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nds-bootstrap loader: Run commercial NDS backups from an SD Card

nds-bootstrap:

Thanks to the work of ahezard, Gericom, Apache, Robz8, _catcatcat, and shutterbug2000 and other contributors, we can now load NDS games from the SD card, without any flashcard/SLOT-1 card.

Don't expect high compatibility, but do expect many, many updates.

:arrow: Compatibility listing:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

:arrow: The official Discord server for nds-bootstrap:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7bxTQfZ

:arrow: The thread for the recommended loader (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/twloader-ctr-mode-nds-app.448375/

:arrow: SRLoader for softmodded DSis (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/srloader-nds-app-for-dsi.472200/

:arrow: If you're more of a forwarder person:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

:arrow: Link to the releases page:
https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap/releases

:arrow: Anti-Piracy patch list by Robz8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ap-patch-preservation.477536/

Also, thank you to our testers:
Historian
JoshuaDoes
thejsa
Alerdy
PokeAcer


Also, a video thanks to Robz8:


And another thanks to Alerdy:
 
Last edited by shutterbug2000,
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WorldStar9

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I have a problem, when I boot up Newer Super Mario Bros. DS, I get a black screen with a white touch screen. Is there a way to fix this?
 
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FR0ZN

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Is there a general roadmap of some sorts for this project?
I have been following it since day one, but actually never used it.

I'm just curious, what still needs to be done from the devs persective.
And do the devs believe that it's possible to gain 100% compatability with all the NDS games in terms of speed etc. ?
 
zeroultima6

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I wonder what happens when the nds-bootstrap project is completed (same for TWLmenu), what's next, the GBA version of nintendont if you're helping gericom?
 
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Syuein

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@Robz8 I know I made bad first impression but I'm just trying to help so that more people like myself can enjoy in what we came to like.
TBH, I respect people who put their time and effort into helping others, especially when it comes to non-profit projects such as emus and hb.
And I don't want to force anyone's opinion. I moved to TWiLight Menu keaping TWLoader on a spare sd for historical reasons.
If you don't feel like it, you don't have to fix Tales of Innocence intro bug. I'll stick to emu since I can't get past intro.
For reference though, its either v0.9.1 or v0.9.2 of nds-bootstrap that fixed that intro bug. Hope you understand, why.

Also, the version of TWLoader it worked with was the one from TitleDB++. Not the one from your git repo.
 
Last edited by Syuein,
samusdx

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I encountered a problem with Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, the game slows down heavily during the cutscenes. The audio plays normal, it's just the video that gets extremly sluggish. It's very noticable during the cutscene where they take the train to the tower of spirits and get surprised by the chancellor. I'm using a backup of my euro release of the game. Maybe someone could confirm this.
 
Skirlez

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Hi, I tried playing PortalDS with this and it didn't work. it all displayed correctly and I could see GladOS but the touchscreen buttons didn't work.
The only way I could play it properly was with this:
github.com/ahezard/nds-hb-menu/releases (cia file)
what it does is it boots TWiLightMenu but for some reason I can play PortalDS; and only PortalDS, since other games crash when I boot them with nds-hb-menu.
I'm sure it is meant for booting homebrew only.

My questions are:
Why do I have to use nds-hb-menu in order to play portalDS? (I know it says HB meaning homebrew but I mean a technical reason)

Is there a way I don't have to use nds-hb-menu?
 
Last edited by Skirlez,
RocketRobz

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Skirlez said:
Hi, I tried playing PortalDS with this and it didn't work. it all displayed correctly and I could see GladOS but the touchscreen buttons didn't work.
The only way I could play it properly was with this:
github.com/ahezard/nds-hb-menu/releases (cia file)
what it does is it boots TWiLightMenu but for some reason I can play PortalDS; and only PortalDS, since other games crash when I boot them with nds-hb-menu.
I'm sure it is meant for booting homebrew only.

My questions are:
Why do I have to use nds-hb-menu in order to play portalDS? (I know it says HB meaning homebrew but I mean a technical reason)

Is there a way I don't have to use nds-hb-menu?
Click to expand...
Try setting portalDS to use direct boot in the ROM's per-game settings in TWLMenu++.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

v0.18.0

What's new?
  • (@ahezard) arm9 side of cardEngine can now loaded into cached memory region for SDK1-4 games.
    This slightly speeds up load times for games using those SDKs.
    Starting with TWLMenu++ v8.0.0, it's loaded there by default. If some games previously working in v0.17.1 aren't working, hold L after pressing whatever button to launch the game, to move ce9 out of cached memory. (Holding L will not work in the Acekard theme.)
  • (@ahezard) Boot indicator is now set for SDK1-4 games as well. (Was previously only set for SDK5 games.)
    Fixes support for some games that worked in previous nds-bootstrap versions, such as Digimon World DS, Phineas and Ferb, etc.
  • (@RocketRobz) Fossil Fighters Champions now works.
  • (@ahezard) Minimal card DMA implementation.
  • (@ahezard, @RocketRobz) Proper card/chip ID is now generated for your ROM. May improve some compatibility.
  • (@RocketRobz) iQue game compatibility fixed. The Only for iQue DS message is no longer shown.
Regression
  • Metroid Prime Hunters may load a bit slower now.
 
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Skirlez

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Robz8 said:
Try setting portalDS to use direct boot in the ROM's per-game settings in TWLMenu++.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

v0.18.0

What's new?
  • (@ahezard) arm9 side of cardEngine can now loaded into cached memory region for SDK1-4 games.
    This slightly speeds up load times for games using those SDKs.
    Starting with TWLMenu++ v8.0.0, it's loaded there by default. If some games previously working in v0.17.1 aren't working, hold L after pressing whatever button to launch the game, to move ce9 out of cached memory. (Holding L will not work in the Acekard theme.)
  • (@ahezard) Boot indicator is now set for SDK1-4 games as well. (Was previously only set for SDK5 games.)
    Fixes support for some games that worked in previous nds-bootstrap versions, such as Digimon World DS, Phineas and Ferb, etc.
  • (@RocketRobz) Fossil Fighters Champions now works.
  • (@ahezard) Minimal card DMA implementation.
  • (@ahezard, @RocketRobz) Proper card/chip ID is now generated for your ROM. May improve some compatibility.
  • (@RocketRobz) iQue game compatibility fixed. The Only for iQue DS message is no longer shown.
Regression
  • Metroid Prime Hunters may load a bit slower now.
Click to expand...
It is already set to direct boot. Thanks for the new release, I'll check if maybe it fixes PortalDS in this version.
EDIT:Nope, still doesn't work.
 
Last edited by Skirlez,

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