Hacking Where to start?

[wormdood]

Does using the R4 require CFW?

no it does not and again it could be used to install cfw (ntrboot)

Am I correct that it only allows playing on DS games not 3DS?

correct only .nds roms (original ds) not .3ds roms . . . but as i said it will help you to install cfw so you can install 3ds .cia formatted games

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

no it does not and again it could be used to install cfw (ntrboot)

Is there an alternate guide for using the R4 to install CFW?

Once setup, does the R4 only work on one DS or is it swappable between similar units?

 

[wormdood]

Is there an alternate guide for using the R4 to install CFW?

its the same guide you would just start on this page Installing boot9strap (ntrboot) - 3DS Hacks Guide instead of the beginning (with that card) . . . honestly the flashcards website has its own version (of the same guide), but its just a hackjob of a older version of the guide with no credit given to anyone who deserves it like the developers who made the exploits the guide uses or the guides author(s)

 

[larrypretty]

Is this the right one?

https://www.mod3dscard.com/home/3-r4i-gold-3ds-rts-plusbest-r4i-gold-for-any-3ds-dsi.html

Can anyone else vouche for this site?

What size micro SD card does it need?

Yes, it's the one and from 2gb to 128gb microsd card, it can support. This site can ship from USA, but you need choose the USPS carrier when ordering, unless it will send you R4 from CN too, it supports online chat, you may try to talk to it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Is this the right one?

https://www.mod3dscard.com/home/3-r4i-gold-3ds-rts-plusbest-r4i-gold-for-any-3ds-dsi.html

Can anyone else vouche for this site?

What size micro SD card does it need?

8GB is enough for DS games. But you may as well get a 16GB if the price difference isn't big.
BTW, don't buy SD cards from flashcart stores.

 

[midstor]

I suggest getting a flashcard from 3ds-flashcard.com installing CFW then ntr then downloading cheats into cheats folder

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

Anyone?

Once setup, does the R4 only work on one DS or is it swappable between similar units?

Also, what do you guys think about the Flashcarts that say they support 3ds games? Is that an easier route?

 

[wormdood]

Once setup, does the R4 only work on one DS or is it swappable between similar units?

similar units . . . i guess the simple answer is, it is, but the correct answer is it will work in any ds dsi or 3ds family system

Also, what do you guys think about the Flashcarts that say they support 3ds games? Is that an easier route?

. . . its like you asked for a history lesson (i will try to keep it short) . . . there are truly only 3 flashcards able to "support" 3ds roms

gateway (gateway is cfw based at heart and the company dropped support for it as such it cant be used with the latest firmware) . . . gateway included a brickcode in their cfw to wreak the system of anyone using an unofficial gateway clone card . . . so outdated, contains code that can brick a console . . . just bad

sky3ds (sky works without a rom selection menu so you meed to press buttons on the flashcard to cycle through games it can only play 3ds roms and because of how it emulates a psychical game to sneak by the systems antipiracy measures limits the games you can play with it to only the ones that had a psychical release... no digital only games . . . support for this product was limited to needing to buy the new sky3ds model if you wanted a better experience and the "support stopped around the same time as gateway did *hmm*). . . so limited .3ds rom selection and un-update-able ... everything it offers can be done (and better) with cfw . . so bad


then there was stargate the second 3ds flashcard to boast 3ds rom loading and nds rom loading on the same card (it is like a sky3ds and a basic r4 programmed into the same flashcard it shared the same exact quarks and limitations as the sky3ds as far as 3ds rom support and the r4 side of it well was just an r4 ... most people believe the reason the other two flashcards dropped support to collaborate on this flashcard and what do you know they never provided any support for this card beyond usage instructions) . . . a free cfw and the cheapest r4 (an outdated 4 usd original r4 clone) you can find would honestly be way more functional


bonus the 4th (and worst) choice scds2+ a ds mode flashcard with its own on-board processor (that drains your battery life even when not in use) scds2+ released with the ability to emulate gateway gateway soon after released an update to their cfw that did indeed brick anyone emulating gateway with this device ... some smart people on their forums released a different 3ds rom loading solution using stolen code from a public cfw called reinand (reinand is the cfw that was eventually passed down by its developer, picked up by another that did so much work on it that it became luma3ds) they called it freegame and shortly after their forum website was hacked and never restored . . . as far a ds mode flashcard (ignoring the gateway/freegame aspect) its the strongest most feature rich .nds rom experience you can get with the best older console emulators you can find on a flashcard . . . yet everything it does (save for creating cheats for .nds games on the fly) is available and done better by cfw

any other 3ds flashcard you can find is guaranteed to be a clone of one of the first two i mentioned
i hope you can still read that despite my horrid grammar and punctuation
but if you want to skip all that unedited text . . . the conclusion is you should skip/avoid any 3ds mode flashcard as well

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

Wow...I’ve done my reading for the day. Now a nap is in order. Hehe. Thanks for the info. Very informative and appreciated!

