Hardware Please help! old 3ds refuses to read old files and creates empty homepage

[xeph20]

If you formatted your console your old Nintendo 3DS folder will not get recognized anymore, unless (I think) you restore a NAND backup. There are two folders with numbers and letters, and one has a lot more files than the other, right?

yeah one is 18gb big so its always that one that i try to replace

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Thanks for your idea.

Everything is as you say it should be but step 5 its empty as if nothing is installed.
When i install new cia files they are the only items there

(Re-)installing CIAs will over-write your game saves.

How many games do you have? There might be a way to recover those saves, but this method is very tedious, and it may or may not work.

Example
- Let's say you had the game Pokemon Omega Ruby (EUR) installed on your original 3DS setup.
- You have your old setup backed up on your SSD like you mentioned.
- You already tried copying and pasting that entire setup onto your reformatted SD card but nothing shows up, including Pokemon.

- What you want to do is make a new setup with none of your old files.
- Next, you install a fresh copy of Pokemon OR with the Title ID of 000400000011C400.
- Once that game is installed, you look in your backed up setup. Your Pokemon game is located at:

• Nintendo 3DS/<ID0>/<ID1>/title/00040000/0011C400

- You'll see two subfolders, content and data. Your encrypted save file is located in data, named as 00000001.sav .
- Copy and paste over your old *.sav to the one found on your new setup / SD card.
- Try launching Pokemon Omega Ruby and check if your save is restored. If it is great.
- If your save doesn't work, the game might have anti-cheat detection. Recopy the save file and try using either Checkpoint and/or JKSM to see if they detect your old save.
- Should the old save gets identified, try backing up that save. Doing this will make a decrypted copy of your save file.
- After backing up your save, try restoring it back to Pokemon.
- Check the game again to see if your save was successfully restored.

Edit - IF you need help identifying games to Title ID, use :

• http://www.advanscene.com/
• http://www.3dsdb.com/
• that title site

Edit 2 - You should do a single example in your inventory first to see if this works or not. If it does work, there's a way to automate grabbing copies of only your saves using a program Duplicate Cleaner Pro by Digital Volcano Software (you figure out how to obtain this).

For LOTS of games
1) Install all your games with matching Title IDs on the new setup.
2) Use Duplicate Cleaner Pro to search for all files named as 00000001.sav found in the old setup.

• Be careful not to delete anything, or make another copy for safety sandbox.

3) Copy or extract those saves. This program has the ability to maintain folder directories.
4) Paste those saves to overwrite the ones found on your new setup.
5) Use Checkpoint and/or JKSM to make decrypted back ups of your saves.
6) Restore them all; do this to eliminate guesswork of which games have anti-cheat detection.

 

[xeph20]

(Re-)installing CIAs will over-write your game saves.

How many games do you have? There might be a way to recover those saves, but this method is very tedious, and it may or may not work.

I will try that thanks. it wouldn't be too many saves to restore.
What i do wonder though Luma and godmode are on the flash storage of the DS itself so do i need any folders from my old sd?
Or can i just put in a formatted sd with only CIA files and install them with the injected FBI app and have nothing missing?

like boot.bin and whatnot. with and empty sd i can still enter luma and godmode so what it needed for?
i did copy the boot to internal memory

 

[TurdPooCharger]

I will try that thanks. it wouldn't be too many saves to restore.
What i do wonder though Luma and godmode are on the flash storage of the DS itself so do i need any folders from my old sd?
Or can i just put in a formatted sd with only CIA files and install them with the injected FBI app and have nothing missing?

Do you mean you have Luma3DS and GodMode9 installed on your 3DS CTRNAND (ie, CFW on internal storage separate from the SD card)?

• https://3ds.hacks.guide/finalizing-setup#section-vi---ctrnand-luma3ds

^ This is fine to have. For your new setup, your SD card should include its own copy of Luma and GM9 anyway. If you're not sure in what to gather to rebuild from scratch, use this cheat guide:

• https://gbatemp.net/threads/3ds-cfw-restoring-functionality-on-a-new-sd-card.507458/#post-8052010

***

Yes, you can use Health & Safety injected FBI to install CIAs. This is the first step in recreating your original setup as closely as possible. Remember, don't use any of the files from your backup.* You reject anything and everything that is replaceable.

All the 3DS & DSiWare games, homebrew titles, themes, splashes, emulator & roms, and whatnot will need to be reinstalled from clean (known working) sources. [ie, freeShop, that iso site].

* The only things you do use are:

1. The 3DS and DSiWare *.sav files (for attempted recovery).
2. Saves from games through emulators snes9x, virtuaNES, picodrive, temperpce, mGBA, retroarch, etc.
3. Important pictures and/or notes.

