Can a Passcard 2 be repurposed for anything usefull in 2024?

[ASSASSIN-Z]

I'd like to know if anyone has any knowledge about the chips used on a Passcard 2. Can it be reflashed into being something useful on the Nintendo DS ?

in 2024?

 

[SylverReZ]

The Passcards only work with the original DS and DS lite models only. Compatibility-wise, it doesn't work with later games compiled with a newer SDK, so a DS flashcart such as an R4 or M3 DS Real is recommended.

 

[Apache Thunder]

Cards like this normally don't show up in DSi System Menu due to some extra checks it does but curious if bootrom does the same. You might be able to use these for ntrboot but that's a stretch. There's not much else you can do with them.

 

[ASSASSIN-Z]

Cards like this normally don't show up in DSi System Menu due to some extra checks it does but curious if bootrom does the same. You might be able to use these for ntrboot but that's a stretch. There's not much else you can do with them.

How can we find out if ntrboot will work with this?

 

[djnate27]

I'm all for recycling hardware and tinkering and whatnot...but some things need to just go in the junk drawer...PassCard 2 is one of them. But hey. Whenever you feel nostalgic or want to teach your younguns about the good ole days...dust it off.

To quote Indiana Jones, "It belongs in a museum!"

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I'd like to know if anyone has any knowledge about the chips used on a Passcard 2. Can it be reflashed into being something useful on the Nintendo DS ?
View attachment 444207in 2024?

That memory chip probably just contains a ROM file so if you had a suitable programmer, you could probably reprogram it.
It's going to be a small size, so not much would fit on there.

 

[ASSASSIN-Z]

It should make a unique keychain or pendant huh? Should I harvest the gold?

 

[N7Kopper]

I suppose you could scratch your arse with it. Might be some ancient germs on those contacts though. XD

 

[ASSASSIN-Z]

I suppose you could scratch your arse with it. Might be some ancient germs on those contacts though. XD

Nah, it's gonna be a high-tech guitar pick!

 

[Sliter]

well this is really sad... I think it could be done but need some knowledge, which I don't have lol
Same with like GW 3DS, I think it could be reprogrammed to work like a sky3DS but no one care for this thing xD

 

[Jayro]

How can we find out if ntrboot will work with this?

Use GodMode9i to dump the cart's ROM/Firmware, and try flashing NTRBOOT to it.

 

[ASSASSIN-Z]

Use GodMode9i to dump the cart's ROM/Firmware, and try flashing NTRBOOT to it.

I ran GodMode9i from my GBAMP in slot 2 on the NDS and dumped the rom from the Passcard 2, it had Pac n' Roll on it which is 32mb. So the Passcard2 should have more than enough room for NTRBOOT, right?

How do I use GodMode9i to flash NTRBOOT to the Passcard2? I don't see any option to flash/copy files to slot 1, and there is no directory for the Passcard 2.

The Passcard2 shows up as NDS GAMECARD on the GM9 menu, and when it's selected it only gives the option to dump. So I guess Passcard2 has no write capabilites, only read.

 

[SylverReZ]

That memory chip probably just contains a ROM file so if you had a suitable programmer, you could probably reprogram it.
It's going to be a small size, so not much would fit on there.

The cartridge is more or less a compressed PassMe without the pin header, comprising of both the game ROM chip and CPLD all in one. Shouldn't be difficult to reprogram these as long as you have a programmer that is compatible with JTAG, an FTDI and OpenOCD-XPack will work.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I ran GodMode9i from my GBAMP in slot 2 on the NDS and dumped the rom from the Passcard 2, it had Pac n' Roll on it which is 32mb. So the Passcard2 should have more than enough room for NTRBOOT, right?

How do I use GodMode9i to flash NTRBOOT to the Passcard2? I don't see any option to flash/copy files to slot 1, and there is no directory for the Passcard 2.

The Passcard2 shows up as NDS GAMECARD on the GM9 menu, and when it's selected it only gives the option to dump. So I guess Passcard2 has no write capabilites, only read.

I don't believe that GodMode9i has the capability to flash cartridges, it just treats whatever is in the slot as a normal DS cartridge and is able to dump the ROM and dump and restore save data. But actually flashing a cart tends to be different from cart to cart.
They probably meant to use the ntrboot installer. Though I suspect it would not be able to do much if it doesn't recognize the cart as compatible already.