Hacking Why is SysNAND safe?

[Ohex4455]

So I've backed everything up and used a guide to create emuNAND, set up Incognito and 90DNS on the emuNAND and have only booted to emuNAND via Hekate since.

I understand there are now two partitions on my SD, one roughly the size of the internal memory and one with the rest. The rest contains an emuMMC folder with the RAW1 stuff.

What happens if I boot normally? I assume I will boot to SysNAND. But now, what is actually the dirty emuMMC here? The 32gig partition? Why is all the dirty stuff on the big partition then? Do I have to remove stuff from the SD before booting to SysNAND?

And why is the SysNAND safe?
Wouldn't Nintendo theoretically be able to see everything going on on my SD?

Thanks!

 

[Lacius]

The emuNAND is the large partition on the SD card, and if you boot into your clean sysNAND, the Switch does not see the large partition.

Safety is about Nintendo not seeing telemetry, which is stored to the sysNAND. By emulating the sysNAND, none of that telemetry is stored to your sysNAND; it's stored to the emuNAND. As long as you don't use CFW with your clean sysNAND, you're safe.

If you were to boot into your emuNAND and connect to the internet without 90DNS and/or Incognito though, then it will look for telemetry on the emuNAND partition, since it's emulating where it would be on the sysNAND. That's why you can do whatever you want on the emuNAND, but it must be blocked from connecting to Nintendo's servers.

 

[Ohex4455]

Thanks. So far I understand I should have set it up correctly.

But if emuNAND is the big partition and sysNAND will not see it. Where will my games go? Or is there some trickery in play? And if there is, will the trickery work if I boot to sysNAND without RCM/Hekate or do I have to always boot through Hekate using the "Atmosphere FSS0 SYS" option in my Launch menu?

Edit: Wait, that option doesn't sound good. That sounds like "boot atmosphere on sysnand".

 

[Lacius]

If you are on emuNAND and installing games, they will either get installed to the emuNAND (NAND) or the other partition (SD), depending on what you select. Games installed to the other partition while in emuNAND will only be seen by the emuNAND.

Booting into sysNAND boots into sysNAND, regardless of how you do it or which bootloader you use.

 

[Ohex4455]

If you are on emuNAND and installing games, they will either get installed to the emuNAND (NAND) or the other partition (SD), depending on what you select. Games installed to the other partition while in emuNAND will only be seen by the emuNAND.

Booting into sysNAND boots into sysNAND, regardless of how you do it or which bootloader you use.

I was talking about SysNAND games. Because how would I be able to install games on emuNAND anyways with the "security measures" I've taken.

I understand I don't have space to put my sysNAND games now, as everything is emuNAND.

 

[Lacius]

I was talking about SysNAND games. Because how would I be able to install games on emuNAND anyways with the "security measures" I've taken.

I understand I don't have space to put my sysNAND games now, as everything is emuNAND.

You can install legitimately purchased eShop games to the remaining SD storage or to the NAND.

You can install illegitimate games on the emuNAND to the emuNAND (part of the big SD partition) or to the remaining SD storage.

 

[Ohex4455]

You can install legitimately purchased eShop games to the remaining SD storage or to the NAND.

Thanks.

Okay so I have 32 gig of internal SysNAND visible memory, a 32 gig emuMMC parition that is inaccessable and the big partition (200+ gig). The latter you said is inaccessable by sysNAND in your first post? So which space should be remaining?

If you were mistaking and the big partition is in fact visible to sysNAND, my questons from the original post still apply. What stops nintendo from potentially seeing the dirty stuff on my large partion.

 

[Lacius]

Thanks.
Okay so I have 32 gig of internal SysNAND visible memory, a 32 gig emuMMC parition that is inaccessable and the big partition (200+ gig). The latter you said is inaccessable by sysNAND in your first post? So which space should be remaining?

If you were mistaking and the big partition is in fact visible to sysNAND, my questons from the original post still apply. What stops nintendo from potentially seeing the dirty stuff on my large partion.

To be clear, this is what you have:

1. sysNAND internal storage (32GB) -> sysNAND only
2. emuNAND "internal storage" (32GB partition on SD card) -> emuNAND only
3. File storage on SD card (approximately 200GB) -> shared by both emuNAND and sysNAND

The sysNAND cannot see files you installed to the SD file storage while in emuNAND, and vice versa. They're stored in separate locations that the Switch operating system doesn't know to look at without tweaks, and they don't share tickets.

 

[Ohex4455]

To be clear, this is what you have:

1. sysNAND internal storage (32GB) -> sysNAND only
2. emuNAND "internal storage" (32GB partition on SD card) -> emuNAND only
3. File storage on SD card (approximately 200GB) -> shared by both emuNAND and sysNAND

The sysNAND cannot see files you installed to the SD file storage while in emuNAND, and vice versa. They're stored in separate locations that the Switch operating system doesn't know to look at without tweaks, and they don't share tickets.

Alright, thank you. That is the behaviour what I initially expected.

Now again: We are certain that Nintendo doesn't care about Atmosphere, Hekate configs, Retroarch and Homebrew Store and alike float around on the File storage? It was my initial concern that, while emuNAND logs and tickets etc. might be invisible to nintendo, the actual stuff I use is still in plain sight.

 

[Lacius]

Alright, thank you. That is the behaviour what I initially expected.

Now again: We are certain that Nintendo doesn't care about Atmosphere, Hekate configs, Retroarch and Homebrew Store and alike float around on the File storage? It was my initial concern that, while emuNAND logs and tickets etc. might be invisible to nintendo, the actual stuff I use is still in plain sight.

Do they care about these things floating around the SD file storage? No, they do not.

Do they care about these things if the telemetry points to them having been used on your NAND? Yes, they might in some situations.

 

[Ohex4455]

Do they care about these things floating around the SD file storage? No, they do not.

Do they care about these things if the telemetry points to them having been used on your NAND? Yes, they might in some situations.

Great help, thanks bud