Hacking Gateway 3DS: Multiple Games On One SD

[sonic2756]

I've managed to get a micro SD going with multiple partitions and games on each of the partitions. However, it doesn't look like the GW3DS supports anything more than a single partition in the partition tables (either that or I'm just doing something wrong).

I'm gonna contact the GW team and see if they can take a look into this

Heres a quick guide if anyone wants to take a look into it:
1. Download bootice from here
2. In the "Physical Disk" section find your SD in the "destination disk" section and click "parts manage".
3. In the new window, click "re-partitioning" and select USB-HDD mode (Multi-partitions).
4. Configure the settings to your liking and let it format.
5. The SD is now partitioned with multiple partitions.
6. Download USB Image Tool from here
7. Extract, etc.
8. In the top left, select "volume mode" and select the volume you want to image with a ROM
9. Click the "restore" button and change the search options to "all files" and find your rom.
10. Let it image
11. Done

 

[suly10]

Its a good idea but how would gateway load up other partitions?

 

[sonic2756]

Its a good idea but how would gateway load up other partitions?

You'd have to hide/unhide the other partitions so it mounts the non-hidden one first.

 

[Relf]

I wonder if there's an app available on Android or iOS that would allow hiding sd card partitions, letting someone change them on the go. Not an ideal solution but a better one than having a half dozen sd cards.

 

[suly10]

You've proposed a decent idea but if gateway havnt been able to have at least 2 roms on one sd card, what makes you think they havnt maybe already tried what youve done?

 

[sonic2756]

I wonder if there's an app available on Android or iOS that would allow hiding sd card partitions, letting someone change them on the go. Not an ideal solution but a better one than having a half dozen sd cards.

Wouldn't be for IOS, pretty sure there's one for android.

 

[Avc123]

You've proposed a decent idea but if gateway havnt been able to have at least 2 roms on one sd card, what makes you think they havnt maybe already tried what youve done?

See it's statements like this that are annoying. "Why didn't you help, because you thought someone else already did it?"
Never assume just because someone has been trying longer that their creativity, or ideas have already covered your thoughts.
To be frank, it never hurts to ask, right?

 

[suly10]

Yeah I know I know, I just mean it in the way that what hes proposed, gateway may have already tried, I never said he was wrong or his idea was just complete BS so I aoplogize for coming across like that

 

[n1ghty]

The gateway3ds reads the SD from byte 0.
We have to write the rom at this position the data just gets passed through 1:1.
If you create partitions, the gateway feeds the 3ds with a partition table => garbage.

Multiple roms per SD is possible, but the gateway team has to implent a way to read those partitions or even better a filesystem.
To switch the roms, a gui is also needed (or manually editing filenames/hiding partitions etc).

I don't expect this feature in 2013.

 

[justinkb]

The gateway3ds reads the SD from byte 0.
We have to write the rom at this position the data just gets passed through 1:1.
If you create partitions, the gateway feeds the 3ds with a partition table => garbage.

Multiple roms per SD is possible, but the gateway team has to implent a way to read those partitions or even better a filesystem.
To switch the roms, a gui is also needed (or manually editing filenames/hiding partitions etc).

I don't expect this feature in 2013.

wanted to post exactly this, but since you already did, i'll just quote and +1.

if they do make a GUI etc. eventually (which I doubt will ever happen, btw), doing it with partitions and stuff would be unnecessarily complicated for the average user, they would just add some simple fat32 fs to the card firmware or some stuff and their fpga would map the 'rom file' to raw data fed to 3ds.

 

[Duo8]

The gateway3ds reads the SD from byte 0.
We have to write the rom at this position the data just gets passed through 1:1.
If you create partitions, the gateway feeds the 3ds with a partition table => garbage.

Multiple roms per SD is possible, but the gateway team has to implent a way to read those partitions or even better a filesystem.
To switch the roms, a gui is also needed (or manually editing filenames/hiding partitions etc).

I don't expect this feature in 2013.

Maybe the DS installer can serves as the GUI.

 

[innercy]

if we put multiple 3ds files into sd card, remove the .3ds extension will work isn't it?. i mean we can simply rename the selected file we want

 

[Chaldron]

if we put multiple 3ds files into sd card, remove the .3ds extension will work isn't it?. i mean we can simply rename the selected file we want

The Gateway doesn't work like that. You have to "burn" the image to sd card, it's not like drag-and-drop .3ds roms onto the SD

 

[schmake]

Purely an exercise in futility. My best guess is that the current exploit is just bypassing the check on card and allowing the gateway to boot. The SD is simply a copy of the rom package, not a file as other have mentioned.

Wait until the hack/payload is reverse engineered and or homebrew becomes enabled as you will simply load roms from the 3DS's SD card

 

[innercy]

The Gateway doesn't work like that. You have to "burn" the image to sd card, it's not like drag-and-drop .3ds roms onto the SD

ic. thanks for the info. i'll get mine tomorrow, currently at dhl processing centre

 

[xyzmanas]

The gateway 3ds should read the first first partition in the space address and I don't think hiding or un-hiding the partition will make the difference because logically the partition is still there, hiding and unhidung are used as a windows feature but the partitions are still there. I have seen this happening in many devices, for example the XBOX 360 just reads the first partition on the hard disk and none after that. If we have to see a multipartition support then it has to be done at the gateway end, if they could manage changing the Reading address of the partition but I guess that would be different for most of the sd cards.

 

[Pigfoot]

They are working on a rom selection menu, i asked them through email and i don't think it'll be that long before they make it.

 

[Kingfield]

They are working on a rom selection menu, i asked them through email and i don't think it'll be that long before they make it.

oh really they said that?

 

[Yamagushi]

oh really they said that?

A menu would require homebrew first. So until they announce homebrew, don't hold your breathe.

 

[Foxi4]

You don't need separate partitions to pull this off - all you need are jumps to specific areas of the SD card itself. Sectors are individually addressed - all you need is the address of the start of the binary and its total length.