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The SuperCard DSTWO Beginner's Guide: How to Set Up the DSTWO and More
Your source for all the answers on this revolutionary flashcart
Latest Firmware:
DSTWO Firmware 1.25 (2013-12-11)
Latest EOS:
DSTWO EOS 1.14 (2015-07-22)
Latest EOS Patch:
DSTWO patch (2012-12-06)
Your source for all the answers on this revolutionary flashcart
Latest Firmware:
DSTWO Firmware 1.25 (2013-12-11)
Latest EOS:
DSTWO EOS 1.14 (2015-07-22)
Latest EOS Patch:
DSTWO patch (2012-12-06)
The SuperCard DSTWO is one of the best flashcarts available for the DS to date. It takes the great support of the SuperCard team and puts it in a 2nd generation flashcart (which means it has an imbedded CPU) that can do things no 1st generation flashcart can do. In short the DSTWO can do GBA emulation with only slot-1, video playback without conversion, better SNES emulation than other flashcarts, and whatever else the homebrew community makes for the DSTWO. The SuperCard DSTWO features a menu very similar to that of AKAIO, possessing the ability to do things like copy/cut/paste/delete. On top of all this it also has the handy real time menu. Real Time Saving and loading so you don't have to wait until you get to a checkpoint to save, Real Time Guides for those situations where you don't know what to do, Real Time Cheat to activate or deactivate cheats codes at any time while playing your game, Free Cheat to make cheat codes on the fly, Slow Motion to get past those high intensity situations with ease, and Soft Reset to go back to the DSTWO's menu without having to reset your DS.
How to manually set up your DSTWO
This only covers the installation of the standard DSTWO plugin menu, the two alternate plugin menus are set up differently, please refer to the appropriate guides for setting them up. (iMenu, BAGPlug)
Required items:
- A SuperCard DSTWO (find different shops to buy from at ShopTemp)
- A way to connect the microsd card to the computer, such as with a MicroSD to USB adapter (a cheap one is provided along with the DSTWO) or a MicroSD to SD adapter (many MicroSD cards come with these)
- A MicroSD card (up to 32gb, I'd recommend shopping at Amazon, Newegg, or any other reputable dealer)
- A DS (phat/lite/i/i xl) or a 3DS
- An archive extractor (winrar, 7-zip, winzip, etc.). If you don't have one, download either 7-zip or winrar and install it with the default settings. (winrar will bug you to pay but won't force you)
What you need to do will be in plain text, why you're doing it/what this step does will be in italics.
1. Connect your MicroSD card to your computer, set aside the DSTWO and your DS for a while.
You will not be needing to mess with either the DSTWO or the DS in order to get the DSTWO set up
2. Format your MicroSD Card with the SD Formatter v4.0 (Mac version) by Panasonic. Go into the options and make sure format type is FULL (Erase) and size adjustment is ON. (the standard windows formatter will not work)
Doing this will correct any potential errors on your MicroSD Card, the windows formatter will not do this because it only wipes the data off of your MicroSD Card, while the SD Formatter by Panasonic will redo the whole formatting of the SD Card to comply with SD standards
3. Download the latest EOS from the top of this page and extract the files in the archive to the root of your MicroSD Card. (see what is the root?)
These files are the basic essentials, they are the files for the main OS that the DSTWO uses.
4. Download the latest patch from the top of this page if it was released after the latest EOS and extract this to the root of your MicroSD Card also.
These patches are for when the SuperCard team puts out an update that isn't significant enough to warrant a completely new version of the EOS, these are usually game compatibility fixes. When Team Supercard releases a new EOS they roll in all of the previous patches into the newest release.
5. Download the plugins that you want from the following list and extract each of them to the root of your MicroSD Card. I strongly recommend getting Moonshell 2 if nothing else.
- Moonshell 2 (media player, text reader/editor)
- iPlayer v1.1 (media player)
- iReader v1.12 (pdf/ebook reader, picture viewer)
- MAME4ALL v1.0 (arcade emulator)
- See the GBA/SNES emulation spoiler for those emulators
6. Download any other homebrew you want from the DSTWO Plugin wiki, I'd recommend Lameboy, NesDS, Colors, Bloxavoid, and the Lone Wolf games.
These are essentially the same as the plugins from step 5, except these are unofficial. Info and instructions can be found at the top of the wiki.
7. Either dump your games or download them and put them anywhere you want onto your MicroSD Card. (I'd recommend creating a Games folder and putting them all in there)
You are putting the ROMs themselves from the official cartridges onto your microsd card, so you can have multiple games on your DSTWO at any time and launch any one that you want.
8. If you want your DSTWO's microsd card to show up as the card itself on your PC, just extract this to the root of your MicroSD card. (it will take affect the next time you plug in your microsd card)
9. If you want cheats, download the latest usrcheat.dat from the Codemasters Project Forum (requires signup) or download CMP usrcheat 2014-01-15 and extract the usrcheat.dat file into the _dstwo folder. All of the cheats will automagically appear for each supported game (if you ever want to update your cheats just click on that link again to check for a newer version and overwrite the old usrcheat.dat with the new one).
Usrcheat.dat is a database, and based on which game you have selected, the DSTWO will look up cheats for that game in the database, this makes cheats require little to no effort to get on your part.
10. Right click on the drive and click eject, then unplug your MicroSD, and put it into your DSTWO. Then put your DSTWO into your DS (If you want to use it on a 3DS, read the "How to update your DSTWO to work on a 3DS" spoiler under the Tips & Tricks section).
Pressing eject is just a safety precaution, as if you remove it while it is accessing the MicroSD Card, there is a chance of corruption, however in most cases windows should be able to fix any minor corruption of data (a pop up will ask to scan and fix the card when you plug it in if it is is corrupted)
You are now set up, but be sure to check out either iMenu (more stylish) or BAGPlug (more functional), as they are much nicer than the standard plugin menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between the Kernel/OS (EOS) and the Firmware?
