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:

 

[Zense]

Update:

On the DSi XL it still works.The Save File is still there and works after the Update to v15.0.0.

On the DSi The Save File is in the SAVES Folder but did not work anymore.
Here are the Error Message(s) when I start the Game:

View attachment 208093 View attachment 208094 View attachment 208095

(Excuse me,If I can not write the Meaning of it but my Japanese is a little "out of Order" today.).

Maybe it is an SD Card Issue because I use there an regular 64 GB SD Card ?

Thank you.

What differences in setup do you have between these two consoles?

 

[Alexander1970]

What differences in setup do you have between these two consoles?

Thank you.

Except the different SD Cards and the Amount of Games,nothing I really know....
Both were updated per Hand as always.

Only the Exploit was different.
On the DSi it was Flipnote
On the DSi XL it was Memory Pit.
Both set in the TWLMenu Settings.
The other Settings are identical.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

What differences in setup do you have between these two consoles?

All ok,my Fault:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-boo...-from-an-sd-card.454323/page-261#post-9046125
(Edit 3 please).

@Robz8
Sorry,that was my Fault,all is ok,all works.
Thank you.

 

[RocketRobz]

We're now on the 99th release of nds-bootstrap! This means there may not be a new nds-bootstrap release for a while, as we want the 100th release to be great as possible, with features like Slot-2 emulation outside of DS Browser, Cloneboot support, which will fix some games not working with Download Play, and/or DSi mode support, which will allow running DSi-Enhanced (and Exclusive) games with features like Camera and WPA1/2 WiFi support.

In the meantime, the 99th release here should fix remaining issues encountered by DSiWarehax (e.g. Memory Pit) users without Unlaunch.

v0.35.1

Improvements

• The FAT table has been relocated from DSi WRAM to Main RAM.
  This removes the need to reboot in DSiWarehax, after creating the FAT table.
  Also works around a mirroring bug in DSi WRAM, and allows running games with DSiWarehax without saving the FAT table cache.
• mpuInitOffset is now cached. This should improve boot times slightly.

Bug fixes (B4DS)

• Fixed Pokemon Gen 4 compatibility.
• FAT table has been moved forward by 8KB, so it is not overwriting DTCM.

 

[Solid One]

Can you guys update the discord invite? Tried using it, but it says it's invalid.

 

[RocketRobz]

Can you guys update the discord invite? Tried using it, but it says it's invalid.

https://discord.gg/yD3spjv

 

[Solid One]

https://discord.gg/yD3spjv

Now it works. Thanks.

 

[FriskyAl0310]

Just noticed; update v15.0.0? Since when??

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Also I think I may suggest one thing to TWiLight Menu++:

Be able to read JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP and/or GIF?

 

[RocketRobz]

Just noticed; update v15.0.0? Since when??

Check the release page/date.

Also I think I may suggest one thing to TWiLight Menu++:
Be able to read JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP and/or GIF?

Would be pretty hard to implement, if the images are bigger than the screen resolution.

 

[Pickle_Rick]

Hey what game are we supposed to use for the early SDK 3 donor rom on flashcarts? I tried Elite Beat Agents but it was no dice.

 

[RocketRobz]

Hey what game are we supposed to use for the early SDK 3 donor rom on flashcarts? I tried Elite Beat Agents but it was no dice.

Try Mario Kart DS.
If the game still doesn't boot, then it might be incompatible.

 

[Pickle_Rick]

Try Mario Kart DS.
If the game still doesn't boot, then it might be incompatible.

That worked. Thanks.

 

[Tebra]

Hi all,
Is it possible to inject .sav file from nds-bootstrap to a real NDS cartridge? I’m on a 3ds
I tried with Checkpoint but the save on cartridge is only 8k and the one on sd card from nds-bootstrap is 512k

 

[RocketRobz]

Hi all,
Is it possible to inject .sav file from nds-bootstrap to a real NDS cartridge? I’m on a 3ds
I tried with Checkpoint but the save on cartridge is only 8k and the one on sd card from nds-bootstrap is 512k

Trim the save using HxD.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Hi all,
Is it possible to inject .sav file from nds-bootstrap to a real NDS cartridge? I’m on a 3ds
I tried with Checkpoint but the save on cartridge is only 8k and the one on sd card from nds-bootstrap is 512k

NDS Save Transfer List & ndsi savedumper (requires TWiLight Menu to chainload launch to).

Edit - See the example in that post #18.

• https://shunyweb.info/convert.php
• NDS Save File Converter v2.6 ALPHA

 

[Tebra]

NDS Save Transfer List & ndsi savedumper (requires TWiLight Menu to chainload launch to).

Edit - See the example in that post #18.

• https://shunyweb.info/convert.php
• NDS Save File Converter v2.6 ALPHA

Thanks for your help.
So I just need to chainload ndsi-savedumper with twilight menu to inject my save from nds-bootstrap into a NDS cartridge? Even if they don’t have the same size?

 

[Tebra]

Trim the save using HxD.

How to do that? I’m on linux

 

[RocketRobz]

How to do that? I’m on linux

If there's no Linux version, use Wine to run HxD.
If it's opened, then open the save file, and trim everything starting from 0x2000.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Thanks for your help.
So I just need to chainload ndsi-savedumper with twilight menu to inject my save from nds-bootstrap into a NDS cartridge? Even if they don’t have the same size?

First, you trim the save size or convert the save format from the current 512 KB to that game's native 8.00 KB. Then, you restore the save with Checkpoint or ndsi savedumper. You might have to mess around the settings in shunyweb, NDS Save File Converter, or those desktop NDS emulators to get the correct save output.

 

[bahamut920]

I haven't had any trouble restoring saves from nds-bootstrap to retail carts via Checkpoint without any conversion or trimming. Checkpoint doesn't seem to care about the different file sizes, and the saves load properly when tested. As long as I refresh the Checkpoint list of games and have the save named correctly in a Checkpoint folder, it works (for each of the 5-6 games I've tested). My guess is that nds-bootstrap produces the largest save file a DS cart can have (512 KB) and just writes what it needs to from the front of the file, which means when Checkpoint goes to restore the save file, it reads from the front and writes that to the cart's EEPROM, stopping when it hits the end of the cart's save memory.

e: It's actually easier than importing nds-bootstrap saves into Desmume, because Desmume asks what save type the game is expecting, and choosing wrong gets you a corrupted save.

 

[Tebra]

I haven't had any trouble restoring saves from nds-bootstrap to retail carts via Checkpoint without any conversion or trimming. Checkpoint doesn't seem to care about the different file sizes, and the saves load properly when tested. As long as I refresh the Checkpoint list of games and have the save named correctly in a Checkpoint folder, it works (for each of the 5-6 games I've tested). My guess is that nds-bootstrap produces the largest save file a DS cart can have (512 KB) and just writes what it needs to from the front of the file, which means when Checkpoint goes to restore the save file, it reads from the front and writes that to the cart's EEPROM, stopping when it hits the end of the cart's save memory.

e: It's actually easier than importing nds-bootstrap saves into Desmume, because Desmume asks what save type the game is expecting, and choosing wrong gets you a corrupted save.

I confirm that this works with checkpoint. Checkpoint trim the 512k .sav file from nds-bootstrap to the max of capacity of the target cartridge