So I just finished reading most of the stickied FAQ and I give props to mr_hanky & everyone else who make such nice guides for us newbies. Here's my story, I'm pretty new in the whole Nintendo DS scene, and well flashing the DS somehow seems more dangerous than downgrading a PSP. So my few questions are these.. 1. Does DS Lite have any sort of protection, such as new updates they come out, similar to PSP Firmware updates to prevent homebrew from working? (Which means, if I buy a NDS Lite right now, would I be okay?) *Unlike new PSPs that have the TA-082 motherboard and therefor any downgrading on these PSPs would result in a brick.* 2. I've been planning on getting the M3 Lite & Passcard 3 since they seem to have a pretty good reputation, they don't stick out at all correct? (I'm looking to put NDS Roms there so I don't have to take all my cartridges with me while on the go, so how is the game compability rate for the M3 Lite? I care about GBA compability, but not as much as the high compability rate of NDS Games.) 4. Would you guys recommend anything other than these two? The C6 Lite seemed like my other choice, but I'm hearing a lot more about the M3 now that it has its own "Lite" version. And finally, 5. What website would you recommend I get these two items from? Thanks in advance guys, Its just that the NDS is much more confusing than the PSP.
1: They have not released any updates, though in theory it is possible for them to. Some of the Phat DS's and all new DS lites were released with an updated firmware to stop homebrew, but it was bypassed very quickly. 2: No sticking out at all, is exactly the right size. 3: NDS game compatibilty is like 99% I know of three games that don't work, which are Ultimae Spiderman (no one can get it working properly) the Opera DS browser (it needs the RAM pack to work) and Lego Star Wars II (give it a day or two and it'll be working) 4: I wouldn't reccomend aything other than the M3 Lite, I currently have a (broken) G6 Lite, which I was using until the M3 Lite was released as it is just as good, the only thing holding it back is the inbuilt memory of the G6. 5: Any of the sites in my guide. I find the PSP more confussing than my DS, especially keeping up-to-date with Devhook etc. Once you have everything for th DS, it's easy to do everything (well with an M3 anyway)
addition to #4 Just a note that G6 Lite is manufactured by the same team behind the M3.. so compatibility and everything is the same. I would still recommend the M3 Lite over everything else, because its got the same qualities as the G6Lite but its memory is only limited to the size of the car you put in it
Well, no protection, i bought a brand new DS lite like 2 weeks ago, and works with the m3 and passcard 3. Also, I got the combo from divineo (listed in the stickied post).. yeah the shipping is high, but, the combo comes out to be about 15$ cheaper than most sites, so, after the shipping, the cost is about the same, and most of hte other sites tend to be sold out.
Thanks everyone for the helpful posts, so I'll definately be getting the Passcard 3 + M3 Lite, so just to make sure are these the exact two I need for the DS Lite? http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-m3lpass.html Hopefully you guys won't mind, but I have five last questions before I make my purchase. 1. Why exactly does it say "Movie player"? You're saying you can also watch movies M3 Lite with the DS once flashed, was this the main idea behind M3 at first? 2. So NDS Roms bare a 99% compability rate, band I know GBA-GBC games are compatible, but from what I hear emulators used to run NES/SNES games don't play at full speed so how's the speed on the GBA-GBC roms? 3. The NDS/Lite are region-free correct? So I can import a Jet Black UK/JPN DS Lite & Flash that one instead correct? 4. So I've been reading how the M3 Lite's RTC battery can't be recharged, so once its dead.. its dead. Unlike the C6 Lite that can be recharged. I'm just wondering, is the RTC battery used in many games? Even if it isn't, is it essential to have that battery to still save/play NDS games? 5. So right now, my buy list would be. M3 Lite Passcard 3 Nintendo DS Lite Jet Black Sandisk microSD 1GB. (Whats the biggest microSD the M3 Lite can read?) And thats all right? Thanks once again guys for being newbie-friendly and helping me out, somehow this seems easier than I thought.
It can play movies as well ,as long as they are encoded correctly. The m3 lite and passcard 3 I dont believe will stick out, but I dont know, I just bought hte m3 sd edition, since I had a barrage of SD cards around. Also, Any version of the m3 and passcard will work in a DS lite, however, its just a matter of how far they stick out. And no, the m3+passcard3 is the best combo out there, with the highest compatibility with DS and GBA games. Also, you dont have to flash the DS itself using the m3/passcard 3. The only thing you have to flash is to upgrade the firmware on the m3 itself.