A: There are two things you need to keep in mind here: Internal firmware and kernel/OS. The internal firmware is the internal software of your SuperCard itself, stored *only* in your SuperCard. Whereas EOS is the kernel/OS, the software that your SuperCard runs from the microSD.
Think of your microSD as the harddisk. You put Windows (the OS) on your harddisk on your computer, and when your computer turns on it runs Windows. And from Windows it runs the rest of your programs, like games. If the microSD is your harddisk, and the EOS is your Windows, then the Firmware is the stuff your computer runs before it loads Windows.
If you've never seen it before restart your computer right now, and look at what it does after it turns itself on again. It will always load something before Windows. And that "something" is in the internal 'memory' of your computer, just like your Firmware is in the internal memory of your SuperCard.
Q: OH NOES!! MY DSTWO DOESN'T WORK AFTER I UPDATED MY 3/DS/i/XL!! WHAT DO!?!?!?!?
A: If you're using your DSTWO in a DSi or DSi XL, the fix is simple. Download the latest EOS (located at the top of this post) and extract all of the files from the newest EOS over your MicroSD card and let it overwrite everything (If you are using iMenu or BAGPlug you'll want to not overwrite /_dstwo/dstwo.nds). It should then work fine.
If you're using your DSTWO on a 3DS, you'll need to update the firmware. Check out the "How to update your DSTWO to work on a 3DS" spoiler under the Tips & Tricks section.
Q: I updated to DSi version 1.4.3, will my DSTWO still work?
A: The latest version of EOS will automatically work, you do not need to make any modifications.
Q: How is the SuperCard DSTWO able to do GBA emulation without a slot2 device? I thought that was impossible.
A: It's because the DSTwo features a embedded processor similar to that of the iPlayer. With this processor it is able to do many things normal slot1 flashcarts can't.
Q: Is the normal DSTWO the same as the Limited Edition GBATemp DSTWO?
Yes, it is exactly the same except for the appearance.
Q: What is the build like?
A: The build isn't all too bad, it's kind of in between bad and good. It barely fits in the DSi slot (it's worse than the M3, you really have to jam it in). It has a couple teeth on the contacts, and a screw at the bottom to help hold the thing together. Finally it has a top sided microsd slot that's spring loaded.
Q: Does SupercardDSTwo work on the DSi XL?
A: Yes, it works on all DS's.
Q: Can I use all of the standard DS features with this flashcart? (wireless download, wii connectivity, wifi, online, etc.)
Yes, it will all work perfectly fine expect for the IR sensors in Pokemon HG/SS/B/W, as the flashcart does not have an IR sensor (and no other flashcart has one either). You will be able to play online perfectly fine and safely.
Q: Will my DSTwo work on my 3DS?
A: Yes, however you will need to upgrade the firmware. (see Tips & Tricks)
Q: If I use the DSTWO on a 3DS, does the 3DS register it as the DSTWO? Will this get me banned from online?
The DSTWO shows up as "Alex Rider: Stormbreaker" and will appear in the activity log as such. After Nintendo did nothing on the big May update, it appears Nintendo cannot block you from online because it cannot tell the difference between flashcarts that appear to be games and the games themselves.
Q: How does the SupercardDSTwo patch itself?
A: From what I've seen first hand it doesn't actually patch itself, you just need to update the files on your microsd and that's the end of it. So it's a much safer way to "patch" because there's no chance of bricking.
Q: I heard this thing was basically a clone of the iPlayer, is this true?
A: The DSTwo is very close to the iPlayer, and I'm not exaggerating with this. But thankfully mercluke set things straight with this topic comparing them both. Apparently they have very similar hardware but different chipsets.
Q: Is the menu exactly like the DSOnei's?
A: The DSTwo's menu is the EOS menu, but it is quite a bit different from the DSOnei's EOS menu. One of the main differences it includes a plugin menu at the beginning. You can see a demonstration of the DSTwo's EOS menu in the media section.
A: The latest version of EOS will automatically work, you do not need to make any modifications.
Q: How is the SuperCard DSTWO able to do GBA emulation without a slot2 device? I thought that was impossible.
A: It's because the DSTwo features a embedded processor similar to that of the iPlayer. With this processor it is able to do many things normal slot1 flashcarts can't.
Q: Is the normal DSTWO the same as the Limited Edition GBATemp DSTWO?
Yes, it is exactly the same except for the appearance.
Q: What is the build like?
A: The build isn't all too bad, it's kind of in between bad and good. It barely fits in the DSi slot (it's worse than the M3, you really have to jam it in). It has a couple teeth on the contacts, and a screw at the bottom to help hold the thing together. Finally it has a top sided microsd slot that's spring loaded.
Q: Does SupercardDSTwo work on the DSi XL?
A: Yes, it works on all DS's.
Q: Can I use all of the standard DS features with this flashcart? (wireless download, wii connectivity, wifi, online, etc.)
Yes, it will all work perfectly fine expect for the IR sensors in Pokemon HG/SS/B/W, as the flashcart does not have an IR sensor (and no other flashcart has one either). You will be able to play online perfectly fine and safely.
Q: Will my DSTwo work on my 3DS?
A: Yes, however you will need to upgrade the firmware. (see Tips & Tricks)
Q: If I use the DSTWO on a 3DS, does the 3DS register it as the DSTWO? Will this get me banned from online?
The DSTWO shows up as "Alex Rider: Stormbreaker" and will appear in the activity log as such. After Nintendo did nothing on the big May update, it appears Nintendo cannot block you from online because it cannot tell the difference between flashcarts that appear to be games and the games themselves.
Q: How does the SupercardDSTwo patch itself?
A: From what I've seen first hand it doesn't actually patch itself, you just need to update the files on your microsd and that's the end of it. So it's a much safer way to "patch" because there's no chance of bricking.
Q: I heard this thing was basically a clone of the iPlayer, is this true?
