Hacking New 3DS XL Won't Boot After Hardmod

[vb_encryption_vb]

Your supposed to get the bsod when sd card is inserted...

 

[Monty Kensicle]

Your supposed to get the bsod when sd card is inserted...

Yep! That's exactly what it does when I put the adapter in. If I don't put the adapter in I get the issue I spoke of in the first post where the unit appears to power on but then seems to immediately go into sleep mode. I'm being told it's the reed switch.

 

[Ryccardo]

Where is the reed switch?

Between Start and B, or right in the middle of ABXY
Should be a 3-pin chip (in this arrangement: =[]-)

 

[Monty Kensicle]

Between Start and B, or right in the middle of ABXY
Should be a 3-pin chip (in this arrangement: =[]-)

Okay, I never even touched that part of the board. The only thing I can think of is the connector from the daughter board to the main board being an issue. I posted pictures on page one of the connector in question but I can't seem to see anything wrong with it.

 

[Ryccardo]

Maybe try with a decently strong magnet indeed... the sensor is polarity sensitive, so one side of the magnet will actually fight against the standby action!

Of course, it won't help if the sensor is completely wrecked or the fault is later in the chain, but at least it's a nice (and cool) test...

 

[gamesquest1]

the connector looks fine, but its also possible a point on the board is shorted somewhere that is used to trigger the sleep mode, try clearing the board thoroughly to make sure there is no solder bridges anywhere

PS if you go ahead and install boot9hax via hardmod you should be able to confirm the issue as payloads/luma config will still work even with the sleep sensor active

 

[vb_encryption_vb]

I guess there is no popping noise that you hear? If so that's ribbons.

Removed hardmod to see if that fixes it?

 

[Monty Kensicle]

the connector looks fine, but its also possible a point on the board is shorted somewhere that is used to trigger the sleep mode, try clearing the board thoroughly to make sure there is no solder bridges anywhere

PS if you go ahead and install boot9hax via hardmod you should be able to confirm the issue as payloads/luma config will still work even with the sleep sensor active

I have a prior engagement but I'll try that as soon as I can.

I guess there is no popping noise that you hear? If so that's ribbons.

Removed hardmod to see if that fixes it?

No popping sounds are audible. Removing the hard mod doesn't seem to change anything.

 

[Byokugen]

And you can't read the nand with the application?
The ribbon seems fine to me

 

[Monty Kensicle]

And you can't read the nand with the application?
The ribbon seems fine to me

Turns out my go-to SD reader has gone bad so I'll need to get another one ASAP.

 

[mitroux]

if the n3ds goes to sleep mode , then it may be one of those 3 things :
-the small board has a problem (the board that has abxy buttons) , switch with another one to see if that solves the problem
-the ribbon cable that connect the small board and main board , take a clear picture , maybe a pin in bent or lifted
-the main connector on mainboard has bent pins

 

[HugaTheFox]

If the Bootrom message is appearing when you put the sd card adapter in the reader, then the hardmod works. This is meant to happen

FROM THE THREAD:
Now, once you have done that, it is time for the software portion. Plug your SD adapter into the recommended reader, but DO NOT plug the reader into the computer...yet
Power on your 3DS. If you did everything right, there should be a bootrom error message on a blue screen. In this state, you are now able to read/write the NAND. Do not power off your 3DS, and plug the reader into the USB port of your computer.

 

[Byokugen]

I figured this.out, but his reader died? So yeah
Looks like it's all ok, except the reader

 

[Selver]

View attachment 90340
Does it look okay to you?

At least four possibilities:

1. The DAT0 connection (orange wire) looks suspect (insufficient wetting of the pad). Notice how the solder is balled up on the wire. Be sure to the pad is clean, and heat the pad (not just the wire). This may not be related to your issue, but I wouldn't trust that particular joint...
2. The CLK connection (red wire) looks like it *might* be bridged to ground. If so, vb_encryption_vb may be right. If you're going to fix this, solder to the CLK pad one clockwise from where you did... just in case you lift the pad, you'll get at least two more shots. The picture isn't clear enough to be sure, but this connection may also be a cold joint.
3. Too much extra wiring (or too large gauge) can cause instability in the signals, and thus randomly corrupt you nand. This is often easy to find by dumping multiple copies of the nand, and checking them for sectors that are partially-zero. Or just dump many times and check the hash are all equal.

The fourth has been well-covered, being the reed sensor.

I don't recommend turning this on again until you've had a chance to dump the nand multiple times, and the dumps look clean. If the dumps don't match, the hardmod is flaky at best (totally broken at worst). Reworking the wiring with smaller gauge wiring is strongly recommended (try Ethernet wiring, or wirewrap wire, or pull wires from a cheap pair of headphones).

On the plus side, the green wire (DAT0) looks solid.

 

[annson24]

I had a similar issue, but with mine, even after removing the wires the bootrom error still persista. So i think I have a broken nand or something. Still haven't fixed it.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[vb_encryption_vb]

I had a similar issue, but with mine, even after removing the wires the bootrom error still persista. So i think I have a broken nand or something. Still haven't fixed it.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Damaged clk...

 

[annson24]

Damaged clk...

Oh...so it's a permanent paperweight now then huh?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Byokugen]

Oh...so it's a permanent paperweight now then huh?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

You can.take stuff from it, sd reader, wifi and other parts, mobo, play darts with it

 

[Monty Kensicle]

if the n3ds goes to sleep mode , then it may be one of those 3 things :
-the small board has a problem (the board that has abxy buttons) , switch with another one to see if that solves the problem
-the ribbon cable that connect the small board and main board , take a clear picture , maybe a pin in bent or lifted
-the main connector on mainboard has bent pins

Well I don't have a spare on my bench at the moment, $13 is the cheapest online I can find for a spare. But when I redid the hard mod upon reassembling the flap on the zif connector on the main board side broke off again and took a pin with it this time. I saw someone have this exact same problem on another thread. Is that particular connector just trash? I noticed that nowhere else is that connector used on the 3DS, not even on the daughter board it connects to.

At least four possibilities:

1. The DAT0 connection (orange wire) looks suspect (insufficient wetting of the pad). Notice how the solder is balled up on the wire. Be sure to the pad is clean, and heat the pad (not just the wire). This may not be related to your issue, but I wouldn't trust that particular joint...
2. The CLK connection (red wire) looks like it *might* be bridged to ground. If so, vb_encryption_vb may be right. If you're going to fix this, solder to the CLK pad one clockwise from where you did... just in case you lift the pad, you'll get at least two more shots. The picture isn't clear enough to be sure, but this connection may also be a cold joint.
3. Too much extra wiring (or too large gauge) can cause instability in the signals, and thus randomly corrupt you nand. This is often easy to find by dumping multiple copies of the nand, and checking them for sectors that are partially-zero. Or just dump many times and check the hash are all equal.

The fourth has been well-covered, being the reed sensor.

I don't recommend turning this on again until you've had a chance to dump the nand multiple times, and the dumps look clean. If the dumps don't match, the hardmod is flaky at best (totally broken at worst). Reworking the wiring with smaller gauge wiring is strongly recommended (try Ethernet wiring, or wirewrap wire, or pull wires from a cheap pair of headphones).

On the plus side, the green wire (DAT0) looks solid.

I'm not a complete moron. The wire I was using in the pictures IS 30AWG solid core. Anything else would be far too big for the pads. Switched to Stranded enamel wire and boy is that a bitch to get on properly.