Thanks for the quick reply on DraTs on the movie player thing. However, now this brought up a new question... isn't the Passcard 3 used to 'boot' just like a normal NDS Cart? I always thought that the Passcard 3 was used to flash the M3/C6/Others boot files & such so that the M3/C6 could now be read by the NDS and booted directly into the M3/C6 menu, and from there. Not needing the Passcard 3 anymore. In other words, do I NEED to keep my Passcard 3 everytime I want to boot up a NDS Rom? Because I see people selling their Passcards once they are finished 'flashing' their NDS.
yes you have to use your passcard 3 everytime you want to boot up a NDS Rom. but if you use the passcard 3 to get your ds flashed, you wont need it anymore
once you flash it, you no longer need the passcard3. the passcard3 allows you to run unsigned code from the GBA slot (just like replacing the firmware does).. so if you're weary of flashing your DS you don't have to if you keep your passcard3. For those who no longer want it, once the unsigned code is run to flash your DS, they can sell it
Awesome, so to my understanding. I don't 'need' to flash to be able to play NDS Rom / Watch Movies & such. I'll just need to that Passcard 3 everytime I want to do any of that right? And then theres the option where I can just flash it, and not need the passcard 3 again correct? Awesome, I'll most definately flash however. If it means that I can unbrick my psp for some moronic thing I could have done in the past, then its worthwhile.
no need to flash if you have a passcard 3 if you flash your ds you wont need the passcard 3 anymore yes you can unbrick your DS if you brick it and it has flashme installed
Thanks kcajblue! I get it completely now, except for one part, if I do flash my NDS Lite. Would I still be able to go back to the original menu? And would there be a way to un-flash the Flashme thing if I so desire? Didn't notice I said 'unbrick my psp' until now, its just that the psp has soo many things that if not done properly could render the psp useless.
yes you can go back to the original menu. just hold select when your M3 is in the gba slot. you cant unflash the ds lite atm. but probably later.
Thanks kcajblue for the helpful and fast reply. So my the only two questions that I still have are the ones I posted on my 2nd post. "4. So I've been reading how the M3 Lite's RTC battery can't be recharged, so once its dead.. its dead. Unlike the C6 Lite that can be recharged. I'm just wondering, is the RTC battery used in many games? Even if it isn't, is it essential to have that battery to still save/play NDS games, or does it just affect me whenever I power off my NDS Lite without saving in-game? I don't mind much the auto-save feature since I can just save in-game and be okay, right? 5. So right now, my buy list would be. M3 Lite Passcard 3 Nintendo DS Lite Jet Black ( I'll just wait for the american version ) Sandisk microSD 1GB. (Whats the biggest microSD the M3 Lite can read? And what brand of microSD would you recommend?) Is that all I need?
the battery is used for mainly Pokemon games that use the RTC, but also to store your gamesaves. The battery is a necessity to the M3 unless you plan to use Soft reset and backup your saves manually. The batter itself should last a few years.. if they do die you can replace them for like $3
Thanks, so if the battery does die woud I loose all my saves & roms? Or just saved games? Luckily the battery is cheap, but the quesiton is.. how hard would it be to replace it? I saw a tutorial on how to take apart the M3 and it seemed pretty tough, and seeing how I have almost no skill with soldering, it'd be a tough feat to accomplish correctly. http://www.m3wiki.com/index.php?title=Ranma13's_How_to_change_the_battery_in_your_M3 I'm still debating if I should get the C6 for that reason, the C6 Lite can recharge itself, while the M3 Lite once its dead I need to find a replacement battery for it. I'd happily do it if it didn't involve much danger. But then comes the fact that C6 Lite has a built in memory, I believe 512MB? While the M3 Lite can use bigger microSD cards. If only the M3 Lite had the function to recharge itself, this would all be a dream come true.
I think you mean G6 Lite As far as the battery dying.. lets say you're playing a game.. for example Super Mario 64 DS. Your battery is dead.. and you save in the game and shut off your game. The autosave will not save your new accomplishments because the battery didn't hold the save. But, your older save will be there and all your roms will be there - its just Autosave that counts on the battery being alive As far as the soldering job goes.. I'm sure you could find someone who would do it for you for maybe $5.. doesn't seem too hard at all
Ohhhhhh okay, Thanks. So this is why its essential to get a new battery. So pretty much if I don't get a new battery, I won't be able to save my progress anymore, but I'll still be able to use the older saves & play games normally, just not save correct? ( I saw on these forums some guy that had his battery die very fast, perhaps a month old. This is why I got a little paranoid if my battery were to die that fast too. ) I'm pretty much focusing on playing NDS Roms, but if GBA/GBC is supported, the better. So from the three most popular titles, which would you recommend? M3 Lite Supercard Lite G6 Lite Man, I'm soo paranoid about that battery, its the only thing that is keeping me from buying it. And I know its supposed to last a good one to three years, but I don't know.
you can still save, but you have to manually do it - you can't turn off your DS and expect it to save whenever you boot up next time