A: The DSTwo is very close to the iPlayer, and I'm not exaggerating with this. But thankfully mercluke set things straight with this topic comparing them both. Apparently they have very similar hardware but different chipsets.
Q: Is the menu exactly like the DSOnei's?
A: The DSTwo's menu is the EOS menu, but it is quite a bit different from the DSOnei's EOS menu. One of the main differences it includes a plugin menu at the beginning. You can see a demonstration of the DSTwo's EOS menu in the media section.
Q: Why is the EOS menu so similar to AKAIO?
A: It's because the Evolution OS (EOS) is based of the AcekardRPG source which is also what AKAIO is based off of.
Q: The plugin menu is kind of ugly and not very functional, can I replace it with something else?
A: Yes, currently the two main plugin replacements are iMenu (more stylish) and BAGPlug (more functional).
Q: Where can I find plugins to add onto the DSTwo's standard plugin menu?
A: Here or here (this one might have some dead links).
Q: Where can I find skins for my DSTwo?
A: This topic has a wide variety of skins to choose from. You can also get skins from the official supercard forums. Alternatively, you can download Stormwave's DSTwo Skin Installer and install skins from here.
Q: Can I wifi update my SupercardDSTwo's firmware like AKAIO?
A: Despite the EOS being so similar to AKAIO and being based from the same source it does not natively support wifi updating. However you can use this handy homebrew application to update your EOS, gba plugin, and ds1patch.dat from the same program. It even allows for directly downloading/unzipping skins as well.
Q: What are these simple hotkey and full hotkey options in the settings?
A: These options allow you to completely customize the simple hotkey and full hotkey used to start the Real Time Menu. Just check/uncheck the box next to each button with the stylus to customize the hotkeys to your liking.
Q: What is the simple hotkey and how is it different from full hotkey?
A: The simple hotkey is exactly the same as the full hotkey except that real time saving/loading is disabled, this was necessary for a few games (notably Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story) to access the real time menu.
Q: What type of cheat format does the SuperCardDSTwo use? Where can I get cheats for it? How do I activate the cheats?
A: The DSTwo uses usrcheat.dat (must be placed inside the _dstwo folder). You can get the up to date cheat database from the Codemasters Project Forum (or download CMP usrcheat.dat 2012-10-18). When you are in DS_GAME press X on your highlighted game to bring up a small menu. Make sure "Cheat" is set to "On" and "Mode is set to "Patch", then press Y to browse the cheats, which you can individually activate. Press B two times to get back to the standard DS_GAME view, then when you launch your game all of the cheats should work. You can activate or deactivate cheats at any time by going into the Real Time Guide with your hotkey (default L+R+Start) and going into the Cheat code menu, however some cheats do not activate/deactivate properly mid-game, so you might have to set them at the beginning.
Q: How come the brightness setting doesn't change my DSi's brightness?
A: This setting is completely moot on a DSi/DSi XL and is un-needed. I'm not exactly sure why it doesn't work (probably because of the DSi's new structure), but you can change your DSi's brightness at anytime by pressing select and the volume buttons.
Q: What's the difference between clean and patch mode when launching NDS roms?
A: Clean mode means that there are zero patches done to the rom. It basically runs the NDS rom as it was meant to be run. This can help with some problematic games. By default, though, you should have patch mode on. Patch mode is the only mode that let's you access the real time menu during games, and is required for cheats to work. Also, patch mode is slightly worse on battery than clean mode (approximately 8% worse, but still better than commercial cartridges, at 112%)
Q: How do I remove different plug-ins from the standard plugin menu?
A: Goto the _dstwoplug folder on your microsd. For example if you want to delete the moonshell plugin you just look for the correct ini file (It'll have a field like name= and that's the name that appears in the actual menu) and delete the ini file and the NDS file that it points to (in this case it would be Moonshell2.nds).
A: It's because the Evolution OS (EOS) is based of the AcekardRPG source which is also what AKAIO is based off of.
Q: The plugin menu is kind of ugly and not very functional, can I replace it with something else?
A: Yes, currently the two main plugin replacements are iMenu (more stylish) and BAGPlug (more functional).
Q: Where can I find plugins to add onto the DSTwo's standard plugin menu?
A: Here or here (this one might have some dead links).
Q: Where can I find skins for my DSTwo?
A: This topic has a wide variety of skins to choose from. You can also get skins from the official supercard forums. Alternatively, you can download Stormwave's DSTwo Skin Installer and install skins from here.
Q: Can I wifi update my SupercardDSTwo's firmware like AKAIO?
A: Despite the EOS being so similar to AKAIO and being based from the same source it does not natively support wifi updating. However you can use this handy homebrew application to update your EOS, gba plugin, and ds1patch.dat from the same program. It even allows for directly downloading/unzipping skins as well.
Q: What are these simple hotkey and full hotkey options in the settings?
A: These options allow you to completely customize the simple hotkey and full hotkey used to start the Real Time Menu. Just check/uncheck the box next to each button with the stylus to customize the hotkeys to your liking.
Q: What is the simple hotkey and how is it different from full hotkey?
A: The simple hotkey is exactly the same as the full hotkey except that real time saving/loading is disabled, this was necessary for a few games (notably Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story) to access the real time menu.
Q: What type of cheat format does the SuperCardDSTwo use? Where can I get cheats for it? How do I activate the cheats?
A: The DSTwo uses usrcheat.dat (must be placed inside the _dstwo folder). You can get the up to date cheat database from the Codemasters Project Forum (or download CMP usrcheat.dat 2012-10-18). When you are in DS_GAME press X on your highlighted game to bring up a small menu. Make sure "Cheat" is set to "On" and "Mode is set to "Patch", then press Y to browse the cheats, which you can individually activate. Press B two times to get back to the standard DS_GAME view, then when you launch your game all of the cheats should work. You can activate or deactivate cheats at any time by going into the Real Time Guide with your hotkey (default L+R+Start) and going into the Cheat code menu, however some cheats do not activate/deactivate properly mid-game, so you might have to set them at the beginning.
