NDS:N-Card: Difference between revisions

From ConsoleMods Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Added N-Card HK and TW domains.)
(Godmode9i - supports NRIO DLDI for mounting N-Cards.)
 
(6 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''N-Card''' was created by a Chinese company, DSGBA, which specialises in manufacturing DS and GBA flashcards. These cards come in a number of different capacities, 1GBit up to 16GBit of storage, and often use either Samsung or Hynix NAND flash chips. The card can be connected to a PC using the provided slot-2 adapter, so it can be used just like a USB flash drive. A number of clones were made by different companies, varying in features and better game compatibility; the '''DS Fire Link''', '''N-Card''', and the '''DS Linker''' were the most common.
DSGBA was a Chinese OEM distributor that specialized in producing DS and GBA flashcards. The DS cartridges were available in a variety of storage capacities, ranging from 1 GBit to 16 GBit, and often or not contained Samsung or Hynix NAND flash chips. Their first flashcart to hit the market was the DSFlash2. The cartridge was powered by an Actel ProASIC FPGA and used the same logic as a retail cartridge to bypass the DS's copy protection, unlike earlier methods of booting games such as the PassMe. Later variations to cut costs reduced it to a COB ASIC (chip-on-board ASIC). The card can be connected to a PC using the provided slot-2 adapter, so it can be used just like a USB flash drive while also having the ability to flash a new UDisk if the card is booted to a recovery mode.
 
DSGBA supplied their licensed carts to other distributors, varying in features and better game compatibility; the '''DS Fire Link''', '''N-Card''', and the '''DS Linker''' were the most common.
 
Sometime around 2007, DSGBA closed their public presence and transferred their remaining stock to EWin to continue distribution.


==Kernels==
==Kernels==
Line 22: Line 26:
[https://github.com/ApacheThunder/nrioTool nrioTool] - A tool for dumping the hidden SRL ROM sections, it can also be used to recover bricked carts.
[https://github.com/ApacheThunder/nrioTool nrioTool] - A tool for dumping the hidden SRL ROM sections, it can also be used to recover bricked carts.


[https://github.com/ApacheThunder/XuluMenu XuluMenu] - Custom uDisk firmware replacement for N-Card (original/clones).
[https://github.com/ApacheThunder/XuluMenu XuluMenu] - uDisk homebrew replacement for N-Card (original/clones).
 
[https://github.com/ApacheThunder/nrioSaveTester nrioSaveTester] - SRAM tester to check if the internal battery had died.
 
[https://github.com/asiekierka/nrio-usb-disk NRIO USB Disk] - Open-source utility for reading and writing to slot-1 N-Card/DS-Linker cards in conjunction with the slot-2 writer.
 
[https://github.com/DS-Homebrew/GodMode9i/actions/runs/11775006517 GodMode9i] - Multi-purpose file browser. Supports mounting original/clone N-Cards as a FAT disk.


==Websites==
==Websites==
Line 37: Line 47:


NeoFlash MK5: [http://www.neoflash.com www.neoflash.com]
NeoFlash MK5: [http://www.neoflash.com www.neoflash.com]
ExpressCard: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070322034944/http://www.xpcard.com.cn/vvs/index.php http://www.xpcard.com.cn]

Latest revision as of 20:44, 12 November 2024

DSGBA was a Chinese OEM distributor that specialized in producing DS and GBA flashcards. The DS cartridges were available in a variety of storage capacities, ranging from 1 GBit to 16 GBit, and often or not contained Samsung or Hynix NAND flash chips. Their first flashcart to hit the market was the DSFlash2. The cartridge was powered by an Actel ProASIC FPGA and used the same logic as a retail cartridge to bypass the DS's copy protection, unlike earlier methods of booting games such as the PassMe. Later variations to cut costs reduced it to a COB ASIC (chip-on-board ASIC). The card can be connected to a PC using the provided slot-2 adapter, so it can be used just like a USB flash drive while also having the ability to flash a new UDisk if the card is booted to a recovery mode.

DSGBA supplied their licensed carts to other distributors, varying in features and better game compatibility; the DS Fire Link, N-Card, and the DS Linker were the most common.

Sometime around 2007, DSGBA closed their public presence and transferred their remaining stock to EWin to continue distribution.

Kernels

All N-Card originals and clones use exactly the same hardware, so firmware from another card can be cross-flashed.


Ultra FlashPass EX: uDisk v1.45, xMenu v2.52

N-Card: uDisk v1.45, xMenu v2.55

DS Fire Link: uDisk v1.45, xMenu v2.55

DS Linker: uDisk v1.45, xMenu v2.55

Ultra N-Card: uDisk v1.23o

NeoFlash MK5: uDisk v1.45, xMenu v2.56

Utilities

nrioTool - A tool for dumping the hidden SRL ROM sections, it can also be used to recover bricked carts.

XuluMenu - uDisk homebrew replacement for N-Card (original/clones).

nrioSaveTester - SRAM tester to check if the internal battery had died.

NRIO USB Disk - Open-source utility for reading and writing to slot-1 N-Card/DS-Linker cards in conjunction with the slot-2 writer.

GodMode9i - Multi-purpose file browser. Supports mounting original/clone N-Cards as a FAT disk.

Websites

Ultra FlashPass EX: www.dsgba.com

N-Card: www.dsgba.com / www.superdslink.com / www.ncardhk.com / www.ncard.com.tw

DS Fire Link: www.dsfirelink.com / www.dsfirelink.nl / www.dsfirelink.net

DS Linker: www.dslinker.com / www.dslinker.cn

Ultra N-Card: www.ultracard.cn

NeoFlash MK5: www.neoflash.com

ExpressCard: http://www.xpcard.com.cn

Retrieved from "https://consolemods.org/wiki/index.php?title=NDS:N-Card&oldid=51804"