Hacking Is there a way to load ChoidujourNX without booting the Switch's OS?.

[WiseSalamander]

So... I am stuck trying to fix a... well I guess bricked switch?, enough said that has been stuck for months in a boot loop, it was bought at launch... and carelessly never updated by my sister, after what seems to be a power spike in a faulty AC nintendo adapter(official), I can't enter to recovery mode no matter what I do... and RCM only by disconnecting the emmc memory to enter RCM, and I am trying to figure out if I can fix the boot from hekate... or maybe by another payload, I never intended to use this switch for homebrew, so I hadn't previously done a back up of the system... that being said, I am okay with just a way to factory reset the console so gets into working order again, so my question is, there is a way to force the system to restart in maintenance mode with hekate? a payload? or whatever... can maybe load ChoidujourNX without having to boot the switch system os?... since I can't, all the hardware seems to be in working order... is just the OS that seems to be bricked... please help me, I am slightly desperate at this point.

 

[Masamune3210]

First thing is to figure out why you cant enter rcm without removing the nand, if the switch still enters rcm by removing the nand then it should still enter with the joycon pins. Might try to acquire a jig to help out. After that you can get a nand backup and manually rebuild the nand and see if that helps

https://guide.sdsetup.com/#/Manualchoidowngrade

 

[comput3rus3r]

First thing is to figure out why you cant enter rcm without removing the nand, if the switch still enters rcm by removing the nand then it should still enter with the joycon pins. Might try to acquire a jig to help out. After that you can get a nand backup and manually rebuild the nand and see if that helps

https://guide.sdsetup.com/#/Manualchoidowngrade

I'd like to know what he's using to enter rcm.

 

[WiseSalamander]

First thing is to figure out why you cant enter rcm without removing the nand, if the switch still enters rcm by removing the nand then it should still enter with the joycon pins. Might try to acquire a jig to help out. After that you can get a nand backup and manually rebuild the nand and see if that helps

https://guide.sdsetup.com/#/Manualchoidowngrade

Thank you!, I think this might me exactly what I needed, can I rebuild the nand by updating or only by downgrading(looks easier to upgrade lol)?

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I'd like to know what he's using to enter rcm.

me?, I disconect the emmc module which triggers the panic kernel and prompts the rcm mode, after, I inject briccmii to check for fuses but it gives error because of the unplugged NAND, I use the option of going back to rcm mode, and hot-plug the memory module (yeah I know is risky... but there is little else to do at this point), then I inject briccmii again which apparently forces (thankfully) the system to initialize the NAND, then back to rcm and finally Hekate, ( if I wouldn't use the briccmii trick, hekate just wouldn't recognise the NAND module with the hot-plug, and sometimes it wouldn't even start).

 

[Masamune3210]

Only same or later firmware as higher firmwares burn fuses which make the bootloader refuse to boot a lower firmware than what is expected. If you can enter rcm, it really doesnt matter what firmware you choose. But the fact that you have to trigger rcm in such a way is worrying me that hardware damage is present somewhere as the same code that triggers it due to the nand being missing is the same that checks the joycon pins and buttons for the manual entry

 

[WiseSalamander]

Only same or later firmware as higher firmwares burn fuses which make the bootloader refuse to boot a lower firmware than what is expected. If you can enter rcm, it really doesnt matter what firmware you choose. But the fact that you have to trigger rcm in such a way is worrying me that hardware damage is present somewhere as the same code that triggers it due to the nand being missing is the same that checks the joycon pins and buttons for the manual entry

hummm, lol I hope no. anyway to check this?, I got 5 fuses so I guess version 4.1? I'll see if I can install it clean, lol no sure I understand the process flow in order to achieve this though, I have been fallowing some guides, that use the sdfiles, hekate and firmware, but I think I am missing something, just in case, I did do a
NAND back up, but wondering if I don't need a full NAND image with a clean install or something of sorts?.. been looking for an script that might be able just to clean the install, but I guess there isn't any..?, ugh honestly I am kinda dizzy about all the info and still can't make to much heads or tails of it in order to take the best possible course of action, lol and here I got a sister pressuring me to fix it, while she has my switch sequestered.