Q: How come the brightness setting doesn't change my DSi's brightness?
A: This setting is completely moot on a DSi/DSi XL and is un-needed. I'm not exactly sure why it doesn't work (probably because of the DSi's new structure), but you can change your DSi's brightness at anytime by pressing select and the volume buttons.
Q: What's the difference between clean and patch mode when launching NDS roms?
A: Clean mode means that there are zero patches done to the rom. It basically runs the NDS rom as it was meant to be run. This can help with some problematic games. By default, though, you should have patch mode on. Patch mode is the only mode that let's you access the real time menu during games, and is required for cheats to work. Also, patch mode is slightly worse on battery than clean mode (approximately 8% worse, but still better than commercial cartridges, at 112%)
Q: How do I remove different plug-ins from the standard plugin menu?
A: Goto the _dstwoplug folder on your microsd. For example if you want to delete the moonshell plugin you just look for the correct ini file (It'll have a field like name= and that's the name that appears in the actual menu) and delete the ini file and the NDS file that it points to (in this case it would be Moonshell2.nds).
Q: What are the GBA and SNES emulators called?
A: GBA emulator = NDSGBA/TempGBA. SNES emulator = NDSSFC/BAGSFC/CATSFC.
Q: Where can I download these emulators?
A: From here, although you might want to hold off on downloading until you know how to get the best compatibility out of the emulators.
Q: How good is the GBA emulator? Does it work with games like Golden Sun or Pokemon?
A: The GBA Emulator is decent. It'll get the job done, but there's still a few games that don't work. Golden Sun works but it lags at certain points, and Pokemon will work with game_config.txt. Go here to see a compatibility list.
Q: Does this emulator support extras like save states and fast forward?
A: The GBA emulator supports save states, fast-forward, frame skip, custom key configuration, screenshot, rewind, and cheats.
Q: How do I improve NDSGBA's compatibility?
A: First, you need to download TempGBA and extract the files to the root of your microsd card. Then, download game_config.txt (make sure to rename it to "game_config.txt") and put that txt file in your microsd's NDSGBA folder (overwrite the game_config.txt already there). This will drastically improve many games' performance.
Q: I heard the GBA emulator in the SupercardDSTwo is basically a copy of the iPlayer's, is this true?
A: Well it is for the most part. It's re-skinned and it does get updates every now and then. In short, it is basically the same as the original emulator written by DarkChen.
Q: Where do I place my GBA roms?
A: It's suggested to place them in a folder called "gamepak" in the NDSGBA folder of your microsd. However, it is not required to do so. The GBA emulator on the DSTwo can browse your microsd's contents. So really, you can put your GBA roms any where you please.
Q: Why do I keep losing my saves that I make in the emulator?
A: This is because the saves are not registered until you go to the emulator's menu and exit out of it. So in order to get the saves to work you must exit the emulator before shutting off your DS. However, save states are saved once you see that it finished, so you don't have to exit the emulators for save states to work properly.
Q: How does the SNES emulator work?
A: It's almost identical to the GBA emulator in features and in terms of use.
Q: How good is the SNES emulator?
A: It is fairly decent, however it is not able to smoothly play any of the special cartridge games.
Q: How do I improve NDSSFC's compatibility?
A: Since NDSSFC has been open-sourced, BassAceGold, ShadauxCat, and Nebuleon have been working on improving the emulator, and the best available right now is CATSFC.
Q: Where do I place my SNES roms?
A: Similar to where you did for your GBA ROMs, put them inside the folder named "gamepak" inside the CATSFC (or NDSSFC) folder.
Q: How do I get back to the emulator's menu after starting a game?
A: In the GBA emulator press X. In the SNES emulator touch the touchscreen.
Q: How do I use cheats with these emulators?
A: See the SNES Cheats Pack and the GBA Cheats Pack in the links section.
Q: How do I use my saves files (***.sav) that I already have with these emulators?
A: Within the emulator's folder (either CATSFC or NDSGBA) the saves are stored in the gamerts folder, and they must have the exact same name as the ROM that it goes with (minus the extension (see What is a File Extension?)).
A: GBA emulator = NDSGBA/TempGBA. SNES emulator = NDSSFC/BAGSFC/CATSFC.
Q: Where can I download these emulators?
A: From here, although you might want to hold off on downloading until you know how to get the best compatibility out of the emulators.
Q: How good is the GBA emulator? Does it work with games like Golden Sun or Pokemon?
A: The GBA Emulator is decent. It'll get the job done, but there's still a few games that don't work. Golden Sun works but it lags at certain points, and Pokemon will work with game_config.txt. Go here to see a compatibility list.
Q: Does this emulator support extras like save states and fast forward?
A: The GBA emulator supports save states, fast-forward, frame skip, custom key configuration, screenshot, rewind, and cheats.
Q: How do I improve NDSGBA's compatibility?
A: First, you need to download TempGBA and extract the files to the root of your microsd card. Then, download game_config.txt (make sure to rename it to "game_config.txt") and put that txt file in your microsd's NDSGBA folder (overwrite the game_config.txt already there). This will drastically improve many games' performance.
Q: I heard the GBA emulator in the SupercardDSTwo is basically a copy of the iPlayer's, is this true?
A: Well it is for the most part. It's re-skinned and it does get updates every now and then. In short, it is basically the same as the original emulator written by DarkChen.
Q: Where do I place my GBA roms?
A: It's suggested to place them in a folder called "gamepak" in the NDSGBA folder of your microsd. However, it is not required to do so. The GBA emulator on the DSTwo can browse your microsd's contents. So really, you can put your GBA roms any where you please.
Q: Why do I keep losing my saves that I make in the emulator?
A: This is because the saves are not registered until you go to the emulator's menu and exit out of it. So in order to get the saves to work you must exit the emulator before shutting off your DS. However, save states are saved once you see that it finished, so you don't have to exit the emulators for save states to work properly.
Q: How does the SNES emulator work?
