OK, i know there is probably a million other guides for this, but i wanted to do my own.
First things first, get a DS. Trust me, DS Lite is much better. So never get a DS Phat as they are now affectionately called. But I don’t think they sell them anymore anyways
Now for the flash cart. I currently only own an R4. And 5 other mates of mine. So you know your safe with them.
My recommendations are: R4DS, or M3 simply. (The same product, just different firmware and branding
Although I would get the R4, because there is more frequent updates for the R4)
Also, had i known about the CycloDS, I would of purchased that instead. I have heard many good things about it, and it has two (that i know of) advantages over the R4: Connection to the Wii, and improved game compatibility.
And also SDHC, meaning the storage can go up to 8GB, instead of the R4’s 2GB. It hasn’t really bothered me though, you can just swap games whenever you feel like it.
Although I have heard the R4DS is slightly easier to use. Whatever one you decide on, both are great choices.
Where to get the R4:
Well for all you non Australian readers,Im sorry I can’t help you there, Although a quick google search for recommended R4 dealers should return good results.
For the Aussies in our midst, I, and my mates have brought 7 R4’s (And one EZ-Flash, more on that later) from www.gamerswonder.com
Excellent service, very fast delivery (Literally the next day by express post option)
If anyone needs any assistance with this further, contact me or leave a comment. Ill do my best.
(Edit:GamersWonder looks like its out of stock for a while. Try ozmodchips, I have heard good things about them)
Once you have your R4 and basked in its glory for a while (Well, maybe it’s just me) you probably just want to play some homebrew.
***Note***
The R4 can play commercial rom images, or rom backups.
But I will not cover this in my blog. That is what google is for,
although i do not endorse this
***Note***
Using the R4 (Or most other Slot-1 Devices)
Most of the instructions here, could also be used on other slot-1 devices
By the way, you will need a microSD card. These can be brought at any digital camera shop, phone shop, or other shop that sells SD cards. You may also find one in your camera, phone or other portable device.
The R4 comes with a microSD card reader, so just plug the microSD card into the reader, and
the reader into the computer. It should come up as a portable flash drive in My Computer. (Or (Li)(U)nix equal)
Now most flash carts will need some sort of OS files installed onto the microSD. With the R4, it comes with the CD inside the R4 box. But i highly recommend to go to r4ds.com and download the newest one.
(R4 specific instructions below)
Now once you have the firmware, extract _system_,moonshl, _DS_MSHL.NDS and _DS_MENU.DAT to the root of the card. (Just the first folder)
Now the R4 can go into the DS, and work! Try it if you want.
But you will probably want some games. Make some sort of folder structure on the microSD card.(E.g. E:!Homebrew on mine)
Note: An exclamation mark brings the folder or file brings it to the very top of the R4 menu
For this first time, we will install DSOrganize, a program that contains IRC, web browser, note editor, mp3 player and so on. Go to the DSOrganise page and download it. Once its finished downloading, extract the DSOrganise folder to the root of the card, or to Rootdata. Your choice
And then of course, put the nds file wherever you want.
Now safely remove the device from the computer (Right click card reader in My Computer, and click Eject)
And put it into the R4 Card. Now load the DS up, and select the first option by pressing A.
Now use the arrow keys and the A button to locate the DSOrganise.nds file. Open it by pressing A.
It will come up with three options. For homebrew games, the left or right one will do. But if you press ignore, this message will show each time. So i usually press create. Now its running!
Do whatever you want now, i’m not going to go into details with each application I present, way too long.
Now in the future, you know how to install a NDS rom. Except with most games you won’t have to copy a folder. Just the .nds file. Okay i think that about covers it
Any queries, just comment, and ill do my best to help you out.
