Hacking What risks does using a Flashcard imply?

[Rico007]

Hello all, I've had a NDSlite for about two years now, and a Supercard Ds One for about a year. Never had any problems. But yesterday my DS, after playing for a bit (in clean mode, as the last firmware update somehow didn't let me play patch mode, gonna downgrade to what I had before), I turned it off, and then when my girlfriend went to play... It wouldn't turn on. It was plugged in to the AC Adapter and my speakers. I tried turning it on with the card and without it, the most I got for a while was a flikering screen before it turned back off.
I unplugged it, then later it turned on without the card, but I had to set my DS back again like it were new. So it reformatted? Then the card worked again, but the DS would shut off randomly during play. I plugged it back on and it hasn't shut off by itself. There's a fact that I always have the DS plugged in when I am at home, so I discussed it with my girlfriend and my friend, and we think maybe the DS gets overloaded with energy and the battery is being affected. I don't know if the DSlite has a system where it prevents that from happening by self draining energy, like some cellphones do.

Now for my actual questions.

1. Can a Flascart actually brick my DSlite? I mean, you just take it out and the ds is "unhacked"...
2. What could brick the flashcards? Supercard Ds One specifically? I know the last firmware update for ds Two rendered some card bricked.
3. Could it just be as stated above, a battery problem for leaving it plugged in for long periods of time?
4. If so, how much would a new battery cost, and where would you suggest I look?

 

[Miser]

1. Can a Flascart actually brick my DSlite? I mean, you just take it out and the ds is "unhacked"...
2. What could brick the flashcards? Supercard Ds One specifically? I know the last firmware update for ds Two rendered some card bricked.
3. Could it just be as stated above, a battery problem for leaving it plugged in for long periods of time?
4. If so, how much would a new battery cost, and where would you suggest I look?

1. Yes. It's possible to run a malicious program on your flashcart and brick the DS. The hentai bricker Porobu mentioned, for example. But if you're careful about what you run on it, it's unlikely. Also, some poorly built cards have blown fuses on DSes.
2. Firmware update gone bad.
3. Could be.

 

[Rico007]

I did some research just now on DS Bricking, and the hentai bricker. It seems I don't have any of those, I don't use my NDS for homebrew or anything other than NDS Software Backups. And now I know that Just because you take out the card the ds is not necessarily unhacked, as the hentai bricker provers to do.

I'll just keep on testing my DS (Haven't used it today), and if the problem persists, I'll try getting a new battery. The one at ShopTemp is like 8 dollars... or was it 4?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

Flashme is outdated and not needed. Places like gamestop (a used videogame store) will not take a DS if it has been flashme'ed or bricked, if a person ever plans to trade in a DS for something else.

 

[exangel]

There's a fact that I always have the DS plugged in when I am at home, so I discussed it with my girlfriend and my friend, and we think maybe the DS gets overloaded with energy and the battery is being affected. I don't know if the DSlite has a system where it prevents that from happening by self draining energy, like some cellphones do.

3. Could it just be as stated above, a battery problem for leaving it plugged in for long periods of time?

I don't think that's likely with the quality of batteries used in DS Lite systems.
DS Lites use a Lithium Ion battery.
Lithium-ion batteries "require a Battery Management System to prevent operation outside each cell's Safe Operating Area (over-charge, under-charge, safe temperature range) and to balance cells to eliminate SOC mismatches, significantly improving battery efficiency and increasing overall capacity." (Source)

Unless the battery itself has a failure, you can't over-charge it. You can't short-circuit it either as long as it's enclosed in the DS correctly. And it's probably not that the battery's BMS is failing because that happens when there's a problem during the battery's manufacture (so long as it's within its expected shelf life..). A failing BMS is an actual safety hazard, and that is why batteries are often recalled when such a failure occurs, but Nintendo has never recalled batteries for the DS Lite.

 

[Rico007]

Interesting information you provided there. Although I wonder what is it that made my DS "reformat" in the first place o-O. I read that if you remove the battery, it will happen... but battery coming loose is highly unlikely I believe. *shakes DS* No loose sounds there o-O

 

[gamefreak94]

Firmware?... As in ds or flashcart?

 

[Rico007]

Firmware?... As in ds or flashcart?

Flashcart, Supercard Ds One. I dunno if the DS lite has various downloadable firmware or so, I don't think it can go online as the DSi can, can it? o-O

 

[nl255]

Firmware?... As in ds or flashcart?

Flashcart, Supercard Ds One. I dunno if the DS lite has various downloadable firmware or so, I don't think it can go online as the DSi can, can it? o-O

The DS and DS lite do have downloadable firmware but you have to short SL1 to flash it and there are no firmware updates other than Flashme. Note that on the Fat, only the first 64k is protected so it is possible for homebrew to brick it (if you have Flashme, it puts recovery code in the protected area to allow for brick recovery).

 

[Miser]

(if you have Flashme, it puts recovery code in the protected area to allow for brick recovery).

But you risk bricking it when you flash it.

 

[Overlord Nadrian]

(if you have Flashme, it puts recovery code in the protected area to allow for brick recovery).

But you risk bricking it when you flash it.

That's only if you are retarded and don't know how to follow instructions correctly.

 

[DeltaBurnt]

What point is there to running flashme anyways? In all honesty it's only needed if you REALLY hate the health and safety screen.

 

[windwakr]

...I turned it off, and then when my girlfriend went to play... It wouldn't turn on. It was plugged in to the AC Adapter and my speakers. I tried turning it on with the card and without it, the most I got for a while was a flikering screen before it turned back off.
....

Same thing just happened to me with my AK2i and DS Phat. Had it plugged in, tried to turn it on, and got problems for a little while, even after taking out the AK2i. Luckily, after unplugging it and putting in a retail cart, it started working again, and I didn't have the settings wipe like you say happened to you.

But I wonder why this happens when the DS is plugged in?

 

[fearofshorts]

From what you guys are saying, I'm sure that it's not the flashcart. Flashcarts cannot damage the DS in a temporary way. Sure they can blow a fuse (if you get a TERRIBLE R4 clone), but that would mean that the DS would not boot up at all, flicker or even charge until you replace the fuse. So it's almost certainly just an issue with the DS.

Futhermore, the DS bricker virus cannot brick DSis or DSLs. Only the DS Phat was in danger of bricking. The only way to brick a DSLite is to deliberately short the SL1 contacts while the bricking virus destroys your DS. So unless you like to play with the battery cover removed and a tiny screwdriver stuck in the correct hole underneath, you should be just fine.

Oh yes, and Overlord is correct. Flashme cannot brick DSs. If the connection is lost across the SL1 contacts then you just have to re-bridge them. If you turn off the DS while it flashes, you just need to run the program again (the first thing Flashme changes with the firmware is adding a boot-loader of sorts to make sure that you can't brick it during the process).

 

[9th_Sage]

What point is there to running flashme anyways? In all honesty it's only needed if you REALLY hate the health and safety screen.

Some of us still have slot-2 flashcarts. I may not use mine much anymore, but it comes it pretty handy for dumping copies of my games.

 

[Rico007]

Oddly enough, my DSlite doesn't turn on now, no matter what I do.

I did a shake test, and something sounds inside. I don't know if the battery got loose or what.

I cant find something small enough to unscrew the battery cap.

Thinking of contacting Nintendo...