How to Set Up the R4DS

by Danisflying, Jul 24, 2007

A tutorial on how to set up the R4DS.

What you will need:

1x R4 DS cartridge (where you put the micro SD card into).
1x Micro SD card (can be up to 4GB)
1x Micro SD card reader (comes with the R4).

Step 1:

Go to r4ds.com and download version 1.11 firmware. Put your micro SD card into the micro SD card reader that came with your R4DS then plug into the computer. Simply drag and drop ALL of the files onto the micro SD card.

Step 2:

Then drag and drop any .nds file onto the micro SD card reader or an mp3 file if you want to test it out on either music or a game. For legal issues I cannot supply you with a website on how to get yourself any roms.

Step 3:

Safely remove the micro SD card reader from your computer and then take out the micro SD card. Slot your micro SD card into the R4DS cartridge and then put it into the Nintendo DS.

Step 4:

Turn on your Nintendo DS and it will load up the menu screen. If you put an mp3 file onto the card go into multimedia if you are loading up an .nds file go into games. The other option you can choose is for loading slot 2 devices a.k.a GBA games.

Step 5:

Now find your game/MP3 and play it. Viola! You have a full working R4DS!

You can buy an R4DS from a lot of places on the Internet. For links on where to buy an R4DS go here and look in the "Where to Buy" section.

How do you know if your R4DS is broken?

If the loading screen takes more than 30 seconds to load
If your micro SD will not fit into the R4DS
If your R4DS will not play any roms
If the firmware does not work try re-downloading

Note: If your micro SD does not fit in properly but you can still get it into the R4DS your spring has been broken. This is a really known problem that unfortunately can't be fixed and happens to most R4DS's.

What Comes With The R4 Package:

1xR4DS cartridge
1xR4DS cartridge holder
1xR4DS firmware CD (Has older version of firmware on it)
1xMicro SD card reader

A micro SD card is not included in the pack. However most websites that are offering R4DS's have combos that include a micro SD card but for a higher price than normal.

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Comments (67)

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#1 by danisflying, Aug 13, 2007

The website has changed from r4ds.net back to r4ds.com thanks!

#2 by nintyfanboy , Aug 19, 2007

good tutorial simple and easy to understand thanks :)

#3 by danisflying, Aug 22, 2007

Thanks! I'm hoping to make a tutorial on how to put videos on the r4 VERY SOON

#4 by danisflying, Aug 29, 2007

I think its back up now again

#5 by danisflying, Aug 31, 2007

Actaully good Idea I think I will Thanks!

#6 by danisflying, Sep 5, 2007

Thanks Heather I'll take note

Also look at some of my other articles to see my article on how to patch and put videos onto the R4DS

#7 by seth, Oct 3, 2007

thanks man, this help out loads. =)

#8 by nagged, Nov 7, 2007

a big thx

tried to follow instruction that came with R4 to no end.
your tutorial is so simple thx again

#9 by ., Jan 8, 2008

When You Download That firmware it is a windows media file, and when you double click on it, it says it has encountered a problem and needs to shut down.

#10 by T_T, Jan 10, 2008

is the r4 sit eup? (net and com?) can't access any :/

#11 by TV, Feb 19, 2008

Do I need to upgrade my firmware? I've noticed there is a newer version on the R4 website.

#12 by pete, Mar 6, 2008

We have 4 ds lites in our family and I have an R4. Have been using it for a while, but found it stopped booting up occasionally. When this happened, standard cards would not boot either. Eventually, no cards will boot now, and it has happened on all the ds lites we have !!! They are meant to be passive, but I'm not convinced. Has anyone else had these problems, and managed to fix it?

#13 by jk, Mar 16, 2008

hi i have put games on r4 card, but when i put it in ds it says there is no card in.

#14 by MELINA, Apr 11, 2008

I LOVE SPORT

#15 by andy harris, Apr 26, 2008

have just bought two new r4ds have downloaded some games put it
in ds lite but just sits there saying loading any one got any idea what to do next as i now have two very frustrated children
and a stressed out mum and dad

#16 by hazel, Apr 28, 2008

please help dont know what im doing i got the r4ds this morning what do i do next

#17 by HEHE, Jun 3, 2008

By the way for people wanting to know everytime a knew firmware comes out you should download it.

