Dump or browse game cards

This guide explains how you can dump game cards to a CTR Cart Image (.3ds/.cci) using a Nintendo 3DS family system.

Nintendo DS games are also supported but are currently not covered in this guide. For Decrypt9WIP, the same options will also dump these games.

Requirements

• A 3DS system with arm9loaderhax
  • arm9loaderhax is not technically required, but is the simplest and most popular setup on 3DS systems. Other setups are not covered in these guides.
• GodMode9 by d0k3 (recommended)
  See its README on how to set it up.
  • or Decrypt9WIP by d0k3
    See its README on how to set it up.
• Some patience with huge games

Setting up

1. Get the latest release of GodMode9 or Decrypt9WIP.
2. If you are dumping + decrypting, get these slot keys (or an aeskeydb.bin with them, provided by Plailect's 3DS Guide) and place them at the root or /files9 (you can find them online):

• slot0x25KeyX.bin - 7.x NCCH
  • Needed for decrypting Secure2 on Old3DS <7.0 or arm9loaderhax
  • SHA256: 7e878dde92938e4c717dd53d1ea35a75633f5130d8cfd7c76c8f4a8fb87050cd
• slot0x18KeyX.bin - New3DS 9.3 NCCH
  • Needed for decrypting Secure3 for some New3DS exclusive titles on Old3DS without arm9loaderhax
  • SHA256: 76c76b655db85219c5d35d517ffaf7a43ebad66e31fbdd5743925937a893ccfc
• slot0x1BKeyX.bin - New3DS 9.6 NCCH
  • Needed for decrypting Secure4 for some New3DS exclusive titles in every environment
  • SHA256: 9a201e7c3737f3722e5b578d11837f197ca65bf52625b2690693e4165352c6bb

Method 1: Browse game with GodMode9

This will allow you to use GodMode9 browse a game's decrypted contents on a 3DS system.

1. Enter GodMode9 using one of the various entry points.
2. Insert the gamecard you want to dump.
3. Go to [C:] GAMECART.
4. Choose one of the files ending in .3ds, then press A to bring up a menu.
5. Choose "NCSD image options..." -> "Mount image to drive".
6. The game's decrypted contents will be in [G:] NCSD GAME IMAGE. Individual files can be copied to the SD card.

Method 2: Decrypt game with GodMode9

This will allow you to decrypt a game using GodMode9, for use on a PC.

1. Enter GodMode9 using one of the various entry points.
2. Insert the gamecard you want to dump.
3. Go to [C:] GAMECART.
4. Choose one of the files ending in .3ds (.trim.3ds is preferred for a smaller dump), then press A to bring up a menu.
5. Choose the option that fits what you need:

• NCSD image options...
  • Decrypt file (0:/gm9out) Decrypt and copy/"dump" the raw gamecard image to gm9out on the SD card.
  • Build CIA from file Create a decrypted CIA from the gamecard. Saved to gm9out on the SD card.
• Copy to 0:/gm9out Copy/"dump" the raw gamecard image to gm9out on the SD card.

6. Wait for the process to finish.

Method 2: Decrypt game with Decrypt9WIP or Hourglass9

Hourglass9 is an arm9loaderhax-only tool previously in Plailect's 3DS Guide. The steps are identical.

1. Make two folders on the SD card named files9 and files9/D9Game.
2. Enter Decrypt9 using one of the various entry points.
3. Insert the game card you want to dump.
4. Choose "Gamecard Dumper Options."
5. Choose the option that fits what you need:

• Dump Cart (full)
  Dump game card as-is with padding data.
• Dump Cart (trim)
  Dump game card as-is without padding data (trimmed).
• Dump & Decrypt Cart (full)
  Dump game card decrypted with padding-data.
• Dump & Decrypt Cart (trim)
  Dump game card decrypted without padding-data (trimmed).
  • This might be preferred for converting to CIA, extracting, or for use in an emulator like Citra.
• Dump Cart to CIA
  Dump game card decrypted to CIA format.
  • This might be preferred if you want to modify the CIA and easily rebuild it.
• Dump Private Header
  Dump private header from game card, for use with flash carts in particular.

6. Wait for the process to finish.
7. Your game/private header should now be dumped in /files9/D9Game

Common Errors

• Decrypt9WIP: "Error reaching cart NCCH header"
  • Make sure the game icon appears at the Home Menu. This may need region-free patches for Home Menu.
  • If it's a Nintendo 3DS game, some cards can't be dumped for some unknown reason. Leave a post about it on Decrypt9WIP's GBAtemp thread, or check GitHub issues.
• Work in progress