Gaming Hardware Recovering save file from extdata?

[Exeterm]

Hello everyone. I lost a save file for a DLC game when my SD card was corrupted. The game is Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation.

It seems the game data is stored on the cartridge if it's saved in the first 3 slots (the game has 9 save slots), but I saved the game in slots 4-9. While some data from the game is still there (the cross-route supports are still in the support logs in Birthright and Conquest), my Revelation saves are not on the regular cartridge.

However, I do think I backed everything up from the SD card on my computer before it was corrupted. I've been informed that Revelation is saved in extdata, so I might still have it in my backups.

Is there a way to restore the save files?

 

[Kwyjor]

What exactly happened..? Do you still have your 3DS and your cartridge? Were you able to restore anything else?

The usual procedure when an SD card is corrupted is to just copy everything off and onto a new card. You don't normally have to worry about encryption and decryption unless the 3DS underwent a System Format, or if you're moving to a new unit.

 

[Exeterm]

What exactly happened..? Do you still have your 3DS and your cartridge? Were you able to restore anything else?

The usual procedure when an SD card is corrupted is to just copy everything off and onto a new card. You don't normally have to worry about encryption and decryption unless the 3DS underwent a System Format, or if you're moving to a new unit.

Yes, I do have both of them.

I'll clarify:

• I played Revelation. The save data from the game would have been saved in extdata in the SD card.
• At some point, I backed up everything from the SD card to the computer.
• Some time after this, the SD card corrupted, I bought a new one.

I did restore everything that may have been deleted, such as DLC from every 3DS game I own. This includes FE Fates. I can confirm the DLC is all there in the game, and I can still play Revelation. However, I'd have to make a new save file for that route. What I want to do is recover the data from my completed Revelation save file.

If it's important, I also modded my 3DS with Luma before this happened.

 

[Kwyjor]

I did restore everything that may have been deleted

Okay, but what exactly did you do? Do you mean you re-downloaded them from the eShop, or what?

To reiterate: if you have files you backed up from your old SD card, then the usual procedure is to simply copy them to the new SD card.

 

[Exeterm]

Okay, but what exactly did you do? Do you mean you re-downloaded them from the eShop, or what?

I re-downloaded them from the DLC menus in the games.

To reiterate: if you have files you backed up from your old SD card, then the usual procedure is to simply copy them to the new SD card.

I have all the SD card files copied on my new one. The completed save data I want to recover from the game is not in the cartridge though.

As I mentioned before, I saved it in files 4-9, which I've been informed saves the game in extdata (files 1-3 saves the game in the cartridge). All the files, extdata included, are copied into the new SD card.

I'm not familiar with the content of all the files for Luma3DS beyond what it says in 3ds.hacks.guide.

In the Nintendo 3DS folder, I have folders named "dbs," "extdata," and "title." Subfolders inside extdata\00000000 have names like "00000a05" or "00001b40" and have files named "0000000a," "0000000b," and so on.
Subfolders inside "title" have names like "0004000e" with additional subfolders inside them with names like "001b4000."

Do any of these file or folder names represent a hash unique to each game or save file, or are they just for the homebrew? And besides files named "Global" or "Map0," might any of these files have what I'm looking for? Or if I can't see the save file despite copying everything on my new SD card, does that mean the save file is gone or inaccessible?

 

[Kwyjor]

I have all the SD card files copied on my new one.

There is ambiguity here. If you copied all the files to your new SD card, then you would not have needed to re-download the DLC from the eShop.

So, let's start with the basics. Inside your "Nintendo 3DS" folder there should be exactly one folder with a long random name. (This is your "ID0".) Inside that folder there should be exactly one more folder with a different, long random name. (This is your "ID1".) Do you have more than one folder in either case?

I'm not familiar with the content of all the files for Luma3DS beyond what it says in 3ds.hacks.guide.

Also, this has nothing to do with Luma.

 

[Exeterm]

There is ambiguity here. If you copied all the files to your new SD card, then you would not have needed to re-download the DLC from the eShop.

