Tutorial
Updated
How to fix Switch games not booting after a FW/CFW update
Good day, Temp community.
Currently, both Nintendo and the Homebrew community have been releasing a lot of updates in regards to their firmware and custom firmware versions, respectively.
While some times the transition between one version and the other goes by smoothly, some other times this transition becomes obnoxious, with some installed titles not working after updating.
This tutorial aims to bring all the possible solutions for such a thing into just one place, so that hopefully everyone who might be experiencing these kind of issues can reference this guide, and fix the problem of their games not booting after an update.
NOTE: Words in bold are most usually hyperlinks to the required application! Be sure to hover your mouse over it to go to the download page for it.
Basically, what this boils down to, is that after updating either the official Nintendo firmware, or updating Atmosphere/Deep Sea to the newest release available, some titles refuse to boot with a "The software was closed due to an error" message, or a black screen on boot.
NOTE: This guide assumes you already had the game working BEFORE the update!
If the game is being installed for the first time and it doesn't boot, then:
Now that you have done your preparations, let's hop unto the proper steps to attempt to fix the issue at hand:
If nothing from the previous list worked for you, there are still a couple of options you can try.
However, take into consideration that the following steps should be saved ONLY as a last resort and only for the most extreme cases!
I have tried to gather as much data and info I could regarding all the possible errors and black screens that many people have gotten after several firmware and custom firmware updates on their consoles.
Do take into consideration that despite the many possible solutions listed here, one might work for you, and the others might not.
Every installation and console is different depending on how you're tinkered with it and what you have installed over time.
The best solution that many people seem to be having the best results for is the most insane one of all, the "Initialize Console" option.
The only drawback of this is that you are pretty much required to reinstall both your games, updates and DLCs and the saves for each one of them.
If you do find a way or method that worked for you that is not listed in this tutorial, please be sure to comment about it in detail, and I will try to add it to the list asap.
Hope this helps anyone that has the same kind of issue!
Currently, both Nintendo and the Homebrew community have been releasing a lot of updates in regards to their firmware and custom firmware versions, respectively.
While some times the transition between one version and the other goes by smoothly, some other times this transition becomes obnoxious, with some installed titles not working after updating.
This tutorial aims to bring all the possible solutions for such a thing into just one place, so that hopefully everyone who might be experiencing these kind of issues can reference this guide, and fix the problem of their games not booting after an update.
NOTE: Words in bold are most usually hyperlinks to the required application! Be sure to hover your mouse over it to go to the download page for it.
PROBLEM
Basically, what this boils down to, is that after updating either the official Nintendo firmware, or updating Atmosphere/Deep Sea to the newest release available, some titles refuse to boot with a "The software was closed due to an error" message, or a black screen on boot.
NOTE: This guide assumes you already had the game working BEFORE the update!
If the game is being installed for the first time and it doesn't boot, then:
- Try another installation of the game from "another" source. Most likely, it could be a corrupted dump, or just a plain bad dump altogether. (Do this before installing updates)
- The previous step also applies to any updates/DLC the game might have. I recommend trying to launch the base game without updates first, and if it boots, then install the updates/DLC
- Try using an XCI converted to NSP. I recommend doing this in case you have no other option or if any of the installations you have are not working for some reason
PREPARATIONS
Required appsIdentify the problematic game
- First off, you may need some of the following apps:
- Latest Atmosphere release, or use the latest Deep Sea (packed Atmosphere release with everything ready for quick drag and drop setup)
- Refer to the "Update the sigpatches" section for reference. (Download the sigpatches from ShadowOne333's sigpatch thread if using Deep Sea)
- Edizon
- nxdumptool
- An installer of your choice: Goldleaf, Awoo, or Tinleaf/Tinfoil
We need to identify which game(s) in particular is the one that refuses to boot. Once you have identified the game, you need to do the following steps:
- Backup the installed game and its updates/DLCs using nxdumptool. (NOTE: Only do this if your game was working before the firmware update!)
- Hover over the problematic game on your main menu, and hit the + Button. Then, go to "Manage software" and select "Delete software".
