Corrupted Cartridge Fixer Release

PepperGK · May 11, 2026

Kwyjor said:
Why don't you just follow the instructions in the first post in this thread..?

Don't you think there would be big warnings everywhere if there was some possibility of "bricking your device"?

for the first part i just didn't see the text in parenthesis, and for the second one, i'm kinda dumb when it comes to this kind of thing sorry, afterward i found a guide called "cartridge unfuck guide which explained in step by step but clearer for me (with the same exact github link) so i used the first one and i'm like on my forth fixing already and it seems only getting better so i just wantes to say thanks to @skawo you're the goat. Have a nice day !

JuanTo100 · May 11, 2026

Update on my cartridge fix, after all these days on block 1 refreshing every 51s.........I'm still on the first block, but now it started refreshing every 5s instead, stonks xD.

The Real Jdbye · May 11, 2026

Madtaz64 said:
Can this be used to fix standard DS games as well? Noticed both my Pokemon Diamond and Platinum carts both give me the "save data could not be accessed/found" error so I was considering using this program if cleaning the bottom of the carts doesn't fix them.

DS carts do not have a writable ROM chip. Your issue sounds save related, you can hold Up+Select+B on the title screen to reset the save file.

Edit: Look at this slop Google gave me

DarSitam · May 25, 2026

Hi there,

I've found this tool and used it for my Smash Bros 3DS cartridge. Before the use of this tool, the cartridge wouldn't even load (black screen), and now it boots. However, there are still some issues left :

GodMode9 still can't verify the cartridge, it instantly fails
There are still around a hundred of unfixable chunks.

I have done normal fix, 100x fix, select + normal and select + 100x in this order, and for each fix, I've done it 3 times, but after that, theres no progress at all.

Is there a way to force these chunks to be fixed ? The game loads fine, but my goal here is to be able to verify the cartridge through GM9 :/
Alternatively, if the cartridge is a lost cause, is there a way to upload an old backup of the game in the cart itself ?

skawo · May 25, 2026

The only way to fix the chunks is to try using the tool over and over. If the unfixable chunk count is not decreasing in the logs, then the cartridge is probably toast.

There's no way to reprogram a cartridge, unfortunately.

DarSitam · May 25, 2026

skawo said:
The only way to fix the chunks is to try using the tool over and over. If the unfixable chunk count is not decreasing in the logs, then the cartridge is probably toast.

There's no way to reprogram a cartridge, unfortunately.

Damn, too bad

What's the best way to try to fix these chunks ? From what i've seen, its 100x + SELECT mode, but i want to be sure just in case.
Also, is there a way to target only those bad blocks ?

skawo · May 25, 2026

I would just do regular runs (no SELECT), to be honest. That way, only the bad blocks are the only ones targetted (the others are only read once - if you use the SELECT mode then it attempts to refresh them all, and it takes much longer).

Incidentally, I have just released an update (1.5a) that should make the process a bit faster. The unfixable chunk count is now printed to the screeen, so you no longer have to check the logs every time.

stride · May 28, 2026

skawo said:
3DS Cartridge Fixer Tool

Lately, there have been news about NAND Flash media deteriorating just because of sitting unused in storage for too long. 3DS Cartridges use a fancy NAND Flash chip, so, naturally, there is some cause for concern that they, too, will start failing.

When cleaning my collection, I decided to check all my 3DS games for this very reason - and to my surprise, my Paper Jam Bros. cartridge has completely failed. On an unhacked 3DS, it would load infinitely, and on 3DSes with Luma CFW it would immediately throw an ARM 11 Exception when launched.

After dumping the game, I discovered that the ExeFS and about half of the game files were corrupted. I nearly wrote the cartridge off, until I noticed that the "infinite load" thing stopped happening. Indeed, the game was now crashing when trying to display the titlescreen. Checking with GodMode9, the ExeFS has seemingly fixed itself! Some more faffing later, I even managed to get the titlescreen to work again intermittently.

Reading around, I found this post, and with it mentions of the 3DS carts' refresh functionality. And so, I modified GodMode9 to run this refresh more frequently and after some manual checking and comparing hashes, I now have a fully working Paper Jam. Bros. cartridge again. Hooray?