 

[xeph20]

Do you mean you have Luma3DS and GodMode9 installed on your 3DS CTRNAND (ie, CFW on internal storage separate from the SD card)?

• https://3ds.hacks.guide/finalizing-setup#section-vi---ctrnand-luma3ds

^ This is fine to have. For your new setup, your SD card should include its own copy of Luma and GM9 anyway. If you're not sure in what to gather to rebuild from scratch, use this cheat guide:

• https://gbatemp.net/threads/3ds-cfw-restoring-functionality-on-a-new-sd-card.507458/#post-8052010

***

Yes, you can use Health & Safety injected FBI to install CIAs. This is the first step in recreating your original setup as closely as possible. Remember, don't use any of the files from your backup.* You reject anything and everything that is replaceable.

All the 3DS & DSiWare games, homebrew titles, themes, splashes, emulator & roms, and whatnot will need to be reinstalled from clean (known working) sources. [ie, freeShop, that iso site].

* The only things you do use are:

1. The 3DS and DSiWare *.sav files (for attempted recovery).
2. Saves from games through emulators snes9x, virtuaNES, picodrive, temperpce, mGBA, retroarch, etc.
3. Important pictures and/or notes.

Yey i'm an idiot
Spent an hour copying my CIAs to the cias folder then did the steps ran cleaner
BAM all cias gone hehe

yea what i meant is without SD i can still enter luma with select before boot and i can enter godmode with start before boot and when booted i can go in rosalina menu so i think thats everything need i don't know.

and with the steps in the guide i feel like they don't change any settings because i all did it already before. i think i should just install all the cias and then try to restore the saves

 

[TurdPooCharger]

yea what i meant is without SD i can still enter luma with select before boot and i can enter godmode with start before boot and when booted i can go in rosalina menu so i think thats everything need i don't know.

Your 3DS will default to using Luma3DS and GodMode9 found on your CTRNAND when the SD card is not inserted. This means you did the Section VI - CTRNAND Luma3DS found in that 3ds.hack.guide, which is a good thing.

If your SD card has its own copies of Luma and GM9, your 3DS will switch over to using the ones found on that card. It's better to have those two on both CTRNAND and SD card. Your SD card set takes precedent over the CTRNAND set.

and with the steps in the guide i feel like they don't change any settings because i all did it already before. i think i should just install all the cias and then try to restore the saves

Correct, you reinstall all your CIAs. This is the only way to get your games working again since your 3DS refuses to recognize your old setup.

Make sure you do a single title install, preferably something small. See if that *.sav restore idea will work on that one game before doing a bigger batches. This is to ensure your effort isn't wasted if the idea doesn't pan out.

 

[xeph20]

Your 3DS will default to using Luma3DS and GodMode9 found on your CTRNAND when the SD card is not inserted. This means you did the Section VI - CTRNAND Luma3DS found in that 3ds.hack.guide, which is a good thing.

If your SD card has its own copies of Luma and GM9, your 3DS will switch over to using the ones found on that card. It's better to have those two on both CTRNAND and SD card. Your SD card set takes precedent over the CTRNAND set.


Correct, you reinstall all your CIAs. This is the only way to get your games working again since your 3DS refuses to recognize your old setup.

Make sure you do a single title install, preferably something small. See if that *.sav restore idea will work on that one game before doing a bigger batches. This is to ensure your effort isn't wasted if the idea doesn't pan out.

Thanks for clearing things up i didnt knew about the SD files being prioritized.
Well even if it doesnt work i don't think i have much choice i think its my only hope to do it that way

 

[xeph20]

For LOTS of games
1) Install all your games with matching Title IDs on the new setup.
2) Use Duplicate Cleaner Pro to search for all files named as 00000001.sav found in the old setup.

• Be careful not to delete anything, or make another copy for safety sandbox.

3) Copy or extract those saves. This program has the ability to maintain folder directories.
4) Paste those saves to overwrite the ones found on your new setup.
5) Use Checkpoint and/or JKSM to make decrypted back ups of your saves.
6) Restore them all; do this to eliminate guesswork of which games have anti-cheat detection.

Oh man this tip was gold.
I even had the software installed already. but i don't find how to just search by name so i just did a full scan for same name files and selected the SAV files but i also don't see any option to copy/extract them also nothing with keeping their directory.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Oh man this tip was gold.
I even had the software installed already. but i don't find how to just search by name so i just did a full scan for same name files and selected the SAV files but i also don't see any option to copy/extract them also nothing with keeping their directory.

 

[xeph20]

OMG perfect thanks !!! i didnt think about pressing delete to get a copy function hehe worked perfectly.
Lets test now. do i really have to do the decrypt step thingy on the DS? wouldnt just copy paste work?

