nds-bootstrap:

Thanks to the work of ahezard, Gericom, Apache, Robz8, _catcatcat, and shutterbug2000 and other contributors, we can now load NDS games from the SD card, without any flashcard/SLOT-1 card.

Don't expect high compatibility, but do expect many, many updates.

Compatibility listing:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

The official Discord server for nds-bootstrap:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7bxTQfZ

The thread for the recommended loader (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/twloader-ctr-mode-nds-app.448375/

SRLoader for softmodded DSis (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/srloader-nds-app-for-dsi.472200/

If you're more of a forwarder person:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

Link to the releases page:
https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap/releases

Anti-Piracy patch list by Robz8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ap-patch-preservation.477536/

Also, thank you to our testers:
Historian
JoshuaDoes
thejsa
Alerdy
PokeAcer

Spoiler: Videos

Also, a video thanks to Robz8:


And another thanks to Alerdy:

 

[RocketRobz]

is there anything extra I need to do to have saving? because with Super Mario 64 DS I keep trying to save but when I quit and go to load the save its not there

Wait for a new release of TWLoader tonight.

 

[Jayro]

How often is this compatibility list updated? With each version of TWLoader, I hope?

 

[RocketRobz]

How often is this compatibility list updated? With each version of TWLoader, I hope?

No. With each version of bootstrap.

 

[Jayro]

No. With each version of bootstrap.

Okay, thanks. Was just making sure it was still being updated.

 

[WarioTails358]

So the Mario Kart DS Kiosk Demo now boots and works!
But it takes a little bit longer than the final version of Mario kart Ds to reach the character select screen. (The track preview screen takes a while to load though along with starting a race.)

 

[TheArcadeStriker]

So far here are the games that I got to save and load with the new update and save path. Will keep testing.
@Robz8 @ahezard
Megaman Battle Network 5 DS
Super Mario 64 DS
Mario Kart DS
Inuyasha Secret of the Divine Jewel
Megaman ZX
Megaman ZX Advent
Megaman Zero Collection
Trauma Center Under The Knife
Ace Attorney Investigations Miles Edgeworth


Games that now load past the white screen but are not playable. (Get stuck on a loading screen or something)
Dragonball Z Supersonic Warriors 2 (Freeze)
English of the Dead (Japanese error? Save?)
Advanced Wars Dual Strike (Black screen)
Lunar Knights (Data could not be written)
Metroid Pinball (Black screen with slow audio)
Pokemon Rangers (Freeze at title screen)
Trauma Center UTK 2 (Black Screen)
Touch The Dead (Black Screen)

Hmm, the one that gets me more confused is Advance Wars, since I recall that it WORKED before (You may say playable...but not so much when nearly everything is pitch black in the gameplay, along with many mini loading times each time you move the cursor over a different unit or terrain).

 

[dubbz82]

In all honesty I haven't tested this yet, but does the loader work with trimmed roms?

 

[Joom]

This might be a dumb question, but would it be feasible to have ROMs create a temporary RAM disk of sorts for themselves in order to help with load times? Y'know, kind of like a pagefile?

 

[RocketRobz]

In all honesty I haven't tested this yet, but does the loader work with trimmed roms?

Yes.

This might be a dumb question, but would it be feasible to have ROMs create a temporary RAM disk of sorts for themselves in order to help with load times? Y'know, kind of like a pagefile?

The DSi WRAM will be used.

 

[metroid maniac]

The DSi WRAM will be used.

Is this confirmed by any of the main nds-bootstrap devs like ahezard?

 

[RocketRobz]

Is this confirmed by any of the main nds-bootstrap devs like ahezard?

This is what he said (I corrected a bit of the misspellings)

DSI WRAM for transfer + cache and prefetch via the DMA could provide a very nice boost

 

[metroid maniac]

This is what he said (I corrected a bit of the misspellings)

Cool. 768KB is a bit small though, do you know if it's really going to provide that much of a performance benefit?
Maybe it'd be possible to utilise the upper 12MB of DSi main memory by toggling the SCFG flag at runtime

 

[Link_of_Hyrule]

Cool. 768KB is a bit small though, do you know if it's really going to provide that much of a performance benefit?
Maybe it'd be possible to utilise the upper 12MB of DSi main memory by toggling the SCFG flag at runtime

I'm sure any pull request you can make for the project would be appreciated.

 

[metroid maniac]

I'm sure any pull request you can make for the project would be appreciated.

I'm not really a developer, I just like to ask technical questions. That was very much a speculative idea.

 

[Link_of_Hyrule]

I'm not really a developer, I just like to ask technical questions. That was very much a speculative idea.

Oh OK well they've been working hard on it so I'm sure we'll see some more improvements soon.

 

[internetakias]

Not sure if this is the best thread to ask but is there a file browser that allows me to access my R4i SDHC Dual Core's microSD and my 3DS's SD at the same time and allow me to copy files between them?

 

[metroid maniac]

Not sure if this is the best thread to ask but is there a file browser that allows me to access my R4i SDHC Dual Core's microSD and my 3DS's SD at the same time and allow me to copy files between them?

I had the same question and this was the answer.
Be aware that you'll probably need to DLDI patch it.

 

[RocketRobz]

I had the same question and this was the answer.
Be aware that you'll probably need to DLDI patch it.

YSMenu will automatically DLDI patch it, if it's on the flashcard.

 

[TimX24968B]

does having the game respond "the ds card has been removed" mean it can't make save data?

 

[metroid maniac]

YSMenu will automatically DLDI patch it, if it's on the flashcard.

You'd need to launch the flashcard with NTR Launcher and SD enabled for that to work. I prefer to install the CIA release to avoid that.