Gamecard Installer NX: A way to install your gamecards directly to your switch!

Hi everyone!

I've made a gamecard installer, which as the name suggets, installs your gamecards directly to your switch!

The app is quite simple, with only 3 options.
  1. Install to the nand.
  2. Install to the sd card.
  3. Exit.
However I spent some time polishing the UI and added some cool features as well.
  • Support for multi gamecards (gamecards with multiple games inside, press L / R to cycle through them).
  • Full touchscreen support.
  • Music support. Simply drop any .mp3's into the app folder /switch/gamecard_installer/ and the app will play these songs at random! (sub folders are supported).
  • Displays gamecard info such as total size, key generation and app ID.
  • Displays free nand / sd card memory. This is updated after installing a game.
  • Cleans up all placeholders on startup. This means if you used an app that failed to install a game and it didn't delete the placeholder after, my app does it for you.
  • Should anything go wrong, a error code for that specific error will be displayed. This will save time when reporting issues.

example.gif


A guide for installing this app, as well as a guide on how to compile app can be found on my repo (linked below).

Link to the release: https://github.com/ITotalJustice/Gamecard-Installer-NX/releases
Link to the repo: https://github.com/ITotalJustice/Gamecard-Installer-NX
Link to screenshots from the app: https://github.com/ITotalJustice/Gamecard-Installer-NX/tree/master/images

v1.0.1:
  • Fixed incorrectly returned the sys version number (fw 8.1.0 would be returned as 8.0.1).
  • Fixed bug that would cause the installed game to sometimes still as a gamecard.
  • Fixed bug that would make it so that it would sometimes not push the correct application record which caused game updates that was previously installed to say that it was not.
v1.0.0:
  • Initial release.
 
Last edited by TotalJustice, , Reason: Added change log

Evildood

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I ran into a bit of a weird issue not gonna call it a bug cause I may have done it haha Ive spent the day installing all my carts and everything works great (I recommend deleting the title before you install or it will nag about missing data think its the updates and dlc since you dumped a base version and you need to reinstall all that after the cart to avoid nags) but after I finished and was checking I noticed SM:0 was still showing the gamecart symbol and there are no cartridges in the slot, I can use other carts, I cannot open sm:o unless I insert the cart. I cannot delete the data with or w/o the cart as it wont let you if the cart is in. I am still troubleshooting this myself. Will update if solution is found.

Solution is reinstall the cart do a clean exit from app then remove the cart.
 
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jimmayg

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I got Error code: 0x5008 when trying to install a game card. I tried both NAND and SD card install, same error.

I'm running atmosphere emuMMC on 9.1.0

A placeholder for the game remained after rebooting to payload and reloading cfw. I had to delete software from system menu to remove it from home screen.

**Update**

Never mind, got it to work.

I went to issues link and found solution. Thank you for app and working to help resolve issues. Here's the link to solution: Link

My "placeholder issue" I think was all normal aka how the switch works. I had honestly never removed the 1 game cartridge I bought from my switch so when it remained on the home screen I thought it was a glitch from the program when it error'd out but I don't think it was.

I was booting into atmosphere from hekate using fusee-secondary.bin, following the steps ITotalJustice laid out fixed my issue. I am now installing the game.

Installing what's listed as 14GB, est 13min, about 20MiB/s.

Thanks again!
 
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TotalJustice

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I got Error code: 0x5008 when trying to install a game card. I tried both NAND and SD card install, same error.

I'm running atmosphere emuMMC on 9.1.0

A placeholder for the game remained after rebooting to payload and reloading cfw. I had to delete software from system menu to remove it from home screen.
For the placeholder remaining,you can just reopen the app which deletes all existing placeholders. Although it seems I missed a check somewhere if install failed.

I detailed what caused the 5008 error code, as well as how to fix it here
https://github.com/ITotalJustice/Gamecard-Installer-NX/issues/3#issuecomment-575942589

I ran into a bit of a weird issue not gonna call it a bug cause I may have done it haha Ive spent the day installing all my carts and everything works great (I recommend deleting the title before you install or it will nag about missing data think its the updates and dlc since you dumped a base version and you need to reinstall all that after the cart to avoid nags) but after I finished and was checking I noticed SM:0 was still showing the gamecart symbol and there are no cartridges in the slot, I can use other carts, I cannot open sm:o unless I insert the cart. I cannot delete the data with or w/o the cart as it wont let you if the cart is in. I am still troubleshooting this myself. Will update if solution is found.

Solution is reinstall the cart do a clean exit from app then remove the cart.
I’d definitely call it a bug ;)
That’s very strange that you have you reinstall the dlc / updates for the games, that really shouldn’t have to be the case. I will look into this today. Now for the smo issue, after installing the game and you exit the app, it still showed as a gamecard? You then went back and reinstalled the game and it fixed the issue, is that right?
 

CrimsonWesker

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I just tried with Pokemon just to confirm and it works great. Ran into an error but I just hadn't had the proper patches installed.

