Hacking Missing system file and what is the dma for

[Boru]

Hi,

Excellent site a lot of really useful info. I'm supposed to be posting a dstt to my nephew for Christmas and don't want to set it up incorrectly. Can somebody please help me out a desperate Uncle and answer a couple of questions?

2 dstt's, one (my son's v1.07) had the following files: TTMENU.DAT, TTMENU.SYS & a folder TTMENU (containing skin & a list of other files) and the other (v1.14) doesn't have the system file. After performing a quick test the 2nd cart works fine. However from what I've read shouldn't. Didn't put v1.15/6 as wasn't sure if fake or not. Am I missing the TTMENU.SYS file?

Should I enable the DMA for all on the cart?

Many thanks in advance for any help,

Boru

 

[Bri]

The TTMENU.SYS file is created by the firmware the first time you run it, so it's no big deal if it's not included.

Run 1.15 and NOT 1.16 if you don't know if the flash cart is a fake or not.

You want DMA mode enabled for most games, but if a particular game doesn't work properly try turning off DMA mode (as well as cheats, soft reset, and other patches) which can sometimes interfere with certain games.

-Bri

 

[Boru]

Thanks for your reply. As you said I thought the system file should have been created when the cart was first used, however after checking several times found there still isn't one. Regarding the DMA mode based on what I've read thought that it was to increase compatibility so I've gone through all the games and turned it on for every one as I couldn't see how this could do any harm. I'm using a 4gb Kingston (Japan) card, which has used about 1.97gb of the capacity, ensured it was fat32. Dragged and dropped the TTMenu folder and TTMENU.DAT file to the root directory and created 4 folder marked Games 1, 2, 3, 4. I wanted to get this working so that it would run without any problems as my nephews parents would have even less of a clue then me and probably wouldn't know how to turn the DMA on/off and as he's only 5 years old he wouldn't be able to do it himself. I've checked the cart in 2 different DS's and it works fine. Can you forsee any problems? Does it not seem strange that the system file has NOT been created after testing several times?

Thanks for your help and advice,

Boru

 

[Bri]

You should always use the Panasonic formatter to format your microSD/microSDHC card.

No real need to have more than one "games" folder unless you just want to.

The TTMENU.SYS file should be created after you run it the first time (I don't remember if it's on the root or in the TTMENU folder). It holds all of your settings if I'm not mistaken, so I'm guessing it's there somewhere. Maybe it's hidden (you might need to make sure your PC is set up to show hidden files).

DMA mode will speed up most games, but will cause problems with a few games (so you can turn it off for any games that it causes problems for).

-Bri

 

[Boru]

Thanks again Bri.

Posted it off yesterday so hopefully the nephew won't have any problems.

Couple of more quick questions (If you don't mind). Do I need to use the panasonic formatter for internal card readers i.e. the type built into the pc and is there anything I need to take into account when using USA roms.

Cheers

Boru

 

[Bri]

You're welcome!

The Panasonic formatter is used to reformat your microSD card to SD specifications. The card reader itself doesn't have much to do with how the card is formatted (the formatting is done with the software using the card reader). The Panasonic formatter can be used with most card readers and is used instead of the built-in "format" in Windows. The built-in Windows format command is used to format disk drives and other removable devices, but doesn't format SD cards according to SD specifications (and may cause the flash cart to run slowly and could lead to microSD corruption requiring a reformat later on).

I don't understand your question about USA roms.

-Bri

 

[Boru]

Thanks for your very imformative explanation of the benefits of the Panasonic formatter over using Windows.

Regarding my other question....If a game had a European and US release what's the difference. Is it the language aspect or are the other things different. Can I combine U roms and E on the same card (Probably a really stupid question)?

Thankyou again!

Boru

 

[Bri]

Ah, there could be many subtle differences between the two versions. For music games (such as Guitar Hero and the like) the songs are often different (for example, the U.S. version has songs that presumably are supposed to appeal to Americans). But for the vast majority of games the only difference is the language.

Sometimes the format of the save files differ and therefore aren't necessarily interchangeable.

You can install more than one version of the same game on a flash cart as long as you name the .nds files differently. Note that they won't share save files.

-Bri

 

[Boru]

Brilliant! Thankyou so much for taking the time to answer my questions (whether they were stupid or not).

Merry Christmas!

Boru

 

[Bri]

There are no stupid questions. Only stupid answers.

-Bri