Hacking Lost, Dazed & Confused? Please Help

[Vyxxin]

Okay okay, so I'll put it out there to begin with...I'm not a huge gamer. I don't know much at all about video games of any variety with the exception of putting the game in and playing. Outside of that? Nothing, nada, zip, zilch!

SO, why I am here? Well, my 6yr old is VERY into his DS Lite. I ran across a craigslist ad (yeah, lesson learned) for game cards...game cards that could hold bunches of games (yeah, should've ran at the too good to be true part). Anyhow, purchased what I think is a major knockoff/cheap R4 SDHC. Actually, I purchased four...one for each of my children and two for friends.

Here's where things lose me Three out of four, for a fact, quit working. The most recent being my sons. He's devastated as the card had a ton of his favorite games on it. Now, I know next to nothing about these cards. Okay, nothing at all. I know I purchased it, it worked with a bunch of games already on it at purchase.

Maybe you all can help? This is what I know

Card is white w/silver sticker on front (nothing on back)
Card says (from top to bottom): NEW, R4, SDHC, 3DS DSi, www.r4isdhc.com, Dual-Core, Smart Update
Card displays random game icon on DS Lite but gives two white screens when tapped into
Micro SD is still functional, if I put it in my daughter's R4 (same type) it plays just fine

Here's what I need to know, is it possible to just buy a new card, put the micro SD in and play? No other steps necessary? If so, can someone tell me what type of card I need and where is the most reliable (quality card wise) to get it? If not, how difficult would it be to transfer said games/progress/content/whatever to another card? Thanks in advance, sorry for not being nearly as game savvy as I could be

 

[Rocc0]

Here's what I need to know, is it possible to just buy a new card, put the micro SD in and play? No other steps necessary?

Sure, but you will need to download the menu files and such for that specific cart (which can usually be found on the manufacturers website). Of course you also need to delete the old flashcarts menu files and such from the sd card root.

how difficult would it be to transfer said games/progress/content/whatever to another card? Thanks in advance, sorry for not being nearly as game savvy as I could be

It shouldn't be too difficult, you will need the game files (.nds for DS games) and save files (.sav) and that is about it. If you know how to get these games online, you should have enough tech savvy to figure it out.

If so, can someone tell me what type of card I need and where is the most reliable (quality card wise) to get it?

You should probably look for either R4i Gold 3DS RTS (make sure that it has the website "www.r4ids.cn" on the sticker and looks exactly like the one in the picture below so you wont get a fake one) or Supercard DSTwo. Which one you want depends on what you value: DSTwo will be more expensive, but in return will have more features. Both carts should support every DS game released.

Spoiler

Pictures for reference

Official GBAtemp chart for best DS flashcarts: Which Flash Cart Should I Get?

For DS Lite, even the original R4 would work (which you can see on the list), it only costs about 5 dollars and supports every released DS game as well. It only supports 2GB or smaller sd cards thought, so that might be a problem.

 

[Vyxxin]

Sure, but you will need to download the menu files and such for that specific cart (which can usually be found on the manufacturers website). Of course you also need to delete the old flashcarts menu files and such from the sd card root.

OUCH! I know that sounds really simple? But I have (literally) no idea what you just said I mean, I do and I don't. I'm intelligent enough to understand it in English...but in practice? Not so much, can you explain the process by which that'd be done? I mean, from the sounds of it I cannot just put my old micro SD into a new card and "go" with it?

It shouldn't be too difficult, you will need the game files (.nds for DS games) and save files (.sav) and that is about it. If you know how to get these games online, you should have enough tech savvy to figure it out.

Ummm...I don't? I mean, I really don't know how to get these games. Like I said, I purchased a "pre-made" card. The games were already on the R4 when I purchased it...I can learn anything...I mean, I can follow instructions...but how difficult is this, really?

And at this point, finally, would it be easier to just purchase a blank card...and start from scratch loading games onto it (for someone who has no clue how to do so) or to purchase a new card, put the old micro SD into it, and as you said "download the menu files and delete old flashcart menu files"?

 

[Rocc0]

OUCH! I know that sounds really simple? But I have (literally) no idea what you just said I mean, I do and I don't. I'm intelligent enough to understand it in English...but in practice? Not so much, can you explain the process by which that'd be done? I mean, from the sounds of it I cannot just put my old micro SD into a new card and "go" with it?

Well, you could just use Windows to format the sd card. Formatting means that it wipes the sd card clean and then you have "blank card".

But this will also delete the game files and progress, so you want to copy those files on the computer first before you format. Look for .nds and .sav (or .nds.sav) files. I would imagine these files reside in some kind of folder that is called "roms" or "games" or something, but I can't be sure where the seller has put the files.

No, you very likely cannot just "go with it", because it is likely that the old R4 SDHC cart you have has some hacked version or just old version of wood firmware (or something else) and would not be compatible with a new cart.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Toturial-How-to-setup-r4i-gold-3ds-cart/
Here is text instructions on how to setup the files, the process is usually very similar no matter what flashcart you have.
Here is a video too. It is a bit poor quality video, but should hopefully give you an general idea on how to setup a flashcart.

Spoiler

Ummm...I don't? I mean, I really don't know how to get these games. Like I said, I purchased a "pre-made" card. The games were already on the R4 when I purchased it...I can learn anything...I mean, I can follow instructions...but how difficult is this, really?

Right, sorry, I misread that part. My bad. Unfortunately I can not really instruct you with that because of the GBAtemp rules (linking to copyright protected material is not allowed on this site). I can tell you that Google (or Wikipedia) is your friend on this one.

And at this point, finally, would it be easier to just purchase a blank card...and start from scratch loading games onto it (for someone who has no clue how to do so) or to purchase a new card, put the old micro SD into it, and as you said "download the menu files and delete old flashcart menu files"?

I mean, if the sd card works fine you should be able to use it in a new flashcart. You just need to get rid of the old menu files, but do not delete the game files (.nds and .sav). Usually new flashcarts do not come with sd card anyway, so you would have to buy that separately.