So to get updates or DLC I can install any NSP with Goldleaf or something?
 

Evildood

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I’d definitely call it a bug ;)
That’s very strange that you have you reinstall the dlc / updates for the games, that really shouldn’t have to be the case. I will look into this today. Now for the smo issue, after installing the game and you exit the app, it still showed as a gamecard? You then went back and reinstalled the game and it fixed the issue, is that right?

The thing with the updates or dlc happens any time I have dumped and installed a nsp for a game that I had played and updated when I was ofw, I do my updates and dlc with hbgshop now and Ive learned its best to just delete the game beforehand for a nice clean install anyways. I think it went down more like, I installed smo 1st then without closing the app did like 7 more games in a row, after that I checked and smo was still showing as inserted, it was essentially showing that the cart was there but smo was not on the sd or nand so I decided to do smo again just to check and that did fix every issue.

Also thanks so much for this app it took so long to dump carts, backup then install and I was still carrying most my games around with me until today.
It seemed to take about 20-30 mins per 5 gb which is fast af IMO
 
Last edited by Evildood,

TotalJustice

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The thing with the updates or dlc happens any time I have dumped and installed a nsp for a game that I had played and updated when I was ofw, I do my updates and dlc with hbgshop now and Ive learned its best to just delete the game beforehand for a nice clean install anyways. I think it went down more like, I installed smo 1st then without closing the app did like 7 more games in a row, after that I checked and smo was still showing as inserted, it was essentially showing that the cart was there but smo was not on the sd or nand so I decided to do smo again just to check and that did fix every issue.

Also thanks so much for this app it took so long to dump carts, backup then install and I was still carrying most my games around with me until today.
It seemed to take about 20-30 mins per 5 gb which is fast af IMO
Thank you so much for the heads up about this issue. Good news, i think i have fixed it.
My friend helped test SMO and had the same issue as you was having, however after a failed attemtps later at trying to fix it, i have a build that works. Would you mind testing it also?

I've linked the build below.

EDIT: also you say that it takes 20 mins for 5GB? that does seem awfully slow. For me it takes 26 seconds per GB (to the nand), and about 1 - 2 min per gb to the sd card (my sd card is very bad, its slow with everything). You mentioned that you use hbg, how long would it normally take for you to install 5gb using that?
 

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Evildood

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Thank you so much for the heads up about this issue. Good news, i think i have fixed it.
My friend helped test SMO and had the same issue as you was having, however after a failed attemtps later at trying to fix it, i have a build that works. Would you mind testing it also?

I've linked the build below.

EDIT: also you say that it takes 20 mins for 5GB? that does seem awfully slow. For me it takes 26 seconds per GB (to the nand), and about 1 - 2 min per gb to the sd card (my sd card is very bad, its slow with everything). You mentioned that you use hbg, how long would it normally take for you to install 5gb using that?

Sure I can give it a try tomorrow if I get a chance. I use 90dns so that caps gdrive dls at 2 mbps otherwise I haven't really paid attention to how long the install time is with hbg/tinfoil as it doesnt give much indication as to whether its downloading or installing. When Im doing installs with your app it seems to go back and forth from 8mb to 16mb or take breaks at 0mb, without pauses the eta that it displays is fairly accurate and that could just be the fault of my sd card which is a sandisk bought new has been out of the switch once during sd prep but "sandisk". If I do an install from say my pc via usb it takes about twice as long. Should I also mention that the console can enter sleep while handheld which didnt seem to impact the install.
 
Last edited by Evildood,

TotalJustice

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Sure I can give it a try tomorrow if I get a chance. I use 90dns so that caps gdrive dls at 2 mbps otherwise I haven't really paid attention to how long the install time is with hbg/tinfoil as it doesnt give much indication as to whether its downloading or installing. When Im doing installs with your app it seems to go back and forth from 8mb to 16mb or take breaks at 0mb, without pauses the eta that it displays is fairly accurate and that could just be the fault of my sd card which is a sandisk bought new has been out of the switch once during sd prep but "sandisk". If I do an install from say my pc via usb it takes about twice as long. Should I also mention that the console can enter sleep while handheld which didnt seem to impact the install.
I've been trying to improve performance and i've found that disabling music (when installing to sd card) removes that drop to 0MB/s, so i'll add an option for those that have music to disable it in app should they wish. Ill try reducing the bitrate and see if that helps.

With a few more text drawing optimising, i managed to get my sd card speed from 16-24MB/s to a 24-32MB/s, and its more so 32MB/s. Im pretty sure thats the max my awful sd card can do anyway :D. Nand is also a solid 40MB/s now, no dips to 32. In most cases its actually writing more than 40MB/s, its just that a full write is 8MB, so you don't see the full update. Maybe i should write in smaller chunks so that the speed is more accurate. I'll just have it run a loop in the write function to write say 2MB a time.

Good point about it going into sleep mode, i'll disable that whilst installing is in progress.
 
