Homebrew DS(i) NOOB PARADISE - Ask questions here

[KleinesSinchen]

I'm interested in modding my DSi to add stuff like Twilight Menu++, but I just wanted to ask about whether or not this may affect how the DSi works since I've been reading a lot about this but I'm still confused. Like, will all my physical cartridges still work with no issues? If I played something like my physical copy of Pokemon White could I connect to a fan server with a WPA connection? I'm just curious since I want to be sure I won't accidentally mess anything up and have to figure more stuff out to get my physical games working properly. If using modded menus does affect that, then would it be possible to use the original home menu or something to run the games normally?

No answer from me about the online stuff → Don't play online, don't know anything.

Everything else:
Using the guide https://dsi.cfw.guide/ will not mess up anything. Unless you install unlaunch (optional) there is no permanent modification and the DSi starts with the normal menu (TWL++ is opened with the camera exploit Memory Pit).
The guide will add a lot of functionality to your console – not take some away.


Good luck and have fun!

 

[banjo2]

If I played something like my physical copy of Pokemon White could I connect to a fan server with a WPA connection?

Yes, as you can with an unmodded system, it just requires a settings change, with 164.132.44.106 or 178.62.43.212 as your primary DNS and 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8 as your secondary DNS

 

[FunkyFreshFellow]

Alright then, I guess I'll try out TWL++ first and decide whether I want to add anything else from there.
Also when it comes to SD cards, I already know that I'll be getting either a 16 GB or 32 GB SD card, but I was also wondering about how much the speed of the SD card matters when it comes to loading or playing ROMs and if there's any advantage to having a faster one. Plus I'm a bit curious on how it works, since TWL++ seems to only be stored to the SD card, would not having the SD card inserted just have the DSi work as normal? That seems like it would be interesting, kinda like having a flashcart on an SD card if I'm understanding it correctly.

 

[wavemotion]

Something I've been wondering about - the DSi has an extra ~800K of fast shared WRAM that nobody ever seems to talk about. I tried to figure out how to enable this but failed miserably

Is there an easy way using LIBNDS / DevKitPRO to utilize any of this extra fast memory? I'd love to give a nice speed boost on the DSi with more faster memory. I've utilized all the ITCM (32K) and DTCM (16K) as well as put as much chunks of large data in unused VRAM which is faster than the slow normal memory... having extra WRAM would be a godsend!

@RocketRobz , @Pk11, @Coto ?

 

[Coto]

@wavemotion hi, how it's going

There's registers for doing that:
https://bitbucket.org/Coto88/toolch...019e9f0a6d/src/common/initNDSTGDS.c#lines-185 (ARM7i side)

https://bitbucket.org/Coto88/toolch...019e9f0a6d/src/common/initNDSTGDS.c#lines-230 (ARM9i side)

While the new Shared WRAM registers do extend size (from 32K shared mode to ~800K mode), it does change some bits, so the transition may not be 1:1, because I tried extending them when adding audio stream in TWL mode (raw PCM, ADPCM and TGDS-audioplayer decoders), and then didn't work, so inmediately was decided: "nope, It's NTR mode even in TWL mode or coding won't be good!"

4004008h - DSi7 - SCFG_EXT7 - Extended Features (R/W)

4004008h - DSi9 - SCFG_EXT9 - Extended Features (R/W) [8307F100h]

https://problemkaputt.de/gbatek.htm#dsicontrolregistersscfg

 

[Coto]

Something I've been wondering about - the DSi has an extra ~800K of fast shared WRAM that nobody ever seems to talk about. I tried to figure out how to enable this but failed miserably

Is there an easy way using LIBNDS / DevKitPRO to utilize any of this extra fast memory? I'd love to give a nice speed boost on the DSi with more faster memory. I've utilized all the ITCM (32K) and DTCM (16K) as well as put as much chunks of large data in unused VRAM which is faster than the slow normal memory... having extra WRAM would be a godsend!

@RocketRobz , @Pk11, @Coto ?

Remember when you first registered? I wrote something about using the 32K Shared WRAM as emulator I/O mapping, used in SnemulDS for a speedup of about 50%... You could try that sir.

 

[Alacres]

This is probably a moronic question but would a European model DSI work here in the US, assuming I have Twilight menu installed on it and have a proper US power cord for it? I was thinking of buying one on eBay and I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues using it here in the states.

