Free DS Downloads
- by Dan
Well it has been a while since I posted my last article on downloading DS games off the internet and my journey on finding free ds downloads. I thought now it is time for an update, because many new ds gamers have not heard about ds trojans and the dangers of free ds games downloads. The name of the most prominent Ds virus you can infect your console with is called DsBrick. It is infamously created for the purpose of overwriting critical memory areas of ds system, preventing the console from starting up normally. However, the worst part of infecting your DS console with DSBrick is the fact, that it cannot be removed. The only solution to get rid of it is by formatting your whole console. Well, this sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? And yes, it is really serious.
By the way, so called Bricker software cannot only be found in DS rom files, you can find it in Xbox 360 rom files and other game roms as well. A Bricker is a program that turns some nice piece of electronic into a useless hunk of plastic. Usually by overwriting the firmware rendering it inoperable.
On October 7 2005 DarkFader released the first bricker for the DS. The first version disguised as a hentai slideshow did not get widely spread, but the second version disguised as a loader for commercial roms did.. In the past DSBrick was part of a zip file called taihen.zip or r0mloader.zip These days it is existing in other formats and this is really dangerous, because you have no idea if the file you downloaded contains a virus. Before, if looking at a file and seeing the file names mentioned above, it was easy to just delete the whole zip and download another non infected game file. Because it is now hard to detect whether a downloaded rom is infected with DSBrick, the virus is spreading like crazy and it is definitely a wise decision to stay away from free ds download sites.
How To Unbrick DS
In case your DS suffers from a DSBrick infection (and also if you are downloading roms off the internet frequently) I highly recommend installing FlashMe. If your DS has FlashMe installed, and you own a flash cart, you only need to reinstall FlashMe by following these steps:
1. Download FlashMe
2. Put FlashMe on your flash cart by itself, without any loader. If your flash cart software mangles the header, you must prepend a loader to the nds file. To do this:
1. Put flashme.nds and ndsloader.bin in “c:\flash”
2. Click Start->Run and type “cmd” if you are using Windows 2000 or XP, or type “command” if you are using Windows 95, 98 or ME
3. In the box that opens type “cd c:\flash”
4. Type “copy /b ndsloader.bin + flashme.nds flashme.nds.gba”
5. Flash flashme.nds.gba to your flash cart, by itself, without any other loaders
3. Put the flash cart in your DS
4. Hold down A+B+Start+Select and while still holding the buttons down turn on your DS
5. Run FlashMe as instructed on screen
In case you want a 100% protection from the DSBrick virus, it is best to stay away from free ds download sites (e.g. Torrent Networks and P2P sharing sites). Instead I recommend joining a DS download membership site such as PocketDownloadCenter or Unlimited DS Downloads. You can find a detailed review of these ds download sites at DS Downloads.