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Hacking Many questions from a complete NOOB

lonesome_killer

lonesome_killer

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Can someone please answer me some questions? I am a complete noob at the DS homebrew software thing. I just got interested in it 1 day and started searching around. I've tried searching, but it's no help.

First off, is there a turtorial anywhere? I thought I saw one on the site, but I'm still very confused.
If I put FlashMe on my DS, can I still use regular DS games? Will I be able to play on WiFi Connect?S

What exactly will I need? Can someone give me some links to the things I will have to buy?
Will the R4 or whatever I need have enough space to hold the homebrew games, or will I need an SD card?

If I install FlashMe, will it be enough to add all the Homebrew apps, like the media viewer ones?
Please anyone offer some guidance for me, and if you could take me step by step on how to put FlashMe on my DS. I wanna start running the homebrew Doom and Quake.

If you want you can contact me. MSN: [email protected]
 
OK First Off, FlashMe is a firmware for the NDS itself. Has nothing DIRECTLY involved with Homebrew.

Now. FlashMe is fairly easy if you know what you're doing. Search for FlashMe tutorials on youtube and such.

Now. It sounds like you don't have a flash cartridge at all, right? I suggest getting a cart with known good homebrew capability. I believe the R4 and the M3 Real are fairly good as well as cheap.

Yes you will need a MicroSD card to store files and homebrew.
 
Long answer:

1. Flashme is pretty much underused nowadays since mostly all the new generation SLOT-1 carts have a built in PASSME, (used to switch between SLOT-1 and SLOT-2 usage). Simply don't use it. If you really need to know what it is, it's just a firmware replacement used primarily to get rid of the Health and Warnings screen shown when you boot your DS up. Most people do not flash their DS nowadays because, one, the Health and Warnings screen only lasts half a second, and two, there's a potential of bricking your DS from flashing incorrectly.

I assume you know what SLOT-1 and SLOT-2 is. SLOT-1 is the slot for the DS games, and SLOT-2 is for GBA games.

2. Homebrew and games are played for free using a DS flashcart, which is a third party manufactured cart that uses its own software to launch ROM (.nds, .gba, etc.). Homebrew are used in these formats and most of the newer homebrew require DLDI to run. Search around for a DLDI tutorial once you get into it.

Flashcarts are available from online retailers, ranging from $14 to $78 (DS-Xtreme doesn't count. At all. Sorry.
smile.gif
), but what I recommend is that you follow the carts that are original, not too cheap, and garner good recommendations. I am referring to Acekard 2, CycloDS Evolution, SCDS1, EDGE, DSTT, etc. Flashcarts to stay away from include N5DS (DS brick possibility), R4DS (overhype from new users, almost nonexistent firmware updates), DS-Xtreme, and a couple of the older carts that long lived past their hardware/software capabilities.

Mostly all need a microSD transflash card to run. Newer generation carts usually support MicroSDHC (4GB+) cards, some older ones like R4, M3 Simply, etc, only support up to 2GB. Nearly no carts have onboard memory, with the exception of the Acekard RPG, with 1GB NAND onboard flash memory.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, but please consult the search option beforehand.
 
Ok thanks for the tips. Most of the other sites I visited are really old and out of date.

So the basic neccessities for me will be a flashcart? Then I just stick the game on the kart, plug it into my DS, and it should play?

The videos I've seen of modded DS's have like a list of folders where you select what's on the card.

And when I do get my stuff set up, do you guys have any games to recommend? I've seen StarLite (Star Craft for DS). Are those types of games too good to be true? Or have I been missing the joys of homebrew games for years?

Also referring to my earlier questions: Can I play with other people without modded DS's? Will I be able to play regular DS games still and play online?
 
In my opinion, homebrew is more of a shadow of the DS Scene, save for a few awesome exceptional programs. You could ask around, but I'm not a real expert on the subject, since I only use the basics (Colors!, DSOrganize, messaging clients, browsers)

Basic necessities are the microSD, flash cart, and the files on the microSD required for the flashcart software to run. The microSD acts just like a regular old USB flash drive (drag and drop files as you feel appropriate), only micro-sized, usually flashcart packages provide MicroSD card readers for you to use.

The flash cart launches ROMs and plays them as they would a regular retail DS game, so don't worry about Wifi, Download Play, etc, as most of that is taken care of given that you have a good flash cart. It works perfectly for the most part, and if there are slowdowns, glitches, games that don't function, those are fixed very quickly via firmware updates, depending on what cart you have.
 
The general way it works is that you buy a slot 1 flash cart and a microSD or microSDHC card (the practical difference is that microSDHC cards come in sizes larger than 4GB while microSD cards are generally 2GB and smaller). You connect the microSD card to your PC using a microSDHC card reader (one is included with most flash carts). You download the latest version of the firmware for your flash cart to your PC from the website of the flash cart or from the download section of this site. You unzip the firmware archive and then copy the firmware to the microSD card (just drag and drop the firmware files). You then make a folder on your microSD card named "games" (or whatever you want) and put a few game ROMs or homebrew files (.nds files) in the folder. You use the "safely remove hardware" utility on Windows before removing your microSD card from the PC. You put your flash cart into your NDS, then put your microSD card into the flash cart, then turn on your NDS. You will then see a menu with a list of the games/homebrew you put onto your microSD card. Select a game or homebrew file to run it. It's a fairly straightforward process.

