Hacking Updating sysnand vs. emunand on SX OS

[Tigro]

I've been out of the loop of the scene (and Switch gaming in general) for a bit and am facing a problem. And by a bit I mean I'm on SX OS 1.5 and my Switch on sysnand 5.1.0 I wanted to get back into the game and was baffled to see that it's time to do a major update as most of the new releases wouldn't run on such a setup. This led me to a question - is there any difference on whether I use ChoiDujour to update my sysnand to, say, 8.1.0 (as this one seems to be the one that all new releases are fine with) or do it with a emunand? I have nothing against the latter but since it blocks 32GB of a memory card and I'm rocking a 64GB one, the lack of space is going to be pretty noticeable. So, since I have the backup of my current NAND, what would be the advantage of creating an emunand partition blocking half of my storage and updating the firmware there only as opposed to just updating SX OS to 2.8 beta (and hopefully soon 2.9, too) and updating the "regular" firmware on my sysnand to 8.1.0 using CD?

 

[Only1chance]

Emunand (hidden partition) is only useful if you want to keep hacks on the offline emunand only, while keeping the sysnand clean for online play with out getting banned. Now, I don't think sxos supports 9.0 yet so don't update sysnand above 8.1.0. Yes emunand uses 32gb of space, but you can still install games under that 32gb emunand like if it were a normal switch, and you still have the rest of the SD card over. Not sure what your situation is at the moment but if you are already banned, don't bother with an emunand unless you will be doing crazy stuff that will be currupting your nand.

 

[sashka69]

To get a small 5gb emunand on your SD card you need to go through this steps:
. Have latest sx os @2.8beta
. Have a sysnand without any installed games
. Boot into sx rcm menu and select options/emunand/create emunand/files on system storage/advanced
.copy user partition YES
. Emunand size 5gb
.start the process
. When it's done, reboot your switch into sx rcm menu and go to options/emunand
. There will be a new option to move your Emunand from sysnand to micro SD. Start this process and you're done.

Edit:
Additional step to complete your request:
. Boot into your 5 gb Emunand and update via choidojournx to 8.1
. Play all recent games

 

[Tigro]

Emunand (hidden partition) is only useful if you want to keep hacks on the offline emunand only, while keeping the sysnand clean for online play with out getting banned.

Is there already a method to play online safely with ROMs though or is it to keep the sysnand clean for original carts?

To get a small 5gb emunand on your SD card you need to go through this steps:

Thanks for the walkthrough! Is there any disadvantage to having the small 5gb emunand as opposed to the regular, 32gb one?

 

[Only1chance]

The idea to keep a clean sysnand is so that you can play your legit bought games online like normal. I know most people just pirate everything, but I personally buy the games that will have good online to play them correctly (even though Nintendo's online services suck, and it's always peer to peer no actual servers as they had promised) I think there are tricks to replace tickets or something to be able to play pirated games online but I personally won't try it, it's just a ban waiting to happen. And in regards to the other concern, j don't think there is a benefit, since if you have a 32gb emunand, you will still be able to install games on the emunand as if it were a real nand. Maybe if you plan on creating emunand backups were you will find a benefit (smaller sizes)

 

[Andalitez]

Is there already a method to play online safely with ROMs though or is it to keep the sysnand clean for original carts?


Thanks for the walkthrough! Is there any disadvantage to having the small 5gb emunand as opposed to the regular, 32gb one?

On the disadvantage point, if you don't install NSP's then that 29.1gb emunand is just going to waste. You can't install much on the 5gb file, so there's that to consider

I personally have a 5gb emunand that I can move around just like xci files without fuss, it honestly just makes my own life a little easier

 

[Tigro]

@Andalitez @Only1chance ahh, I get it, thank you both for the replies! Didn't get the part about the EmuNAND partition being used for .nsp installs beforehand, that's why I was lost about it blocking half of the card. In that case, I have an opposite question - can I make the emunand partition not smaller but actually larger? So that I keep both the .xci's and the installed NSP's on the emunand partition? Cause if .nsp's install to the emunand partition anyway and I'm going to be using emunand only for XCI's too since they require higher fw, then there's no real need for me to have any more space on the sysnand than the absolute minimum cause I'm not going to be using the sysnand at all anyway.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

@Andalitez @Only1chance ahh, I get it, thank you both for the replies! Didn't get the part about the EmuNAND partition being used for .nsp installs beforehand, that's why I was lost about it blocking half of the card. In that case, I have an opposite question - can I make the emunand partition not smaller but actually larger? So that I keep both the .xci's and the installed NSP's on the emunand partition? Cause if .nsp's install to the emunand partition anyway and I'm going to be using emunand only for XCI's too since they require higher fw, then there's no real need for me to have any more space on the sysnand than the absolute minimum cause I'm not going to be using the sysnand at all anyway.

