Hacking R4 double disaster

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Gorillafunk

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Hi everyone,

First of all - what a great website. I never knew there could be a place with so much R4 discussion in one spot.

Now - here is my shameful story about how I managed to destroy two brand new R4 cards. Any help would be appreciated.

I bought a R4i SDHC Gold from China which came bundled with a SD card and 32GB worth of games. Plugging it into my DSi and it worked great. Unfortunately all the games were Japanese or Chinese so I tried to replace some with some English games. After moving a few English games I realised I had a hit a limit of 300 games. So I went ahead and deleted some of the Chinese ones.

However, I couldn’t get the games to delete through the DS, and as I was travelling overseas I didn’t have access to a computer. So I did the next best thing and placed the SD card into my android device and deleted a bunch of files with file manager - I assumed these were games or otherwise emulators I didn’t need like SNES, Genesis, Master System etc. I plugged it back into the DS and it worked until it goes to load up the games, then it gets ‘stuck’ right near the end of the loading bar and basically freezes. I have never managed to get this working again and didn’t create a backup.

So I ordered a second card from the same people and asked for the exact same file structure and setup. I was very patient and didn’t touch it until I returned home from overseas. I wanted to plug it into my computer (imac) and make a backup straight away. But it always gets stuck with an error after a handful of files and ejects it abruptly. Then after a couple of attempts the R4 card is wiped.

So now I am stuck with two dead R4 cards. Any ideas?
 
Just get your own SD Card and don't forget to install YSMenu while you are at it because this is guarenteed to get timebombed. If the r4 Cards are broken buy a new one and do the steps above.
 
Hello.:)

Sorry to hear your bad story.:(

To help you to find the right Kernel/Software for your Flashcart,it helps a lot if you be so kind and post an Picture of your Flashcart.
Please the front,back and the electric contacts (there is maybe an Internet Link on it).

Then we maybe can help you.
Thank you.:)
 
Some photos attached below.

They were purchased online using Taobao (Chinese shopping app). From memory, before I destroyed them, they showed up as one of the Bomberman games in the DS Home screen (I think it was Bomberman). One of them still does, but I need to find my DS charger to make sure.

Any help would be much appreciated!

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I'm not sure why it would have stopped showing up when you put it in, nothing stored on the SD card should effect that. It should show up even show up if no SD card is in. Try removing and inserting it a few times. Flash carts can be a bit temperamental, they not made as carefully as proper nintendo carts. I have an old R4 that works in one of my 3DS but refuses to show up in the other. But with the one that is showing up, and the other if you get it showing up again, follow the instructions below and you should be up and running.

Use SD Memory Card Formatter to properly format the card https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/eula_windows/
The download this https://gbatemp.net/download/retrogamefan-multi-cart-update.35737/ and copy the contents of the "R4i-SDHC YSMenu" onto the root of the Micro SD card.
Make sure your games are .nds format and not compressed(,zip .rar .7z,etc)
Put them in the games folder

It should then be ready to use. The menu will be different than the one you got with it. You could use the files found on the website printed on the box to get the original software back instead of the the "R4i-SDHC YSMenu" ones. However that version has what is known as a time bomb in them, which means its designed to stop working at some unknown future date in order to force you to buy a new one. The YSmenu version doesn't do that.

If anyone see's a step I've missed please let him know. I think I covered everything I did with mine.
 
Last edited by spectral,
Some photos attached below.

They were purchased online using Taobao (Chinese shopping app). From memory, before I destroyed them, they showed up as one of the Bomberman games in the DS Home screen (I think it was Bomberman). One of them still does, but I need to find my DS charger to make sure.

Any help would be much appreciated!

View attachment 165546 View attachment 165547 View attachment 165548 View attachment 165549 View attachment 165550
View attachment 165551

That is the flashcard i own and has a timebomb date of september 3rd 2019 so if you get it working install ys menu. I know that it did imitate Touch! Bomberman Land by Nintendo.
 
