Hacking I could use some help of those that are knowledgeable...

[Talfuchre]

When I bought a Nintendo Ds lite for my youngest son - it came with an R4 cart. I had no problems with this cart. Since then - we have owned another DS Lite and now own a DSi XL.

I have two R4i carts as I wanted them both to work with the Ds lites and the Dsi xl.

However, I have been having an issue with both of them recently. They seem to intermittently work on my Ds Lites. They show 'Loading' and never load.

If I take them out, clean them, or even just again - it seems to work again. I have used the Nintendo DS cleaning kit - and it doesn't seem to be the issue.

I have many questions and I have done a lot of searching - but I don't think I have the language to even read the right things.


1) What firmware should I have on my R4i card?
2) What Kernel should I have on my R4i card?
3) There seems to be a million places to download these things - and a million different cards - it is very confusing - where should I go for a legitimate R4i Revolution (NDSI, NDSL ,NDS) to get the right software?

I want to reformat my Micro DS card and put the right software on the card - is there anything I am missing?

I am just a dad trying to put ROM's on my sons DS's and I am having trouble with the power curve. Can you help an old man?

TF

 

[Wizerzak]

Sounds like more of a physical problem to me, as if the contacts aren't touching.

How old are the R4i carts?
Did they both stop working at the same time?

If it is a physical problem then there's not much we can do to help, however there are a few tricks.
If it is a software problem then you're probably in luck as swapping a few files over is pretty simple.

Edit: Also does this only occur on the DS Lites?

 

[Talfuchre]

I believe it to be just one of the carts. The other cart seems to be just fine. It works in both the Dsi Xl and the DS Lite. The other cart doesn't work in anything.

I have cleaned the outside so many times it isn't funny - but it could be INSIDE the R4 Cart that is not contacting.

Any tricks in cleaning inside?

I wondered if it was something physical. It is only a year or so old (Perhaps two) but there are two kids using them - 5 and 6 - so WHO KNOWS what they subject them to.

I checked the other card - it seems to work fine.

Physical issues are likely the case here I think.

If I order another card - what do I need to do when it arrives to make sure it has all of the updated software and things?

Thanks so much for your reply.

TF

 

[RoMee]

you have a R4 clone, it'll be easier to help if we knew exactly which R4 clone you have.

maybe a simple format of your microSD will fix the issues you're having

 

[Talfuchre]

It is not an R4 Clone - it is the one pictured here:

http://www.ndscardsale.com/product/R4i-Rev...DSi-NDS-DS-Lite

I have two of them.


I just formated it - put 1.60 on the Micro SD and no joy.



TF

 

[RoMee]

it's a clone dude.
and it's an acekard clone.

since it's an Acekard clone you can use akaio 1.8.6a

 

[Wizerzak]

You could try the paper trick but it could get quite fiddly and if you're willing to buy a new card then go for that instead.

So what you download when you get a new card depends on which one you get.
Take a look here for what you want then, when you get it (if you decide to) we can help from there.

 

[Densetsu]

To format your MicroSD card you should use the Panasonic SD formatter.

If your card can run WoodR4, install v1.30.

If it's a contact issue, you can try inserting the R4 into the DS along with a piece of thick paper (index card, etc.) on the label side to push the gold pins closer to the pins in the DS.

 

[Talfuchre]

I guess I don't understand what a 'clone' is then.

I don't understand the history enough. I also don't understand what I SHOULD get.

I am sure there are benefits and drawbacks to each - I just want my Cart to do ONE thing - I want it to play ROM's for my kids.

TF

 

[Wizerzak]

I guess I don't understand what a 'clone' is then.

I don't understand the history enough. I also don't understand what I SHOULD get.

I am sure there are benefits and drawbacks to each - I just want my Cart to do ONE thing - I want it to play ROM's for my kids.

TF

Then go for the R4i Gold, it's cheapest and has great support with WOOD.

Edit: Added link.