You can't put xcis on the emuNAND partition and there is not much point in making it larger to install all your nsps there since they go on the SD card either way. The only difference is that "NAND" goes to the (hidden) partition, and "SD" goes to the emuNAND folder (Emutendo on SX OS or emuMMC\RAW1 on Atmosphere) on the main SD partition. Obviously the files are much easier to manage, back up or move if they're on the main SD partition so it makes most sense to install them there. If your SD card is not very big just fill up both "NAND" and "SD".

 

[Andalitez]

@Andalitez @Only1chance ahh, I get it, thank you both for the replies! Didn't get the part about the EmuNAND partition being used for .nsp installs beforehand, that's why I was lost about it blocking half of the card. In that case, I have an opposite question - can I make the emunand partition not smaller but actually larger? So that I keep both the .xci's and the installed NSP's on the emunand partition? Cause if .nsp's install to the emunand partition anyway and I'm going to be using emunand only for XCI's too since they require higher fw, then there's no real need for me to have any more space on the sysnand than the absolute minimum cause I'm not going to be using the sysnand at all anyway.

As The Real Jdbye mentioned, it makes more sense to have it as files on the SD card. If that's the case I really recommend a smaller emunand and just install everything else to SD, including xci files.

The trick with xci files I find is that you can try before you buy much quicker than installing nsp files.its a case of copy and play where xci is concerned.Dont like the game? No problem,just delete the xci and move on to the next.NSPs take a while longer to install,you have to use additional apps to get it to work sometimes and it's more of a hindrance in a way.well you get the idea.

Speaking Usingof additional apps NSC Builder gives you the option to build every game as xci including game updates and dlc. It's a windows only app but it's really great

 

[sashka69]

As the others said already:
5gb emunand does not have much storage left for installations, I use my 5gb emunand only for save games. All the other stuff (xci) I put on my SD card or i install (nsp) on SD card. Nice setup which I have and less hassle when using dual boot setup with android or Linux.

 

[NeroAngelo]

Emunand (hidden partition) is only useful if you want to keep hacks on the offline emunand only, while keeping the sysnand clean for online play with out getting banned. Now, I don't think sxos supports 9.0 yet so don't update sysnand above 8.1.0. Yes emunand uses 32gb of space, but you can still install games under that 32gb emunand like if it were a normal switch, and you still have the rest of the SD card over. Not sure what your situation is at the moment but if you are already banned, don't bother with an emunand unless you will be doing crazy stuff that will be currupting your nand.

that's what keeps confusing me about these posts, if I use a clean sysnand, and emunand for hacking and homebrew, why wouldn't it be ok to update the sysnand to 9.0?? I get that you can't update emunand to 9.0 because SXOS can't deal with it yet, but can't we update sysnand to 9.0?? or is that just misinformation?

 

[nantalos]

that's what keeps confusing me about these posts, if I use a clean sysnand, and emunand for hacking and homebrew, why wouldn't it be ok to update the sysnand to 9.0?? I get that you can't update emunand to 9.0 because SXOS can't deal with it yet, but can't we update sysnand to 9.0?? or is that just misinformation?

That is misinformation. You can update your sysnand. It will break your ability to use game cards while in emunand (including booting into emunand with a game card inserted into the switch). But other than not being able to play your legit game cards in emunand everything else works fine.

 

[Only1chance]

My current setup is this: 1. Legit sysnand on 9.0 for online play, 2. Hacked emunand on 8.1.0 always offline. 3. I use atmosphere, hekate allows me to boot into my 8.1.0 emunand with out an issue. I play games online and buy games normally on clean sysnand when I want, and boot into emunand to play retroarch, nsp, etc.

 

[DejaSentj]

The same to me with sxos. ^

 

[Only1chance]

The same to me with sxos. ^

Isn't SX on 9.0 burning a special fuse on the game cart slot? Read something along those lines on twitter.