Hardware [SOLVED] Opened it up, now it doesn't boot to HOME Menu

[Deleted User]

I've run into a bit of an odd problem - I opened up my New 3DS to fix an issue with the A button. Cleaned what I could, got some grime out of there, but it doesn't work as it should still, so I don't know what's up with that. But that's not the problem.

The problem is afterwards I tried to boot up my N3DS, and it just wouldn't. Blue light on, immediately after fades off. Then I remembered the SD card was out, so I popped it back in. Corbenik booted fine, but... not the HOME menu. Happened sometimes rarely before, so I tried it again. Second time, was getting worried. Figured I should try a third. But no dice. I couldn't think about anything I did that would cause the HOME menu not to boot but have everything (perceived) else working.

My setup:
-New 3DS (not XL)
-latest firmware
-A9LH
-Corbenik CFW
-64GB MicroSD card

Here's what I can do:
-boot payloads before the HOME menu, so I have access to Decrypt9 and GodMode9 at the moment
-go into Corbenik's menu
-probably anything else before the HOME menu boots

Here's what I've done so far to try and fix:
-make a NAND backup
-restore previous NAND dump, keeping A9LH with the option in Decrypt9
-restored the NAND I dumped beforehand
-double-checked for the correct payloads on my SD card

Here's what I've yet to try:
-make sure all connectors, screws, etc. are connected and tight [edit: tight, connected, what the heck]
-make sure nothing inside is damaged [edit: everything seems to be good]
-backup SD card and format/scan and fix bad sectors [edit: nothing doing here, either]
-delete HOME Menu Management Info [edit: longshot but nope, didn't work]
-cry

Normally I wouldn't post a thread before exhausting my options, but it's late at night, I'm tired, and I can't stay up much later to try and fix the problem. I might have to pick this repair up tomorrow, so I figure it's good to get input in the meantime. Does anything stick out or seem off? Any solutions I haven't thought to try yet?

Thank you for reading and for your time.

 

[Deleted User]

It means you have a missing payload on your SD card; check if it's there

if it isn't, good, add it back; if it is, yikes

also you should upgrade to B9S, A9LH and Corbenik aren't supported anymore

 

[Deleted User]

It means you have a missing payload on your SD card; check if it's there

if it isn't, good, add it back; if it is, yikes

also you should upgrade to B9S, A9LH and Corbenik aren't supported anymore

Shouldn't be any missing payloads - it boots Corbenik and past it. I can definitely check again, but if that was the case, it wouldn't boot at all, yeah?

Not interested in upgrading. I know it's outdated. Push comes to shove and something can help it, sure, but I don't have a need for it I guess.

edit: checked for the payload, and it was there... eh. Thanks for the suggestion though. There's probably something like this I'm missing or not thinking of. Just can't put my finger on it. Can't fathom it's a hardware issue, but don't know what else to make of it.

double edit: So I tried to boot into recovery mode, and both screens 'flash' very briefly as if being initialized or whatever, but both screens go black. Good news is the wireless comes on, so that's 'working.' Don't know what it means, but it's more info.

 

[Deleted User]

I don't know what I did, but it works now.

I've concluded it probably wasn't a software issue, but at this point, nothing has proved conclusive. Here's what I did:

The 3DS has been sitting with just its back cover off for two days so I could work on it off-and-on. Tonight, I decided to see if I damaged the underside of the motherboard near where the ribbon cable for the buttons are. In doing so I had to disconnect all but one ribbon cable/ZIF connector (the one underneath the ribbon cable for the top screen.) Nothing looked damaged, and so I carefully put everything back in, making sure the connections were tight. Put it back together, prayed, turned it on, and it worked as normal. I haven't had time to test it much, but I don't think I'll have any problems now.

My conclusion is this:
The problem was either started when I tried three times to turn it on without my SD card in, or
a ZIF cable came loose, specifically the one near the ribbon cable for the board concerning the buttons.

So, the battery must have reset something from being out so long (the date and time were reset).
Or, the ZIF cable was actually crooked/loose. I thought it would be a good idea to test this and disconnect it entirely, but I don't want to open it up again for now. Nothing conclusive, but good leads.

Consider this thread closed.