#18 by hgfjg, Jun 7, 2008

any website instid of r4ds.com

#19 by alex_T, Jun 19, 2008

to andy harris:
I think the game developer keep coming up with new method to block the game being played on R4. So you need to go to r4ds.com to download the latest firmware. I think it is ver 1.18 now

#20 by don, Jun 25, 2008

do i need to copy games on the ds into a particular folder? I copy them to no particular folder and when i try to open them i cant...

#21 by Knights123, Jul 4, 2008

Hi i am new to here... by the way i heard tat R4DS is illegal is it true...

#22 by Knights123, Jul 4, 2008

When putting games into the R4 need to create any folders or jus throw everythings into the Micro SD card...

#23 by Knights123, Jul 4, 2008

Can someone reply my msg coz i goin to buy an R4 tmr and i new to it... i not sure how to set up the R4 and i not very sure abt the step... :(

#24 by gerryman, Jul 13, 2008

yes knights its illegal to download games for ur r4 but they can be used as a backup for games / music / movies that you already own. to get it working copy the system files from www.r4ds.com its v1.18. then just click and drag any nds files onto your sd card. personally i name a folder nds and use this for games and another dgp for movies (as this is the type of file for movies). i always find that a quick look on utube will help with most problems.
My problem is that i cant seem to use a 4gb sd card.the r4 works on a 1 & 2 gb sd card but wont work on anything bigger. was wondering if anyone could help. i also have a m3ds real and this supports up to 8gb. thanks

#25 by Ah yes, Jul 14, 2008

Sorry but the R4ds only supports up to 2gb micro SD cards
Which totally sucks

#26 by gerryman, Jul 14, 2008

thanks Ah yes, have tried everything and couldn\'t understand where i was going wrong. and again for anyone else if you are having any problems with the r4 google youtube and simply enter R4DS. the videos are very helpful. for ds games try romsite.net (u can only download 80mb per day, probably get a couple of games), or download from a torrent site (this is the best method as u can download loads at the same time - i used utorrent and typed in ds roms).

was also wondering if the r4ds version 2 (r4ds revolution) supports the larger sd cards as this is what i have.

hope this helps gerryman

#27 by alan , Jul 27, 2008

r u ment t get a memory card with your r4ds. coz i cant find mine anywhere

#28 by lonele, Aug 1, 2008

r4ds.com is closed now? where to download the lasted firmware?

#29 by okuger, Aug 1, 2008

hello, you can download the r4 kernel from:
http://www.digimartz.com/r4-ds-revolution-r4ds-microsdtf-slot1-solution-adapter-p-68.html
System files and Tools for r4 included.

#30 by lada, Aug 9, 2008

how i can set my new r4ds

#31 by help, Aug 14, 2008

Hello,
I have bought the R4 card and the microsd card reader (USB) was included. . i have also received a scandisk microsd 2gb memory card.

when i put the card into the usb reader, it installs the drivers and the properties are saying it is working correct... but when i open my computer and click the icon to open the memory card it says please insert a disk into removable disk (F:\) i have vista..

i have been looking at forums on the internet and it seems quite a few people have this problem but noone has resovled it. there are alot of people guessing how to resolve but none work..

has anyone had this problem and how was it resolved. .
thanks

#32 by georgie, Aug 16, 2008

hi every1 i need help wit my r4ds problem!its a LOADING screen problem

#33 by georgie, Aug 16, 2008

I put my microsd into the r4 with all the necessary files(its no spring version) and turn on DS lite......baaammmm!!!!!LOADING!!!!!!noyhin happens????i tried loatsa different kernels(even n5 files) and i tried 3 different microsd(1gd sandisk-2gb sandisk- 2gb kingston)...........still same no change at all..any1 sorted this problem out please help me out?? =)

#34 by f ali, Aug 18, 2008

i took my sd card out but did nothing with it. when i put it back in it says loading but never loads up. i am not the only one with this problem . can anyone tell me how to fix this?

