Hi Guys,
I wanted to create this thread as a starting point for diagnosing an SPI Test failure on my Gateway 3DS card. I apologize for the length, but I wanted to be as specific as possible with regards to the circumstances surrounding my issue.
A note for below: the problem persisted across both cards and a few misc. cards I had laying around. I tested all cards with h2testw
Some background info:
Model: New out of the box N3DS Black Console USA. Shipped with 9.0.0
Gateway Card: Legitimate (short 8th pin) Red Cart running 3.2.1 ULTRA - (eachmall)
SysNAND: GW3D 9.0.0-20U + 4.5 Settings
EmuNAND: 9.0.0-20U
RedCart SD: current - 64GB Lexar 633x Class 10 - former Sandisk 8GB SDSDRX3 (Used in my DS cart for many years)
System Card: current - 32GB Class 10 SDHC - former 4GB RVL-035 (Stock)
I successfully executed the Ninjhax exploit, installing to NVRAM, and separated my *NANDS. I have my original SysNAND and my EmuNAND backed up as .bin files, as well as some cart dumps to the System Card that seem to have worked. I stuck the DS Profile exploit with the renaming trick. I installed FBI.cia using the sock server from FBI.3ds on my RedCart SD and was able to install a few misc. .cia files. For all intents and purposes the Cart seems to function very well. No crashes, no reverting, etc.
I dumped 2 backups to my cart. A backup of SSB USA and Cubic Ninja USA. I've validated my SSB Rom against 3DS1051. I can use multi-rom support. I selected SSB and on launch was presented with 'The Save data is corrupted and will be rewritten' when there was no previous save data. I confirm and immediately a 'Unable to format save data.' message appears. A blinking arrow in the bottom right of the prompt would indicate a confirmation but I can't proceed. I have to soft quit using a Dummy App .cia. The Cubic Ninja backup presents me with a similar corruption message.
I used the card1to2 tool to convert SSB to Card 2. Confirmed the file integrity, loaded it up and I am able to play, and saving appears to work, but upon exit all progress is lost. I do not get the errors, but it appears to silently fail. I am not as much concerned about this because I read that the tool doesn't always work with newer games.
I downloaded Gateway's test ROM and tested the hardware:
SPI Test failed, although the lights cycled all the way through on the Gateway Cart itself
Referencing this thread, I opened my cart, and desoldered and resoldered the SPI chip. It booted normally, but the SPI test still failed. I've contacted the retailer, is it safe to conclude this is a faulty chip?
Next steps: I'd really like to get ahold of a Card 2 Game, but won't be able to get to the store until early next week. I'll probably pick up New Leaf (USA) and test against the backup in emuNAND, as well as the classic mode. This would pretty much confirm the issue in my opinion.
I wanted to create this thread as a starting point for diagnosing an SPI Test failure on my Gateway 3DS card. I apologize for the length, but I wanted to be as specific as possible with regards to the circumstances surrounding my issue.
A note for below: the problem persisted across both cards and a few misc. cards I had laying around. I tested all cards with h2testw
Some background info:
Model: New out of the box N3DS Black Console USA. Shipped with 9.0.0
Gateway Card: Legitimate (short 8th pin) Red Cart running 3.2.1 ULTRA - (eachmall)
SysNAND: GW3D 9.0.0-20U + 4.5 Settings
EmuNAND: 9.0.0-20U
RedCart SD: current - 64GB Lexar 633x Class 10 - former Sandisk 8GB SDSDRX3 (Used in my DS cart for many years)
System Card: current - 32GB Class 10 SDHC - former 4GB RVL-035 (Stock)
I successfully executed the Ninjhax exploit, installing to NVRAM, and separated my *NANDS. I have my original SysNAND and my EmuNAND backed up as .bin files, as well as some cart dumps to the System Card that seem to have worked. I stuck the DS Profile exploit with the renaming trick. I installed FBI.cia using the sock server from FBI.3ds on my RedCart SD and was able to install a few misc. .cia files. For all intents and purposes the Cart seems to function very well. No crashes, no reverting, etc.
I dumped 2 backups to my cart. A backup of SSB USA and Cubic Ninja USA. I've validated my SSB Rom against 3DS1051. I can use multi-rom support. I selected SSB and on launch was presented with 'The Save data is corrupted and will be rewritten' when there was no previous save data. I confirm and immediately a 'Unable to format save data.' message appears. A blinking arrow in the bottom right of the prompt would indicate a confirmation but I can't proceed. I have to soft quit using a Dummy App .cia. The Cubic Ninja backup presents me with a similar corruption message.
I used the card1to2 tool to convert SSB to Card 2. Confirmed the file integrity, loaded it up and I am able to play, and saving appears to work, but upon exit all progress is lost. I do not get the errors, but it appears to silently fail. I am not as much concerned about this because I read that the tool doesn't always work with newer games.
I downloaded Gateway's test ROM and tested the hardware:
SPI Test failed, although the lights cycled all the way through on the Gateway Cart itself
Referencing this thread, I opened my cart, and desoldered and resoldered the SPI chip. It booted normally, but the SPI test still failed. I've contacted the retailer, is it safe to conclude this is a faulty chip?
Next steps: I'd really like to get ahold of a Card 2 Game, but won't be able to get to the store until early next week. I'll probably pick up New Leaf (USA) and test against the backup in emuNAND, as well as the classic mode. This would pretty much confirm the issue in my opinion.