The DLC is stored in the SD card, so I re-downloaded everything from the game menus themselves, where it says things like "Manage DLC." If just copying the contents of the SD card was enough to have all the DLC, then I wasn't aware of it, because even after copying the contents I had to re-download everything.

So, let's start with the basics. Inside your "Nintendo 3DS" folder there should be exactly one folder with a long random name. (This is your "ID0".) Inside that folder there should be exactly one more folder with a different, long random name. (This is your "ID1".) Do you have more than one folder in either case?

I have one folder in "Nintendo 3DS," then two more folders inside that. Both of those folders have "dbs" "extdata" and "title" folders.

 

[Kwyjor]

I have one folder in "Nintendo 3DS," then two more folders inside that.

Well, that's a problem. When you backed up your SD card, did the backup have two ID1 folders?

What is the size of each of those two folders? (The easiest way to find out is to right-click the folder in WIndows Explorer and select Properties.)

 

[Exeterm]

Well, that's a problem. When you backed up your SD card, did the backup have two ID1 folders?

What is the size of each of those two folders? (The easiest way to find out is to right-click the folder in WIndows Explorer and select Properties.)

In the original, the folders are 18 MB and 1.6 GB.
In the backup, the folders are 2.1 GB and 1.6 GB.
The 1.6 GB folders in the original and the backup seem to have the same content, since they have the same name.

 

[Kwyjor]

In the original, the folders are 18 MB and 1.6 GB.
In the backup, the folders are 2.1 GB and 1.6 GB.
The 1.6 GB folders in the original and the backup seem to have the same content, since they have the same name.

I'm afraid this is getting increasingly confusing. By "the original", are you referring to your current SD card?

Are you saying you have two ID1 folders on your current SD card, and two ID1 folders in your backup, but only one of the folders has the same name? Didn't you say you copied everything from your backup to your current SD card..?

 

[Exeterm]

I'm afraid this is getting increasingly confusing. By "the original", are you referring to your current SD card?

Are you saying you have two ID1 folders on your current SD card, and two ID1 folders in your backup, but only one of the folders has the same name? Didn't you say you copied everything from your backup to your current SD card..?

The files from the original SD card, which was corrupted but I backed up. And I did copy everything to the new SD card. Maybe the different ID1 folder might be because of some other thing I saved on the new card after the backup.

 

[Kwyjor]

The files from the original SD card, which was corrupted but I backed up.

I beg your pardon, but if the backup is a backup of the original SD card, then when does the backup contain different folders than the original SD card, and why is the backup larger than the original?! Or by "the backup" are you referring to your new SD card? I hope you understand why this may be confusing.

Maybe it would be easier if you just took screenshots.

 

[Exeterm]

I beg your pardon, but if the backup is a backup of the original SD card, then when does the backup contain different folders than the original SD card, and why is the backup larger than the original?! Or by "the backup" are you referring to your new SD card? I hope you understand why this may be confusing.

Maybe it would be easier if you just took screenshots.

The new SD card has more folders in extdata and title, than the old one that was corrupted. As I mentioned, I may have saved some more games in the new one.

Spoiler: EXTDATA FOLDER AND CONTENT OF THE FIRST SD CARD

Spoiler: TITLE FOLDER AND CONTENT OF THE FIRST SD CARD

Spoiler: EXTDATA FOLDER AND CONTENT OF THE NEW SD CARD

Spoiler: TITLE FOLDER AND CONTENT OF THE NEW SD CARD

I really don't know how to attempt to explain this. The best I can explain it for now:

• This is a comparison between folder "af31018a3885b1e55344313200035344" of SD card 1 and SD card 2 (SD card 1 was corrupted, SD card 2 is new). This is the folder that has different sizes in both.
• 
  
• The extdata folder in SD card 1 only has the folder "0000008f" within the folder "00000000"
• The title folder in SD card 1 only has the folder "00040000"
• 
  
• The extdata folder in SD card 2 has several folders, not just 0000008f, within the folder "00000000"
• The title folder in SD card 2 has several folders, not just 00040000

Again, SD card 1 = corrupted, SD card 2 = new and current

Do you need to know anything else in these folders?

