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DS Flash Equipment > Flashing a DSLite by unconventional means...

#122447 - SuperSonik - Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:50 pm

I recently purchased a DSlite, and my M3Simply is coming in the mail. I have an old M3 CF from my DSPhat, and I wanted to know,

Can I flash a DSlite with Flashme V7 with the M3Simply in Slot1 and M3CF in slot2? How?
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#122453 - Sektor - Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:42 pm

You should be able to run flashme.nds from the M3 Simply (if you have a microSD card with flashme.nds on it). You won't need the M3CF plugged in.
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Last edited by Sektor on Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:24 pm; edited 1 time in total

#122455 - tepples - Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:52 pm

But you'll still need the M3 CF if you lose power while running FlashMe. As I understand it, the failsafe code needs a SLOT-2 card.
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#122476 - SuperSonik - Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:38 pm

So I just put flashme.nds on the M3 Simply AND on the M3CF? And then from which boot menu do I select it?

Any negatives to flashing your DSlite nowadays? Volume drop, backlight etc?
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You mess with the best, you die with the rest.

Jesus said to John "Come forth and I will grant you eternal life." John came fifth and won a toaster.

#122482 - tepples - Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:59 pm

SuperSonik wrote:
So I just put flashme.nds on the M3 Simply AND on the M3CF? And then from which boot menu do I select it?

You put it on the M3 DS Simply. If it fails, then you put it on the M3 CF.
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-- Where is he?
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#122510 - dantheman - Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:30 pm

Tepples mentioned the only real drawback, that is, the possibility of bricking it since DSLites have a tendency to turn off in the middle of the flashing process. Some have suggested using something with resistance like pencil lead, while others suggest insulating everything but the very tip of the flashing tool (Tepples recommends taping the ends of two straightened paperclips together). Some have reported that if you maintain contact throughout the whole process, you will not lose power. Another factor may be the presence of the power cord, as some say that you have to have the power cord in or it will definitely shut off at some point.

Regardless, as long as you got some of the flashing process done before it turns off, you can recover it with the failsafe booting mode that FlashMe provides. I've heard various estimates for the amount you need to have written, from as high as 10% to as low as 1-2%. Of course, the goal is to flash it all in one go, but it's reassuring to know that you can recover it if something goes wrong.

Also, if you have both your M3 Simply and M3 CF in your DS, you'll need to hold Select in order to boot to the M3 Simply. I think somewhere around here is a patch for FlashMe that removes the PASS bootcode checking, so it will boot from slot-1 by default, booting from slot-2 if you hold ABXY.

#122531 - Lynx - Tue Mar 20, 2007 12:11 am

But, is it really known if the DS-Lites are shipping with fully secure firmware? I mean, the only real benefit of FlashMe to a DS-Lite owner with a Slot-1 solution would be the RSA Check removal if they ever planned on downloading DS homebrew from a computer.

I've been a FlashMe fan from the beginning because of the recovery code. But, if we can pretty much safely say "ALL DS-Lites" have fully secured firmware, then DS-Lite owners don't really need to install FlashMe, as they are not at risk of having the firmware overwritten. But, if there is ANY DOUBT of even the first DS-Lite not having fully secured firmware, then nobody can be sure that their DS-Lite has fully secured firmware (asside from testing or opening the DS), as there is no way to know that the DS-Lite you purchased hasn't been sitting in a warehouse someplace since the first batch.

So, do we really know for sure about DS-Lites having fully secured firmware?

As for the flashing tool, that is also hard to say. I'm almost positive the initial DS-Lites were shutting off due to a short of some kind. But later, it was found that the firmware chip had changed (please correct me if this is wrong) and that the new firmware chip prefered a flash tool with resistance over a dead short. This indicated that not only did you need to insulate the tool, but it required resistance as well. What that correct information, or a bleed over to the tool needing to be insulated?
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#122535 - Lick - Tue Mar 20, 2007 12:57 am

My European DS Lite, pretty old, has at least > 64 KB of secured flash. How much exactly, I don't know. But in my case, I don't have a Slot-1 device, and bringing Superkey around isn't really optimal.
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#122537 - SuperSonik - Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:50 am

I really just wanted to remove the Health and Warning Screen, and play Nifi games with other people who have DSlites. And if they don't, i could just pop in my M3 simply and flash them....hehe....without anything fancy going on, so I could give them fresh brew.

So it's like this for DS lites and M3 Simply(please correct if anything is wrong, this is 130 bucks and i dont want to end up with a paperweight)
1. Put flashme.nds (v7) on the microSD card
2. Put microSD card in M3 Simply
3. Put Simply into slot 1
4. Plug in the DS, open battery cover
5. Find SL1
6. Turn on DS, choose flashme
7. While it is running, short SL1 with resistor(what value?) or 2 taped together straightened clips.
8. ????
9. Profit.

The last two are a joke, of course. But that's about it, right?
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You mess with the best, you die with the rest.

Jesus said to John "Come forth and I will grant you eternal life." John came fifth and won a toaster.

#122538 - Lick - Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:08 am

Use the paperclips, and make sure you poke the right hole. It looks like this: ( | ) and NOT like this ( x )
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#122552 - tepples - Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:41 am

With the DS's underside facing up, and SLOT-2 facing you, it's the left hole, the one closest to SLOT-2.
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#122575 - Anga - Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:48 am

Lick wrote:
Use the paperclips, and make sure you poke the right hole. It looks like this: ( | ) and NOT like this ( x )


[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]
Your DS is a fragile lady.


(Sorry guys, please don't kill me)
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#122770 - Lynx - Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:35 pm

Here's my tutorial with video if you need it.
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