GBAtemp.net - The Independent Video Game Community

They are the kernel. They are only specific to the card they were designed to. It's the file name that's specific to the launcher you are using (if you are using one to launch the card).

Otherwise the card's internal rom expects them to have a specific filename if you booted the cart using that internal rom. (aka booting direct from Home Menu for example)

Alright. When downloading my R4 card's kernel from r4i-sdhc.com (The v1.83b on without the "i" mark) there's no _DS_MENU.dat file, so which launcher am i meant to use?

Edit: I see that you have said that R4 Upgrade Revolution cards work with the DSTT laucnher, going to try it out

Depends. What files does it have? Some cards use different filenames. _DSMENU.dat, R4i.dat, R4.dat, R4i.pk, etc.

Oh yeah. Most (if not all) R4 SDHC cards are a clone of DSTT.

It may have originally been setup to use TTMenu.dat. Though many clones have decided to alter the file name.

Yeah, it uses R4.dat

Ok cool. I think my R4i Gold Launcher (which launches some DSTT clones that didn't want to work with official launcher) expect that file name. However if you are going to use my DSTT launcher. Rename the R4.dat file to TTMenu.dat. Since the internal rom isn't being booted, the original file name the card expected is irrelevant. It's only important that you are using the correct firmware for the card.