I plan to order the n3DSXL (B&H), and the micro SD cards/card reader (Amazon) today.

I can’t decide between 3ds-flashcard.com or mod3dscard.com for the R4 card.

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

So with Frogminer I can accomplish what is done with the Flashcart?

as far as r4 cards if you want to play .nds roms on your 3ds its the best way to do so

What does that mean exactly?

I guess all this time I thought I needed to do both. Install CFW Frogminer method (3DS games) and have the Flashcart (DS games). Am I back to square one?

I said I don’t know of any DS games I want to play but to clarify, I’m saying I haven’t looked at the game selection. Not saying I’ve looked and don’t see anything I want to play.

In the other thread you mentioned something about the kids and multiple units. I like your train of thought...I’m going to try and maintain 4 units. Two of which will be used by kids less than 10 yrs old. They are smart but not enough to change any complicated configurations to be able to play games. I would do all of the original setup of course and updates and so forth.

I’m happy with an “if I were you...” type response. Hehe. THANKS AGAIN!

 

[wormdood]

So with Frogminer I can accomplish what is done with the Flashcart?

with frogminer you can install cfw now this is a large list of things you can do with cfw so let me quote someone ...

like being able to play NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, PCE/TG16, SMS, GG, GEN/MD, NDS, DSi, MAME, NGP(C), and 3DS games, or emulate Linux, Atari 800/2600/Lynx, Commodore C64, 8086 DOS, Mini vMac, ScummVM, Vectrex, NEC PC-9801. Or things like custom HOME Menu themes, hacks / mods / cheats, and English fan translated games or romhacks.

What does that mean exactly?

despite the 3ds (with cfw) being able to play .nds roms (here is the projects page [DS(i)/3DS] TWiLight Menu++) the rom compatibility is lacking, with most games being playable (many needing anti-piracy patches that you must apply manually you can find them in the projects thread), the term most still leaves out a lot of games (the nds had a very large library) . . . here is the projects compatibility list nds-bootstrap compatibility list (Current Release is 0.15.0) . . .

but with a flashcard you will get 100% nds rom compatibility and the flashcard will patch anti-piracy measures automatically

I said I don’t know of any DS games I want to play but to clarify, I’m saying I haven’t looked at the game selection. Not saying I’ve looked and don’t see anything I want to play.

fair enough . . . perhaps this will help

In the other thread you mentioned something about the kids and multiple units. I like your train of thought...I’m going to try and maintain 4 units. Two of which will be used by kids less than 10 yrs old. They are smart but not enough to change any complicated configurations to be able to play games. I would do all of the original setup of course and updates and so forth.

thats the sole reason i mentioned a ntrboot flashcard even if they somehow deleted the system firmware and lost the sd card leaving you with nothing more than an expensive paperweight you (with a ntrboot flashcard) can restore the console to a playable state . . . perfect nds rom compatibility is a bonus

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

Wow, I’ve combed through those links. There doesn’t seem to be any compatibility issues with most of the games we would want to play. If so, nothing we couldn’t live without.

I’m not sure I saw anything about anti-piracy measures. I could see that being a pain if it’s on a lot of games.

Would having just ONE R4 work? Like you said, in case I had a problem. It will probably be an additional $75 to buy 3 more including the SD card it takes.

Does TWiLight get installed as part of the CFW install process?

Thanks again. Without this one on one info I probably wouldn’t be considering doing this so it means a hell of a lot! I’m pretty good with following technical instructions but this is completely out of my wheelhouse if you know what I mean.