#35 by Daveab74, Aug 20, 2008

Hi I have just bought 2 r4ds's and I am having the same problem LOADING..... it is the r4ds itself as I have tried an older cartridge which I have and even with the new sd card in and all of the software it works fine...so the problem lies with the newer r4ds cards.

#36 by Grace, Aug 21, 2008

I have got version 2 and i followed the link and downloaded v1.11 kernal download and then extracted it and put my r4 card in it just says could not finf menu data, why cant it find it?

#37 by V, Aug 26, 2008

You guys having trouble loading. You've probably got a high density sd card. You need a standard one. I think they come in up to 4g but maybe only 2. Be sure you're getting a standard one or it won't work in the R4. Alternatively, get a newer R4 and use whatever size card suits you. The newer ones say specifically that they have high density support (up to 32g or something like that). Also, you're gonna want to put your roms in a different folder as gerryman suggested above. Some of them will either lock up, or not play at all in the main directory.

By the way, if you're wondering, I just got the newer R4 because of this exact problem. :-) It kinda sucks that now I've got an old R4 that I've barely used because I didn't know enough to look for the newer one. But who am I gonna complain to?????

#38 by jac, Sep 13, 2008

i'm getting a chinese/japanese !! error message on touch screen when i plug my r4 into ds?????? anyone had this before and know what to do>>??!!

thanks!

#39 by Kevin, Sep 19, 2008

I'm using a 2 GB Lexar micro SD card and everytime I try to load it up in the DS it either gives me a loading... screen and never loads or an error message that couldn't find ds-menu.dat file. I've tried different versions of kernels and different methods but it still wont load. Any Advice???????

#40 by DryYoshi, Sep 21, 2008

To Kevin:

Buy or trade it for a Kingston 2GB SD card. I have one and it works! ;)

To V:

Thanks, my mom just but a Kingston 4GB HC as a present, but it doesn't work.
I'm going to trade it for a normal one!
(Package: Lifetime Warranty! Except in France Germany and Austria LOL :D)
Or i'm gonna 'steal' my sister's R4 (wich is the new R4 DS) HI HI HI!

#41 by daff loire, Sep 27, 2008

I have the same problem as jac but mine was working till i tried a update

#42 by daff loire, Sep 29, 2008

jac update chinese ad it should work

#43 by Tracey, Sep 30, 2008

Hi all I have bought 4 r4ds and all work well, but I have just bought a r4 III upgrade card for a friends boy and transfered all my files from my r4ds and it won't load just has a black screen and says loading, could somebody please explain to me simply what I have to do to fix it as I have no idea.
Thank you.

#44 by Colleen, Oct 3, 2008

To Tracey:

The R4 that takes HC requires a different kernel. Download it from here:
http://www.ndslr4.com/soft/25-en.htm
First delete all but the Games folder on your SDHC, then replace them with the files/folders in the zip file that you download. It will then work flawlessly.

#45 by Mosca72, Oct 10, 2008

Thanks colleen I will Try this one I let you know if it works...

#46 by Gema, Oct 10, 2008

Hi! I've got a problem with my r4 (just bought it)... I tried so many kernels already yet my ds always get stuck at the loading screen... the menu screen doesn't appear at all!! can anyone help me fix this problem please?

#47 by kaplinkster, Oct 17, 2008

Hello. I have an r4 III upgrade card and themes do not show only a purple screen with a box blinking. I am able to play all the games, but the theme is ugly. Does anyone know how I can fix this so I can add my own themes.
Thank you!

#48 by daffloire, Oct 20, 2008

www.ndsthemes.com

#49 by Lynn, Oct 22, 2008

I have just bought a R4DS card but there is no software didk with it.

I\'ve been told to download the software at the R4ds site.

I\'ve downloaded English Kernel v1.18 which gives me 1 file English-1.18.rar

Do I have to just drag this file onto the sd card?

Sorry I am new to R4 card.

Thanks x

#50 by Andy, Oct 23, 2008

When i put my Micro SD card into the Micro SD card reader, any of the games I put on it do not come up on the games list. Do you know what is wrong?