I decided to make the process more automatic and release a tool able to potentially fix cartridges corrupted in this same manner.

This applies to 3DS carts only - not DS ones. Those are likely safe for the time being.

Download
(Click on "GM9CorruptionFixer_1.5a.firm" to download)

Usage:

Install Luma CFW if it is not already installed.

Download the compiled .firm file from the Releases section and copy it to:
SD:/luma/payloads/

Insert the SD card into the 3DS, then power it on while holding START.

If a payload menu appears, select the GodMode Refresh firm. If not, simply continue.

Select GAMECART.
A list of files should appear. If no files are shown, remove and reinsert the game cartridge, then re-select GAMECART to try again.

Select the file ending in .3ds.
Do not select a file ending in .trim.3ds.

Select NCSD image options...

Select Verify.
This checks whether the cartridge has this specific type of corruption or whether a different issue is causing the problem.

If verification fails:

Return to NCSD image options

Select Fix cartridge corruption

If Fix cartridge corruption is missing, you likely launched the standard version of GodMode9 instead of the refresh version. Confirm that the refresh .firm file is in: SD:/luma/payloads/, and then relaunch it.

After the repair process finishes:

Return to NCSD image options

Select Verify again

If the verification succeeds, the repair is complete. If verification still fails, run Fix cartridge corruption again (some cartridges require several repair passes before they become stable).

Tracking repair progress
To track whether the cartridge is improving, observe the "unfixable chunks" number. This number is increased whenever a chunk cannot be fixed, or is manually skipped.

Compare the number after each repair pass:

If the number of bad blocks decreases with each run, the cartridge is improving. Continue running the repair process.

If the number of bad blocks does not decrease after 2–3 attempts, those blocks are likely permanently damaged and probably will not improve with additional runs.

This will take a while. As in, it can take more than a day for heavily corrupted carts.

If you're just looking for a way to confirm your cartridges are working fine, the verify function (including the one in GodMode9) checks all the files - a more thorough check than just trying the cartridge out regularly. A cartridge might start but still have some random files corrupted.

Though not proven, I am not sure that simply inserting the cartridge into the console ocassionally is enough to preserve its longevity: to be safe, I think the console should actually go through all the data blocks at least once. Running the GodMode9 verify function periodically (every couple years or so) should extend the cartridge's longevity.

From testing, it seems some games are more affected than the others. The games that come up most often, and thus are likely most prone to this fault, are:

Persona Q

Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Mario Kart 7

Fire Emblem Echoes

Fire Emblem Fates

(Note though, that this is not an extensive list - especially since these are all fairly big titles, and it's unlikely only first/second party stuff is affected)

Not updating this anymore, but after about a year
these were the stats:
72 fixed fully - - - - - - - - 35 improved - - - - - - - - 34 unrecoverable

If you do try this out, please share the results!

Note: this will not do anything for cartridges that have physical defects, such as cracked solder joints. But if your cartridge appears to load infinitely, or frequently crashes from non-gameplay-related reasons, this tool has a chance to fix it.

i love you tysm i can play pokemon alpha sapphire again

DarSitam · May 28, 2026

Some days later, and cartridge fixer 1.5 tells me that there's 0 unfixable chunks left on my smash cartridge. However, "verify files" still doesnt work. So either the fixer lies or there's another issue with the cartridge. Any ideas of what can I try next ?

skawo · Friday at 5:38 AM

It's possible that a chunk has destabilized again when other chunks got fixed. Try running it a couple more times?
Unless this is consistent... if so, try actually logging the results.
Admittedly, all new features are untested, because, well, I don't have any broken carts to test them with :v

darkcammo · 2026-06-04T16:01:42+0100

I'm just getting into reviving my old 3DS and cartridges after probably 8+ years of collecting dust. If only I had known that was the kiss of death for these games. I actually just registered to say thank you for this @skawo . This is a great tool as I'm finding several of my games were completely toast.

Omega Ruby with 150-ish errors, got it down to 0 and it plays now. It still wont verify, but it plays so I'll call it a win.
Alpha Sapphire too far gone, title text showed corrupted with ???'s in the name and wouldnt get past 0% for hours.

I'll absolutely take 1/2.

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