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NDSL R4 SDHC 2GB/4GB Loading Screen (**NO Email posting or banned**)
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Senior Member
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17. December 2008 @ 16:21 |
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Sorry Kingston are very reliable, however they seem to suffer the most from being incorrectly formatted. Sandisk don't seem to suffer half as much from this problem. Try the formatter, if it works then just remember to always use it and not to use windows
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Skined
Newbie
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17. December 2008 @ 16:24 |
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Ok.. more travails....
After much screwing around, I finally got my 8GB SDHC card at least booting in my R4 SDHC.... However, now I can't get games to work if I load more that 4GB worth of games...
Here's the situation, I got a firmware that got past the loading screen using the 8GB SDHC. I started just loading a few roms... they all worked fine... Then I went crazy and filled the 8GB card with roms (leaving about 300MB free for saves and such)... The problem was, HALF the games showed up as "Untitled" instead of their name... and these ones would not run.
I was certain the ROMs were note corrupts. In fact, to confirm this I removed all the Games from the 8GB SDHC, and just loaded one ROM, specifically one that said "untitled" and did not boot earlier. When I loaded that rom alone, it worked find... My current theory is that my particular flavor of R4 SDHC (we all know there are different versions now) DOESN'T really support higher than 4GB SDHC cards; even though it was advertised to. If I load under 4GB of ROMS, the work fine, but as soon as I pass that level, all my ROMS become "Untitled" and don't boot, despite them being perfectly good...
Anyway, not sure if anyone is having this problem too.. but wanted to share in case anyone else runs into it.
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Senior Member
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17. December 2008 @ 16:30 |
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Don't know if this is relevant but the M3 card cannot cope with more than 128 roms in a folder, put them in a seperate one and it works fine.
Try putting the roms into several folders of 100 games or so, it could be an addressing issue, the card can only address 128 or 256 roms per folder
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Newbie
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17. December 2008 @ 17:42 |
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Which firmware did you use on the 8gb card Skined ? and did you need to do anything else to get it working
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Skined
Newbie
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17. December 2008 @ 18:11 |
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Skined
Newbie
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17. December 2008 @ 18:15 |
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I ended up using the version 1.21 firmware from this web site:
http://www.r4-new.com/
Surprisingly, the 1.50 firmware from the SAME site -- which I assume is the latest version for the same card -- gets stuck at a black screen after the loading screen.. So I don't use 1.5... the 1.21 from this site is the only one that works on my R4 SDHC and doesn't stick at "loading"
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Skined
Newbie
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17. December 2008 @ 18:19 |
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Kittymat,
I had the same thought and divided my roms into the root folder, Games, and Games2... it made no different for me... That said, I'm not sure I got each folder under 99 roms.. I just divided them up by eye... so it will be worth trying again ...
Ultimately, my R4 SDHC clones work, so I'm somewhat satisfied, and won't go postal if I can only use 4GB of space. However, it would be nice if I ultimately found a way to use my whole 8GB sdhc :)
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Skined
Newbie
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17. December 2008 @ 19:07 |
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I'm now a 100% certain their is a "size" limit to the SDHC cards my specific R4 SDHC (with 1.21 firmware from r4-new) will use. I reformatted my 8GB card using panasonic's sd formatter. I made five game directories:
Game1
Game2
Game3
Game4
Game5
I move no more that 49 ROMs into each directory until I close to filled the 8GB card. (I have previously confirmed these are good, working ROMs).
The ROMs in Game1 and Game2 all show up fine, and the ones I tested work. In Game3, about 1/4 of the ROMS showed up as "UNTITLED" and those ROMs didn't work (the properly titled ones did). Finally, ALL of the ROMs in Game4 and Game5 were "UNTITLED" and didn't work. Since I copied the roms to these folders sequencially, it seems to me that once I get to a certain point in the 8GB cards memory, the R4 device can no longer properly access it... not sure if this is a limitation in my firmware (1.21), a limitation in my particular clone of the R4 SDHC, or perhaps a semi-defective card (why would it work at all though)...
So just a warning, while not all R4 SDHC's were created equal, do know some of them may not really support > 4GB SDHC....
