your bootloader hack. I don't recall the specifics, but it might be worth you finding out before you update from firmware 11.2. Afaik you won't want to use Gateway Mode after updating.

I'd recommend backing up your SD card and your NAND as they are now before you get started on making changes, just in case you lose something you want/need.

It's a while since I've fully understood 3DS hacking, and I don't feel confident in addressing your specific questions, but the 3DS.guide website is good. I've commented before to address someone's concerns with their guide, so again check my old posts.

 

[woolywoods]

Thanks so much for your in depth answer!

I think my homebrew loader must be installed to the home menu (but on the SD card) right? Since it only shows up once I've inserted the SD card? So, how would I go about updating that?

I'm not too fussed about saves to be honest, it's been a long, long time since I used the console so I'd probably just start any games from scratch again since it's such a large effort to get them going again. Thanks though!

Should I perhaps delete all tickets through FBI then install any games I feel like playing, fresh? I'm a bit lost with it all at the moment ahaha Does luma load up as soon as I turn the 3DS on, or do I have to 'launch' the CFW somehow?

Again, any help appreciated

The homebrew loader (as well as games!) are downloaded to the SD card, yes. In order to update it, you need to download the CIA for "universal updater" and then go into FBI and install it.

https://github.com/Universal-Team/Universal-Updater/releases

Update Luma specifically, and that should fix your homebrew title. If that doesnt work, download and install this.

https://github.com/PabloMK7/homebrew_launcher_dummy/releases/tag/v1.0

It is essentially a title that autolaunches homebrew for you, so maybe you are having trouble with that.

Luma loads up the moment you turn the 3ds on! Once you hack it, it builds itself into the system memory, so even with the SD card removed, it's still there- no launch needed. If you are worried that it isn't there, press L+D-pad Down+Select, and it should show you Rosalina menu, a feature of Luma.

I'd reccomend going onto FBI and going into "titles" and delete both the ticket and the title. That should free up your SD space for more games. Then install any games you want.

Sorry, yeah it's a lot of info at once! I felt the same way when I was getting into modding.

Edit: (Adding extra visuals. I wanted to post a text reply ASAP, so that's the reason why this is coming in an edit)
Screenshots inside spoilers cuz they take up space.

Spoiler

What homebrew launcher should look like.

My boot up screen on homebrew launcher.

Universal Updater

The Luma icon on universal updater! (takes a little bit of searching-) After you get to it, you can update luma. (I can't share pics of that process cuz mine is fully updated.)

Also, a cool feature of luma is ability to take screenshots whenever, so these were taken using luma!

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

The homebrew loader (as well as games!) are downloaded to the SD card, yes. In order to update it, you need to download the CIA for "universal updater" and then go into FBI and install it.

https://github.com/Universal-Team/Universal-Updater/releases

Update Luma specifically, and that should fix your homebrew title. If that doesnt work, download and install this.

https://github.com/PabloMK7/homebrew_launcher_dummy/releases/tag/v1.0

It is essentially a title that autolaunches homebrew for you, so maybe you are having trouble with that.

Luma loads up the moment you turn the 3ds on! Once you hack it, it builds itself into the system memory, so even with the SD card removed, it's still there- no launch needed. If you are worried that it isn't there, press L+D-pad Down+Select, and it should show you Rosalina menu, a feature of Luma.

I'd reccomend going onto FBI and going into "titles" and delete both the ticket and the title. That should free up your SD space for more games. Then install any games you want.

Sorry, yeah it's a lot of info at once! I felt the same way when I was getting into modding.

Edit: (Adding extra visuals. I wanted to post a text reply ASAP, so that's the reason why this is coming in an edit)
Screenshots inside spoilers cuz they take up space.

Spoiler

View attachment 300079View attachment 300078
What homebrew launcher should look like.
View attachment 300080View attachment 300081
My boot up screen on homebrew launcher.
View attachment 300082View attachment 300083
Universal Updater
View attachment 300084View attachment 300085
The Luma icon on universal updater! (takes a little bit of searching-) After you get to it, you can update luma. (I can't share pics of that process cuz mine is fully updated.)

Also, a cool feature of luma is ability to take screenshots whenever, so these were taken using luma!

Not too much info, can never give too much info. It's fantastic information actually!

That's brilliant. So I can even check if CFW is running after all this time by using that button combination. If Luma is installed it's just a case of updating it and starting fresh on installing Homebrew/ Games through FBI I suppose but at least I know that now!

One last question, you say that Luma installs to the System memory, so does that mean that Luma need to be 're-installed' after the console is fully switched off and if so, how do I install Luma? Just by following 3ds.guide? My 3DS has been turned off so long I had to put the Date and Time into it again so

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to help me out with this

 

[Blauhasenpopo]

No, you don't have to reinstall, it is a permanent CFW and yes, just follow 3ds guide

 

[woolywoods]

yup! no need to reinstall glad to help!

 

[godreborn]

The date and time might've gotten messed up due to the rtc, which can be set in godmode.

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

yup! no need to reinstall glad to help!

So, I used Universal updated to find 'Luma3DS' and chose to download 'boot.firm' (not the hourly). When I click the Luma3DS page again it shows boot.firm has a small SD card symbol next to it. Does that mean the new Luma has been installed? or is there an extra step?

I think I'm just gonna have to delete my Nintendo 3DS folder from the SD card and re-download games. I'm not sure they're gonna show up on my system for some reason! Oh well.

 

[duwen]

The SD card symbol that shows up next to files in Universal Updater just means that *a* version of the file already exists in the correct location... it doesn't mean that the latest version is on there. Just hit download and let it overwrite.

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

Thanks to everyone who's been involved in helping with this.

I can say I'm successfully updated to the latest system firmware with Luma 10.2.1 also installed to SysNAND using GodMode9. Deleted any game tickets on the console through FBI as suggested and I'm ready to start afresh!

Still have no idea how I had 12.8GB of games in the Nintendo 3DS folder on my SD card with nothing showing on the homescreen, but who cares. Now that everything is fully updated there shouldn't be any issues with anything!

One thing I've noted is that online you can find Encrypted, decrypted and CIA versions of games... Are CIA versions the only ones that can be installed to the 3DS console? Decrypted versions seems much smaller, that's the only reason I ask.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[woolywoods]

Cia encrypted and .3ds files are both good. 3ds files can be turned into CIAs. Decrypted ones are for emulators ^^

Edit : not busy anymore! In order to turn a .3ds file into a CIA, go into gm9 and do > [home button] > scripts > scripts from plan.. guide (can't spell Lol) > .3ds to .CIA converter- then they will be in gm9 > out on your SD card! So you can install them from there.