Hacking Is my Acekard fixable?

[Dakattack]

Hello all, I think my Acekard may be bricked or dead but I want to double check with you intelligent ladies and gentlemen.

So I have an old Acekard 2i, I got it over a year ago, and recently I found that it has stopped working. It worked great in the past, but now my NDSL freezes on the Nintendo splash screen when the card is inserted.

I have tried using multiple micro SD's, and using a newer Acekard and a DSTwo card I tried the unbricking method (where you slide the broken card in before the software update)
However the screen stays at 0% progress until I eject the card. I've tried to quickly reinsert it to see if anything happens but it remains broken or bricked or dead or whatever.

I have tried multiple updates on multiple systems and flashcards, with and without microSD's inserted in the broken card.

I am pretty sure it is broken at this point. However, I wanted to know if it was at all fixable. Is this a software problem or a hardware problem? And is it possible to repair?

 

[Harsky]

Unfortunately I sold two Acekard 2i to my friend and they both came back with the same EXACT problem you had. I tried out all the things you did to "unbrick" it like the software update with a different working Acekard 2i but it didn't work. Had to resort to just buying the R4i gold in the end.

If there's one thing to come out from this, is that it's made me not trust Acekard anymore.

 

[Dakattack]

Yea, my friend let me borrow his DSTWO card and I fell in love with it. So much faster and supports GBA emulation! I guess I'll have to scrap this thing. Thanks anyway!

 

[Another World]

freezing on the health and safety screen is a contact issue. a very common problem with the ak2i.

-another world

 

[Dakattack]

Hmmmmmm, I've tried all of the paper tricks on the internet, is there anything else I can try?

 

[ipwndeveloper]

This happens all too frequently for me, on my DS, I have to keep pressure on the back of the cart in order for it to be detected. But after a while I can slowly let the cart return to the normal position.
Also can anyone reccomend a good supercard reseller, preferably US based, Thanks, and GoodLuck

 

[Harsky]

This happens all too frequently for me, on my DS, I have to keep pressure on the back of the cart in order for it to be detected. But after a while I can slowly let the cart return to the normal position.
Also can anyone reccomend a good supercard reseller, preferably US based, Thanks, and GoodLuck

Not sure about US but the following sellers:

http://www.realhotstuff.hk/
http://www.0shippingzone.com/

Are pretty good as long as you don't mind the long shipping time.

 

[Dakattack]

This happens all too frequently for me, on my DS, I have to keep pressure on the back of the cart in order for it to be detected. But after a while I can slowly let the cart return to the normal position.
Also can anyone reccomend a good supercard reseller, preferably US based, Thanks, and GoodLuck

Interesting, so does this mean my card is just not being detected? Is that also why the update never goes up in percentage?
How else can I fix bad connectivity?

 

[ipwndeveloper]

Well I never did fix it, as it was a lesser used data line. which could be why the update won't go through as its trying to call on a resource that is not available. When it is being pushed in the connectors make contact, long enough to send data to run the game/flashcard. It is probably the line the header data goes through which would explain not going up.

 

[Another World]

Interesting, so does this mean my card is just not being detected? Is that also why the update never goes up in percentage?
How else can I fix bad connectivity?

like i said already, its a contact issue. when you swap in the ak2i it isn't be detected by your nds, which is why the update never does anything. you can either take the shell apart and try reseating the PCB, assuming it isn't warped, or you can put some paper under the PCB to help it make contact. neither is a certain, both can be attempted.

http://www.akaio.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=790

-another world

 

[Dakattack]

like i said already, its a contact issue. when you swap in the ak2i it isn't be detected by your nds, which is why the update never does anything. you can either take the shell apart and try reseating the PCB, assuming it isn't warped, or you can put some paper under the PCB to help it make contact. neither is a certain, both can be attempted.

http://www.akaio.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=790

-another world

I have attempted both before with no avail, my question is this: Can the lack of progress in the update only be because of a connectivity issue? Or can it be some unrelated issue like a dead chip or something? I've cleaned the contacts and tried various forms of paper and PCB tricks, so I'm having my doubts about it solely a connectivity issue.

I guess I'm just unsure as to what the problem is with my card. I'd hate to spend time on fixing a card that is already completely dead.

Also, would it be safe to take the PCB out and put in the NDS without the plastic to help connect the contacts? Or will that get it stuck?

Thanks for the replies by the way! You guys are awesome

 

[Another World]

anything is possible. more probably its just a contact issue. sometimes they can be a real pain to dial in.

when you used your scds2 to run the update, you did so on a ds lite or ds phat, correct? because the multi-cart update method will not work on the dsi/3ds.

-another world

 

[Dakattack]

anything is possible. more probably its just a contact issue. sometimes they can be a real pain to dial in.

when you used your scds2 to run the update, you did so on a ds lite or ds phat, correct? because the multi-cart update method will not work on the dsi/3ds.

-another world

Ds Lite, a very early version too. If I were to fuss with the position of the PCB again, I should move the contacts down correct? Also, is it possible to clean the DSL contacts by removing the back cover? Or does it require a lot more dis-assembly?