Good evening all. This began with a thread over on /r/flashcarts but now that I seem to have traced it to a non-flashcart issue, I wanted to pose it to a wider audience for input and possible solutions.
Problem: System displays dual black screens and error message on lower screen only when attempting to launch the inserted game cartridge; "An error has occurred. Press and hold the Power Button to turn the system off. Please see the Nintendo DSi Operations Manual for help troubleshooting."
System: DSi running system menu 1.4, Sudokuhax. The system has been downgraded from 1.4.5 via ugopown and that whole line of softmodding. I have NAND backups on file from the original 1.4, the upgrade to 1.4.5 (to use the DSi shop to enable the file management option in system settings), and the downgraded 1.4.
Cartridges tested: R4i Gold 3DS Plus, Brain Age 2. I initially thought this was a problem with the flashcart I had just received until I tried the only other game cartridge I have and encountered the same error, leading me to believe the problem is likely the DSi itself and not both cartridges.
Items of note:
-Error only occurs with inserted game cartridge. Installed system apps execute without issue. Sudoku/SRLoader can launch .nds files from DSi SD card without issue.
-Inserted game cartridge is detected properly and correctly labeled by system menu. Error occurs once the cart is selected and launched.
-Inspection of system physical internals appears normal. No loose, disconnected, or damaged components are apparent, including both the wifi card and antenna. Motherboard and game slot appear to be clean with no apparent corrosion. Game slot pins appear to be clean and straight. No known history of drops, damage, or other abuse. The system has been sitting in a box in a climate controlled area for over five years, maybe closer to eight or nine.
-Running an update .nds file for the flashcart via SRLoader (from DSi internal SD card) successfully loads/opens, but fails during the flash cart check phase. I'm not sure if SRLoader can normally access Slot 1, but if it can, it also isn't communicating properly with the inserted cartridge, leading me to believe it's either a hardware- or driver-level problem.
Has anybody encountered a situation like this before? Everything I could find had this error coming up on system boot or when launching any app, not just a cartridge. In those cases, it was a toasted motherboard/wifi module. Could this be a fault somewhere in the rebuilt NAND during the softmodding process? I haven't attempted to launch a game cartridge since before I did the softmod, mainly because Brain Age is meh/whatever and my flash cart just came in over the weekend, and SRLoader has been sufficient up to this point if only a bit slow. Any ideas? Thanks all!
Problem: System displays dual black screens and error message on lower screen only when attempting to launch the inserted game cartridge; "An error has occurred. Press and hold the Power Button to turn the system off. Please see the Nintendo DSi Operations Manual for help troubleshooting."
System: DSi running system menu 1.4, Sudokuhax. The system has been downgraded from 1.4.5 via ugopown and that whole line of softmodding. I have NAND backups on file from the original 1.4, the upgrade to 1.4.5 (to use the DSi shop to enable the file management option in system settings), and the downgraded 1.4.
Cartridges tested: R4i Gold 3DS Plus, Brain Age 2. I initially thought this was a problem with the flashcart I had just received until I tried the only other game cartridge I have and encountered the same error, leading me to believe the problem is likely the DSi itself and not both cartridges.
Items of note:
-Error only occurs with inserted game cartridge. Installed system apps execute without issue. Sudoku/SRLoader can launch .nds files from DSi SD card without issue.
-Inserted game cartridge is detected properly and correctly labeled by system menu. Error occurs once the cart is selected and launched.
-Inspection of system physical internals appears normal. No loose, disconnected, or damaged components are apparent, including both the wifi card and antenna. Motherboard and game slot appear to be clean with no apparent corrosion. Game slot pins appear to be clean and straight. No known history of drops, damage, or other abuse. The system has been sitting in a box in a climate controlled area for over five years, maybe closer to eight or nine.
-Running an update .nds file for the flashcart via SRLoader (from DSi internal SD card) successfully loads/opens, but fails during the flash cart check phase. I'm not sure if SRLoader can normally access Slot 1, but if it can, it also isn't communicating properly with the inserted cartridge, leading me to believe it's either a hardware- or driver-level problem.
Has anybody encountered a situation like this before? Everything I could find had this error coming up on system boot or when launching any app, not just a cartridge. In those cases, it was a toasted motherboard/wifi module. Could this be a fault somewhere in the rebuilt NAND during the softmodding process? I haven't attempted to launch a game cartridge since before I did the softmod, mainly because Brain Age is meh/whatever and my flash cart just came in over the weekend, and SRLoader has been sufficient up to this point if only a bit slow. Any ideas? Thanks all!