A: It's almost identical to the GBA emulator in features and in terms of use.
Q: How good is the SNES emulator?
A: It is fairly decent, however it is not able to smoothly play any of the special cartridge games.
Q: How do I improve NDSSFC's compatibility?
A: Since NDSSFC has been open-sourced, BassAceGold, ShadauxCat, and Nebuleon have been working on improving the emulator, and the best available right now is CATSFC.
Q: Where do I place my SNES roms?
A: Similar to where you did for your GBA ROMs, put them inside the folder named "gamepak" inside the CATSFC (or NDSSFC) folder.
Q: How do I get back to the emulator's menu after starting a game?
A: In the GBA emulator press X. In the SNES emulator touch the touchscreen.
Q: How do I use cheats with these emulators?
A: See the SNES Cheats Pack and the GBA Cheats Pack in the links section.
Q: How do I use my saves files (***.sav) that I already have with these emulators?
A: Within the emulator's folder (either CATSFC or NDSGBA) the saves are stored in the gamerts folder, and they must have the exact same name as the ROM that it goes with (minus the extension (see What is a File Extension?)).
Q: What is iPlayer?
A: iPlayer is a video/music player, it's main feature is being able to play many different types of video formats and being able to scale it on the fly.
Q: Where can I download it?
A: Here.
Q: So is it good as a music player?
A: Not any better than moonshell, and since it uses the DSTwo's chip, the battery life is worse, so moonshell would probably be the way to go.
Q: So if the battery life is worse, why would I use this instead of moonshell for watching videos?
A: So you don't have to spend time converting all of your videos to .dpg (which is what you need to do for moonshell). However, for anything bigger than 480p you should still resize videos, as the bigger they get the harder they are for the DSTwo to play, the recommended resolution to convert videos to is 256x192, the DS's resolution.
Q: How can I fully optimize my videos to look as good as they can on iPlayer?
A: There are two tutorials for optimizing videos for iPlayer, one by RupeeClock and one by Stevetry.
Q: Which formats do iPlayer support?
A: The official site says:
For video: .rmvb/.rm/.flv/.wmv/.asf/.avi and etc. (.mkv also works, but not .mp4, xvid video is supported)
For audio: .mp3/.wma/.ape/.flac and etc.
Q: Does iPlayer support subtitles?
A: Yes, it supports .srt subs that have the same filename as the video and are in the same folder.
A: iPlayer is a video/music player, it's main feature is being able to play many different types of video formats and being able to scale it on the fly.
Q: Where can I download it?
A: Here.
Q: So is it good as a music player?
A: Not any better than moonshell, and since it uses the DSTwo's chip, the battery life is worse, so moonshell would probably be the way to go.
Q: So if the battery life is worse, why would I use this instead of moonshell for watching videos?
A: So you don't have to spend time converting all of your videos to .dpg (which is what you need to do for moonshell). However, for anything bigger than 480p you should still resize videos, as the bigger they get the harder they are for the DSTwo to play, the recommended resolution to convert videos to is 256x192, the DS's resolution.
Q: How can I fully optimize my videos to look as good as they can on iPlayer?
A: There are two tutorials for optimizing videos for iPlayer, one by RupeeClock and one by Stevetry.
Q: Which formats do iPlayer support?
A: The official site says:
For video: .rmvb/.rm/.flv/.wmv/.asf/.avi and etc. (.mkv also works, but not .mp4, xvid video is supported)
For audio: .mp3/.wma/.ape/.flac and etc.
Q: Does iPlayer support subtitles?
A: Yes, it supports .srt subs that have the same filename as the video and are in the same folder.
Q: What is iReader?
A: It is an ebook/text reader and image viewer.
Q: Where can I download it?
A: Here.
Q: Can it zoom in on pictures?
A: Yes, it can zoom from 25% to 400%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%, 200%, 300%, and 400%.
Q: All of these pictures and ebooks are taking up too much room, how can I conserve space?
A: iReader supports .zip files, this means that you can put your image or ebook/text file inside a .zip archive using a tool such as 7-Zip, and iReader will be able to read the file inside the archive. (.zip archives are compressed, which is how this saves you room)
Q: Which formats do iReader support?
A: The official site says:
For ebooks/text: .txt/.pdf/.html/.ini and etc.
For images: .bmp/.jpeg/.jpg/.png/.tif/.gid and etc.
Q: My .pdf is taking forever to load, did it freeze or something?
A: No, it's just that .pdf files can take a very long time to open in iReader
Q: All of my ebooks are in some obscure format and they don't work, how can I make them work?
A: If the ebook is DRM-free, you can convert it into many different formats (preferably one that iReader supports) using Calibre.
A: It is an ebook/text reader and image viewer.
Q: Where can I download it?
A: Here.
Q: Can it zoom in on pictures?
A: Yes, it can zoom from 25% to 400%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%, 200%, 300%, and 400%.
Q: All of these pictures and ebooks are taking up too much room, how can I conserve space?
A: iReader supports .zip files, this means that you can put your image or ebook/text file inside a .zip archive using a tool such as 7-Zip, and iReader will be able to read the file inside the archive. (.zip archives are compressed, which is how this saves you room)
Q: Which formats do iReader support?
A: The official site says:
For ebooks/text: .txt/.pdf/.html/.ini and etc.
For images: .bmp/.jpeg/.jpg/.png/.tif/.gid and etc.
Q: My .pdf is taking forever to load, did it freeze or something?
A: No, it's just that .pdf files can take a very long time to open in iReader
Q: All of my ebooks are in some obscure format and they don't work, how can I make them work?
A: If the ebook is DRM-free, you can convert it into many different formats (preferably one that iReader supports) using Calibre.
Q: How do I open the Real Time Menu?
A: You set your own hotkeys via the hotkey option in the system settings. By default the hotkey L+R+Start.
Q: Do I need to turn on the Real Time Menu for every game?
A: It's automatically set on for every game as long as you are in patch mode.
Q: How many real time save slots are there?