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I've finally gotten around to trying this and feel like I made some progress. Thanks to those who responded.

I've followed your instructions above:
- Formatted the SD Card using the program in the link
- Copied just the R4i-SDHC YSMenu onto the SD card
- Put some NDS file games into the games folder.

When I boot it up I get the Touch! Bomberman Land logo as before on the main DS screen, but when I click on it I get a white screen with an red icon. The red icon is in a SD card shape and says ? MENU.

Did I miss a step?
 
Hello.:)

First thank you for your update.

- You can try at first the original Kernel/Software from the producer.
That means format your SD Card and out the files from below on it.

http://www.r4isdhc.com/2014-r4isdhc-gold-pro/

- You can maybe ask @QuazaRayy if he be so kind and help you with YSMenu.:)

- You can try the RetroGameFan Multi Cart Update v7.06:
I think you have to use the files from the "R4-Clone YSMenu" and "DAT" folders.

Good Luck.:)
 
I used the one from the SDHC website in the link above and it worked! Put some games in there and it's working fine.

Now I just need to figure out how to use it properly. Any tips on cheats and save states would be great. Does that vary from card to card? I'm gearing up to play Final Fantasy 3 which is notoriously tough and has a massive dungeon with no save points.
 
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I used the one from the SDHC website in the link above and it worked! Put some games in there and it's working fine.

Now I just need to figure out how to use it properly. Any tips on cheats and save states would be great. Does that vary from card to card? I'm gearing up to play Final Fantasy 3 which is notoriously tough and has a massive dungeon with no save points.
Cheats wise you are in luck, I actually made a lot of cheats for Final Fantasy III in my latest update on the databases for flashcarts. You can find the cheat databases here:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/deadskullzjrs-flashcart-cheat-databases.488711/

You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the compressed file you end up downloading. I recommend using YSMenu since cheat functionality on the original kernel for the flashcarts is broken. Just stick the usrcheat.dat in the TTMenu folder.

You can find YSMenu here:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/retrogamefan-updates-releases.267243/
 
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Can I just say that the cheats database is fantastic. Once I figured out how to switch them on they are awesome.

I made it a few hours into Final Fantasy 3, but then my save file appears to have wiped. I was using the in game save function with alternating slots (ie one as a backup) but they both disappeared. Is this a regular problem or have I done something wrong? I'm going to track down some save files so I don't have to go over old ground.

I haven't figured out how to use in game save states yet - are those more reliable? If so, how do I activate them?
 
Can I just say that the cheats database is fantastic. Once I figured out how to switch them on they are awesome.

I made it a few hours into Final Fantasy 3, but then my save file appears to have wiped. I was using the in game save function with alternating slots (ie one as a backup) but they both disappeared. Is this a regular problem or have I done something wrong? I'm going to track down some save files so I don't have to go over old ground.

I haven't figured out how to use in game save states yet - are those more reliable? If so, how do I activate them?
Yea save issues happen on the time bomb flashcarts unfortunately. It's inevitable for some games, as for save states, check YSMenu settings for anything related to that. I am happy you are enjoying the cheat codes, thanks for the compliment as well!
 
Thanks for that info. Are there any good websites with different DS save states/files? I've found some with max levels and stuff like that, but not one with save points at key points in the game.

By YSMenu settings do you mean the 'Config' tab in the DS? I only have Language, Sound, Sleep, Upgrade, Reset and Back Options.

But when I'm in the game menu and I highlight a game and press X I can cycle between Game, Cheat, Save and ROM in there. My Final Fantasy III has a Current Save File Info field filled in with details, but the bar never completes when I load. There is a RTS tab, where I can add extra RTS slots but I don't know how to actually save while playing in game (ie which button or set of hotkeys). I also have the 'Save Anywhere' feature turned on in the cheat menu.

Are RTS saves more reliable than the regular saves?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. Don't want to play another few hours then lose the progress again.
 

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