 

[RoMee]

I guess I don't understand what a 'clone' is then.

I don't understand the history enough. I also don't understand what I SHOULD get.

I am sure there are benefits and drawbacks to each - I just want my Cart to do ONE thing - I want it to play ROM's for my kids.

TF

Here's a brief history lesson.

the R4 team that made the R4 stop making R4 a long time ago.
all R4 that are being sold now is a clone of other flash cart.

 

[s4mid4re]

To format your micro SD card, use the panasonic SD formatter. Please be aware that using any other formatter (such as the built in ones) WILL cause problems, as they weren't programmed to format micro SD cards.

The acekard 2i is probably the best investment you can make if you want a new cart, as it is updated regularly by the AceKard All in One (AKAIO) team and has 3ds support. Please note that acekard 2i still doesn't have support for dsi v1.4.2 for now, but it is in development/testing. Because of acekard's popularity, it is very easy to find support here, but it also means fake acekard's are common. Be careful when buying carts.

 

[Talfuchre]

Got it. I HAD an original (black box) R4 cart - but gave it to my brother when I bought the carts I showed above.


I have been reading the links and before I saw the suggestion to get the R41 Gold - I simply ordered another R4i card (to replace the one I had).

What Kernel version do I put on this when I get it - or do I just pull out the SD Card from the broken one and put it in the new one?

Thanks again for all the help - I am learning a ton and I appreciate your patience.

TF

 

[RoMee]

if it's the one in the link you gave than it's an R4i Ultra.
best firmware is AKAIO 1.8.6a
it's on their website
http://www.r4ultra.com/download.htm

that version of AKAIO is outdated but it's better than the original R4i Ultra kernel

 

[Wizerzak]

Providing you ordered the EXACT same card then you should just be able to transfer the SD card as you said. Only way of telling is when it comes, just wait and see.

 

[s4mid4re]

Providing you ordered the EXACT same card then you should just be able to transfer the SD card as you said. Only way of telling is when it comes, just wait and see.

Even if it's the same card, it's best to back-up all of your contents in the SD card and format it with the panasonic SD formatter.

And also, the OP doesn't seem to have AKAIO, so it's better to replace the firmware he had with AKAIO.

 

[Talfuchre]

Wow - have I learned a lot.

So - on a lark - I tried a different SD Card. BLAMO - It works. I put on the old R4 software I have been using and it works.

With that said - I have been using the OLD R4 stuff forever. I could never find the right software to update anything - and because my kids don't want anything special - I just copied over the old stuff. It happened to work.

I downloaded AKAIO and it works a charm.

It is clear, now, that I have had a clone of something that I thought was something else for some time.

I thought I had an R4 Cart - and I had a AceKard Clone.


Anyway - what have I learned:

1) Watch your carts.
2) Come back HERE and ask what the heck I should get before I get anything else.
3) The original R4 software was pretty darned good.
4) Hardware issues can LOOK like software issues.


I know I will have more questions - but thank you all so much for checking back in on me and getting me up and running FAST.



TF

edited....

 

[Talfuchre]

Okay - I edited my previous post - but have one last question for this forum - and now that I know the difference - I will leave the R4 forum for the correct Cart forum.....

Why not run AKAIO 1.8.7 as opposed to 1.8.6a?

There are a few more fixes - or did the R4 Ultra people simply not update their website?

Thanks,

TF

 

[iluvfupaburgers]

its because akaio is only for original acekard cards. the akaio that the r4 ultra uses is a port that r4 ultra team makes for that specific card. so, so far your card support up to akaio 1.8.6a for r4 ultra

 

[NES SNES V.B. N64 G.C. Wii WiiU]

There are only very minor differences in AKAIO 1.8.6 and 1.8.7. Because the r4i Ulra is not the original AceKard, AKAIO has to be modified to work. Simply the R4 Ultra site has not updated to include a modified version of 1.8.7 yet.