Hacking Running Fastboot3DS without SD card?

[BrittanyOfKoppai]

I'm a bit new around here, but I'm not new to homebrew. I've been on the fence about whether or not I should install fastboot3DS for a while, and I had a couple questions I'd like answered before I install it.

1. Can I still run Luma3DS without my SD card in once installed?

2. Can I safely update Luma3DS using lumaupdate once installed?

Answers are greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[peteruk]

Yes and Yes - I did this recently

 

[BrittanyOfKoppai]

Great! Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[BaamAlex]

But fastboot3ds has nothing to do with luma.

 

[BrittanyOfKoppai]

But fastboot3ds has nothing to do with luma.

Well, it does boot luma, I was just inquiring if it booted luma correctly

 

[Deleted User]

Can I still run Luma3DS without my SD card in once installed?

Luma will work without an SD Card inserted as long as the SD Card's "boot.firm" file has been copied to the NAND, and the SD Card's "luma" folder has been copied to NAND:/rw.
If you're using a decent guide, then this should automatically be done by a script.

 

[Kwyjor]

I've been on the fence about whether or not I should install fastboot3DS for a while, and I had a couple questions I'd like answered before I install it.

Is there some reason in particular you are looking at fastboot3DS instead of boot9strap?

fastboot3DS does not seem to be as popular and you are more likely to have difficulty finding a solution if you unexpectedly run into problems, I think.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Is there some reason in particular you are looking at fastboot3DS instead of boot9strap?

fastboot3DS does not seem to be as popular and you are more likely to have difficulty finding a solution if you unexpectedly run into problems, I think.

Fastboot3DS seems to be the most modern option, with more features, and there don't seem to be many known issues with it. Seems like the obvious choice to me.

 

[peteruk]

Fastboot3DS seems to be the most modern option, with more features, and there don't seem to be many known issues with it. Seems like the obvious choice to me.

+1

I'm also a happy Fastboot convert, it's great for having multiple firm's to select on power on

Only problem I had was a minor one with Version 1.2 which had some sort of screen init bug which wouldn't chain load openagb firm correctly, but replacing it with the very latest dev build cured that issue

 

[BrittanyOfKoppai]

Is there some reason in particular you are looking at fastboot3DS instead of boot9strap?

fastboot3DS does not seem to be as popular and you are more likely to have difficulty finding a solution if you unexpectedly run into problems, I think.

Well, various reasons. I want to get the most out of my 3ds, and I’m actually planning on getting into home brew development sooner or later, and I’ve heard fastboot 3ds can streamline that process

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+1

I'm also a happy Fastboot convert, it's great for having multiple firm's to select on power on

Only problem I had was a minor one with Version 1.2 which had some sort of screen init bug which wouldn't chain load openagb firm correctly, but replacing it with the very latest dev build cured that issue

That is another reason I’m using fastboot3ds, actually

 

[Deleted User]

I'm also a happy Fastboot convert, it's great for having multiple firm's to select on power on

Can't you do this with boot9strap and Luma3DS chainloader?

 

[peteruk]

Can't you do this with boot9strap and Luma3DS chainloader?

Yes

 

[Nintendo Maniac]

Apologies for grave-digging this thread, but I'm finding that, after installing fastboot3ds, I effectively can't run luma3ds CFW without the SD card being present...or rather, it's possible but way less convenient than it was with boot9strap.

To clarify, when no button is held during boot-up, you will load the luma3ds CFW regardless of whether you're using boot9strap without SD card, boot9strap with SD card, or fastboot3ds with SD card.

However, with fastboot3ds installed and the SD card removed, when no button is held during boot-up the console will instead boot directly into fastboot3ds. This is undesirable behavior for me and I'd love to instead have it boot into luma3ds CFW.


I'm just going to quote my post on the subject from the open_agb_firm thread:

Did you ever set up the ctrnand with the boot.firm?

Indeed I did - I followed the "3ds.hacks.guide"...uh, guide to a T, and everything seemed to go smoothly.

As a sanity check I even just tried it again, but nothing changed.

From what I can tell, as long as fastboot3ds is installed, it's simply not possible to boot the console without an SD card as it by default sets all of the boot slots to disabled, and the only way to change that is to save the settings...which are saved on the SD card.

So if the SD card isn't present, those settings aren't loaded and it instead loads the default...which is to disable all boot slots and therefore dump you into fastboot3ds with no way to exit save for simply hitting the power button.


EDIT: OK, it does seem that, when in fastboot3ds, if you select "Boot from file..." and then navigate to nand: and select "boot.firm", it'll then successfully boot into the home menu via luma3ds CFW even with the SD card removed.

That's still very much not at all ideal though and doesn't really make things all that better - it basically just makes it possible, not streamlined. And streamlining the process is the entire reason why I wanted to use Open AGB Launcher in the first place, and Open AGB Launcher itself is the only reason I even installed fastboot3ds.

 

[BaamAlex]

I effectively can't run luma3ds CFW without the SD card being present

A cfw'd 3ds without an sd card makes no sense. So, you need one. Doesn't matter if you use boot9strap or fastboot3ds. I installed it and don't have any problems.

 

[Nintendo Maniac]

A cfw'd 3ds without an sd card makes no sense.

Cartridges and installed DSi ware do not require an SD card, and the SD card requirement makes accessing those more difficult - especially if it's an SD card that is not exclusive to the 3DS.

My plan is to use the same SD card between the console and a PC so that save data for various installed games can be accessed on either platform in a sort of "Super Game Boy" / "Game Boy Player" fashion; but if the SD card is in the PC for whatever reason (perhaps it's creating a backup?) I don't want it to make life difficult to simply use the 3DS like a normal non-softmodded system (which is also how I have my modded DS phat and Wii configured).


EDIT: So it turns out one CAN achieve what I want with fastboot3ds and have identical behavior regardless of when the SD card is present or removed. The confusion is that, when the SD card is present, fastboot3ds settings are saved to the SD card. When the SD card is removed, fastboot3ds settings are saved to the NAND.

It was simply a case of this inconsistent saving behavior throwing me for a loop. So all one has to do is, while the SD card is removed, set the first boot slot to "nand:/boot.firm" and then also change the boot mode to "quiet boot"

The following github issue is what tipped me off: https://github.com/derrekr/fastboot3DS/issues/41