If you want to play GBA games (.gba files) that are stored on your microSD card, you also need a slot 2 GBA expansion cart like the EZFlash 3-in-1 in addition to your slot 1 flash cart. Depending on the flash cart you have, you may also need a program called GBA ExpLoader which loads games from your flash cart to your slot 2 GBA expansion cart in order to play the game. As a bonus, the EZFlash 3-in-1 also acts as a memory expansion required to use the Opera Browser and has a built-in "rumble pak" (it vibrates for certain games that support it -- it's less exciting than it sounds).

-Bri
 
So I won't need new firmware for my DS?

1 more question. I heard that if someone wanted to, they could put malicious code into the ROM. Then it could destroy your DS. I also heard that the FlashMe firmware protects your DS against malware. Is this true?

Thanks for being patient with me.
 
Can you recommend a good Flash Kart and/or microSD? I looked around different websites, but there's soooooo many products available that I feel lost.

I saw this http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/hb-ds-cycevob Would I be able to connect a microSD to it? Is it even the right thing you were talking about? It looks like it comes with automatic DLDI Patching too
 
Yes that is a very good cart. Some might say it's even the best flash cart out there. I suggest you get it from realhotstuff.com. They have fast shipping in the U.S and the prices are fairly cheap.
 
Another good store for shipping to the U.S. would be Leetmod.com (2-3 day shipping, excellent customer service, etc). If you're more interested in saving money than fast shipping, check out dealextreme.com (expect to wait 2 or 3 weeks for delivery).

The following flash carts are often recommended:

Acekard 2
CycloDS
SCDS1
Edge
M3 Sakura

Each has advantages and disadvantages. Read through the forums (in particular this topic) and you'll get an idea of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The following microSD / microSDHC cards are often recommended:

Japanese Kingston 2GB microSD
A-Data 4GB class 6 microSDHC

A 2GB microSD card will hold around 30 games (depending on how large the games are). If you don't anticipate needing/wanting to access more than ~30 games at a time, consider getting the Kingston since 1) it's cheaper, 2) microSD can be formatted with FAT16 rather than FAT32 (FAT16 is a bit faster), and 3) microSD uses slightly less power than a microSDHC. If you decide on a larger microSDHC, get a class 6. There are 4GB microSD cards, but I don't think they're recommended because they're not standard (I believe the microSD specifications only support up to 2GB microSD cards) so if you want a 4GB or higher card, go with a (class 6) microSDHC.

-Bri
 
KK Important question. Is it possible to get a virus and destory the DS using the Flashcart? I read that installing FlashMe protects against viruses. Are the games like 99.9999% safe?
 
Forget about flashme.

You don't need it if you're using a newer generation flashcart. Really, ALL IT DOES is get rid of the Health and Warnings screen when you boot your DS. That's ALL it does nowadays. If you're using a newer flashcart, it'll act as a passme, so you -really- don't need flashme at all. It's pretty much a thing of the past.

The virus you speak of is now pretty much nonexistent. Don't worry about it at all. If you're so worried, go get a more reputable source for ROMs.
 
You might be a n00b, (like myself) but you're rather well informed.

The Cyclo DS is an excellent flashcart, from what I've seen.

I can also personally recommend the M3 Real "perfect pack".
(I also recommend the Sakura triple-boot english translation firmware for use with the M3Real)

I get much of my hardware from DealeXtreme. They're rather reliable, IMHO.

I have FlashMe installed on my DS, even though it's not quite so necessary these days. (In the highly unlikely case of a bricking program that the trimmers don't happen to catch) It does not hinder me in any noticeable way.

I use the previously recommended A-data 4 gig SDHC micro SD card.

In short, there is little-to-nothing I've not been able to do with my NDS.

Let us know when you have your flashcart. We'll be better able to assist you from there.

I bid you a most warm welcome to GBAtemp.
 
lonesome_killer said:
KK Important question. Is it possible to get a virus and destory the DS using the Flashcart? I read that installing FlashMe protects against viruses. Are the games like 99.9999% safe?
Click to expand...

It is possible but highly unlikely that a ROM would brick your NDS. If you're concerned, use a program like Rominator that can do a checksum on the ROM to ensure that it is unmodified. Also follow Akamai's advice and get your ROMs from a site that's been around for a while and checks their ROMs for authenticity.

-Bri
 
FlashMe is not needed anymore ok
lecture.gif
just get a New Generation flashcart for DS and a MicroSD/HC and upload your media, homebrew etc... onto it take it out safely and voila!
yaynds.gif
ready to go...
grog.gif


By the homebrew games suck ... well most ... but the Apps are GREAT!
biggrin.gif
like the internet browser, that phone app, colors, dsorganize and more!
 
Thanks. Like I was saying, most of the other sites are dead and haven't had responses since January.

I'll probably get Cyclo. I get my pay check next Thursday August 1st, or I just might go ahead and buy it with what little money I have left and hope an emergency doesn't arrive.

I'm kinda broke right now. I spent ~$300 on a WoW private server
happy.gif


I tried A Touch of War on a DS emulator....simply AMAZING! (for homebrew and cosidering there's no good RTS commercial games >_> )

What's the phone app you speak of? I'm Googling it now
 
The phone app is slightly useless and a bit difficult to configure, because one, you still need to pay for calls (after the trial hours are up on the SIP account), two, the sound quality is blurry to say the least, three, you need to open Wifi connection, and four, cell phones are just much more easier and more versatile to use, assuming you have one. Don't you?
 

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