 

[Masamune3210]

I don't know of any easy way to check for the type of damage that would cause great issue, maybe make sure joycon pins are not damaged? or ribbon to the rails if there is one? The problem with trying to find a nand image of a clean install is that the nand is per console encrypted, so you cant use another persons nand image even if you got one. I don't believe that there are any scripts that can clean a install quite yet as the switch is still relatively new and people are still digging in. Whatever you do, take it slow and take a break if you need it. Lots of stuff to mess up accidentally. Take a full nand image and a backup of everything you can in hekate and dump your keys just incase something happens and you have to manually mod it

 

[WiseSalamander]

I don't know of any easy way to check for the type of damage that would cause great issue, maybe make sure joycon pins are not damaged? or ribbon to the rails if there is one? The problem with trying to find a nand image of a clean install is that the nand is per console encrypted, so you cant use another persons nand image even if you got one. I don't believe that there are any scripts that can clean a install quite yet as the switch is still relatively new and people are still digging in. Whatever you do, take it slow and take a break if you need it. Lots of stuff to mess up accidentally. Take a full nand image and a backup of everything you can in hekate and dump your keys just incase something happens and you have to manually mod it

I already backed up everything... but do worries me the damage part, the issue started because of a nintendo charger (lol aren't those supposed to protect from that kind of damage?) anyhow... yeah ugh uff, lol no even sure where to continue to be honest, can I manually trigger the maintenance mode with a payload?... maybe that way I can factory reset easily x___X?... I know is hard work, but seeing in internet how common booting issues are with the switch I am surprised there isn't an automated payload that can fix it yet.. the crappy thing here really, is that we are really short on money and we can't really afford to send it to get fixed by a third party right now... and with christmas around the corner...

 

[Masamune3210]

Even official hardware fails sometimes, if it wasnt for the fact that it has been poked at software wise I would say talk to N about a repair. The problem with a payload to trigger maintenance mode is that whatever is keeping the system from booting would probably affect it as well, since its just a stripped down version of the system software that lives on another partition in the nand. I don't think boot issues are really prevelant with the switch, so much as the internet is just really good at showing negative bias (you only see people who need help, nobody makes a post just to say everything is a-ok!) Sorry, I'm not sure what to recommend in your situation, other than hopefully you figure out the problem and its not to much of a annoyance

 

[WiseSalamander]

Even official hardware fails sometimes, if it wasnt for the fact that it has been poked at software wise I would say talk to N about a repair. The problem with a payload to trigger maintenance mode is that whatever is keeping the system from booting would probably affect it as well, since its just a stripped down version of the system software that lives on another partition in the nand. I don't think boot issues are really prevelant with the switch, so much as the internet is just really good at showing negative bias (you only see people who need help, nobody makes a post just to say everything is a-ok!) Sorry, I'm not sure what to recommend in your situation, other than hopefully you figure out the problem and its not to much of a annoyance

no worries :/ I appreciate you taking the time to explain these issue to me, sight... I guess I am going back to the idea of booting choidujournx without the OS?, I am checking how to do it, I think I have to build a binary to do this isn't?. I'am disappointed of nintendo really, :/ my sister barely used her console, seeing inside it was cleaner, the thermal paste was still a paste as opposite to mine( I had to charge the battery through my switch since her's wouldn't), and still was the one that got screwed, either way I would have recurred to nintendo, but the subsidiary company the takes the tech support and warranty issues here in Mexico, is terrible, it takes months to solve any issue, they are infamous for being kind of assholes, I had to send in my joycons because the conductive foam issue they had in the first batch at launch and the whole process was 3 months of hundreds of exchanged emails, and even a point where they plain lost my joycons.... you can see why I am trying to fix them myself... I have worked in IT and in overall I can work my way around tech, but I never suspected it would become this cumbersome...

 

[Masamune3210]

Man, that sucks. I'm sorry, its dumb that big companies can offload their support onto such horrible organizations. Unfortunately as far as I know, there is no way to load ChoirdujorNX without booting into HOS, as its a nro, which is homebrew launcher material. Your best bet is to figure out the rcm issue and then work on rebuilding the nand manually. It honestly sounds like its just a lost cause unfortunately, as even if you can get the nand repaired, a faulty charger introducing who knows what power into something as fragile when it comes to power as the switch does not bode well chances of survival