 

[wormdood]

Wow, I’ve combed through those links. There doesn’t seem to be any compatibility issues with most of the games we would want to play. If so, nothing we couldn’t live without.

cool

Does TWiLight get installed as part of the CFW install process?

no but it does have instructions in the projects thread (in drop-down boxes)

I’m not sure I saw anything about anti-piracy measures. I could see that being a pain if it’s on a lot of games.

if you slide the table (in the compatibility list) to the right you will see columns for "requires ap patch" and "compatibility" also "notes"

Would having just ONE R4 work? Like you said, in case I had a problem. It will probably be an additional $75 to buy 3 more including the SD card it takes.

yeah 1 would be fine i recomemd it as a tool first and foremost and as you said

There doesn’t seem to be any compatibility issues with most of the games we would want to play.

Thanks again. Without this one on one info I probably wouldn’t be considering doing this so it means a hell of a lot! I’m pretty good with following technical instructions but this is completely out of my wheelhouse if you know what I mean.

no problem ... thanks for putting up with my horrid grammar and punctuation

 

[zoogie]

Wow, I’ve combed through those links. There doesn’t seem to be any compatibility issues with most of the games we would want to play. If so, nothing we couldn’t live without.

I’m not sure I saw anything about anti-piracy measures. I could see that being a pain if it’s on a lot of games.

Would having just ONE R4 work? Like you said, in case I had a problem. It will probably be an additional $75 to buy 3 more including the SD card it takes.

Does TWiLight get installed as part of the CFW install process?

Thanks again. Without this one on one info I probably wouldn’t be considering doing this so it means a hell of a lot! I’m pretty good with following technical instructions but this is completely out of my wheelhouse if you know what I mean.

This is pretty new, but it's well tested in my opinion
https://3ds.eiphax.tech/fredminer.html
It's basically like Frogminer, except easier. Another advantage is this particular guide is a lot less wordy than the Plailect guide, and a lot less stuff to download.
Hopefully it'll suit your fancy.

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

no but it does have instructions in the projects thread (in drop-down boxes)

if you slide the table (in the compatibility list) to the right you will see columns for "requires ap patch"

Ok, I’m seeing that now. Are there different ap patches for each game that you have to deal with? I assume there is a completely different guide for all that. Is it complicated? Are the patches available on gbatemp? I’m probably getting ahead of myself here. We can table this question I suppose.

yeah 1 would be fine i recomemd it as a tool first and foremost

I think that’s what I’ll do. At least for now. I always have the option later.

no problem ... thanks for putting up with my horrid grammar and punctuation

This is pretty new, but it's well tested in my opinion

https://3ds.eiphax.tech/fredminer.html

It's basically like Frogminer, except easier. Another advantage is this particular guide is a lot less wordy than the Plailect guide, and a lot less stuff to download.

Hopefully it'll suit your fancy.

Thanks for the info!

wormdood, what are your thoughts on this? You’ve been my sounding board so far.

Thanks again!

Side note: I didn’t see Guitar Hero listed on the compatibility list. Maybe it’s not an exhaustive list.

I sent the game list to my daughter. She came back with these as ones she’s interested in.

Brain Age
Cooking Mama
Guitar Hero
Nintendogs
Mario Kart

Looks like I’m gonna need that 128gb card! JK hehe

 

[wormdood]

wormdood, what are your thoughts on this? You’ve been my sounding board so far.

Thanks again!

i haven't done it myself although just the other day i walked someone through it and its simple, it uses a few of terms that the average end lv user wont understand but i feel it does a good job explaining them as it goes. (most of my time helping was double-checking the users sd card structure and confirming that the user was indeed correct in her understanding of the terms as well as sd structure) . . . all in all i can say without question that this method is shorter and simpler (to use) than frogminer in general (especially easier than the frogminer instructions in 3ds.hacks.guide)

Side note: I didn’t see Guitar Hero listed on the compatibility list. Maybe it’s not an exhaustive list.

probably because it required a special controller to be enjoyed properly or rather without a modded copy of the game

Brain Age
Cooking Mama
Guitar Hero
Nintendogs
Mario Kart

Looks like I’m gonna need that 128gb card! JK hehe

thats only nds, like i said a 16 gig or lower for the r4 card is good enough for any gamer (as far as nds roms go)

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

So the end result is exactly the same regardless of which guide is used?

 

[wormdood]

So the end result is exactly the same regardless of which guide is used?

yup sir

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

I'm thinking about driving to Fry's Electronics and getting 1 SD card and card reader so that I can get this party started. Order the others from Amazon. I can use one of our 2DSXL's.

 

[BigTex-Dallas]

Well I went shopping! Walmart!

I know I paid more but I have everything I need now. R4 card coming soon.

Prices I paid are marked on the packages.