I have decided to write a small guide on the Nintendo R4 Card,
The DS is a popular little hand held console with people of all ages, Even adults.
As many consoles are created so are the options to run homebrew applications and "backup" games. With the DS the creation
of the R4 card is what started it all off. The orig R4 DS card was created by the self named "Team R4" this came around in
the early months of 2007. The first R4 DS card looked similar to its following card the R4V2. They could be told apart by
the top of the original had a small groove to push lock a Micro SD card inside. This had a spring lock system to get the
card in and out.
The first R4 DS card was produced for around a year, The spring lock mechanism had problems which meant the SD card would
not go into the R4 card, Therefore the Team R4 created a new version the R4v2 Card. This was released in late 2007 and was
improved as it did not have the "problem" spring mechanism, It simply had a slot in the back where you could manualy slot
a Micro-SD card in. It was produced up until 2008 with various updates during that time. During this period other DS cards
became available these had many features, including support for the Micro-SDHC cards which meant cards up to 32gb were
able to be used. The R4v2 was limited to a 2GB capacity. There is a fair bit of history about the R4v2 Card but I dont
want to go to specific as it is quite vast and a little un-necessary for this guide.
Around April 2008 a rival factory produced the R4 SDHC card, this was produced due to the public demand for a equivilant
card that could accept larger capacity cards than the 2gb Micro SD cards. This version remains the more popular choice,
The R4v2 card tends not to be bought or offered for sale even though it was faster loading. This was down to the users
wanting larger capacity to play newer/larger games.
The R4i SDHC card was the first card that was compatible with the newer Nintendo DSi. This was produced in early 2009 with
the release of the DSi, When the nintendo DSi 1.4 firmware release it left the early R4i Cards useless, Some other
versions of DS cards were able to update themsleves where the R4i couldn't. Though this was a major setback it still
became the more popular choice by consumers once the "updated" release of the R4i came available.
Some images of different versions of the R4 Card, whilst there approximately 9 versions here are the main 4 so you may
able to identify which version you have.
The original R4
The R4v2
The R4-SDHC
The R4i-SDHC
The interesting bit you are looking for is next,
This section covers newer R4-SDHC as nearly all R4 cards sold after 2008 are clones of the originals, You can identify
them from the images above.
I cant be certain on your exact card but I have got the best images I could to make it easier.
One of the biggest errors people find is
The Loading screen freeze
A lot of people think that there is card is broken, But it normally is not, the most common reason for this error is the
wrong software/firmware,
Here are some steps to help resolve this issue.
1 Ensure you have got the right firmware for your R4 card. I WILL PROVIDE SOME LINKS AT END OF GUIDE
2 Make sure you hae put the firmware in the ROOT directory
Here are some pictures of what the files should be like on each SD card.
R4v2
R4v3
R4 SDHC
3 Ensure you havent over filled the SD Card, You need to ensure there is enough room for the SD card to
use as memory to carry out tasks.
4 Removing the SD card and just pushing it back into the R4 card and ensuring it feels right at home, A
firm push should be enough but DONT over do it.
4 If all else fails try re-formatting the SD card again using only FAT system files.
Some other websites I have looked at have mentioned that the build of the R4 card could be a little un-desirable,
sometimes the SD card may not be making full contact inside the R4 card. A little piece of cardboard on top could help.
Myself I wouldnt advise this as it may cause undesired effects. (Do so at your own risk)
Most of all failures are incorrect firmware, Due to the amount of R4 clones it is a little difficult to point anyone to
all the right Firware links.
One useful bit of info I found was that the clones is the front of the packaging could have a website address that will
link you to the right firmware for that specific card. It may appear like this
Whilst a lot of places/people/websites do say to avoid the clones, I have one and it works well. I cant fault it even if
it is in its early stages.
Here is a list of known reputable places to buy cards.
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4isdhc.com
Produces: R4i SDHC (Original), R4 SDHC Upgrade (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4iii.com
Produces: R4v3 (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4sdhc.com
Produces: R4 SDHC (Original), R4i Beige (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4ultra.com
Produces: R4 Ultra (Clone), R4i Ultra (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4ids.com
Produces: R4i Gold (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4rts.cn
Produces: R4i White (Clone), R4i Black (Clone)
This is all I found that helped me from various sites and I have decided to use all the info to compile this guide, So I
did compile all the above info but thanks to PVG and r4dsrevolution websites for the info, Pics from Google images and
whilst belong to the owner are edited and saved to another source. If I didnt mention the correct people then thanks to
you too.
Installation Guide
1 Its best to start as you mean to go on, I recommend a low level format utility for your card as it can
be difficult to correctly format a SD card on a windows machine. HERE
is a useful low level utility tool which may work on your SD card. It might be worth visiting the SD card
manufacturers website to see if they do have their own utility. The link provides step by step instructions on the correct
procedures.
2 With the previous help as written above, Identify which clone or genuine R4 Card you have and then
download the CORRECT firmware, Once these files are downloaded extract them to the SD card as previous images and
instructions have guided you.
3 It may be worth creating a GAMES dir also to add any games that you have ready.
4 Put the SD card into the R4 card slot and give it a try Hopefully with this guide things should have
gone to plan.
Conclusion?
Well to be honest it seems that most issues are identifying firmware that is relevant to the R4 card you own/purchased,
with these instructions in mind and careful studying of your card it should be pain free and easy.
I dont think you can say much more really. I hope this helped someone though, Good luck and happy gaming!
