[DS] NDS/GBA Flashing/PassMe discussion

Why god why ;_;

There is, apparently, three Nintendo DS emulators available already. iDeas, Duelis, and some other one which barely runs at all. How exactly would you play a DS game on a PC, when you're constantly in need of a stylus to interact with the touchscreen, etc?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

So let me get this straight, because this is really fucking confusing to approach.

I have a PC card reader, right. (the first one pictured.) I also have a DS Lite. From the information I gathered, if I purchase a 512mb or 1GB MiniSD Memory Card, a Super Card, and a Passcard, all I need to do is stick roms on the memory card, shove it into my Supercard, and I'm all set? (while the passme just sits in my DS slot quietly?)

This is what I currently have in mind:



USB PC Card Reader, Passcard, Supercard, 1 GB Mini SD card. Will this work? Will it work with the DS Lite? Will the Supercard stick out like regular GBA games do with the DS Lite?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

...that's it? Of course I have legit games. I'm just not sure if this is the way to go.

I recently saw a MagicKey2. It's a device which sticks into your DS slot, which has a slot for a Mini SD card. Since the DS doesn't need to read DS games from the GBA slot (with the supercard) why can't you just load DS games onto a Mini SD card, and use the MagicKey2 with your DS? Jesus, this is all so confusing.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Okay, confused again. If I use a M3 Passcard, so it bypasses the DS slot so I can run DS games from the GBA slot, why can't I just put .nds roms on any GBA flash cartridge, and stick it in the GBA slot? Shouldn't the M3 Passme do it's job, bypass the DS slot and load the game from the GBA slot?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

What supercard program? What's a dsq file?

Can you use a passcard (passme 3) to flash a DS like you could with the passme 2?

More importantly, how do I flash a DS (or DS Lite) without the use of the GBA slot?

I was speaking idiomatically.

I don't have ANYTHING, at the moment. I'm so fucking confused beyond belief that I cringe when I have my friend on msn telling me "i thought this was pretty simple to me..." making me feel like a dumbass.

I basically need to know how you can do this without flashing, because I can't import a Passme2. My options are listed above, and I can also get myself a 256mb flash cart, or a MagicKey2 and any given SD card. Those are my only options.

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh yeah that sounds reeeeeeeeal easy, dude.

If I decide to do anything I'll probably stay legit. The person who was offering me the passcard was selling it four times the original price, when it's only apparently $25 US. So I won't even bother asking him twice what his supercard price was.

FELIPE NO

So I've worked out how to flash a DS Lite off by heart. It's really simple when you know how.

Put the supercard and passcard/superkey/whatever in your DS. Take battery cover off, give your DS power from your charger. Turn on your DS. Run flashme.nds, press XBXB, stick a flathead/cigarette-style tinfoil into the gap to bridge SL1 to SL2. Wait about a minute. When it's at 100%, you're done. Take everything out and enjoy not needing a pass-anything/key-anything in your DS slot.

But the Superkey which has been released on the 15th of June bypasses the flashing process entirely, so it's not like you're obligated to do it. Then, patch a .nds rom with the Supercard software client, export it to your desktop (it'll create two files), stick them on an SD card, stick that into your Supercard, and run it on your DS.

That's basically it, from what I can understand. I might be importing (from america) a Superkey and mini SD Supercard. I'll worry about getting a mini SD card itself once these have arrived. Then I can either 1) Flash my DS Lite, which means it can't be bricked in the future (redeemed useless) or 2) Keep my DS Lite unflashed, and play titles with the use of the Superkey.

This is not without it's high price tag, though. Especially for importers (which is most people, since this isn't stuff play-asia or lik-sang sell) but I can't wait to play Zoo Keeper on my DS. I mean, $33 for a used DS title which I can play in gf's arcade? No thanks.

Thanks to dgemu, I'm not going to be short of games to try out. I already have my future play-asia purchases lined up.

How ya doing, buddy?

You need to patch the GBA roms to cooperate with the supercard, apparently.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by nabhan

Bump.

So is the MaxMedia dock basically a Flash Cart?

Uh, I'm not sure but I don't think so. I wouldn't get one because they only fit the original DS so you'll never be able to get yourself a DS Lite if you wanted to, you know, in the future.

I have a supercard at the moment, and while it sticks out I don't really care. It isn't that much of a problem, and since I'll be buying any games which I really enjoy, it's a good investment.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Muzza

Basically, what are all the names of the equipment I'll need to flash and them play ROMS on my DS?

Supercard mini SD
mini SD card
mini SD adaptor
mini SD reader
Superkey/Passcard
Software program

As for names, that's basically what you need.

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Wow, if that's the case, the G6 Lite is fucking small. My 1GB mini SD card can fit roughly around 35 DS titles on it, depending on their size. The largest I've come across was 91 mb, and what a waste of a download that was.

It's rare that you'll see a DS title over 50 mb.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Sir VG

34/510 or whatever we're on right now is a fairly good margin.

I was referring to zipped archives, and out of the 510, there isn't even 30. You could count the same game twice since it's released in english as well, but nobody's going to download a game in japanese if it's available in english.

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

What did they include both English and Japanese audio for the Japanese release or something?

I believe it has FMV video as well. Bleach DS is 90 mb and the opening is about five minutes of anime, complete with japanese screaming music.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

Really, what we all want is a regular sized DS cart that takes micro SD and has high if not total compatibility and interfaces with the micro SD for save data that doesn't require a passme since I guess that'd be built in or something. Am I right?

Or you could just buy the new Supercard Lite, and have a pass device in the DS slot.

My supercard sticks out, but they're apparently released one which fits the Lite perfectly. I don't think having a DS sized cartridge which also accepts mini/micro SD cards is even possible. Oh, and there still isn't a way to read a ___ SD/CF card adapter (such as supercard, G6, M3, etc) from the GBA slot without either flashing or using a pass device. It sucks, since you basically fork out for something you're only going to do once or twice.

You could just send me your DS and I'd flash it for free. Then all you need is a micro/mini SD + supercard/supercard lite.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well, my DS runs wifi and download play just fine.

I don't know what the other different adapters use but I really can't comment on them since I've never tried them before. There's also the option of unflashing your DS (or "unpatching" it) as well. This is quite handy since if you encounter a dead pixel or problem with your DS you can unflash and return it to whereever you purchased it from/Nintendo.

Then again, if you unflash your DS and don't have a passthrough device to flash it with again, you're screwed.

Most amazing jew boots

I don't know about multiplayer with unflashed DS units, but I've read up on the supercard forum and everything seems to work fine in regards to wifi. There hasn't been any complaints, just mainly rumours and idiots thinking that they've been caught.

Apparently you can reset your friend code as well, so it's not like there's a chance of being locked out of wifi or anything. Whatever, my goal here wasn't to become an absolute pirate, just to trial games and see what they're like.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I ordered my stuff from bamboogaming.com, an australian site.

It might be useful since you're in australia yourself. The last time I checked, they sold superkeys/passcards seperately.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

That's probably because it's the most expensive one available.

You might as well just stick to legit games if you're going to cough out that amount for an illegal tool.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Since you can barely speak english, I don't know how you're going to understand DS homebrew.

Hell, even the majority of gamingforce can't get their head around it. Just order from bamboogaming.com, they're reliable.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.