Flashcards - A Guide for N00bs & The Confused

Flashcard: A 'card' that is used on various consoles in order to play pirated games and homebrew. These days, flashcards are mostly made for current-gen systems, such as the Nintendo DS.
Firmware: The software that is used on a flashcard. It enables it to run and play games. It needs to be updated once in a while when new games are released.
ROM: A pirated game ripped from a cartridge.
AP: Anti-piracy: The code that is written into a game that prevents it from being played.
Homebrew:

Urban DictionaryA ROM that created by unoffical programmers and load to video game flash card. Most homebrews are free. Homebrew ROMs can be a game , application, image viewer, drawing application, text editor and more.

Flashcards can be bought at a lot of online retailers. They cannot usually be bought at retail shops, but can sometimes be found at a local market.
If you are intending to get one, head over to ShopTemp. This site lists good sellers and their prices for the best cards on the market.

This is not opinion, it is fact.

Flash Carts: A Guide to What to Avoid and What to BuySupercard DSTwo
- The best cart on the market. Has the ability to emulate GBA from slot 1, and SNES from slot 1 better than any homebrew emulator to date. With many excellent plugins, as well as great game compatibility and media capabilities, this is the cart to go for. If it lands outside of your price range though, check below.
Compatible with all DS models and the 3DS.R4i Gold 3DS
- Don't be fooled by the R4 name. This is a wonderful cart for both the 3DS and DSi, as well as the DSlite or DS Phat. No matter what you have, this will work for you. It runs the fantastic Wood kernel, giving it top notch game compatibility. For the price, it's hard to beat. Note: The page I link to is for the correct R4i Gold cart. Beware of imitators. Only the product from the following site is legitimate: http://www.r4ids.cn/
Compatible with all DS models and the 3DS.

Flashcards work by fooling the console into thinking they're an official game cart (thanks Loonylion).

You read my definition right?
"Firmware: The software that is used on a flashcard. It enables it to run and play games. It needs to be updated once in a while when new games are released."

A firmware is different for every card.
Each firmware has a piece of independent code that makes it work on a certain card. To find out where you can get *your* firmware from, look at the URL that is pasted on your card. It it's not on the card, check the box it came in. The URL will be your flashcard manufacturers website. You'll be able to download it from there.

Spoiler

And yes, that is my card.

While each firmware is different, the way to install it is the same.
In the spoiler is a universal guide on how.

Spoiler

Step 1: Download the firmware from your cards website. Make sure it is your firmware for your card (there are loads of cards with the same name, and most sites will host two or more different firmwares (for their other cards)).
Step 2: Once the firmware is downloaded, extract it. Most will come in a RAR archive. It's pretty easy to extract RAR (just Google it!).
Step 3: Now you should have a few files and folders. If there is only 1 folder when you extracted it, go into that folder. The stuff you need should be in there. Now copy those file to the root (the F, E, G drive etc.) of your MicroSD card.
Step 4: Put your MicroSD in your flashcard and put it into the DS, DSi or whatever you are using. Now you're done.

People need to patch their flashcard for one of two reasons. Reason 1 is that they want their card to work on a higher system menu on a DSi or 3DS. In this case, they will need to patch their card. Reason 2 is that they have already updated the system menu on the DSi or 3DS and haven't patched their card. Stupid, I know.

Similar to firmwares, patching is universal. Most cards will have support for patching these days.
The guide below is universal again. It will explain the process involved.

Spoiler

Step 1: Download the patch for your card and the system menu you wish to update to. For example, I'm using an R4i Gold 3DS and wish to update to 3DS 4.5.
Step 2: Extract the patch. Once again, it will most likely come in RAR format. Though, ZIP files are more common than firmwares when it comes to patches.
Step 3: Like the firmware, copy the patch to the root of the SD.
Step 4: Launch the card with the SD and navigate to the patch file. Run it.
Step 5: Follow the prompts on the screen. At the end, your card will be able to run on a higher system menu. Feel free to update your 3DS or DSi now.

Good one.
Luckily, it's possible to get your flashcard back. But you'll need another DS system. And this system must be a DS Phat or DS Lite.If you've got one, then great. Follow the guide below.

Spoiler

Step 1: Download the patch for your card and the system menu you wish to update to. For example, I'm using an R4i Gold 3DS and my 3DS is on 4.5.
Step 2: Extract the patch. Once again, it will most likely come in RAR format. Though, ZIP files are more common than firmwares when it comes to patches.
Step 3: Like the firmware, copy the patch to the root of the SD.
Step 4: Now, instead of putting your card into the DSi or 3DS, put it into the DS.
Step 5: Launch the card on the DS and navigate to the patch file. Run it.
Step 6: Follow the prompts on the screen. At the end, your card will have support for the system you patched it to.
Step 7: Put the card into your DSi or 3DS and you can now play it.

Replying to #3

Replying to #5

Loonylion · #4depends what firmware version its on. if the cart works on it, then yes it can be used to update.

changelog2013.01.13
- updated thread2013.03.17
- fixed spelling mistakes
- changed wording in "Where can I get them?"