This will delete the entire game, along with its update and DLC from the console.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Now that you have done your preparations, let's hop unto the proper steps to attempt to fix the issue at hand:
Disable overlays/cheatsLeftover Atmosphere SettingsRemove game modsUpdate Atmosphere/Deep SeaUpdate the sigpatchesBoot into Maintenance Modenosigchk" line inside "hekate_ipl.iniFix Archive bitDelete the game's ticketInstall game with a different InstallerInstall another dump of the game from "a different source"Backup the Nintendo folder and reinstall the gameUninstall through TinfoilReset required update version with DBI
The very first and easiest solution to try out is to disable all overlays and/or dmnt cheats that could be affecting the game.
To test this, I recommend renaming the entirety of the overlay-related stuff with a different folder name, or just plain out delete it to be sure it's no longer there.
Also, disable all possible cheats for the failing game. You could also delete the entirety of the cheats folders to be sure those are not affecting the game at all.
Sometimes, we update Atmosphere from revision to revision, without caring much about certain settings being enabled or disabled automatically between versions.
Most new Atmosphere versions don't usually modify anything related to the system settings file that Atmosphere reads for certain features, and using an old "system_settings" file with stuff enabled can sometimes make it so that you use certain features (like cheats) even though they don't seem enabled at first glance. Be sure to check this file, and be absolutely sure that only the things you want enabled are actually enabled.
As an example, a user was having issues booting Xenoblade with the sigpatches, only to notice that the "system_settings" file had an extra ";" written making cheats enabled by default. By removing it, it made cheats be disabled on start and allowed the game to start properly:
Code:; default. 1 = toggled on by default, 0 = toggled off by default. ; dmnt_cheats_enabled_by_default = u8!0x0
NOTE: Do NOT touch the "power_menu_reboot_function" line or else you might get issues booting into Atmosphere!
The second thing to try (and one most people forget about when updating their console) is to remove any, or all game specific mods that might have ben installed previously.
Some people just flat out forget that they installed a mod of some kind on a cetain game, and when you update, this mod might no longer be compatible with the installed game and the patches. There's also the possibility that whatever hack/mod was installed could be obsolete by the time of the applied update.
Remove all mods installed, and ONLY when you know that the base game and its official updates/DLCs are working with the latest FW/CFW/sigpatches versions, THEN try applying back whatever mod you had for that game. If the game doesn't boot after applying the mods back, then ask the mod developer to update the mod for the newest stuff.
This step should be self-explantory.
Grab the latest releases of either Atmosphere or Deep Sea and update your entire CFW setup and copy everything to the root of the SD.
I recommend deleting the entire folders related to their previous installs before copying to the SD card, to be sure no remnant of the previous install remains.
To update the signature patches, you will have to choose one of two options, depending on whether you are booting Atmosphere through fusee-primary as your payload, or if you are booting Atmosphere/Deep Sea through Hekate.
Here's the required methods for updating the sigpatches depending on your setup:
- Atmosphere + fusee-primary: If you are using a direct payload boot method (fusée-primary sent as payload), or alternatively, if you are using Hekate with "payload=fusée-primary", you need to use the "fusée" package signature patches for fusée-primary, and paste the /atmosphere/ folder provided in the download to the root of your SD, merging with the already existing Atmosphere folder.
You can get the latest sigpatches for fusee-primary from the following links:- Latest ES, FS and ACID patches for Deep Sea (now includes fusee-primary patches too): https://gbatemp.net/threads/sigpatches-for-atmosphere-hekate-fss0-fusee-secondary-only.571543/ (RECOMMENDED)
- Atmosphere patches (ES, FS and Loader) [fusee_primary only]: https://gbatemp.net/threads/atmosphere-patches-es-fs-and-loader-fusee_primary-only.562812/
- Atmosphere/Deep Sea + Hekate/fusee-secondary: If you are using Deep Sea, then the most likely case is that Hekate comes boots with "fss0=fusée-secondary". In said case, you need to use the "hekate" package signature patches from ShadowOne333's thread (which uses fusée-secondary for booting) and paste the files to the root of your SD, merging with the already existing installation folder.
You can get the latest sigpatches for Hekate from the following links:- Latest sigpatches for Deep Sea: https://gbatemp.net/threads/sigpatches-for-atmosphere-hekate-fss0-fusee-secondary-only.571543/ (RECOMMENDED)
- Atmosphere + fusee-primary: If you are using a direct payload boot method (fusée-primary sent as payload), or alternatively, if you are using Hekate with "payload=fusée-primary", you need to use the "fusée" package signature patches for fusée-primary, and paste the /atmosphere/ folder provided in the download to the root of your SD, merging with the already existing Atmosphere folder.
