Hacking Upgrading mSD Card Question

[Skeet1983]

Hi guys. I am getting a larger capacity mSD card (256GB) tomorrow for my N3DS. My N3DS has Luma and B9S installed on it also. Is there anything in particular I need to do beforehand, or is it just simply copy/paste everything from current mSD card to new one? Here is what my N3DS currently has:

- Luma/B9S
- BootNTR
- CIA/Freeshop games
- Homebrew(?) Apps (FBI, JKSM, etc.)

Thoughts and help appreciated

 

[Kubas_inko]

If it is over 32gb (or 64gb idk) you need to format it as fat32. Otherwise just copy/paste.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

1. H2testw - Full Write + Verify Test, so you don't get ripped off. (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP).
   
2. guiformat - FAT32 format + 64 KB cluster size (you can get away with 64 KB because it meets the minimum 128 GB criteria).
3. MiniTool Partition Wizard free edition - In case you want to merge partitions or need to convert from GPT to MRB disk. (Do not use the Change Cluster Size feature. It will ruin your card).
4. SD Memory Card Formatter - If you failed to heed the warning in #3, you'll need to delete the entire partition or nuke the card with this.
   

 

[Skeet1983]

1. H2testw - Full Write + Verify Test, so you don't get ripped off. (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP).
   
2. guiformat - FAT32 format + 64 KB cluster size (you can get away with 64 KB because it meets the minimum 128 GB criteria).
3. MiniTool Partition Wizard free edition - In case you want to merge partitions or need to convert from GPT to MRB disk. (Do not use the Change Cluster Size feature. It will ruin your card).
4. SD Memory Card Formatter - If you failed to heed the warning in #3, you'll need to delete the entire partition or nuke the card with this.

This may sound like a dumb question, but do I do the H2test before or after formatting mSD card?

 

[TurdPooCharger]

This may sound like a dumb question, but do I do the H2test before or after formatting mSD card?

Either is fine so long as the card is empty when the test is done.

There are steps 5 through 8, but I'm sure you got those covered.

 

[Skeet1983]

Hi again guys. Now that I have everything transferred to my new mSD card, I am wondering about updating my N3DS System Firmware to 11.7. Here is what my N3DS currently has:

- Luma/B9S
- BootNTR
- CIA/Freeshop games
- Homebrew(?) Apps (FBI, JKSM, etc.)

Is it safe/ok to update to System Firmware 11.7? How should I go about doing it if I use Luma and B9S?
Thoughts and help appreciated

 

[Joom]

Just update through System Settings. There's not anything special that you have to do.

 

[Skeet1983]

Just update through System Settings. There's not anything special that you have to do.

Ok, thanks for info. I don't need to update Luma or B9S? I am not on latest version of B9S, not sure Luma version... Help appreciated

 

[Joom]

Ok, thanks for info. I don't need to update Luma or B9S? I am not on latest version of B9S, not sure Luma version... Help appreciated

https://3ds.hacks.guide/updating-b9s

 

[Skeet1983]

https://3ds.hacks.guide/updating-b9s

Thanks for the help and info. I followed that guide and successfully updated B9S and Luma. Is it ok/safe now to update to 11.7? Will I still be able to use BootNTR and such? Help appreciated

Note: Am asking about updating to 11.7 because I thought someone posted on here that BootNTR/NTR does not work on FW 11.7?

 

[NFates]

Thanks for the help and info. I followed that guide and successfully updated B9S and Luma. Is it ok/safe now to update to 11.7? Will I still be able to use BootNTR and such? Help appreciated

Note: Am asking about updating to 11.7 because I thought someone posted on here that BootNTR/NTR does not work on FW 11.7?

Yeah, it's safe. I don't use BootNTR so can't talk by experience about that, but on paper it should still work.

 

[GothicIII]

@Skeet1983 :

Have fun with boottimes >1min. due to a bug in the 3ds hardware and how it behaves with large capacity sd cards.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

@Skeet1983 :

Have fun with boottimes >1min. due to a bug in the 3ds hardware and how it behaves with large capacity sd cards.

While a larger card will be slower loading HOME Menu versus a smaller one, the wait time is no where near 1 minute. If your card meets the minimum 128 GB capacity threshold, you should be able to format it with 64 KB cluster size and shave off some of the load time.

You can read my signature link that talks about 64 KB cluster size testing, and the story about @BizyB who fixed his (old version of Anemone3DS) theme issue *, GBA Virtual Console graphical glitch, and HOME Menu boot time when he reformatted his 256 GB card with 64 KB cluster size.

• Custom Themes Don't Load Automatically After SD Mod

* There was a theme extdata bug in that homebrew app that has been fixed in newer updates.

Edit - Just make sure you're not lazy changing the cluster size from 32 KB to 64 KB by using the Change Cluster Size function found in MiniTool Partition Wizard free edition. Using this feature WILL turn your card into pure crap with the load times. It's really messy fixing this if you don't heed this advice.