 

[Kwyjor]

I wasn't asking about the extdata folders or the title folders. (Where did you even get that idea!?) I was asking about the ID1 folders. I'm concerned I am not communicating this effectively. Maybe I should just explain this, and maybe you can figure it out from there:

When you insert an empty SD card into a 3DS, it will create a "Nintendo 3DS" folder containing an ID0 folder and an ID1 folder inside the ID0 folder. The name of the ID1 folder is derived from some mysterious process unique to the SD card. Once that ID1 folder has been created, the 3DS will keep using that folder regardless of what else you copy to the card.

If you copy a "Nintendo 3DS" folder to an empty SD card, and that folder already contains an ID0 folder and an ID1 folder, then – assuming the ID1 folder still has its original 32-character name – the 3DS will happily use that ID1 folder and not create a new one. (A new ID0 folder will only be created if the "Nintendo 3DS" folder originated from a completely different 3DS, or if the 3DS was system-formatted.)

So, if you have more than one ID1 folder, then something somewhere along the way has gone wrong. You say you had to re-download all the DLC to your SD card, so that suggests your 3DS created a new ID1 folder on your SD card and is completely ignoring whatever it is you copied to your SD card. If that's the case, you should rename that ID1 folder (just add an underscore at the start or something), and hopefully the 3DS will switch to using the other ID1 folder.

(This is also discussed under "Error 05" at https://3ds.hacks.guide/troubleshooting-mset9.html , just in case that somehow explains it better than I did.)

I should probably add, for reference, that https://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/Extdata has a list of extadata IDs, but it is incomplete and no one has added any information about any of the Fire Emblem games. I am unaware of where you may find a more complete list.

 

[Exeterm]

I wasn't asking about the extdata folders or the title folders. (Where did you even get that idea!?) I was asking about the ID1 folders.

To give you an idea of what I was working with, my friend.

So, if you have more than one ID1 folder, then something somewhere along the way has gone wrong. You say you had to re-download all the DLC to your SD card, so that suggests your 3DS created a new ID1 folder on your SD card and is completely ignoring whatever it is you copied to your SD card. If that's the case, you should rename that ID1 folder (just add an underscore at the start or something), and hopefully the 3DS will switch to using the other ID1 folder.

(This is also discussed under "Error 05" at https://3ds.hacks.guide/troubleshooting-mset9.html , just in case that somehow explains it better than I did.)

I should probably add, for reference, that https://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/Extdata has a list of extadata IDs, but it is incomplete and no one has added any information about any of the Fire Emblem games. I am unaware of where you may find a more complete list.

I found the Title ID on the Title Manager, it's 0004008C00179400. "0004008c" apparently means it's DLC, including Revelation.

I have "0004008c" in the new SD card, in the ID1 title folder. "0004008c" has other folders, which are named "000a0500," "001b4000," "001c8f00," and "00179400." Each one of those folders has another folder in it named "00000000" that leads to various .app files.

Besides the Title ID, is any of the information here useful for the data recovery, or any of the files in the Title Manager folder for this game?

 

[Kwyjor]

To give you an idea of what I was working with, my friend.

I got something of an idea when you said you had three different ID1 folders between your "backup" and your "original".

I found the Title ID on the Title Manager, it's 0004008C00179400.

You can look up title IDs at https://hax0kartik.github.io/3dsdb/ , but I'm not sure it has separate entries for DLC. (It shows that 00040000001C8F00 corresponds to Radiant Historia, for instance.) Unfortunately title IDs are generally unrelated to extdata IDs.

I have "0004008c" in the new SD card, in the ID1 title folder.

I thought you said you had two ID1 folders..?

Besides the Title ID, is any of the information here useful for the data recovery?

I'm afraid I've told you everything I know that is likely to be helpful here, and it doesn't look like anyone else is going to chime in. Perhaps you can try your luck in the Homebrew Discord.

 

[Exeterm]

I thought you said you had two ID1 folders..?

I did, I deleted the one with the lowest folder size from the SD card (but kept it backed up somewhere else before deleting it), and "0004008c" is also still in the folder I kept.

Thanks for the links. I'll check in other resources as well.