happynuke

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Action Replay DS and getting it to work right on Windows 10- A Walkthrough

This is a little guide for future me if I ever decide to drop DS game hacking again and then later on try to set up my Action Replay like it's the first time ever. It's also a guide for everyone who wants to know!

This is valid for the Action Replay DS "EZ" on the final firmware update. It might also work for the DSi (the black one).

Contrary to what people on random forums have been saying about getting the Action Replay Code Manager software to hook up with the Action Replay via USB, it does actually work on Windows 10. You don't need to get a Virtualbox of Windows XP. My issue was the driver software, which Windows 10 will act like it can't see it at all.

Download the Code Manager and Driver repository from this forum post:

It's the one that says "Action Replay DSi Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 x86/x64 Installer"

In the event this forum post goes down, or is nerfed by Google Drive, please poke me for a re-linking. I will always archive important items like this. I am not that forum poster (it's not my google drive link) but I like to archive defunct software just in general.

Install the code manager as normal. Again, it's fine if you're on Windows 10.

Inside that ARDSI Install zip file, pull out the ActionReplayDS_x64.sys, ActionReplayDS_x64.inf and ActionReplayDS_x64.cat and put them on your desktop.

Put your ARDS into your DS console and turn the console on.

Carefully plug the USB (it's a 4-pin mini usb, those things are too breakable!) into the AR and also your PC.

Your PC will recognise a USB device has been plugged in and will attempt to automatically install it for you to use. It won't be able to but will look like it's worked fine.

Go to Device Manager on your PC and find the "other devices" section. Your Action replay will be in here, probably named something like NDSlink or NDSdevice. It will have a yellow triangle next to it.

Right click the NDS entry and select "update driver". Choose option 2 to browse your PC for manual drivers. Select Desktop, which is where you extracted those drivers to.

The drivers will install fairly quickly. If you get an error that the system couldn't find the file specified, you forgot to extract one of the ActionReplay_x64 items.

Open Codemanager. On your running DS console, press the yellow mouse icon on the AR menu. Codemanager should now be able to communicate with the AR device.

Be patient, loading the codelist takes ages! For me it took about 2 minutes, just let it do its thing.

Finally, try not to mess with the device too much. They are known to brick when adding new games.

Other known issues:

Cartridge connection (traces) corrosion. Action replays for the DS have notoriously bad contact pins. That's the gold lines on the back of the cart. Mine needed repairing, by opening the AR casing and carefully scrubbing the traces with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I noticed they had very bad green-coloured corrosion on them despite never getting wet. My other ARDSi is like this too.

Can't find a compatible cable for USB. It needs a sort-of proprietary cable named a "USB A to 4-pin Mini USB A" which used to come with Nikon cameras and old MP3 players. For UK cable hunters, you can get some here:

These things aren't going to be available forever since they're extremely obsolete, so buy a bunch if you need them (and they're so cheap).

No buttons on the ARDS UI. This unfortunately usually means you've bricked the device in some way. Maybe it popped out of the console while saving. I do not know how to resolve this, sorry!

I hope this guide helps somebody in the future, if there's still anyone interested in DS game hacking.

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The total satisfaction of a completed maximum size Buildcraft quarry.

I combined mine with the Dark Matter pedestal, Watch of flowing time and Industrialcraft2 Engine EU-MJ converter machine for maximum efficiency.

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Macro Camera! I forgot I had one. Here are some high-def shots, the camera is focusing on an area less than half a centimetre.

Painted-in enamel. This blotchy painting is not visible to my eyes!

Textured detailing under the base of the reactor.

The cryptic maker's mark amongst overlapping circles stamped into the metal. This same mark is on another of my pins.

I love using my macro camera!

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I am very happy to have found this tiny little gold pin badge which is an incredibly rare symbol of dedication to the cleanup and future protections around Chernobyl. It has painted-in red enamel and a highly glossy gold framing with a section of the reactor at the center. The back of this pin has the same stamping mark as seen on one of my other Chernobyl memorial pins. I am not certain of when this pin was distributed, or who got them.

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I had a horrible dream that someone accidentally installed Windows 11 on my PC and everything was gone. I was even using google in my dream. It wouldn't say how to get rid of it. I think I ended up taking my whole PC apart and then crying and doing nothing.

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when life sucks, fill your dark void with deadly radioactive uranium ores.

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I made track #02 today! Another super heavy electro drum&bass song with some sad piano. It only took 4 hours of fighting with Audacity and Camtasia!

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Two enamel pin badges I recently bought which shipped out of Ukraine.

Участнику ликвидации аварии- made for liquidators who helped to clean up the Chernobyl disaster which happened in 1986. This particular pin badge has a makers stamp on the back so is likely authentic.

АЗС (Атомная Электростанция) Чернобыльская- given to everyone involved in the creation of the Chernobyl power plant, including plant staff, engineers, builders and servicepeople. Would possibly have been given out late 1970's. I'm less certain of the authenticity of this pin badge, but the back is covered in a starburst pattern.

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Spectrometry service needed!

Please contact me if you can help with my work. I'm trying to indentify the exact radioactive isotopes that are in each of my "Negative Ion" wristband and sticker products. I initially thought Thorium Dioxide but today I discovered a Chinese outlet selling radium powder in bulk and it made me rethink the manufacturing process. So, in short I'd like to know;

What element the wristbands (and stickers) contain

The amounts/purity in each one

Where exactly the element is contained in the product; baked-in or just layered on top?

I have about 11 items I'd like to have tested, you're welcome to just send me a quote estimation of cost.

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An irony: A sticker with the purpose of blocking harmful radiation from 5G signals.

This sticker contains moderate amounts of radioactive thorium which my alpha geiger counter registers as 450CPM on average. Not particularly harmful, but this product still should not exist, both because it's scamming people and thorium is toxic.

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Finalized the design, now to pay somebody to make it for me :) It will look so cute!

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I have just spend $400 on 5 more pieces of uraninite. I have a bad addiction to rocks.

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A concept for a cute multi-layered transparent acrylic keychain featuring a radiological hazard trefoil motif with a tiny smiley face set in the middle.

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Etsy is punishing me for trying to spend money. I add 4 items to my basket; fine, but with a £70 shipping fee. I add 5 items to my basket; it's now cheaper than if you were to buy 4 items for absolutely no reason, oh and also...

do you know how expensive that would be? To buy all 5 items individually with Etsy's awful shipping calculation?! It's trying to charge me £26 shipping per item.

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The background radiation level in my room is currently 62 counts per minute. It would normally be closer to 40 cpm but I have a particularly hot piece of uraninite sitting inside a container on my desk. Can you imagine if I took that rock out of its box? It's also about 40cm away from my geiger counter, which is always turned on and constantly counting the background radiation level. Uranium is an alpha emitter but its decay products emit both gamma and beta particles, and my distant geiger counter detecting this suggests this piece of uraninite is quite intensely decaying.

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uranium is edible but it tastes spicy, not chilli pepper spicy but like tv static spicy, you should try it.

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early 1960 radium watch hands, measuring 418cpm