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R4 Cartridge for Nintendo DS
The R4 cartridge for Nintendo DS is a flash cartridge, which acts like a hard drive for the Nintendo DS. Just like a hard drive on a computer, it can be used for piracy or for regular work. You can write pirated games to the flash cartridge (if you download NDS ROM images from the internet), or you can use the flash cartridge for other purposes, such as downloading open NDS ROM images or simply uploading your own program. In other words, you can use the flash cartridge as a development tool.
Additionally, in the case of Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL, the R4 cartridge allows you to avoid hacking them.
But remember, all responsibility for these actions lies with you!
There are countless versions of this cartridge circulating online, and most of them are fake. This guide is written specifically for the version linked in the "Where to Buy?" section.
There are three types of cartridges available at the link:
But they are completely identical! And the software for them is also identical!
Where to Buy R4 for Nintendo DS
What Else Do We Need to Buy?
The R4 cartridge comes with a card reader out of the box. However, for normal use with the Nintendo DS, you will need to purchase a memory card:
Micro SD Memory Card. This can be a Micro SDHC card (up to 128 GB).
The memory card must be purchased separately. Once you have the cartridge, memory card, and card reader, you can proceed.
Preparation
To get the R4 cartridge working, you need to download the firmware.
The firmware can be downloaded from this page: http://www.r4isdhc.com/2014-r4isdhc-dual-core/
The R4 website is no longer working, so I have moved the link here: R4i-V4.0b English.zip.
You can choose the language version of the kernel you need. We chose English.
Note that there are "supposedly" 5 versions of the firmware to choose from, but all the files are the same. Download any of them.
The file R4-V4.0b English will start downloading.
Inside this archive, there are 3 folders: moonmemo, moonshl2, and R4Menu.
1 file: R4.dat
You just need to copy these to the root of the memory card.
How to Write Games and Applications to the Cartridge?
It's very simple. You just need to copy the NDS game or application file from your computer to the memory card (or to a folder on the memory card).
How to Use the R4 Cartridge?
After inserting the cartridge and opening it (the cartridge appears as a game in the console, for example, in my case, it's Bomberman), a menu with three buttons will appear:
Your menu might look different due to skins. They can be switched in the settings.
Game – menu for launching games and their settings.
Multimedia – menu for launching multimedia files (books, movies, music).
Config – cartridge settings.
Let's start with the Game menu.
How to Launch Games?
R.After pressing the Game button, the following menu will appear:
The top screen shows the game settings menu. It sounds a bit strange, but we'll explain everything now.
The bottom screen shows the list of games. All your applications and games are listed here, regardless of which folder they are in.
Bottom Screen.
This is where you launch games.
There aren't many options on this screen:
If you select a game and press A, it will launch.
If you press Start, a help menu will appear:
This menu explains that if you encounter error 81 or 83, you need to download the Panasonic SD Formatter program and format the card.
Below is a description of the icons under the game name in the previous menu.
If you press Select, a sorting menu will appear:
On the left, you can choose to sort by name, size, creation date, or modification date.
On the right, you can choose ascending or descending order, then press the Save button.
Top Screen.
X button to go up and the B button to go down.When you enter the Game menu, the top icon (in the upper right corner) will be selected by default. In my case, it's the controller icon:
This is just information about the game ROM.
The next tab is cheats.
It's very simple.
Save Menu.
This is where save management happens.
Backup and Adj Size buttons will only appear after you make a save.There are two buttons on the left:
Backup – create a backup of the save. Select a slot from 1 to 5 and press Backup. This will create a copy of your game save in that slot.
Load – load a backup save. Simply select one of the 5 slots and press Load. This will overwrite the current game save with the backup save.
On the right:
RTS – Real Time Save menu.
If you select this menu:
On the right, there is 1 slot for real-time saves.
Add RTS – adds additional save slots. You can have up to 4 save slots instead of the default 1.
Hidden Off – select a slot on the right and press this button. It will prevent you from overwriting that slot, effectively locking it.
Back – go back.
Adj. size – increase the save file size. This is likely needed for homebrew games or if the save size wasn't detected correctly.
Finally, the ROM menu – game settings.
All settings in this menu can be either turned ON or OFF. After changing the settings, press the Save button.
RTS – Real Time Save. This allows you to save the game at any moment, not just at the points determined by the developer.
DMA – Direct Memory Access. This function speeds up game loading but may cause errors. If you encounter errors when launching a game, simply turn this function off.
SoftReset – exit the game and return to the menu.
How to Exit the Game?
To exit the game, press the buttons L + R + X +
Y + A + B. If RTS is not activated, the game will close immediately. If RTS is activated, a menu will appear where you need to select RETURN TO MENU.
How to Save in the Game?
Like any other cartridges, the R4 cartridge can save like a regular cartridge and in RTS mode.
1. Real Time Save.
You can save at any time and in any place. Press L + R +
X + Y + A + B, and a menu will appear asking if you want to save the game.
SAVE A – save to slot A.
SAVE B – not active, this is the Hidden Off setting.
And so on.
To load, select LOAD A or another slot.
2. Normal Save.
Normal saves are made in the same way as if you were using a regular licensed cartridge.
Saves on the R4 cartridge are made automatically. To save, wait until you reach a checkpoint in the game (where the game automatically saves) or a save point, or press the save button yourself (if the game supports saving) and wait five seconds.
Cartridge Settings
If you select the Config tab in the main menu, you will enter the cartridge settings.
The Config button opens the cartridge settings.
Upgrade – opens the upgrade menu. You need to download the upgrade file to the memory card.
Skin – menu for customizing the skin (menu design).
Power On – turns off the console.
Back – go back.
Config.