Sometimes having a game that just refuses to boot can be fixed by booting into Maintenance mode without doing anything else. To access Maintenance mode:
- Power off your console
- Get your payloads ready to inject
- When injecting the payload, press and hold volume + and - (when booting the console up).
- Once you reach the Maintenance Mode menu, reboot the console.
- Boot normally as you would to play
- Test your game
A video tutorial about how to access Maintenance Mode (starts at 0:48):
Some users sometimes hnadle their setup in the wrong order, which ends up in some key files needed for signature patches to work properly being missing in the setup.
This can be caused if you download the sigpatches first, and then you try to update Hekate, which can overwrite the "hekate_ipl.ini" file from the sigpatches pack, which has a important config line to make the sigpatches work on boot properly.
This can be easily resolved by opening the file called "hekate_ipl.ini" inside the /bootloader/ folder, and check if it has a line that says "kip1patch=nosigchk".
Make sure that line is added into whatever CFW you are booting into, be it sysNAND or emuNAND.
If said line is there, then this might most lkely not be the issue, but if it isn't, be sure to add it right undr the payload=**** line.
Sometimes when handling the Switch's SD card files, some of the files can get their Archive bit removed automatically, which may cause the Switch to no longer recognize said files (like the ones inside the Nintendo folder). This can happen when handling the SD's data in other OS, like Linux or Mac (and sometimes even on Windows too).
This can be easily resolved by fixing the archive bit on the files on the SD card.
Fixing that archive bit with Hekate 5.3.3 or above (Under the "Tools" option) effectively restores said bit to all your SD Card's files for Switch usage.
Even if you delete the game manually, the console still holds the ticket for the game, update and DLCs. What you will be required to do now is to open up your NSP installer of preference, it can be Goldleaf, Awoo, Tinleaf or Tinfoil, and delete the ticket for the problematic game (The location of the option changes from installer to installer)
Once the ticket has been erased, try reinstalling the game and its updates/DLCs.
Try installing the game with a different installer than what you used previously (Goldleaf, Awoo, Tinleaf).
Some people have reported that using a different NSP installer helps them in this kind of situations.
Do this only in the event in which none of the previous points have worked to do so.
This basically means getting another dump of the game that's failing from elsewhere.
I cannot directly mention where, but some couple of searches online will point you in the right direction.
Once you obtain another dump of the game you want to install, try installing it, alongside its updates/DLCs if wanted.
This step is a little weird. It hasn't been as thoroughly tested, but it could certainly be possible to fix this issue with this method.
- Browse to the root of your SD card
- Navigate to the "Nintendo" folder
- Make a copy of the "Nintendo" folder in your SD, or simply rename it to something like "Ninbak" or whatever.
- Let your Switch create a new "Nintendo" folder
- Once a new Nintendo folder has been created, go ahead and try to install the problematic game (keep the title ID of that game handy)
- When the installation finish, test if your game boots.
- If the game boots, you are basically done.
Remember the game's title ID mentioned in Step 5?
Now we need to find the folder that matches that game title ID inside the Nintendo folder that you backed up or renamed at the very beginning (Ninbak).
Once you do, do the following:
- After locating the game's folder inside the "Nintendo" folder, go to your "Ninbak" (or your backed up/renamed Nintendo folder) and start moving over all of the other game's from said backup folder into the new main Nintendo folder. Copy everything EXCEPT the folder with the failing game. That will make it so that you are restoring all of the other working games, and only leave behind the failing game from the old installation.
- Once everything has been moved over, test each game out and make sure they all work
- If the game still refuses to boot, try out another method
Download Tinfoil and uninstall the game using Tinfoil. (Since I'm not sure if Tinfoil itself is allowed here, simple google "Tinfoil download" an the first link should be it)
While I usually discourage the use of anything related to Tinfoil, only use this as a last resort in case none of the previous steps have worked.
There's an option inside Tinfoil once you select a game to uninstall it, try selecting this option from within the app, under "Installed", select the broken game and then select "Uninstall".
NOTE: DevMenu is no longer compatible with firmware 10.0 or above!
Use an app called DBI instead!
Sometimes, even if you delete everything related to the game from the Switch's data management or through the + Button option, some remnants of the game are still left on the Switch console.