A: Four slots per game, and you can have as many total as can fit on your card.
Q: How much storage does each save state occupy?
A: 5MB each save state file/slot.
Q: How do I soft reset? I don't see the option!
A: Press the arrow button in the top left of the screen in the real time menu.
Q: How do I get a game guide to show in in Real Time Guide?
A: Save the guide as a txt file and name it the same as the NDS rom (minus the .nds). Then put it in the same folder as the rom. (see Tips & Tricks for more details and a game guide pack)
Q: I heard you can load bmp files in the real time guide, how do you do that?
A: It's the same as the txt guides. Save the bmp as a 24 bit bmp (use save-as in paint to make it one) and then name it the same thing as the rom (minus the .nds). Then put the bmp file in the same folder as your rom. If the bmp file isn't 24 bit it'll cause your DSTwo to freeze. (see Tips & Tricks)
Q: What is Free Cheat?
A: Free Cheat is a way to make and use cheats from the DS itself, this is useful for when there are no cheat codes for the thing you want to edit. Check the media section for a demonstration or the links section for a guide on how to use it.
Q: How do I name my real time save file?
A: In the save function press x on a highlighted slot and the keyboard will come up allowing you to name the slot (it will also automatically save over what's in the slot with where you are now if it's a already used slot, so be warned).
Q: Why does real time menu not work at some points during a game?
A: This happens when the buttons you are using for your hotkey are ignored on that stage of the game then the hotkey won't work because your DS is ignoring those buttons. If you're on EOS 1.06 or higher try using the simple hotkey mode, this may fix the problem.
A: You set your own hotkeys via the hotkey option in the system settings. By default the hotkey L+R+Start.
Q: Do I need to turn on the Real Time Menu for every game?
A: It's automatically set on for every game as long as you are in patch mode.
Q: How many real time save slots are there?
A: Four slots per game, and you can have as many total as can fit on your card.
Q: How much storage does each save state occupy?
A: 5MB each save state file/slot.
Q: How do I soft reset? I don't see the option!
A: Press the arrow button in the top left of the screen in the real time menu.
Q: How do I get a game guide to show in in Real Time Guide?
A: Save the guide as a txt file and name it the same as the NDS rom (minus the .nds). Then put it in the same folder as the rom. (see Tips & Tricks for more details and a game guide pack)
Q: I heard you can load bmp files in the real time guide, how do you do that?
A: It's the same as the txt guides. Save the bmp as a 24 bit bmp (use save-as in paint to make it one) and then name it the same thing as the rom (minus the .nds). Then put the bmp file in the same folder as your rom. If the bmp file isn't 24 bit it'll cause your DSTwo to freeze. (see Tips & Tricks)
Q: What is Free Cheat?
A: Free Cheat is a way to make and use cheats from the DS itself, this is useful for when there are no cheat codes for the thing you want to edit. Check the media section for a demonstration or the links section for a guide on how to use it.
Q: How do I name my real time save file?
A: In the save function press x on a highlighted slot and the keyboard will come up allowing you to name the slot (it will also automatically save over what's in the slot with where you are now if it's a already used slot, so be warned).
Q: Why does real time menu not work at some points during a game?
A: This happens when the buttons you are using for your hotkey are ignored on that stage of the game then the hotkey won't work because your DS is ignoring those buttons. If you're on EOS 1.06 or higher try using the simple hotkey mode, this may fix the problem.
Q: What's the clockspeed of the DSTwo?
A: It uses the Dingoo's a320 cpu which is the Ingenic JZ4732. The standard clockspeed is 360 mhz, but the supercard team could have easily overclocked it to 433 mhz or underclocked it, the clockspeed can also be changed by homebrew developers who are using the DSTwo SDK.
Q: How do I make my own homebrew using the SupercardDSTwo's embedded CPU?
A: You can use the DSTwo's SDK, which you can find in the SDK forum. I'd recommend taking a look at the Intro to the DSK and libBAG, both by BassAceGold.
Q: I heard you could homebrew soft-reset in the SupercardDSTwo, how do you do it?
A: You must be running homebrew that can launch NDS files (DSKiosk, DSOrganize, Moonshell, Etc.). You then launch reset2desktop.nds in the _dstwo folder on your microsd.
Q: I got a Chinese SupercardDSTwo. Will I be able to use the English firmware?
A: Despite there being a Chinese and English version of the DSTwo, the English firmware still works on the Chinese DSTwo version.
Q: Does the DSTwo really drain the battery of the DS/DSi that much?
A: According to CannonFoddr's tests, the DSTwo actually is slightly more efficient than commercial cartridges (112% in patch mode, 120% in clean mode), however when it is actively using the processor, such as when in an emulator that uses it (like CATSFC or NDSGBA), the battery life is approximately 2/3 of what the DSTWO normally would get.
A: It uses the Dingoo's a320 cpu which is the Ingenic JZ4732. The standard clockspeed is 360 mhz, but the supercard team could have easily overclocked it to 433 mhz or underclocked it, the clockspeed can also be changed by homebrew developers who are using the DSTwo SDK.
Q: How do I make my own homebrew using the SupercardDSTwo's embedded CPU?
A: You can use the DSTwo's SDK, which you can find in the SDK forum. I'd recommend taking a look at the Intro to the DSK and libBAG, both by BassAceGold.
Q: I heard you could homebrew soft-reset in the SupercardDSTwo, how do you do it?
A: You must be running homebrew that can launch NDS files (DSKiosk, DSOrganize, Moonshell, Etc.). You then launch reset2desktop.nds in the _dstwo folder on your microsd.
Q: I got a Chinese SupercardDSTwo. Will I be able to use the English firmware?
A: Despite there being a Chinese and English version of the DSTwo, the English firmware still works on the Chinese DSTwo version.
Q: Does the DSTwo really drain the battery of the DS/DSi that much?