#51 by langers, Oct 25, 2008

To all people that cant get past the \'Loading..\' screen:
if you have the R4 Revolution SDHC, try downloading the kernel from this site \'http://www.ndslr4.com/soft/25-en.htm.\' the r4 sdhc requires a different kernel from the older versions. hope this helps

#52 by min, Oct 31, 2008

Just receive the R4DS card today. This morning can still load the game menu in the DS. Now is either give me SD/TF card error or loading screen. sigh. Can someone help me!!!!

#53 by sarkybry, Nov 5, 2008

just got the new r4 8 gig i have tried kernal 1.21 and 1.23 and i am just getting a purple screen any ideas why this is

#54 by jac, Nov 6, 2008

Thanks Langersm your a star!!

#55 by gemma, Nov 15, 2008

i need help.ok we just received our new r4 kit the problem is that we\'ve downloaded software kernal 1.18 english version and followed the instructions as above but all i keep getting on the screen is [loading].can someone please help as i am new to this sort of thing all the help and guidance will be appreciated many thanks gemma

#56 by SLaYeR, Nov 18, 2008

To everybody that is having a(loading)screen problem with the
R4SDHC which is a new version of r4 look here (www.r4sdhc.com) do as Colleen said on comment #44 it works for the new r4 version .....

#57 by aaron, Nov 19, 2008

seeing as the r4sdhc site is still not working right, has any1 else got a copy of the latest firmware or know or any place i could get it as im having the loading error too

#58 by aaron, Nov 19, 2008

just found a site with every firmware available here is the link, hope it helps you guys as much as it helped me

http://linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds/

#59 by RedSneaker, Nov 20, 2008

I had the Loading Screen error. I re-formatted and re-installed probably 30 times. I did all the logical updating and dragging and blaa blaa blaa. I finally sent an e-mail to the company I bought it from and the e-mailed me what appeared to be the same files I had already installed repeatedly. For whatever reason it worked and never messed up again... untill I had some new roms I installed and it would not play them. As soon as I tried to update files to newer version, I am now back to Loading screen lol.

#60 by TheMan, Nov 21, 2008

Guys and Girls. Spent ages on this \\\"Loading...\\\" as I\\\'m sure all of you have. Turns out there is a R4DS fake. It\\\'s a N5DS Labeled as a R4DS.

Anyway, onto the solution. On the label it will say (most likely) **R4SDHC** This is key to finding the right Firmware. A quick google and hey presto. This will work even if you don\\\'t have a SDHC Memory Card inserted. People believe me I am glad to put this error to rest.

http://rapidshare.com/files/141996794/R4SDHCEnglish-1.21.rar

#61 by santo, Nov 22, 2008

Hi all i have 2 diffent versions of rd sdhc and just sd .
all know do not work on my ds ( ive down load both new veriosn and still it will not go to loading page straight do normal mode and the screen says no ds card what am i doing wrong
santo
from downunder
p.s i have 5 cards is was giving for xmass till yesterday were working fine all stopped

#62 by Infamous, Nov 24, 2008

i bought a TTr4 idk if it is a good one coz i m new at dis thing weh i put my 2 gb into the usb thing into the computer nothin happens only the little safely remove hard ware n weh i go look into the Removable Disk(G:)it says insert dick in to it n i did
plz help :l n i downloaded the R$ V1.11 Kernel thingy but i still dont no wat to do :l plz help me :l

#63 by infamous, Nov 24, 2008

disk*****
R4*******

#64 by infamous, Nov 24, 2008

my bad :l freakin buttons

#65 by it doesnt matter, Nov 25, 2008

i have a problem, once i put games on my r4ds and put the micro sd in the r4 revolution it comes up as Loading... and thats it. It dosent work and im really upset because ivve been waiting for the r4 for years and now that i hav it, it dosnt work!!!! please help :,(

#66 by jones8430, Nov 28, 2008

bought 2 of the r4ds hc cards with 4gig hc micro cards went to the site that click shop told me to go to and all i get is the loading screen

would they be faulty cards or wrong firmware (english 1.23 )
cheers

#67 by hellspeak1, Dec 1, 2008

just got 8gb r4 card and does nothing but say loading .. help

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