 

[TurdPooCharger]

OMG perfect thanks !!! i didnt think about pressing delete to get a copy function hehe worked perfectly.
Lets test now. do i really have to do the decrypt step thingy on the DS? wouldnt just copy paste work?

Do it to avoid figuring out which games have anti-cheat detection that will delete your save if you tampered them.

 

[xeph20]

Do it to avoid figuring out which games have anti-cheat detection that will delete your save if you tampered them.

i tried JKSM because i already had it installed. don't see a function to target all games but when i target pokemon sun (most important save) i get export import and delete save
when i do export save i get the error " Failed to open Save Archive!)

This is after copying the old saves to the sd as you said

Edit:

Tried checkpoint and it only shows games without save file all old save files their games don't show up and if i open pokemon sun it says save data corrupted

 

[TurdPooCharger]

i tried JKSM because i already had it installed. don't see a function to target all games but when i target pokemon sun (most important save) i get export import and delete save
when i do export save i get the error " Failed to open Save Archive!)

This is after copying the old saves to the sd as you said

JKSM is a little outdated because the dev, JK_, stopped working on it for a while (he only recently restarted his project). Some newer games may not be compatible with it.

You should default with Checkpoint v3.4.0 and switch over to JKSM if Checkpoint doesn't work.

If neither Checkpoint and JKSM works for particular games, you have one other save manager called SaveDataFiler to try out. This cannot be shared or linked here because it's an official Nintendo SDK tool. You may find it at that iso site if you look hard enough.

Edit - I just read your updated post, do any of the games work with the save swap and restore?

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

Tried checkpoint and it only shows games without save file all old save files their games don't show up and if i open pokemon sun it says save data corrupted

Try copying that pokemon *.sav file over again. Don't launch the game.

In Checkpoint, see if that game appears. Do both backup and restore.

 

[xeph20]

JKSM is a little outdated because the dev, JK_, stopped working on it for a while (he only recently restarted his project). Some newer games may not be compatible with it.

You should default with Checkpoint v3.4.0 and switch over to JKSM if Checkpoint doesn't work.

If neither Checkpoint and JKSM works for particular games, you have one other save manager called SaveDataFiler to try out. This cannot be shared or linked here because it's an official Nintendo SDK tool. You may find it at that iso site if you look hard enough.

Edit - I just read your updated post, do any of the games work with the save swap and restore?

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



Try copying that pokemon *.sav file over again. Don't launch the game.

In Checkpoint, see if that game appears. Do both backup and restore.

All the games that had their save data "restored" either say corrupted or they just create a new empty save
I did the checkpoint before starting game. any game with "restored" isn't in checkpoint, only a few new games which i installed and just opened to get a save file.
i tried the cia you said and get the following

seems like a lot is broken i dont know what to do next

Its only pokemon sun i'm worried about the rest weren't long gameplay saves except maybe a DBZ game

 

[TurdPooCharger]

My local DSL internet went down. Using cell phone for tethering to laptop to communicate. Will not be able to continue discussion for tonight.

Currently attempting the proposed method with my Pokemon X game and save on a second blank SD card. Will report back if method is flawed and when my Internet comes back.

Poo out.

 

[xeph20]

My local DSL internet went down. Using cell phone for tethering to laptop to communicate. Will not be able to continue discussion for tonight.

Currently attempting the proposed method with my Pokemon X game and save on a second blank SD card. Will report back if method is flawed and when my Internet comes back.

Poo out.

Thanks again man. I live in Belgium I just worked the night shift its 7.22 am here so I'm going to bed now anyway no worries

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Thanks again man. I live in Belgium I just worked the night shift its 7.22 am here so I'm going to bed now anyway no worries

This is what I found out when testing that save recovery method.

- I have a PNY 128 GB micro SD card that has all my games and for normal use. It has Pokemon X (USA) with the unique Title ID 00055d00.
- I also have a Samsung 32 GB µSD used by both my cellphone and N3DSXL. The 3DS only does downloading from freeShop with this one.
- Both the PNY and Samsung uses SysNAND 11.7.0-40U.
- Pokemon X on the PNY card has the v1.5 game update.

The Nintendo 3DS folder on the Samsung card was renamed as Nintendo 3DS (A). A new folder gets created upon going to HOME Menu. Pokemon X will be the only game installed on it.

The Pokemon X I have is a *.3ds rom from my archived game collection. I put a copy of it on the Samsung card, built a *.cia version with GodMode9, and installed it with H&S injected FBI. I copied and pasted over my 00000001.sav file from the PNY card to the Samsung card. This file is located at:

• Nintendo 3DS/<ID0>/<ID1>/title/00040000/00055d00/data

Because this game doesn't have anti-cheat protection, I get away with not having to backup and restore it through Checkpoint or JKSM.

