Homebrew SD-Card wants to be formatted

[Momba1]

Well hello there,

so yesterday i inserted my micro-SD card into my PC to copy some files over and suddenly I got prompted with "The SD-Card needs to be formatted to be used".

Long story short the Data wasnt exactly salvageable, I tried recovering it with EaseUS. (see Attachement).

So my question basically is, how do i go about reinstalling everything ?

Stuff I had previously installed was:
- Luma
- Godmode9
- FBI

and a lot of games of course, but for those i know how to get them back once everything is rolling again.

Also since I still managed to recover some stuff with EaseUS, I would like to also get my save data back if possible but I also dont know how to go about that since they are encrypted as far as I know.


Sorry for posting this if there are other threads with this issue, which i suppose there are, and thanks for reading !

 

[TurdPooCharger]

Try to recover the data with other programs other than EaseUS.

• List of data recovery programs

If your 3DS system still recognizes the SD card and the contents in their entirety,

• How to recover your 3DS SD card by transferring files to your computer using wireless FTP because Windows refuses to recognize the card and wants to reformat it.

Whether or not you're able to salvage the data, you should check if your SD card is fake, faulty, or dying.

1. Copy everything off the SD card to a computer.
2. Quadruple reformat.
3. Full Write + Verify the empty card in H2testw. Do not skip.

If the games, dlcs, updates, saves, and extdata in the Nintendo 3DS folder can be salvage, see these examples. I recommend following Path (B) when rebuilding the folder.

• Corrupted Data [post #2]

 

[Momba1]

Try to recover the data with other programs other than EaseUS.

• List of data recovery programs

If your 3DS system still recognizes the SD card and the contents in their entirety,

• How to recover your 3DS SD card by transferring files to your computer using wireless FTP because Windows refuses to recognize the card and wants to reformat it.

Whether or not you're able to salvage the data, you should check if your SD card is fake, faulty, or dying.

1. Copy everything off the SD card to a computer.
2. Quadruple reformat.
3. Full Write + Verify the empty card in H2testw. Do not skip.

Welp I guess that option is out of the window now, since I already started to run a test with H2testw like 2 hours ago. (Edit: see Attachement)

So that should mean there isnt any other data left to restore, other than the one I restored with EaseUS already.

So how can I check if the stuff in the Nintendo 3DS folder can be salvaged ? And how do I go about getting Luma, GM9 and FBI back on the device ?

Dont I also need those first before I can even see if the saves and games are salvageable ?

 

[TurdPooCharger]

@Momba1, when you remove the SD card from the computer or 3DS system, do you safely eject the card?

• For computer, safe ejection of USB flash drives / SD cards: right mouse click on the letter drive → Eject -OR- click on the icon at the bottom-right corner, 'Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media'.
• For 2DS/3DS systems, remove the card by pushing the card inward by thumb or index finger when the system is turned off. In GodMode9 only, you can safely eject by holding (R)-shoulder and pressing (X) until the [0:] SDCARD (NO LABEL) disappears.

Are you using a crappy (micro)SD-to-USB adapter like this shitty T-FLASH that comes with some DS flashcarts?

• Some no name brands or generic SD-to-USB adapters out there can corrupt data out on the card.
• [amazon.de] Vanja Kartenleser Thunderbolt MicroSD Speicherkartenleser
  • Adapter option #1 for European/German buyers.
• [amazon] Vanja USB Type C SD Card Reader, USB 3.0 Micro SD Card Reader OTG Adapter for TF, SD, Micro SD, SDXC, SDHC, MMC, RS-MMC, Micro SDXC, Micro SDHC, UHS-I for Mac, Windows, Linux, PC, Laptop
  • Adapter option #2 for US buyers.
• [aliexpress] OTG Micro SD Card Reader USB 3.0 Card Reader 2.0 For USB Micro SD Adapter Flash Drive Smart Memory Card Reader Type C Cardreader
  • Adapter option #3 for international buyers.

***

These folders look to be intact recoveries.

• _gba
• _NDS
• 3DS
• GM9
• LUMA
• Nintendo 3DS
• ROMS

Before you copy those folders back to the SD card, build a basic setup as described in Finalizing Setup (Setup abschließen).

• If you're not sure what files to collect and where to place them, you can use this CFW starter kit as a reference.

Once you get the 3DS to boot to HOME Menu, delete the (blank) Nintendo 3DS folder off the card.

Copy only the recovered Nintendo 3DS folder back. The structure of the Nintendo 3DS folder should be like this.

• Spoiler: What are the <ID0> and <ID1> folders?

  
• There should be a single <ID1> child folder within the <ID0> parent folder.

Check if the 3DS system recognizes the games on HOME Menu.


If the nothing seems to be missing and the games seem to be launching correctly, you may follow Path (A) as described in one of the links within Corrupted Data [post #2]. Otherwise, salvage and repair the Nintendo 3DS folder by following Path (B).

***

For the other folders and items retrieved by EaseUS, you'll have to figure out what's still good and worth keeping.

 

[Momba1]

@TurdPooCharger Yes i only safe eject it on PC and only when its turned off from the 2DS.

The adapter I am using is some kind of multi to USB-Adapter I bought in a large electronics store, so I am rather suspecting the USB Front Port of my PC for fucking this up.^^

Already managed to fix everything to work again so far in the meantime, I am now checking all the games with method A as you have suggested.

That should take a while tho, as I have 73 mostly rather large titles.

Edit: @TurdPooCharger All 73 files verified ok, thanks for your help !