Also, I've read that the 3DS can run GBA games natively, but the DSI using GBArunner2 kind of can too. For the games that run perfectly with GBArunner2 on the DSI, does the picture look better on the DSI than the 3DS? I ask because I've seen many examples that show DS games looking better on the DSI XL versus the 3DS XL and I wondered if that also applied to GBA games on both systems?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pk11]

This is probably a moronic question but would a European model DSI work here in the US, assuming I have Twilight menu installed on it and have a proper US power cord for it? I was thinking of buying one on eBay and I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues using it here in the states.

Yep, just get a US charger and the only real difference is some games are region locked, however it's not that many (only "TWL" (DSi enhanced/exclusive and DSiWare) games) and TWiLight Menu++ and/or Unlaunch will make it region free anyways so it's not really a concern.

Also, I've read that the 3DS can run GBA games natively, but the DSI using GBArunner2 kind of can too. For the games that run perfectly with GBArunner2 on the DSI, does the picture look better on the DSI than the 3DS? I ask because I've seen many examples that show DS games looking better on the DSI XL versus the 3DS XL and I wondered if that also applied to GBA games on both systems?

Thanks in advance!

Yeah. GBA games fit nearly perfectly on the DS at 1x scale as the DS is only slightly higher resolution so GBA games look great on it.

GBA games on 3DS have the same problem as DS games where the 3DS is a bit higher resolution so it needs to scale the image, but not enough higher for it to be a good scale. With DS games it's a 1.25x upscale and with GBA games it's a 1.5x upscale, both are plenty usable but don't look great.

 

[Alacres]

Yep, just get a US charger and the only real difference is some games are region locked, however it's not that many (only "TWL" (DSi enhanced/exclusive and DSiWare) games) and TWiLight Menu++ and/or Unlaunch will make it region free anyways so it's not really a concern.


Yeah. GBA games fit nearly perfectly on the DS at 1x scale as the DS is only slightly higher resolution so GBA games look great on it.

GBA games on 3DS have the same problem as DS games where the 3DS is a bit higher resolution so it needs to scale the image, but not enough higher for it to be a good scale. With DS games it's a 1.25x upscale and with GBA games it's a 1.5x upscale, both are plenty usable but don't look great.

That's great! I think I'll definitely pull the trigger on it then. It's a bit expensive since I'm going for a brand new/open box condition system (I have a pet peeve about used hand-helds) but I think it will be worth it once I put CFW on it. If you don't mind me asking another noob question, how's the DS compatibility using Twilight compared to a flashcart? Is it about the same?

I'm looking forward to messing around with GBArunner2 on it but it's a shame how many bugs/glitches still seem to exist (going by the compatibility wiki page). I imagine the picture would be much nicer on the DSi but the games probably run considerably better on the 3DS. Guess you have to balance the pros and cons.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Pk11]

That's great! I think I'll definitely pull the trigger on it then. It's a bit expensive since I'm going for a brand new/open box condition system (I have a pet peeve about used hand-helds) but I think it will be worth it once I put CFW on it. If you don't mind me asking another noob question, how's the DS compatibility using Twilight compared to a flashcart? Is it about the same?

I'm looking forward to messing around with GBArunner2 on it but it's a shame how many bugs/glitches still seem to exist (going by the compatibility wiki page). I imagine the picture would be much nicer on the DSi but the games probably run considerably better on the 3DS. Guess you have to balance the pros and cons.

Thanks for the help!

These days nds-bootstrap's (what TWiLight uses to run DS games from SD) compatibility isn't far behind flashcards, still not quite as good but it's quite close. It's got a compatibility list too, so see that for more info. There are also some things that work better in nds-bootstrap such as DSiWare if you want to try any of those, flashcards traditionally just can't run those. (though nds-bootstrap's flashcard mode has actually been getting limited support for a few DSiWare recently, it's much better on SD though since they can run with minimal patches)

For GBARunner2, yeah compatibility's still rather iffy... It is at least a bit better on DSi from SD than it is on flashcards so make sure you're looking at the DSi/3DS compatibility list, it's still far from perfect though.

 

[Alacres]

These days nds-bootstrap's (what TWiLight uses to run DS games from SD) compatibility isn't far behind flashcards, still not quite as good but it's quite close. It's got a compatibility list too, so see that for more info. There are also some things that work better in nds-bootstrap such as DSiWare if you want to try any of those, flashcards traditionally just can't run those. (though nds-bootstrap's flashcard mode has actually been getting limited support for a few DSiWare recently, it's much better on SD though since they can run with minimal patches)

For GBARunner2, yeah compatibility's still rather iffy... It is at least a bit better on DSi from SD than it is on flashcards so make sure you're looking at the DSi/3DS compatibility list, it's still far from perfect though.

