Hacking Getting back into the scene - how do I catch up?

[AceEvo55]

I was pretty active about a year or so ago, kept up with everything, but as a Gateway user, I naturally fell behind and as school got busy, the 3DS wasn't so important anyway.
But now I'm back! And I'm way behind.

Here's my setup:
N3DS on Sysnand 9.0
Emunand 10.7
Gateway + ReiNand setup through Menuhax

I know about A9HL and I've tried to piece it together (and there's B9S now??), but I'd like to keep using my Gateway in conjunction with whatever method you guys propose and ideally ReiNand too for GBA games. I also have homescreen decorations from that rabbit game that IDEALLY I'd keep, and that's on my Emunand, so I'd like to keep my emunand as-is if possible. I'm really just looking to update the Emunand (and I've heard there's a way to get Gateway working even on new firmwares?) so that I can play online with my far away friends.

I apologize if this is a noob post, I searched and I'm relatively knowledgeable (or at least, I was a year ago) I just don't want to follow a guide that doesn't address something like Menuhax and end up making a mistake somewhere.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

 

[Ryab]

I was pretty active about a year or so ago, kept up with everything, but as a Gateway user, I naturally fell behind and as school got busy, the 3DS wasn't so important anyway.
But now I'm back! And I'm way behind.

Here's my setup:
N3DS on Sysnand 9.0
Emunand 10.7
Gateway + ReiNand setup through Menuhax

I know about A9HL and I've tried to piece it together (and there's B9S now??), but I'd like to keep using my Gateway in conjunction with whatever method you guys propose and ideally ReiNand too for GBA games. I also have homescreen decorations from that rabbit game that IDEALLY I'd keep, and that's on my Emunand, so I'd like to keep my emunand as-is if possible. I'm really just looking to update the Emunand (and I've heard there's a way to get Gateway working even on new firmwares?) so that I can play online with my far away friends.

I apologize if this is a noob post, I searched and I'm relatively knowledgeable (or at least, I was a year ago) I just don't want to follow a guide that doesn't address something like Menuhax and end up making a mistake somewhere.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

this will explain everything https://3ds.guide/get-started-(new-3ds) basically emunands and gw are rarely used anymore and now with boot9strap which allows loading of firm files on boot installing cfw is easier than ever currently 9.0-11.3 has soundhax and udsploit to install cfw just follow the guide linked

 

[aos10]

I see you still want to use GW, this is fine, but you should replace reiNAND with luma3ds,
In your new setup it should go like this in the end with b9s:
Sysnand 11.6 with luma3ds.
gateway emunand 11.2 or Frankenfirmware emunand 11.6.

This guy knows better for how to do it @mikefor20

 

[AceEvo55]

this will explain everything https://3ds.guide/get-started-(new-3ds) basically emunands and gw are rarely used anymore and now with boot9strap which allows loading of firm files on boot installing cfw is easier than ever currently 9.0-11.3 has soundhax and udsploit to install cfw just follow the guide linked

Do I need to uninstall menuhax? If so, how would I do that? I believe it's simply done by changing your sysNAND theme but I can't remember how to access my sysnand and all the information i can find is very old

 

[paulttt]

Do I need to uninstall menuhax? If so, how would I do that? I believe it's simply done by changing your sysNAND theme but I can't remember how to access my sysnand and all the information i can find is very old

Not sure on the menuhax question, but is it really imperative you keep the gateway cart in use?

Not trying to be a dick, but there are much better alternatives now.

 

[aos10]

Do I need to uninstall menuhax? If so, how would I do that? I believe it's simply done by changing your sysNAND theme but I can't remember how to access my sysnand and all the information i can find is very old

Right now, backup your emunand and sysnand, i suggest to use gateway emunand ONLY for games inside the card, and luma3ds sysnand for installed .cia games because you don't want to have the same games installed on two different NANDS.

Basically, you restore the emunand to sysnand, and that sysnand will have luma.
In emunand gw you will have uninstall every cia game so you can save the space for sysnand.