The DS is a popular little hand held console with people of all ages, Even adults.
As many consoles are created so are the options to run homebrew applications and "backup" games. With the DS the creation
of the R4 card is what started it all off. The orig R4 DS card was created by the self named "Team R4" this came around in
the early months of 2007. The first R4 DS card looked similar to its following card the R4V2. They could be told apart by
the top of the original had a small groove to push lock a Micro SD card inside. This had a spring lock system to get the
card in and out.
The first R4 DS card was produced for around a year, The spring lock mechanism had problems which meant the SD card would
not go into the R4 card, Therefore the Team R4 created a new version the R4v2 Card. This was released in late 2007 and was
improved as it did not have the "problem" spring mechanism, It simply had a slot in the back where you could manualy slot
a Micro-SD card in. It was produced up until 2008 with various updates during that time. During this period other DS cards
became available these had many features, including support for the Micro-SDHC cards which meant cards up to 32gb were
able to be used. The R4v2 was limited to a 2GB capacity. There is a fair bit of history about the R4v2 Card but I dont
want to go to specific as it is quite vast and a little un-necessary for this guide.
Around April 2008 a rival factory produced the R4 SDHC card, this was produced due to the public demand for a equivilant
card that could accept larger capacity cards than the 2gb Micro SD cards. This version remains the more popular choice,
The R4v2 card tends not to be bought or offered for sale even though it was faster loading. This was down to the users
wanting larger capacity to play newer/larger games.
The R4i SDHC card was the first card that was compatible with the newer Nintendo DSi. This was produced in early 2009 with
the release of the DSi, When the nintendo DSi 1.4 firmware release it left the early R4i Cards useless, Some other
versions of DS cards were able to update themsleves where the R4i couldn't. Though this was a major setback it still
became the more popular choice by consumers once the "updated" release of the R4i came available.
Some images of different versions of the R4 Card, whilst there approximately 9 versions here are the main 4 so you may
able to identify which version you have.
The original R4
The R4v2
The R4-SDHC
The R4i-SDHC
The interesting bit you are looking for is next,
This section covers newer R4-SDHC as nearly all R4 cards sold after 2008 are clones of the originals, You can identify
them from the images above.
I cant be certain on your exact card but I have got the best images I could to make it easier.
One of the biggest errors people find is
The Loading screen freeze
A lot of people think that there is card is broken, But it normally is not, the most common reason for this error is the
wrong software/firmware,
Here are some steps to help resolve this issue.
1 Ensure you have got the right firmware for your R4 card. I WILL PROVIDE SOME LINKS AT END OF GUIDE
2 Make sure you hae put the firmware in the ROOT directory
Here are some pictures of what the files should be like on each SD card.
R4v2
R4v3
R4 SDHC
3 Ensure you havent over filled the SD Card, You need to ensure there is enough room for the SD card to
use as memory to carry out tasks.
4 Removing the SD card and just pushing it back into the R4 card and ensuring it feels right at home, A
firm push should be enough but DONT over do it.
4 If all else fails try re-formatting the SD card again using only FAT system files.
Some other websites I have looked at have mentioned that the build of the R4 card could be a little un-desirable,
sometimes the SD card may not be making full contact inside the R4 card. A little piece of cardboard on top could help.
Myself I wouldnt advise this as it may cause undesired effects. (Do so at your own risk)
Most of all failures are incorrect firmware, Due to the amount of R4 clones it is a little difficult to point anyone to
all the right Firware links.
One useful bit of info I found was that the clones is the front of the packaging could have a website address that will
link you to the right firmware for that specific card. It may appear like this
Whilst a lot of places/people/websites do say to avoid the clones, I have one and it works well. I cant fault it even if
it is in its early stages.
Here is a list of known reputable places to buy cards.
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4isdhc.com
Produces: R4i SDHC (Original), R4 SDHC Upgrade (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4iii.com
Produces: R4v3 (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4sdhc.com
Produces: R4 SDHC (Original), R4i Beige (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4ultra.com
Produces: R4 Ultra (Clone), R4i Ultra (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4ids.com
Produces: R4i Gold (Clone)
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.r4rts.cn
Produces: R4i White (Clone), R4i Black (Clone)
This is all I found that helped me from various sites and I have decided to use all the info to compile this guide, So I
did compile all the above info but thanks to PVG and r4dsrevolution websites for the info, Pics from Google images and
whilst belong to the owner are edited and saved to another source. If I didnt mention the correct people then thanks to
you too.
Installation Guide
1 Its best to start as you mean to go on, I recommend a low level format utility for your card as it can
be difficult to correctly format a SD card on a windows machine. HERE
is a useful low level utility tool which may work on your SD card. It might be worth visiting the SD card
manufacturers website to see if they do have their own utility. The link provides step by step instructions on the correct
procedures.
2 With the previous help as written above, Identify which clone or genuine R4 Card you have and then
download the CORRECT firmware, Once these files are downloaded extract them to the SD card as previous images and
instructions have guided you.
3 It may be worth creating a GAMES dir also to add any games that you have ready.
4 Put the SD card into the R4 card slot and give it a try Hopefully with this guide things should have
gone to plan.
Conclusion?
Well to be honest it seems that most issues are identifying firmware that is relevant to the R4 card you own/purchased,
with these instructions in mind and careful studying of your card it should be pain free and easy.
I dont think you can say much more really. I hope this helped someone though, Good luck and happy gaming!