A: According to CannonFoddr's tests, the DSTwo actually is slightly more efficient than commercial cartridges (112% in patch mode, 120% in clean mode), however when it is actively using the processor, such as when in an emulator that uses it (like CATSFC or NDSGBA), the battery life is approximately 2/3 of what the DSTWO normally would get.
Tips & Tricks
First of all, the obvious thing would be to clean it off the contacts on both the MicroSD Card and on the DSTwo.
To get the MicroSD card better connected to the DSTwo, try to push the MicroSD card from an angle, outward at the top pushing inward at the bottom. This should make the contacts align up straighter.
To get the DSTwo to connect to your DS better, make sure that you press the DSTwo all the way down as far as it will go, as if you just lightly press it in it will not get full contact.
To get the MicroSD card better connected to the DSTwo, try to push the MicroSD card from an angle, outward at the top pushing inward at the bottom. This should make the contacts align up straighter.
To get the DSTwo to connect to your DS better, make sure that you press the DSTwo all the way down as far as it will go, as if you just lightly press it in it will not get full contact.
If you only have access to a 3DS, it is important that you update your DSTWO's firmware before you update the firmware on your 3DS. If you have access to a DS phat/lite/i/XL then you can update on any of those devices without worry as long as you have the latest EOS on the DSTWO.
Firmware 1.09 - works on 3DS's on v1.1.0-1 and prior
Firmware 1.12 - works on 3DS's on v2.2.0-4 and prior
Firmware 1.13 - works on 3DS's on v3.0.0-6 and prior
Firmware 1.15 - works on 3DS's on v4.1.0-8 and prior
Firmware 1.16 - works on 3DS's on v4.2.0-9 and prior
Firmware 1.17 - works on 3DS's on v4.3.0-10 and prior
Firmware 1.18 - works on 3DS's on v4.4.0-10 and prior
Firmware 1.19 - works on 3DS's on v5.1.0-11 and prior
Firmware 1.20 - works on 3DS's on v6.1.0-12 and prior
Firmware 1.23 - works on 3DS's on v6.3.0-12 and prior
Firmware 1.25 - works on 3DS's on v9.4.0-21 and prior
1. Download the latest firmware from the top of this post.
2. Extract "dstwoupdate.dat" to the root of your microsd card.
3. Put your microsd card into your DSTwo and insert it into a DS phat/lite/i/XL or your 3DS.
4. Turn on the DS and start the DSTwo, once you get to the plugin menu it should show a popup saying "Update system *your current firmware here* - 1.25", press A here to start updating. Make sure that you do NOT turn off or close the DS until it is finished upgrading.
5. If you did not see the popup, trying renaming "dstwoupdate.dat" to "ds2update.dat", then try it again.
You should now be on the latest Firmware, and dstwoupdate.dat (or ds2update.dat) should no longer be on your MicroSD card if it updated correctly.
-----------
If you started the update but it didn't finish, and now the DSTwo isn't recognized, you just get "Update error, enter than wait 3 minutes"
still in the process of trying to figure out a fix, read this thread for more info
possible fix is to download this and extract system1.dat into your _dstwo folder, then try the firmware update again
Firmware 1.09 - works on 3DS's on v1.1.0-1 and prior
Firmware 1.12 - works on 3DS's on v2.2.0-4 and prior
Firmware 1.13 - works on 3DS's on v3.0.0-6 and prior
Firmware 1.15 - works on 3DS's on v4.1.0-8 and prior
Firmware 1.16 - works on 3DS's on v4.2.0-9 and prior
Firmware 1.17 - works on 3DS's on v4.3.0-10 and prior
Firmware 1.18 - works on 3DS's on v4.4.0-10 and prior
Firmware 1.19 - works on 3DS's on v5.1.0-11 and prior
Firmware 1.20 - works on 3DS's on v6.1.0-12 and prior
Firmware 1.23 - works on 3DS's on v6.3.0-12 and prior
Firmware 1.25 - works on 3DS's on v9.4.0-21 and prior
1. Download the latest firmware from the top of this post.
2. Extract "dstwoupdate.dat" to the root of your microsd card.
3. Put your microsd card into your DSTwo and insert it into a DS phat/lite/i/XL or your 3DS.
4. Turn on the DS and start the DSTwo, once you get to the plugin menu it should show a popup saying "Update system *your current firmware here* - 1.25", press A here to start updating. Make sure that you do NOT turn off or close the DS until it is finished upgrading.
5. If you did not see the popup, trying renaming "dstwoupdate.dat" to "ds2update.dat", then try it again.
You should now be on the latest Firmware, and dstwoupdate.dat (or ds2update.dat) should no longer be on your MicroSD card if it updated correctly.
-----------
If you started the update but it didn't finish, and now the DSTwo isn't recognized, you just get "Update error, enter than wait 3 minutes"
still in the process of trying to figure out a fix, read this thread for more info
possible fix is to download this and extract system1.dat into your _dstwo folder, then try the firmware update again
Good news for those of you who accidentally updated before updating your DSTWO, it is possible to update from your 3DS, however this method is risky, and not recommended if you can use the normal method in the above spoiler.
In order for this method to work, your 3DS must already recognize the DSTwo and show this icon (if it doesn't show up you're gonna have to use the normal upgrade method in the above spoiler).
This icon simply tells you that the DSTWO is already on a firmware that supports this upgrade method, if you already had firmware 1.13 or above on your DSTWO, this method should work.
1. Download the latest firmware from the top of this post.
2. Extract "dstwoupdate.dat" to the root of your microsd card and rename it to "dstwoupdateb.dat".
3. Put your microsd card into your DSTwo and insert it into your 3DS.
4. Turn on the 3DS and launch the DSTwo, you will see this screen.
Stay on this screen, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, and just wait and wait for 3 minutes, IF YOU TOUCH ANYTHING YOU MAY BRICK YOUR DSTWO.
5. After the 3 minutes is up, turn off the 3DS, then put the microsd card back into your computer and delete "dstwoupdateb.dat".