 

[Cyan]

I have a question too, sorry to hijack this thread but it's related to his situation, it could interest him too:

If I plan to stop using gateway, for the .3ds files on gateway's card is it better/easier to convert them to cia with b9s (godmod, that's it?) directly from SD, do the decrypt/cia on computer, or get games again using freeshop? (are all games available?). Or maybe keep gateway for 3DS files, and sysNAND for cia, like you said, so there's no need to convert.
I'd prefer not use freeshop, but 3ds.guide doesn't explain how to convert games, nor what you have at the end of the guide or even how to USE the CFW once the console is softmoded. it only provide steps by steps to hack, but not what to do next. It doesn't explain the differences with Luma and Rei and which one to choose, and why. when users say "follow that guide, it explains everything" I really don't think it's true, it only tells what you have to do, but never "explain" why.

You said after b9s step, go with Luma instead of Rei. it seems the guide only tell you about Luma anyway, so gateway is compatible? The guide has cfw choice or force users to do it their ways? their FAQ is a joke.

sorry for all the negativity, it's just a great guide for users who don't ask questions, but not if you are curious. Sorry to be curious before hacking a console.

 

[AceEvo55]

I'm fine with the idea of eventually not using Gateway anymore, but a year ago that was a popular way to play. I just don't want to lose their save files. Does @Cyan 's decrypt/convert method allow the transfer of saves as well?
Also, in this thread https://gbatemp.net/threads/menuhax-rxtools-to-b9s.496025/ it's suggested to uninstall menuhax, that's why I asked. But I can't seem to access my sysNAND to do so.

 

[Cyan]

you can convert saves, but you need the ROM on the gateway's microSD.
I did it already for all the games I needed to keep my saves (only 5, I don't play a lot).
But you need to do it before you lose access of gateway!
I even did it for someone else because he already updated, and couldn't use gateway anymore.

there's a guide to backup gateway saves (and restore them to cia format), but I found it a little too complicated and missing information for newbies (me!).
that guide makes you backup/restore/cia install/test/copy/paste/etc. all these steps per game, even if you only want to backup and not play/install cia right now.

I rewrote it with my own words, and only for the backup part (not the restoration, it's making the original guide over complicated when you only want to backup).
I think my steps are easier to follow (there's no need to create folders per games, and copy/paste files from one folder to another, etc.)
maybe you can find it useful :
https://gbatemp.net/posts/7698044

I also want to go from OFW (4.5.0-5) to CFW, and so far all I did is only backup my saves.
I'm not 100% sure what I need (which cfw, what are their differences, etc.)
All I want is play metroid2, I could buy another console and that game, it would be faster


edit:
I see my guide is missing links to the used tools.
I'll add them later, it will be easier to follow.

 

[mikefor20]

You need to go to Luma. Nobody regrets it. no downside. Currently you are neglecting the internal SD slot. With GW you can run 2 SDs. 1 in GW 1 internal. Giving massive storage possibilities. That being said, Luma in general is a much faster cleaner. It should be your primary and you should boot in to GW for red card purposes only. Luma really is a much more robust and user friendly setup.

This is what I recommend you do.

1. https://3ds.guide/a9lh-to-b9s <-- Make the switch. COMPLETE THE WHOLE GUIDE EXCEPT In the move EmuNAND to SysNAND part skip the part where you format/remove the EmuNAND. Do copy EmuNAND to your SysNAND though.
2. Get BootCTR9 here https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-the-bootctr9-release-thread.435347/page-3#post-7370533 AND The updated B9S payload. Here http://www.maxconsole.com/threads/gw-payload-converted-for-b9s.45065/
3. Make a payloads DIR in SD:/ and move the Luma boot.firm to it. Rename the boot.firm to luma.firm
4. put the Gateway.firm from step 2 in the same SD:/payloads/ folder
5. Put the boot.firm AND boot_config from the bootctr9 zip in the SD root.
6. Edit the boot_config file. All you have to do is change the path. Whatever is under Default will run at boot. Whatever is under a certain button of course requires that button at boot. Mine is Luma default, gateway on dpad up. BootCTR9 supports other things like netloading and boot animations. This is the place to configure those things too if you like. I have an animated old school BIOS screen on mine.
7. Also, since we moved and renamed Lumas's .firm file, we will need to change the path for Luma updater. There is a config file, you need to change the path in it. More info here. https://github.com/Hamcha/lumaupdate/wiki/Configuration

Then you can start playing with twice the storage and all sorts of other cool things like NTR. Enjoy fast loading, higher compatibility. No more cryptofixed BS, full online. Fast updates, DLC And future compatibility with all future homebrew.

That's a real quick and dirty description I copied out of a conversation I had yesterday. Any questions you can look at my recent posts or let me know.