Thanks again for all the info! I went ahead and ordered my new DSi XL earlier. I found a brand new dark brown model (my favorite of the colors) for $250. A bit pricey, especially for something so old, but I always look at modded systems as investments and I'm OCD about being the sole owner of my hand-helds.

I also realized that the flashcard (the R4i Gold plus, I think) that I had in my 3DS XL looks like it may work in the DSi as well, so I guess I can use that if the compatibility is much better. I still plan to try some games directly from Twilight though, at least the ones without bugs and such, but I figure the flashcard is the way to go until more bugs are ironed out. I love the thought of playing everything straight from the SD card so I'm hoping the nds-boodstrap mode continues to get better and better. Same for GBArunner2.

Really excited!

 

[Pk11]

Thanks again for all the info! I went ahead and ordered my new DSi XL earlier. I found a brand new dark brown model (my favorite of the colors) for $250. A bit pricey, especially for something so old, but I always look at modded systems as investments and I'm OCD about being the sole owner of my hand-helds.

I also realized that the flashcard (the R4i Gold plus, I think) that I had in my 3DS XL looks like it may work in the DSi as well, so I guess I can use that if the compatibility is much better. I still plan to try some games directly from Twilight though, at least the ones without bugs and such, but I figure the flashcard is the way to go until more bugs are ironed out. I love the thought of playing everything straight from the SD card so I'm hoping the nds-boodstrap mode continues to get better and better. Same for GBArunner2.

Really excited!

If a flashcard works on the latest 3DS firmware it'll work on DSi too, there are many cards called "R4i Gold Plus" or similar names so hard to be sure from just the name, but if it's the r4ids.cn one or even any of the timebomb ones it'll work fine.

I'm not sure the exact numbers, but nds-bootstrap's compatibility must be in the high 90%s by now so yeah definitely worth trying it. It's also got a few features that no flashcard ever had such as taking screenshots and IR being usable if you have an IR cart.

 

[Alacres]

Probably another stupid question but I was wondering: Once I finish all the steps using the https://dsi.cfw.guide on my new DSi, is there anything special I need to do in order to use my R4 card on it, or is it pretty much just plug and play? And do I need to be on HiyaCFW when I do it, or Twilight? I keep getting confused as to which program is the actual CFW, since Twilight kind of behaves like one, heh.

Speaking of which, is HiyaCFW included with the unlaunch or Twilight download? I didn't see a direct link for it in the guide so I'm assuming it comes bundled with one of them? And what exactly does it do, since Unlaunch and Twilight seem to cover all the bases already?

Sorry for all the questions; just trying to prepare for when my DSi gets here on Saturday (hopefully).

 

[banjo2]

Once I finish all the steps using the https://dsi.cfw.guide on my new DSi, is there anything special I need to do in order to use my R4 card on it, or is it pretty much just plug and play?

Yeah, you should be able to put it in and use it. Older ones are blocked by the DSi firmware, in which case you would have to install Unlaunch.

And do I need to be on HiyaCFW when I do it, or Twilight? I keep getting confused as to which program is the actual CFW, since Twilight kind of behaves like one, heh.

TWiLight Menu++ is a frontend for multiple emulators and loaders, you would be fine just using that. hiyaCFW allows you to have your NAND on your SD card.
It doesn't really serve much tangible purpose anymore, as TWLM++ can boot DSiWare just fine & Unlaunch has hotkey options. You can also install things directly to your real NAND using the newly released NTM, if you really wanted to.

Speaking of which, is HiyaCFW included with the unlaunch or Twilight download? I didn't see a direct link for it in the guide so I'm assuming it comes bundled with one of them?

hiyaCFW used to be part of the main guide, but since it doesn't get a lot of use nowadays, it was moved to the DS-Homebrew Wiki.

Sorry for all the questions; just trying to prepare for when my DSi gets here on Saturday (hopefully).

No worries, there's no harm in asking such questions

 

[Alacres]

Yeah, you should be able to put it in and use it. Older ones are blocked by the DSi firmware, in which case you would have to install Unlaunch.


TWiLight Menu++ is a frontend for multiple emulators and loaders, you would be fine just using that. hiyaCFW allows you to have your NAND on your SD card.
It doesn't really serve much tangible purpose anymore, as TWLM++ can boot DSiWare just fine & Unlaunch has hotkey options. You can also install things directly to your real NAND using the newly released NTM, if you really wanted to.



hiyaCFW used to be part of the main guide, but since it doesn't get a lot of use nowadays, it was moved to the DS-Homebrew Wiki.


