R4ds Kernel

[Arridano Tillo]

Thisis the first of a new set of tutorials on developing homebrew applications for the Nintendo DS. I'm leaving my old tutorials up, even though they are out of date, as they still have good relevant information. Eventually they'll be superceded by these new ones.

For the new tutorials I'm concentrating on using the newer hardware options available for running Homebrew instead of the older WifiME tricks. I'm using the Revolution for DS (R4DS) card which allows running homebrew applications on any of the old and new DS systems.

To run self developed code on the DS you need to be able to somehowtransfer the executable to the device. As mentioned above I'm using the R4DS. This is a card that slots into the standard DS game cartridge slot in the rear of the device. It has a slot to put a MicroSD card which is used to hold the applications.

The R4DS comes with a USB card reader that can be used to copy Nintendo DS applications onto it from the PC. This will work on any operating system (Mac OS X, Linux and Windows) and operates just like any other standard card reader or mass storage device.Setting up the R4DSThe MicroSD card that is used in the R4DS needs to have some files copied onto it containing the R4DS kernel software. This is the program that first runs when you turn on the DS with the R4DS and MicroSD card inserted. The latest kernel software should be downloaded from the R4DS download page. It is in .rar format so you'll need to open it with WinRAR or a similar tool for your operating system.

After you've copied the kernel files over, copy this hello_world.nds file into the root directory of the MicroSD card. Remove the card from the PC (using the safe hardware removal option to ensure all the data has been written to the card), place it in the R4DS, and insert the R4DS into the Nintendo DS.

Turning on the DS will now boot into the R4DS kernel program. Select the left hand icon (the Pacman one) on the bottom screen. This will show a list of available programs to run from the root directory of the MicroSD card. These are all the .nds files on the card.

Use the arrow keys to select the hello_world.nds file and press the A button to run it. For this example you don't need a SAV file (for saved games) so press X for ignore if you are asked. The hello_world program should now be running.

Using a device like the R4DS is much easier than the previous approach of dealing with WiFi transfers, copying to a GBA cartridge, etc. Now installing existing homebrew is as simple as copying the .nds file to the MicroSD card and putting it in the R4DS.

This page will attempt to provide a comprehensive guide to which firmware, kernel or system files you need to download for your flashcart.We prioritize updated operating systems over the official and unsupported ones. For example, we would rather direct users to Wood R4 rather than the original R4 system files which haven't been updated for years.

Green sticker R4i, with the website www.ndsill.net indicated there.English 1.45 firmware (linfox domain): [1]other language firmware also available under the R4i Ndsill www.ndsill.net linksOfficial firmware 1.42 available from original website.1.43 flasher (upgrade package) for 3DS and DSi 1.4.3 compatibility available there as well. WARNING: I have personally tried the flasher and it bricked my R4i. I'll try getting it to work, but assume that it will brick yours as well. So unless your card was pre-flashed to work on the 3DS, I don't recommend updating, yet. Kernels are fine though, it's the "upgrade package" (illto143.nds) that's not working for me.

EDIT::I can confirm this also happened to me and i am unable to get it back working (DO NOT UPDATE) I did hear that we can get it working if we use another R4 card but only from one website and i chose to buy another GENUINE card

R4i-SDHC RTS cards can support N3DS V6.3.0-12 perfectly(certain model only) please update your kernel to V1.85b. If your RTS cards cannot support firmware update for the moment, please be patient, the new patch will be released soon. [2018-09-04]

The R4 (also known as Revolution for DS) is an unlicensed flash cartridge for the Nintendo DS handheld system. It allows ROMs and homebrew to be booted on the Nintendo DS handheld system from a microSD card. This allows the user to run homebrew applications, to store multiple games and MP3 music files on a single memory card, and to play games that have been backed up by the user.

The R4 flashcard's original developer stopped production, however, due to the popularity of the original R4 there are many other Nintendo DS flashcards using the R4 name despite the lack of any connection to the original. Some of these cartridges can also store a 3DS boot image; a 3DS can in turn be made to boot from the cartridge by way of an undocumented button combination recognized by the system's bootloader. Since the 3DS's secure boot signature validation has been broken, this provides a useful means of installing custom firmware on a 3DS.[1]

Due to the popularity of the original R4 cartridge and subsequent continued popularity of other cards using the name, Nintendo DS flashcards using R4 in their names is still very common despite the original having long since stopped production. These flashcards, referred to as clones, commonly add words to their names to denote their features such as SDHC if it supports SDHC microSD cards, RTS if it has Real Time Save support, and DSi or 3DS often paired with changing R4 to R4i if it works on the Nintendo DSi or 3DS consoles. It is also very common for clone cartridges to include words such as Gold, Plus, Ultra, and Dual-Core which only serve to make the card sound impressive.

The R4i Gold 3DS Plus from r4ids.cn is notable for featuring a switch inside that cartridge that allows easily switching between being a normal Nintendo DS flashcard and a mode that allows it to be used for the ntrboot exploit for the Nintendo 3DS. This unique feature, combined with its high compatibility and support for RTS, made it a highly recommended card; however, its final production run was defective and unable to play Nintendo DS software.[2]

r4isdhc.com has produced many R4 clones, typically going by the names "R4iSDHC Gold", "R4iSDHC RTS Lite", and "R4iSDHC Dual-Core". Despite the different names all cards from this website are exactly the same internally,[3] only differing in the cartridge color and label. Cards branded r4isdhc.com are also labelled with a specific year and use a time bomb where the card refuses to load Nintendo DS ROMs after a certain date. This time bomb is only enforced by software, thus can be bypassed easily.[4]

Ace3DS+ carts use their own boards and are not clones of other carts, this cart often gets confused for the predecessor Ace3DS which was a DSTT clone.[5][6] The Ace3DS+ is infamous for being one of the most cloned carts with most modern clone R4 cards running Ace3DS+ based software. The most infamous carts to run Ace3DS+ based codes are the carts that include often pirated games which are currently being sold on online shops like eBay and Amazon.

In 2010, the company Playables Limited, importers of R4 flashcards, was ruled against by the London High Court. The ruling outlawed any sales, importation, or advertising of the R4 flashcards. The defence of Playables Limited claimed that the R4 flashcards were legal because it uses a homebrew application. However, bypassing Nintendo's security system is against the law in the United Kingdom. After the news broke, Nintendo released on a statement saying that they do support game developers that create their own applications legitimately. 100,000 copying devices including R4s were seized in 2009. Nintendo claimed that the cards were not only seized for the benefit of their own company, but the benefit for over 1400 video game companies that depend on the sales of their games.[7][8]

In 2009, the government of Japan outlawed the sales of the R4 flashcard.[11] In 2012, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry revealed that the importing of R4 cards, and similar devices, is now punishable by law.[12] In 2013, Nintendo won a court case against two R4 card distributors in Japan. The Tokyo district court ruled that the sellers of the R4 cards owed Nintendo and 49 other video game developers 95,625,000.[11]

In 2009, Nintendo started a lawsuit against a seller of flashcards,[14] which lasted three instances and ended only in 2017 with the sentence of the seller,[15] however the punishment is undisclosed. Curiously, in another trial held in 2016 Court of Catania declared flashcards legal since they have been exchanged for microSD-to-DScart adapters, citing the fact the R4 is not able to run any copyrighted code without a kernel, which is not sold with the flashcard, and the hardware-embedded protection breaking functionalities were considered legitimate to run unsigned code.[16]

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