Hacking R4i-Sdhc doesn't load games, but it loads emulators.

[rundeer]

I have an r4i-sdhc (http://www.r4i-sdhc.com/), that I'm using with a 32gb class10 microsd, and a ds lite. With both the official firmware and YSmenu, games fail to load correctly. I can load the firmware, start a game, create the .sav file all fine, but every game always freezes right after the "nintendo" logo or "konami" logo, or whatever logo shows when a game first loads. I've reformatted using sdformatter 3.1 many times, and I don't think it's a problem with the card, since emulators like snesds and gameyob work perfectly fine.

 

[Rydian]

Sounds like the MicroSD or the reader is overheating on large file transfers, we see this commonly with the import products.
http://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-get-new-games-to-run.277771/
Do step 3 (check them ON the MicroSD), if the CRC of known-clean ROMs doesn't match, you've got corruption and should try a different MicroSD+Reader.

 

[rundeer]

I checked the CRCs of everything and they're all correct. Oddly, I've had one game work, SMT: Strange Journey. Every other game I've tried still fails. I've tried replacing ROMS for copies from other sites, but the problem persists. Maybe the microsd is just trashed in some way that is difficult to pinpoint exactly.

 

[rundeer]

Accidental double post, doesn't look like I can delete it...

 

[Rydian]

What are the filesizes of a game that doesn't work, and of the one that does?

 

[rundeer]

Strange journey worked, and is 131,072kb. Nintendogs is a game that didn't work, which is 32,768kb. Atelier annie is another game that didn't work, which is also 131,072kb.

I went and found a 4gb class4 card I had, and it works as it should with every game I tried, which makes me think that there's something wrong with the 32gb card. It's just strange that it's malfunctioning in this way, instead of simply not working at all. I've never had a problem loading the firmware menu on the card, and files transfer on and off of it with no issue.

 

[Rydian]

Hm, 32GB, you say? Try these two things.

• Find a ROM you haven't ever put on the cart, and run it in DesMume or No$GBa (DS emulators) to make sure it works. Then transfer it to the MicroSD, and delete it from your computer. Take the MicroSD out, put it back into the computer, then copy the file off of the MicroSD and back onto the computer, then see if it'll run in the emulator.
  
  
• Take everything off the MicroSD, format it to be sure (hidden files, etc.) and then put just the cart's software on, and a fresh copy of one of the games that did not work. If that does work, then fill the MicroSD up with random files (even duplicates) until you find the point that new files stop working. Just try like, 16GB to start, then narrow it down one side or the other.

We've seen instances where scammers will sell "32GB" MicroSD cards on ebay and somesuch, and they're actually 16GB or 8GB or even 4GB or something. The scammers edit the partition table to look like it's 32GB. The filesystem metadata is stored near the start of the drive (and that's things like the fact that there's a file and the filename and date and such) so it looks like the file's still there, but most of the file's data is "written" past where the cart can store, so it's just dumped into oblivion. So it's usually a while before people even figure out the thing they bought is fake, since it appears to work fine up until they go past the actual storage limit.

I haven't had one of these fakes since I learned about the panasonic formatter though, so I don't know if it would correct something hacked up like that.

 

[rundeer]

Interesting. Well, looks like I'm going to have to get a refund from the seller. Thanks a lot for your help!

In case anyone stumbles on this post with the same problem as me, this is what I bought: http://www.ebay.com/itm/300884354304?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Definitely the last time I buy cheap memory from someone online. I just feel bad for the 100 other people that bought them as they probably won't realize there's a problem for a long time.

 

[Rydian]

Oh yeah, that's non-legit as hell. XD

Always get your memory from a brick-and-mortar store or a verified seller like Newegg. If you have to get it elsewhere, know that Kingston and Sandisk seem to be the most often faked, with Kingston having uneven quality as well as they're an OEM-level reseller, not a physical manufacturer. Smaller names like PNY, A-Data, and Transcend seem to rarely, if ever, be the target of Chinese scammers.