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Ownage248
Newbie
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18. December 2008 @ 11:37 |
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alright to today it was all fine then suddenly i switched of the ds tried to start it up and it came to the loading screen. Once i put it inside the computer it says the usb was empty
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missyp
Newbie
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18. December 2008 @ 17:46 |
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Hi all
Brownale - I'm in the same predicament as you, an r4sdhc brought from kilckstore and a Sandisk HC 4gb card. Seem to have tried all the versions of software I can lay my hands on, tried the 'putting some card between the sd and the R4' trick and used the panasonic sd formatter software too with no avail. I'm not far from tossing the damn thing in the fire.
Anyones help would be much appreciated
H x
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ht24
Newbie
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18. December 2008 @ 18:00 |
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Hi everyone,
I am really new to this I bought 2 R4 cards from www.memorybits.co.uk
It says on the box : NDSL R4 Revolution 3 for DS (NDSL/NDS) then it says SDHC Micro SD USB 2.0 and a website http://www.ndslr4.com
I also bought 2 4bg memory cards SanDisk MicroSDHC cards
I downloaded the files (tried a few versions) but my screen keeps getting stuck at the Loading page. I have tried to re-format my memory card but it will not do it. Downloaded the panasonic one and still not working.
Can you tell me if everything I have is compatible with each other and the ds. Also I am desperately trying to get this working for my 2 kids for their xmas.
Any help (bearing in mind I have never done most of this before and would need to be literally step by step) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, hope to hear from someone soon.....
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rippedjoe
Newbie
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19. December 2008 @ 06:31 |
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I feel for everyone. I am having the same problem. I got so frusterated last night that my wife asked if she could help me and try to fix my card. I have a newley purchased R4 card I do not know how to tell if it supports SDHC. I have a 4gb Kingston.....Question here is are all 4gb Kingston SDHC? Might seem like a noob question but I just dont know. I will try everything that everone has said and I will see what works for me if anything. I have already ordered a 2gb and will be here on Tuesday so I hope I just can get either one to work (dare I say it....maybe both) I will repost and let you know what happends thanks for all the hlep and all the posts
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rippedjoe
Newbie
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19. December 2008 @ 06:41 |
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Ok Im back already. I looked on the website that I purchased the R4 from and if I would of payed an extra 4 dollars I would of been able to get the R4 that supports SDHC. So I guess I am going to wait until my 2gb gets here and see if I can get that one to work. Does this seem about right to everyone?
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clarebart
Newbie
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19. December 2008 @ 15:19 |
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Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed. I was ready to throw it all in the bin. I have managed to progress from the blank loading screen after downloading the new firmware 1.25. Do I create the GAMES folder just on the H directly or should it be a sub folder of something else?
It comes up with options, games, multimedia etc. but says it cannot load the games - something about moonshl problem - the message comes up so quickly that i struggle to see it. Anyway, decided to reformat the disk with panasonic - am currently doing, so just need to know where to put the file GAMES and see if that makes any difference. Anyone else experienced this??
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weponx
Newbie
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19. December 2008 @ 16:15 |
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the file Games (cap G and all small is how i wrote it)
goes in the main directory along with all of the other files you've just downloaded.
so you'd have something like:
_DS_MENU (dat file)
_DS_MENU (config settings)
_DS_MSHL (nds file)
_SYSTEM_ (folder)
MOONSHL (folder)
Games (folder) >>insert games here<<
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Ownage248
Newbie
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20. December 2008 @ 07:39 |
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alright this is what you have to do:
If you own an r4sdhc go to thewebsite of theirs or find another way to download a kernel firmwire or wateva you wanna call it. Before you download this download winRAR by googling it then downloading once you have this download the V1.22. if it asks you to open or save click save and put on your usb folder with the sd card chip in the back of it. Once this is finished downloading open the file(if your english the file will be called english) open it and copy the files and not the folder which is at the top on this page: Highlight the programs which will be like ds_meu and Ds_moonshl. Click extract and send them to ur usb next to your english folder. Once this is done make a new folder inside your usb call that folder games. You then go to the website where you download your games e.g romulation.com sign up. Next you click downloads at the top of the website then click ds then the name of the game you want if your european do the games with (e) next to it or (u) of american and so on when it asks you to open or save the game you click open. Once this game download finishs it wil come to the same place where you were extracting the previous files from. Extarct these pregrams and put on your usb. That is how you add games hope this helps i will answer question or you can ask puggwash.