No worries, there's no harm in asking such questions

Ah okay, so I guess I don't even need to bother with HiyaCFW? Or is there a benefit to using the NAND from the SD instead of internally?

Thanks very much for the help!

 

[Pk11]

Ah okay, so I guess I don't even need to bother with HiyaCFW? Or is there a benefit to using the NAND from the SD instead of internally?

Thanks very much for the help!

Running from SD is significantly safer than from the internal NAND because the DSi has a pretty low quality NAND so it's better to avoid wear to it when possible, and if you mess something up on internal NAND it's really hard to fix where on SD it's as simple as putting the SD in a computer and undoing what you did or worst case reinstalling the stuff on the SD. Though with the modern tools (NTM, Safe NAND Manager, Unlaunch, etc) it's significantly safer than it was a few years ago.

hiyaCFW generally isn't needed these days as TWiLight Menu++ can do more or less everything it can do and better, if you want the official DSi Menu with minimal risk and slightly more customizability though it can be useful.

 

[Alacres]

Running from SD is significantly safer than from the internal NAND because the DSi has a pretty low quality NAND so it's better to avoid wear to it when possible, and if you mess something up on internal NAND it's really hard to fix where on SD it's as simple as putting the SD in a computer and undoing what you did or worst case reinstalling the stuff on the SD. Though with the modern tools (NTM, Safe NAND Manager, Unlaunch, etc) it's significantly safer than it was a few years ago.

hiyaCFW generally isn't needed these days as TWiLight Menu++ can do more or less everything it can do and better, if you want the official DSi Menu with minimal risk and slightly more customizability though it can be useful.

Yeah, I had read about the internal NAND being a little iffy, so that was a concern. That being the case, I'm a little confused; does that mean installing HiyaCFW is a good idea then, or is it possible to use the SDNAND with just Twilight and Unlaunch? I wanted to set mine up the way most people are using theirs. Whichever method is the most fool-proof/safest.

 

[Pk11]

Yeah, I had read about the internal NAND being a little iffy, so that was a concern. That being the case, I'm a little confused; does that mean installing HiyaCFW is a good idea then, or is it possible to use the SDNAND with just Twilight and Unlaunch? I wanted to set mine up the way most people are using theirs. Whichever method is the most fool-proof/safest.

TWiLight Menu++ is independent from hiyaCFW (though it can be installed to hiyaCFW's SDNAND menu if wanted). Using TWiLight Menu++ provides the same safety benefits as hiyaCFW as either will be running from the SD card instead of NAND so really the only reason to use hiya is if you want the official DSi Menu but safer to install custom things too or you want to run one of the few DSiWare that don't work from nds-bootstrap/Unlaunch yet without risking writing to internal NAND.

Most people just use Unlaunch and TWiLight Menu++ I think, if you set Unlaunch to autoboot TWiLight (sdmc:/BOOT.NDS as NO BUTTON in Unlaunch options) then you never even have to use the official DSi Menu.

 

[Alacres]

TWiLight Menu++ is independent from hiyaCFW (though it can be installed to hiyaCFW's SDNAND menu if wanted). Using TWiLight Menu++ provides the same safety benefits as hiyaCFW as either will be running from the SD card instead of NAND so really the only reason to use hiya is if you want the official DSi Menu but safer to install custom things too or you want to run one of the few DSiWare that don't work from nds-bootstrap/Unlaunch yet without risking writing to internal NAND.

Most people just use Unlaunch and TWiLight Menu++ I think, if you set Unlaunch to autoboot TWiLight (sdmc:/BOOT.NDS as NO BUTTON in Unlaunch options) then you never even have to use the official DSi Menu.

Ahh okay, that clarifies it perfectly. Using the official DSi Menu doesn't matter to me, so I think I'll just go with TWI and Unlaunch.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Kapto_X]

I got a special case for y'all. Excuse me if J sound like a noob cos it's been really long and I'm not up to date. About a year or 2 ago, i had installed unlaunch, hiyacfw and Twilight menu using the flipnote glitch on my ndsi xl. It's firmware is 1.4.5u. I played on it for a few months, but the sd card broke inside it and in panic i ended up making it worse by damaging the sd card slot, trying to get it out. So now, the dsi has got unlaunch in it but everything in the sd card is gone and I can't get a new one. I would like to continue using it, so i decided to buy one of those xxx in one flash card. The seller doesn't provide any info about the flash card except the games. Since its on ebay, it can be returned. Hence I would like to try. Will it work on my dsi?