 

[AceEvo55]

You need to go to Luma. Nobody regrets it. no downside. Currently you are neglecting the internal SD slot. With GW you can run 2 SDs. 1 in GW 1 internal. Giving massive storage possibilities. That being said, Luma in general is a much faster cleaner. It should be your primary and you should boot in to GW for red card purposes only. Luma really is a much more robust and user friendly setup.

This is what I recommend you do.

1. https://3ds.guide/a9lh-to-b9s <-- Make the switch. COMPLETE THE WHOLE GUIDE EXCEPT In the move EmuNAND to SysNAND part skip the part where you format/remove the EmuNAND. Do copy EmuNAND to your SysNAND though.
2. Get BootCTR9 here https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-the-bootctr9-release-thread.435347/page-3#post-7370533 AND The updated B9S payload. Here http://www.maxconsole.com/threads/gw-payload-converted-for-b9s.45065/
3. Make a payloads DIR in SD:/ and move the Luma boot.firm to it. Rename the boot.firm to luma.firm
4. put the Gateway.firm from step 2 in the same SD:/payloads/ folder
5. Put the boot.firm AND boot_config from the bootctr9 zip in the SD root.
6. Edit the boot_config file. All you have to do is change the path. Whatever is under Default will run at boot. Whatever is under a certain button of course requires that button at boot. Mine is Luma default, gateway on dpad up. BootCTR9 supports other things like netloading and boot animations. This is the place to configure those things too if you like. I have an animated old school BIOS screen on mine.
7. Also, since we moved and renamed Lumas's .firm file, we will need to change the path for Luma updater. There is a config file, you need to change the path in it. More info here. https://github.com/Hamcha/lumaupdate/wiki/Configuration

Then you can start playing with twice the storage and all sorts of other cool things like NTR. Enjoy fast loading, higher compatibility. No more cryptofixed BS, full online. Fast updates, DLC And future compatibility with all future homebrew.

That's a real quick and dirty description I copied out of a conversation I had yesterday. Any questions you can look at my recent posts or let me know.

Fantastic, thank you!
Do I need to disable menuhax though? And if so, how?

 

[Hunter]

Fantastic, thank you!
Do I need to disable menuhax though? And if so, how?

when you turn your 3ds on, hold any button and it will goto sysnand, then change the theme

 

[AceEvo55]

Alright so I think I'm almost ready to jump in and leave y'all alone, thanks everyone for your help! One last quick question. @mikefor20 the guide you linked is if I have A9LH though, and I don't! Once I have A9LH I'll follow that, that seems to be the best route, but how do i Get A9LH. That came about right as I stopped following the scene and I just seem to remember it bricking your system if you weren't careful so being pointed in the direction of a good, safe guide would be excellent!

Edit: also, originally when i bought my SD cards and everything, I figured Gateway was the way to go (and I guess it was at the time), but the issue now is that my Gateway SD card is 32GB and my internal is only 8GB, but now my games will need to be on the internal SD. Can I move my emunand over to the bigger SD card?

 

[mikefor20]

https://3ds.guide/

There's the correct link. Sorry about that my bad. Copy that out of a conversation I forgot he was a9lh already. That should be good.

Just finished reading your post. You can move the emunand to the other sd. Yes. Let me get some links for you later tonight..

 

[Deleted User]

I don't know how informed you are so I'm going to assume you got scared off from a9lh thanks to its brick rate back when recovering from a hard brick was only possible with a hard mod,elitist supporters and the time it took to install it.Well lucky for you b9s has non of these problems and it takes under a minute.And if by chance you get a brick you can unbrick with a flashcard and a magnet thanks to ntrboothax.Better yet if you still have your blue card you can update to 11.6 and use ntrboothax with it.

 

[AceEvo55]

https://3ds.guide/

There's the correct link. Sorry about that my bad. Copy that out of a conversation I forgot he was a9lh already. That should be good.

Just finished reading your post. You can move the emunand to the other sd. Yes. Let me get some links for you later tonight..

Great, thanks! No need to worry about moving emunands though, I got that done!

 

[AceEvo55]

Soundhax doesn't seem to be working for me, constantly just throws me an "unexpected error", and then restarts. Guide says it may take many tries but I thought was for freezing, not crashing.

EDIT: apparently I don't know how to read instructions. Stupid me.

EDIT2: And we're done! Now I'd just like to get my Gateway blue card for DS games running and I'm 100%! Thanks a ton!