An example game you need to use Checkpoint or JKSM is Super Smash Bros for 3DS. If you tamper or revert to an older *.sav file, all your achievements get erased. This is done (to try) preventing you from having a no loss battle record you didn't earn.

I launch Pokemon X with the swapped save despite not updating the game to v1.5. My character profile S[capital i]utska picks right back off at Route 5 after exiting Lumiose City.

****

I don't know what's wrong with your original setup if you copied it straight from the 32 GB card (before it was reformatted and used on the phone) to the SSD. Your saves should be intact when transplanting them to their respective locations.

1. Did your old files come from the exact 3DS unit you are currently using?
2. Do the two long strings <ID0>/<ID1> in the Nintendo 3DS folder match up between the backup and what your 3DS produces now?
   
3. Maybe your SSD is fake and corrupted your files? You can rule this out if your other, non-3DS files don't seem out of place.

I'll try the test again with my 4 GB Lexar EmuNAND 11.6.0-39U setup to rule out older firmware and Emu/Sys difference.

 

[Ryccardo]

seems like a lot is broken i dont know what to do next

Broken means unmountable, whether by corruption, a different encryption key (movable.sed), or both, or because the .sav file is not in the right path

 

[xeph20]

This is what I found out when testing that save recovery method.

- I have a PNY 128 GB micro SD card that has all my games and for normal use. It has Pokemon X (USA) with the unique Title ID 00055d00.
- I also have a Samsung 32 GB µSD used by both my cellphone and N3DSXL. The 3DS only does downloading from freeShop with this one.
- Both the PNY and Samsung uses SysNAND 11.7.0-40U.
- Pokemon X on the PNY card has the v1.5 game update.

The Nintendo 3DS folder on the Samsung card was renamed as Nintendo 3DS (A). A new folder gets created upon going to HOME Menu. Pokemon X will be the only game installed on it.

The Pokemon X I have is a *.3ds rom from my archived game collection. I put a copy of it on the Samsung card, built a *.cia version with GodMode9, and installed it with H&S injected FBI. I copied and pasted over my 00000001.sav file from the PNY card to the Samsung card. This file is located at:

• Nintendo 3DS/<ID0>/<ID1>/title/00040000/00055d00/data

Because this game doesn't have anti-cheat protection, I get away with not having to backup and restore it through Checkpoint or JKSM.

An example game you need to use Checkpoint or JKSM is Super Smash Bros for 3DS. If you tamper or revert to an older *.sav file, all your achievements get erased. This is done (to try) preventing you from having a no loss battle record you didn't earn.

I launch Pokemon X with the swapped save despite not updating the game to v1.5. My character profile S[capital i]utska picks right back off at Route 5 after exiting Lumiose City.

****

I don't know what's wrong with your original setup if you copied it straight from the 32 GB card (before it was reformatted and used on the phone) to the SSD. Your saves should be intact when transplanting them to their respective locations.

1. Did your old files come from the exact 3DS unit you are currently using?
2. Do the two long strings <ID0>/<ID1> in the Nintendo 3DS folder match up between the backup and what your 3DS produces now?
   
3. Maybe your SSD is fake and corrupted your files? You can rule this out if your other, non-3DS files don't seem out of place.

I'll try the test again with my 4 GB Lexar EmuNAND 11.6.0-39U setup to rule out older firmware and Emu/Sys difference.

1 yes same 3ds
2 nope I told before the 2 strings are different tis was before and after system format and I tried deleting the new strings so the 3ds folder was empty and then copy past old but it just creates the new string folder I deleted..

Now when I copy paste from old SD I go in the 2 string folders so the directories are the same. But for some reason it corrupts. Maybe because the Sav files also look at the ID's?

3 I'm 99.9% sure there is nothing wrong with the ssd. It would rather be a problem copying but I mainly think it happened when I tried the 128gb I booted the 3ds like 20 or more times and never got that SD to get recognized. Once I put back the old SD card and it started the home menu reset or something and I panicked and held the power button to force shut down. :s

But after that i kept trying and eventually did a system reset and did the steps again for cfw even though that was still in tact.

I really appreciate that you put so much time in this. Thanks.

 

[Ryccardo]

2 nope I told before the 2 strings are different tis was before and after system format and I tried deleting the new strings so the 3ds folder was empty and then copy past old but it just creates the new string folder I deleted..

Now when I copy paste from old SD I go in the 2 string folders so the directories are the same. But for some reason it corrupts. Maybe because the Sav files also look at the ID's?

Different "Nintendo 3DS" subfolder names = different movable.sed = different SD file encryption key, you will need the old one to extract your old .savs (from a nand backup, or maybe by bruteforcing a pre-6.0 game - if that's even possible with digital versions)