For this, we used to utilize the SDK tool DevMenu, but starting from 9.2.0 and onwards, DevMenu no longer works on those firmwares. Instead, we will be using an app called DBI, which you can get from this link:
https://github.com/rashevskyv/dbi/releases
https://github.com/julesontheroad/NSC_BUILDER/tree/master/py/Documentation and Resources/DBI
Download the called _kefir.7z and copy the DBI.nro file from inside /base/switch into your /switch folder on your SD. Then, open the Homebrew Launcher and follow these steps:
Reset Required Version:
- Open the program
- Select Browse installed applications
- Select a game that you need, press A
- Press - button to delete an update that you don't want (for example)
- Press A again and click Reset required version.
For this, you will need an SDK tool Information called DevMenu. Since this app itself is from the official Nintendo SDK, I cannot post links here, but you can find the required NSP for it online if you search for "DevMenu 6.x Definitive Edition_v2.zip" and you should be able to find it, the file is around 15-16MB in size.
Once you get the NSP for DevMenu, install it in your Switch with any NSP installer, and then browse in the "Applications" tab for the broken game at hand.
Once you have located the game, highlight it and press either - or +, and then go to the "Manage" option.
From here you have two options:
- Reset RequiredVersion: If you select this, the game should be able to boot without any update or DLC, just the plain base game (that's of couse, assuming the game DOESN'T require a day-one update to even boot). After this, you can run base game without update after clearing the update requirement from DevMenu. This can help to pinpoint if the installation at fault is either the base game, the update or the DLC.
- Delete: Highlight the installation of the selected game that you want to delete from the console. You can choose from either the base game, its updates, or its DLC. Select what you consider proper in your case, but if you want to completely remove everything for that game to start a fresh install, delete all installations of ONLY that game.
It is recommended to apply both instances in the DevMenu to ensure the console has no traces left of the game in it.
However, some things like tickets and so can still be left behind, even when deleting everything using the DevMenu.
LAST RESORT
If nothing from the previous list worked for you, there are still a couple of options you can try.
However, take into consideration that the following steps should be saved ONLY as a last resort and only for the most extreme cases!
Initialize ConsoleComplete backup, clean and restore
This option doesn't necessarily mean a full-on format of the whole Switch console, but merely the option that is labelled as "Initialize console".
Before doing this, I recommend the following:
- Backup ALL of your game saves with Edizon
- Backup ALL your installed titles with nxdumptool (make sure you have enough space in your SD to backup all your games)
- Download a fresh and latest Atmosphere/Deep Sea install
- Don't forget to also download the FS/ES/ACID sigpatches from Shadow's sigpatch thread
Go to Settings -> Formatting Options -> Initialize Console.
This option will basically re-initialize your console to some sort of factory state (more or less a factory reset).
Note that this will NOT erase your SD card contents! It will only erase anything related to the "Nintendo" folder inside your console.
Anything else outside the /Nintendo/ folder will remain untouched by the initialization.
Once you are done re-initializating your console (as if it were a 1st time boot of the Switch), re-install your games and restore their saves, and try launching each and every game to make sure they all work properly.
This method involves backing up EVERYTHING in your microSD card, then cleaning it entirely, reinstalling a clean CFW and/or sigpatches, then restoring everything. If the "Initialize console" doesn't work for you, then you could attemp this one as a 2nd last resort option. (Method courtesy of @Drewcifer )
- Backup your SD card
- Delete all files from SD card
- Download a fresh copy of your CFW and sigpatches (Atmosphere / Deep Sea)
- Extract the CFW+sigpatches files and send everything to your SD card
- Put your backed up game/save data back into your SD card
- Put SD card back into Switch after safely ejecting it from computer
- Try out the problematic game(s)
Final comments
I have tried to gather as much data and info I could regarding all the possible errors and black screens that many people have gotten after several firmware and custom firmware updates on their consoles.
Do take into consideration that despite the many possible solutions listed here, one might work for you, and the others might not.
Every installation and console is different depending on how you're tinkered with it and what you have installed over time.
The best solution that many people seem to be having the best results for is the most insane one of all, the "Initialize Console" option.
The only drawback of this is that you are pretty much required to reinstall both your games, updates and DLCs and the saves for each one of them.
If you do find a way or method that worked for you that is not listed in this tutorial, please be sure to comment about it in detail, and I will try to add it to the list asap.
Hope this helps anyone that has the same kind of issue!
Last edited by ShadowOne333,
