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r4isdhc.com 2014+

DSTTi DEMON-HW Carts (AKA Timebomb Carts)

r4isdhc.com 2014+, r4i-sdhc.com, r4i-gold.eu, and others

Cart Info

DEMON carts are DSTTi clones with a customized firmware. The most notable difference is that these carts expect a specially padded R4.dat boot file. This is why booting other kernels than R4iMenu requires a bootstrap binary like nds-miniboot. Real-Time-Save is another feature exclusive to the DEMON family and it's R4iMenu kernel, which isn't found in any other DSTT/DSTTi based hardware.

A list of all known DEMON carts can be found here.

Setup Guide:

Kernel Info

R4iMenu is compatible with r4i-sdhc.com and r4isdhc.com (2014+) carts. All other DEMON-HW based carts should use YSMenu or Pico-Loader instead.

Since the timebomb previously found in R4iMenu has been removed, it has become a good option for users that own supported carts, as it has better game compatibility than YSMenu, and supports Real-Time-Save. R4iMenu is also a decent kernel for playing romhacks and translation-patched games, as YSMenu can struggle to run those.

YSMenu runs on all DEMON-HW carts. If you prefer the look and feel of YSMenu, you can choose to use it over R4iMenu, even if you have an R4iMenu-supported cart.

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following the formatting tutorial.

  2. Download the appropriate kernel for your cart below, by checking the URL listed at the bottom of your cart's label:

  3. Next, extract the contents of the downloaded kernel zip to your SD card.

  4. Create a Games folder in your SD card root, and place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play inside.

  5. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4i-SDHC

  6. Insert the SD back into the cart, plug the cart into the DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Emulators

To emulate retro consoles on your DS like GBA, GB/C, NES, and others, you will need to download emulators.

Emulators Tutorial

Kernel Info

Pico-Launcher is compatible with ALL DSTT hardware, including all DEMON carts. Combined with Pico-Loader, it can be used as a full kernel, and supports almost all retail DS games. It features a material-inspired user interface, and an extremely fast loader.

Soft-Reset & RTS Not Supported

Note that Pico-Launcher/Loader currently does not support soft-resetting to the game menu. If this is important to you, consider using R4iMenu or YSMenu.

Real-Time-Save (save states), are only supported in R4iMenu. Follow the R4iMenu guide if this is a feature you'd like to use.

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following the formatting tutorial.

  2. Download the latest Pico Package for DSTT.

    • Currently updated to Pico-Launcher v1.3.0 and Pico-Loader v1.6.0

  3. Extract the pico_package_DSTT.zip file with 7-Zip, or your native file manager app.

  4. From within the extracted files, copy the following files/folders to your SD card root:

    • _pico folder

    • _picoboot.nds

    • r4.dat

  5. If you'd like to be able to use cheats on your games, download a cheat database.

  6. You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the download link in the post. Copy this file into the _pico folder on your SD card.

  7. Create a Games folder in your SD card root, and place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play inside.

  8. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4i-SDHC

  9. Insert the SD back into the cart, plug the cart into the DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Emulators

To emulate retro consoles like GBA, GB/C, NES, and others, you will need to add emulators and configure their file associations for Pico-Launcher to display retro ROMs in the menu.

Emulators Tutorial

Game Covers

Pico-Launcher supports showing game covers in cover flow layout mode, and on the top screen in icons mode. You will need to add cover images to your SD card to use this feature.

PicoCover

Themes

Looking to customize your DSpico interface? Check out the Pico themes repository:

Themes Repository

To create your own custom themes for Pico-Launcher, check out the themes creator:

Themes Creator

Kernel Info

See YSMenu Compatibility List's DEMON DSTTi Clones section for a full list of compatible carts.

YSMenu is a simple, fast, and stable kernel, featuring a menu UI resembling the original R4. It's a great choice for most DSTT-based flashcart users. However, it does lack RTS (Real Time Save), so check out the R4iMenu tab if that is something you're interested in.

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following the formatting tutorial.

  2. Download the DEMON YSMenu package.

  3. Next, extract the contents of DEMON_YSMenu_7.06.zip to your SD card.

  4. Place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play into the Games folder.

  5. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4i-SDHC

  6. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Emulators

To emulate retro consoles on your DS like GBA, GB/C, NES, and others, you will need to download emulators.

Emulators Tutorial

Themes

Looking to customize your menu? Check out the YSMenu themes repository:

Themes Repository

Kernel Info

AKMenu-Next is an alternative kernel based on akmenu4 (used in Wood R4 and AKAIO) and uses nds-bootstrap (and optionally Pico-Loader) to load games. This is an option if you have games, ROM hacks or fan translations that do not work on YSMenu or R4iMenu, and is also an option if you want a Wood R4 style interface.

  1. Download the latest release of AKMenu-Next Flashcart Edition.

  2. Extract the downloaded akmenu-next-flashcart.zip file with 7-Zip.

  3. From within the akmenu-next files, copy the following files/folders to your SD card root:

    • _nds folder
    • _pico folder
    • BOOT.NDS

  4. Download the latest release of nds-bootstrap.

  5. Extract the downloaded nds-bootstrap.zip file with 7-Zip.

  6. Copy the contents of the files from the extracted nds-bootstrap.zip file to the _nds folder on your SD card.

Pico-Loader (Experimental)

If you would like to also use the experimental Pico-Loader please follow the below steps, otherwise skip this section. Please bear in mind that Pico-Loader is still experimental and lacks soft-reset and cheat support. Any bugs should be reported on the Pico-Loader Issues Page.

  1. Download the latest release of Pico-Loader for DSTT.

  2. Extract the downloaded Pico_Loader_DSTT.zip file with 7-Zip.

  3. Copy the contents of the files from the extracted Pico_Loader_for_DSTT.zip file to the _pico folder on your SD card.

  4. This loader can be selected by going to the settings in AKMenu-Next and finding the option labeled "Game Loader".

Cheats

  1. If you'd like to be able to use cheats on your games, download a cheat database.

  2. You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the download link in the post. Copy this file to _nds/akmenunext/cheats/ on your SD card. (Create the cheats folder if it doesn't exist)

Autobooting

  1. Open the Autoboot folder within the AKMenu-Next files.

  2. Copy the contents of the R4i-SDHC folder (do not copy the folder itself) to the root of your SD card.

  3. Create a Games folder in your SD card root, and place your .nds game ROMs inside. You can also create additional folders to help with organizing/categorizing your ROMs.

  4. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4i-SDHC AKMenu-Next

  5. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Themes

Looking to customize your menu? Check out the AKMenu themes repository:

Themes Repository

Warning

There have been reports of users buying DSTTi DEMON carts from AliExpress and instead receiving an Ace3DS+/R4iLS clone, but still labeled to look like a DEMON cart. If your cart says Can't open _dsmenu.dat or Couldn't find _DS_MENU.DAT after setting up the kernel, you need to follow the Ace3DS+/R4iLS guide instead.

Timebombs

While some old versions of the stock kernel have timebombs (error that triggers past a certain date), none of the kernels provided in this guide have one.

If you'd like to learn more about flashcart timebombs and what they do, check out the Timebomb Misconceptions page on Flashcarts.net!