6. You can now put your microsd card back into your DSTwo, and back into your 3DS, and now your DSTwo should be on the latest firmware, and it should work normally on your 3DS on the latest firmware.
In order for this method to work, your 3DS must already recognize the DSTwo and show this icon (if it doesn't show up you're gonna have to use the normal upgrade method in the above spoiler).
This icon simply tells you that the DSTWO is already on a firmware that supports this upgrade method, if you already had firmware 1.13 or above on your DSTWO, this method should work.
1. Download the latest firmware from the top of this post.
2. Extract "dstwoupdate.dat" to the root of your microsd card and rename it to "dstwoupdateb.dat".
3. Put your microsd card into your DSTwo and insert it into your 3DS.
4. Turn on the 3DS and launch the DSTwo, you will see this screen.
Stay on this screen, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, and just wait and wait for 3 minutes, IF YOU TOUCH ANYTHING YOU MAY BRICK YOUR DSTWO.
5. After the 3 minutes is up, turn off the 3DS, then put the microsd card back into your computer and delete "dstwoupdateb.dat".
6. You can now put your microsd card back into your DSTwo, and back into your 3DS, and now your DSTwo should be on the latest firmware, and it should work normally on your 3DS on the latest firmware.
- Press B when in the root of your microsd.
DS_GAME is the default name of the plugin that launches the EOS, in which you can launch commercial ROMs and homebrew.
If you have troubles making the files yourself can download a template here.
- Goto the "_dstwoplug" folder on your microsd.
- Make a new txt file and paste the following in it:
- Replace name with what you want DS_GAME to be called
- Put the icon you want for it to be in "_dsdtwoplug" and make it 40x42 pixel 16-bit bmp file and call it "dstwo_game.bmp"
- If you don't want to edit the icon just delete the line with "icon="
- Save the txt file and rename it (completely, like get rid of the .txt part) to "dstwo_game.ini".
If you have troubles making the files yourself can download a template here.
> Copy the '/dstwoplug/' folder from your flashcard to your PC
> Delete all the plugins on the DSTwo flashcard
> Copy each plugin 'set' - consisting of bmp/ini/nds (or plg) - over one-at-a-time, in the order you want them to show on the plugin screen
So if you want the order of 'DS_game, GBA Emulator, Moonshell, iReader'
- Copy from your PC to the DSTwo, all the 'DS_Game' files first (DS_Game.bmp/ini)
- THEN copy over the GBA emulator files (gba.plg/bmp/ini)
- THEN copy over the Moonshell files (moonshell.nds/bmp/ini)
- Finally copy over the iReader (iReader.plg/bmp/ini)
> Delete all the plugins on the DSTwo flashcard
> Copy each plugin 'set' - consisting of bmp/ini/nds (or plg) - over one-at-a-time, in the order you want them to show on the plugin screen
So if you want the order of 'DS_game, GBA Emulator, Moonshell, iReader'
- Copy from your PC to the DSTwo, all the 'DS_Game' files first (DS_Game.bmp/ini)
- THEN copy over the GBA emulator files (gba.plg/bmp/ini)
- THEN copy over the Moonshell files (moonshell.nds/bmp/ini)
- Finally copy over the iReader (iReader.plg/bmp/ini)
alfun said:
You can right click on folders and make them hidden so it does not show up when using the DSTWO. This makes things less cluttered but I found out some of the DSTWO plugins will show the folders anyways even if its hidden. For some plugins this worked though and I think it makes it easier navigating through all the folders.
You can right click on folders and make them hidden so it does not show up when using the DSTWO. This makes things less cluttered but I found out some of the DSTWO plugins will show the folders anyways even if its hidden. For some plugins this worked though and I think it makes it easier navigating through all the folders.
Videos
DSTWO General Part 1
DSTWO General Part 2
DSTWO Firmware Flashing
DSTWO Firmware Update
DSTWO NDSGBA Emulator
DSTWO In-Game Menu
DSTWO Free Cheat
DSTWO iMenu Demonstration
DSTWO NDSSFC (CATSFC)
DSTWO General Part 2
DSTWO Firmware Flashing
DSTWO Firmware Update
DSTWO NDSGBA Emulator
DSTWO In-Game Menu
DSTWO Free Cheat
DSTWO iMenu Demonstration
DSTWO NDSSFC (CATSFC)
Links
- How To Use Free Cheat - A thorough guide to using free cheat by elixirdream
- Official DSTwo Plugins - Plugins from the Supercard team
- DSTwo Plugin wiki - Homebrew which you can install as unofficial plugins (as well as a little tutorial on how to install them)
- DS2Tools - Wifi firmware updating/Skin Downloading straight to DSTwo
- SNES Cheats Pack - A pack of cheats (BSNES Cheat Code Pack) made by MightyMo that work for CATSFC (read the readme that comes with CATSFC for proper installation, it can be opened with notepad)
- GBA Cheats Pack - The latest pack of cheats from GBAtemp's Cheat Database
- GBA Emulator Details & FAQ - More details about the GBA emulator and cheats (some links may be outdated)
- How to use cheats in the GBA emulator - Instructions on how to use the emulator and how to create your own cheats (down until the GBAtemp Cheats forum is restored)
- TempGBA Compatibility Wiki - Good resource to see whether or not certain GBA games work
- Another World's SCDS2 Review - A good resource/reference (although outdated)
Credits
- Terminator02 - For updating the information, making the setup guide, blahblahblah, etc.
- iPlayer FAQ - reference on supported formats
- slayerdx - For his installation guide as a reference
- DeltaBurnt - For the originial FAQ and the format
- PharaohsVizier - Reference
- Another World - CPU Info
- nl255 - How to make multiple guides info
- coattails - Originally discovering how to return to the plugin menu from DS_GAME
- Windaga & Terminator02 - For the "Real Time Guide" guides.
- CannonFoddr - For discovering how to reorder plugins in the standard plugin menu
- Also thanks to all of those I've forgotten, that have supplied info for this thread