Last edited by TotalJustice,

bixxewoscht

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So,...
this is an legal way to install your legally owned Games onto your SD card, so that you don´t always have to change them?

If you have a CFW yes . If you mean a stock console no . You still need the patches to play them which requieres Cfw.

Bummer, I'd love to have a ban safe no hassle solution without changing gamecarts, I hope this comes in the near future.
 

TotalJustice

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Hi everyone, version 1.0.1 is here which fixes the errors that a few users were having.

v1.0.1:
  • Fixed incorrectly returned the sys version number (fw 8.1.0 would be returned as 8.0.1).
  • Fixed bug that would cause the installed game to sometimes still as a gamecard.
  • Fixed bug that would make it so that it would sometimes not push the correct application record which caused game updates that was previously installed to say that it was not.
I have added this to main page of this thread, I will continue to do so each release.

Latest release can be found here: https://github.com/ITotalJustice/Gamecard-Installer-NX/releases/tag/v1.0.1
 
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pcwizard7

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And ISO is a container, you can create them by dumping a real CD or mastering your own.

Just because you can make your own custom game card, doesn't mean XCI isn't a game card dump.

ISO is an image of disc sector by sector 1:1 copy of an original or master copy, not a container as once it created it can not be modified, just because you can emulate a cd drive which mounts it as ready only image still means its an image

NSP file is an image file or master copy of a game, update or DLC that gets submitted to Nintendo to be added to the eshop

XCI you can update an existing one with new update or dlc while normally yes this format is used to contain a dump of a cart or copy of game it can be used to create a custom one to contain games with updates and dlc in one or you can even have mutli games in one file
 
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smf

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ISO is an image of disc sector by sector 1:1 copy of an original or master copy, not a container as once it created it can not be modified, just because you can emulate a cd drive which mounts it as ready only image still means its an image

It can be modified, just as a zip file can be modified.

There is no practical difference between mounting an ISO in Windows and mounting an XCI in SXOS. They both appear as real media.

There is software that operates on XCI and ISO without mounting them. Most people these days download ISO, use software that extracts files without mounting and then writes the contents to USB sticks. The ISO is a container, like all file systems.
 
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pcwizard7

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It can be modified, just as a zip file can be modified.

There is no practical difference between mounting an ISO in Windows and mounting an XCI in SXOS. They both appear as real media.

There is software that operates on XCI and ISO without mounting them. Most people these days download ISO, use software that extracts files without mounting and then writes the contents to USB sticks. The ISO is a container, like all file systems.

yes, there is software to modify an iso image. but if you were to just extract contents to USB stick if the iso was bootable it wouldn't move over. you need something such as Rufus to restore the image to the USB. what makes it bootable is written to the file system.

" a file system controls how data is stored and retrieved."
 
Last edited by pcwizard7,

smf

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yes, there is software to modify an iso image. but if you were to just extract contents to USB stick if the iso was bootable it wouldn't move over. you need something such as Rufus to restore the image to the USB. what makes it bootable is written to the file system.

" a file system controls how data is stored and retrieved."

Yes, rufus extracts the files from the ISO "Container".
 

ZachyCatGames

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ISO is an image of disc sector by sector 1:1 copy of an original or master copy, not a container as once it created it can not be modified, just because you can emulate a cd drive which mounts it as ready only image still means its an image

NSP file is an image file or master copy of a game, update or DLC that gets submitted to Nintendo to be added to the eshop

XCI you can update an existing one with new update or dlc while normally yes this format is used to contain a dump of a cart or copy of game it can be used to create a custom one to contain games with updates and dlc in one or you can even have mutli games in one file
NSPs are pfs0s which are a special file system/file container format supported by FS (they're also used for the exefs section in NCAs). They're not really an image.
XCIs on the other hand are images, usually containing 3 partitions, update (usually contains bundled sysupdate, some special(tm) carts have it empty though), secure (contains all game NCAs and whatever), and normal (empty on newer carts iirc, dunno about older carts). XCI images are flashed onto retail and dev NX game carts.

Both can be edited I guess (though you'll break the sig if you edit an XCI), but that doesn't impact whether they're a image, file container, or whatever.
 

Patxinco

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So, i have a problem, i'm getting the 0x2001, and try to fix it disabling autoGC in hekate options as everything suggests, and it doesn't work, editing BTC.ini, doesn't work also, the gamecard is not being recognised no matter what, so i'm trying to think of anything i could be doing wrong and only 2 options came to my mind:
1. sysMMC is 9.1.0 while emuMMC is 9.0.1 so, gamecards are not showing in emuMMC if sysMMC firmware is higher than in emuMMC? So i should update emuMMC then?
2. I'm missing some patches on my configuration.
Using Kosmos 15.1 and until now i had 0 problems (not used gamecards anyway on emuMMC, since almost everything i play is on sysMMC)
If any other info is needed just tell me and i'll provide. Thanks!
 

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