P.s. im not trying to steal the light from puggwash
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jennTC
Newbie
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20. December 2008 @ 07:46 |
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Originally posted by jennTC:
Help please,
I bought a R4 last year and it worked fine, then we lost it, so I have bought another two for kids at Christmas.
Did everything that has been mentioned on here to format them and load all the correct firm ware.
One of them doesn't work aaaaarrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh ( I really am ready to chuck the thing out and disappoint on of the kids!)
I think it must be the actual R4 as the card works fine in the other card ( which does work)
I hope this makes sense, it does in my head.
I have also tried the small bit of cardboard in the back and no joy with that either!
Jenn
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jennTC
Newbie
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20. December 2008 @ 07:55 |
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Sorry new to this message boards palava, so please bar with me. posted quote above by mistake!!
Anyway, I have eventually managed to get both R4s working,downloaded the firmware, created the floder for the games, then I discovered that one card worked in both DS's but one card didn't work in the older ds lite! it was something as simple as swapping the 2gb cards round into different R4 cards!
Hope this helps anyone that has the same problem that I had.
Both cards working fine now.
Thanks for all the advice
Jenn
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clarebart
Newbie
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20. December 2008 @ 08:43 |
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The message I get is that it asks if the moonshl has been moved or deleted - anybody know about this? On the memory card is the following files:
DS_MSHL.NDS
DS_MENU.SYS
DS_MENU.INI
DS_MENU.DAT
Folders: moonshl
Games
_system
Has anyone else come across this?
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Skined
Newbie
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20. December 2008 @ 15:01 |
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R4 SDHC Info Dump
Since there are still ppl having issues, and X-mas is coming up, I figured I will make one big R4 SDHC post sharing all the information I know about to get these cards past the "Loading" screen. Here it goes:
The first, and biggest problem you will have is finding WHICH "R4 SDHC" card you have. These R4 SDHC, which are clones of the R4 card, actually have many clones themselves; meaning there are many R4 SDHC cards that look very similar, even identical, but use different firmwares completely. Unfortunately, if you buy from a third party source, they may not be helpful in pointing you to the right firmware for your card (For instance, I purchased from Divineo. Their website had a link to a R4 SDHC vendor site, but it was not the right one to ultimately get my card working).
Below is a list of web sites that sell possible R4 SDHC variants:
h**p://www.ndslr4.com/
h**p://www.r4r4ds.com/
h**p://www.r4sdhc.com/
h**p://www.r4new.com/
h**p://www.r4ds-a.com/
h**p://www.r4deluxe.com/en/
h**p://www.r4dsl.net/index-en.asp
h**p://www.r4dspro.com/function_en.html
h**p://r4iids.com/indexe.asp
Unfortunately, if you don't specifically know the exact original vendor for the R4 SDHC card you have, you may have to try firmwares from all these sites to hopefully eventually stumble onto the one that works for you. It is a pain in the butt, but until these clones do a better job of distinguishing themselves from one another, it's a necessity. (BTW: The one that ultimately worked for me was from h**p://www.r4new.com. However, since these clones could be different, it may not work for you). Also you can find many of these R4 SDHC card firmwares archived at this site:
http://www.linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds/
All the cards under R4 SDHC are potential firmwares for you, even though they don't label them as "R4 SDHC". It's the R4 New, one that worked for me.
The second problem with the R4 SDHC's (that I've experienced) is potential build quality issues. This issue may not affect everyone, but if it affects you, it could make finding the right firmware A LOT more difficult. I originally bought two of the same R4 SDHC cards. I began testing with only one of my cards and I could NOT find a firmware that would get past "Loading" even after testing at least twenty. Eventually, I started trying my other R4 with the same firmwares, and I finally found one that would boot it. Once I found a firmware that booted one of my cards, I realized I must be having a hardware issue with the other card. I loaded the firmware I KNEW worked, and started fiddling with how the actual micro SDHC fit into the R4 SDHC card. I found that if I seated it just right, and maybe slipped a thin piece of material (In my case, thin cardboard from a Xmas card) in between the R4 SDHC and the micro SDHC, then I could seat the micro SDHC tight enough that it would work.
