Condolences on your 3DS which is now catatonic.....
I actually suggest not disposing of your current 3DS and buy a new one. As there's a possible chance of either a 9.7 exploit that could allow stuff or a possible way to fix that semi brick...... OR just sell it and buy another one which has the requires firmware.
I think I'll keep my old 3DS and buy a new one as well. I have quite a few good retail games for my current 3DS so it'll still work for me. I just need another one for Ninjhax, I love that.
My old Wii is completely hacked. I had so many 100's of hours of fun with homebrew on the Wii, I miss that. xD