Nintendo DS(i) Dumping Guide
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Dumping Methods
ARM9-homebrew-enabled 3DS (Recommended)
Tools
- A Nintendo (New) {2/3}DS with a method to run "bare-metal" ARM9 software. Methods include having a custom firmware installed or using a DS flashcart with ntrboothax.
- GodMode9 (v1.9.3pre1 or later)
Dumping
- Run GodMode9
- Navigate into "GAMECART"
- Copy the .nds.enc file and the .txt file to the SD card.
DS + DS Slot-1 Flashcart + DS Slot-2 Flashcart
todo: can you send the software over download play instead of using a slot-1 flashcart?
Tools
- A Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite with a slot-1 flashcart
- A slot-2 flashcart compatible with your slot-1 flashcart.
- wooddumper
Dumping
- Run wooddumper
- Follow the on-screen instructions
DS + DS flashcart/homebrew-enabled 3/DS/i/Wii/U + WEP Wi-FI + PC/phone/tablet
Tools
- A Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite with a way to boot homebrew, for example:
- A flashcart (or similar unlicensed cart) that works with the console and can boot NDS homebrew
- A Wii (or Wii U) that can boot Wii homebrew or another 3/DS/i that can boot DS homebrew, to send homebrew over DS Download Play using Haxxstation
- A way to create an unsecured or WEP-secured Wi-Fi network (e.g. using a wireless router, or PC/tablet/smartphone hotspot software)
- A computer (PC/tablet/smartphone) connected to said network
- An FTP client on said computer (many operating systems, browsers and file managers have basic FTP support)
- The wooddumper homebrew
Dumping
- Setup your DS to connect to the Wi-Fi network using a DS game with Wi-Fi support (the DSOrganise homebrew may also work)
- Run wooddumper
- Follow the on-screen instructions
- Open the on-screen ip address in your FTP client
- Copy the .nds and .txt file to your computer.
Homebrew-enabled DSi/3DS DSi Mode
todo:
- GodMode9i should work with all carts
- What is the difference between the "DSi version of wooddumper" and the "3DS DSi Mode version of wooddumper"?
This does not work with DSi carts.
Tools
- A Nintendo DSi that can run homebrew / a 3DS that can run homebrew in its DSi Mode
- A copy of the wooddumper4hiya (or the wooddumper 3DS).
Dumping
- Run WoodDumper.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- You may need to restart your console after each dump due to the cartridge reader turning off once a game is ejected.
Gathering Dump Info
Only needed for new dumps
- Encrypted CRC32: Generated from the ROM file using GameHeader.
- Encrypted MD5: Ditto: Generated from the ROM file using GameHeader.
- Encrypted SHA-1: Ditto: Generated from the ROM file using GameHeader.
- Game title: Most obvious, is located everywhere. Please include subtitle if any.
- ROM Region: The region the disc originated from like USA, Japan or Europe
- ROM Revision: The revision found in the ROM data.
- ROM Serial: The four-character serial found in the ROM data.
- Languages/Language Select: Some games either show a language selection screen at startup or in the game options. Many games will boot with different languages depending on the active language selected in the BIOS. Booting the game with each language selected in the bios is necessary to identify the supported languages for these games. Note that it is possible to submit a game without checking the languages, but this then needs to be stated in your submission.
- Tip: Using an emulator like Desmume can speed up the language checking dramatically since you can switch the BIOS language in the emulator settings much faster than on a real DS.
- You can hold down the tab key to speed up emulation.
Needed for new dumps and redumps
- CRC32: Generated from the ROM file using HxD or OpenHashTab on windows, or by using crc32 in a terminal emulator for linux/mac.
- MD5: As above, or by using md5 in a terminal emulator for linux/mac.
- SHA-1: As above, or by using shasum -a 1 in a terminal emulator for linux/mac.
- SHA-256: As above, or by using shasum -a 256 in a terminal emulator for linux/mac.
- Size: The size of the ROM in bytes.
- Cart Serial: It is located on the label on the front of the cart the form of "XXX-XXXX-XXX" (where X is a letter or number), also it may have a number (Like -1 or -2) appended.
- Additional Cart Serial: The serial printed on the back of the cart. Example: A2DPN0J08.
- Box Barcode: The number on the case displayed beneath the vertical lines, see Barcode.
- Box Serials: The serial on the case. Example: NTR P A2DP, NTR-A2DP-UKV
- PCB serial(s): The string of characters displayed on the part of the board inside the cart that is visible from outside the cart. Use "▼" for the triangle character and one space character for each empty "slot". Use "•" for the small circle characters that are sometimes used.
- Chip(s) serial(s) (optional): The codes on the ROM chip inside the cart. You would need to break open the cart to see these.
- Scans: The following scans (or photos) would be good to have: Front and back of the following items - box, cart and PCB. For Nintendo DS a photo of the top of the cart would also be useful.
- Cart ID: This is an eight digit hex number that your dumping tool should display and/or log. This may be shortened to four digits by the tool and a prefix of "NTR" may be added. Make sure to add the extra zeroes to the front of the number and remove the NTR prefix. In GodMode9 you can find it in the .txt file.
- Save Chip ID: In GodMode9 you can find this in the .txt file.
Submitting Dump Info
Register on the forum (if you aren't already registered) and once your account has been activated, post the info in the "New Dumps & Redumps" sub-forum. Or if this is a one-off submission, you can use one of the other contact methods listed on the main page.
Or if you have a login for it, you can submit the dump info directly to the DAT-o-MATIC database.
Note: DAT-o-MATIC supports importing XMLs in this format directly: https://datomatic.no-intro.org/stuff/example_upload_custom.xml, although there isn't a proper specification (or tool to generate this format from folder(s)/file(s)) yet