The big problem is, if I hadn't had TWO R4 SDHC cards to use, this would have been a very hard problem to trouble shoot. If you have a R4 SDHC that isn't seating the micro SDHC card right, it will be very difficult for you to know if you are stuck on the "Loading" screen because you have the wrong firmware, or because you have a fine firmware but the micro SDHC isn't seated correctly (because the R4 cards have build issues). Both of those cases -- wrong firmware or badly seated micro SDHC -- will result in the endless "Loading" screen... so you just have to keep trying.
I know how much of a pain in the butt this is, but I guess that's why most forums recommend their users AWAY from these R4 clone cards. Though they seem to work fine once you get thier issue's ironed out, it's a pain to get to that point. So my advice to those struggling with finding the right firmware is patience. Download every firmware from those sites above (maybe even the older versions of those sites too). Then, methodically check each firmware many times. First, just pop in the micro SDHC and try the firmware. If it doesn't work immediately, that doesn't mean you test is over, next try to re-seat the micro SDHC card a few times just to make sure it's seated right. Finally, if that one firmware doesn't work, try to find a material that's about the same thickness as the micro SDHC card, and work it in between the micro SDHC card and the R4 cart, to try to make the micro SDHC get better contact with the little copper element that are hidden inside the R4 cart. Once you've done these multiple tests on ONE firmware, then it's time to move on to another and try the same tests again.
Trust me, I know this is a lot of work, and a very painful, frustrating process. I know this because I went through it and it SUCKED. However, there could be light at the end of the tunnel, in the end I did get BOTH my R4 SDHC cards working quite well. So I am finally prepared for Xmas, and the work will have been worth the result. So for those still struggling, don't give up hope.
Finally, I do have two other things to share. One is kinda a bummer, despite my recommendation you don't give up hope, there is still always a possibility you have a defective R4 SDHC cart. So if you've tried all the recommendation above, multiple times, with still no result, there is a point where you should give up and return the R4 cart. I don't know where this point is though... for a few hours I highly suspected that I had a defective car, but I ended up getting it to work.
Also, While I do now have both my R4 SDHC carts working PERFECTLY when I use 4GB micro SDHC's, they do NOT work with 8GB micro SDHC cards despite the marketing that says they do. The 8GB micro SDHC boots the R4 cart fine... However, the R4 cart can't seem to read anything past the 4GB mark... any ROMs that I have over that mark show up as "UNTITLED" and won't boot. Meanwhile, If I try the same ROM again on another micro SDHC card under the 4GB mark, it works fine. I suspect some of the R4 SDHC clones might handle 8GB and 32GB micro SDHC's fine, but mine doesn't. So if you do get your R4 SDHC cart working, but you use a extra-large, micro SDHC card, if you get "UNTITLED" ROMs, know it may be a limit of your R4 cart despite their claims.
Well that's it.. that's all I know. I hope that helps someone still struggling to get their R4's working for XMas. Unfortunately, if it doesn't help I don't really know what else to offer you. That's all I know. Good Luck! And hopefully, you'll all have a Merry X-mas (or whatever holiday you prefer).
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Newbie
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21. December 2008 @ 04:59 |
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Nice round up Skined, that should sort most people out. I've got to the point of trying all the firmwares and still no joy. I know the r4 works cos a mates sd card works with it, unfortunately he doesn't know where the firmware came from and a direct copy to my sd cards wont work either. I've already returned the r4 and sd card once and I was sent the same ones back in the same boxes still not working so I think I'll just have to take the hit this time :( Good luck to anyone else trying though and all the best
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atomic22
Newbie
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21. December 2008 @ 08:46 |
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brownale
if your mates sd card works in your r4 why dont you just swap sd cards with him?
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Senior Member
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21. December 2008 @ 10:34 |
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atomic22
Newbie
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22. December 2008 @ 14:41 |
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in our house we have 2 r4 cards, one a standard r4 card, and one a r4sdhc, both work superbly (with the correct firmware and microsd). however i also have a pair of 2 year old ultraflashpass ex cards and i have just developed a problem formatting one of them, can anyone help me with any info on problems with these ds cards please?
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Newbie
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22. December 2008 @ 15:02 |
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I've tried swapping the sd cards Atomic and mine wont work in his either. I know this points to the sd card but that works in my phone and camera no probs so I dont understand why it wont work in the r4, all the contacts are clean and the card shows no faults when plugged into the pc. I'm at a loose end. As for your ultraflash how are you formatting it ? using windows or while in the ds. Read a few peeps having problems after a windows format. Not sure how true that is as I've never owned one
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