R4 NOT WORKING NOW

Hello all.
New to this so go easy on me.
Got an R4 for xmas been working great loaded some more games onto it last night
and now today it wont work.
Turn on the DS and the R4 2welcome page comes on.Tap the first box with the smiley faces and the screen moves on and goes white and the top screen goes black and stays like that.
Tried taking the R4 out tried taking the SD out tried blowing into the slots tried looking at the "gold" terminals they look ok and unmarked.
Any help would go a long way cheers

Could be a fake. Try backing up if necessary, reformat your MicroSD and then reinstall your firmware.

Thanks for getting back to me.
Could you give me some pointers on how to do what youve said?
Oh and how do i tell if its a fake?
cheers

You can tell if it's a fake generally by the labels or inside circuits. There's a topic on it at http://www.gbatemp.net/ somewhere, I'm sure you'll be able to find it.Backup your files (copy them somewhere so you don't lose them), and then right click on your MicroSD drive in My Computer and go Format. Just do a quick format for now. And then once that's done, reinstall the firmware. What you did in the first place, so just put the firmware on. You should try getting a fresh copy from http://www.linfoxdomain.com/ds/

Thanks for your help will try your advise in a bit.
I didnt add any firmware or anything onto it as it was a gift from a friend so it came all done for me lol
They are away on holiday now so need to try and work itout for myself for now lol
I am a bit of a computer novice so please pardon me if i post what seems a dumb question
again cheers

Ok done what you said to do
Now when i turn it on the screen says "couldnt find_ds_menu.dat"
ive no idea what this is?

Make sure you extracted the correct firmware files. There are many carts with the "R4" name.

ok any links to the correct one?

That would depend on the flash cart that you got, if you can't see by looking at it try getting a picture of the cart / box it came in for us.

when i try and post a picture its saying the files too large?
the R4 came in a blackish box with R4 in grean with white letters.
The wording on the back is white.
the card is black with a label on the front on the rear its got a wee silver screw holding it together.
sorry guys if this isnt any help.

Replying to #10

Open the file with something like MS Paint and reduce the size.Also, look for any words on the packaging like "SDHC" or "III Upgrade".

HOPE THIS HELPS

also make sure the sd card is pushed in so far,,i had this and it was cos the card was not in properly..

Thanks for that tried it there also.
Its in as far as it goes.
Starting to drive me bonkers now i was just getting into the swing of tiger woods!! pardon the pun.... teehee

Now when i turn it on the screen says "couldnt find_ds_menu.dat" Got this part sorted out dont know how but ive managed it the wife is going nuts now as ive been on here all day!!lol
anyway am back to my first post.
The r4 "boots" up with the 3 options GAME.... MULTIMEDIA....BOOT SLOT-2
When i try to open game the bottom screen goes white and the top black....
fingers crossed you guys can guid me through this?
please explain real well cause am not to switched on with these kinda things lol
thanks again

If it's a white screen issue, then the backup&reformat process should have done it. I found these links for you, but you have to do the rest (involves opening the R4, so proceed at your own risk).http://www.gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=93537http://www.gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=107057That's the best I can think of at the moment. Hope it helps. Again, proceed at own risk when opening the R4.In my honest opinion, you should open it. Put it this way: if you don't open it, it won't work and you won't know if you should buy another card or not. If you do, you might be able to tell if it is a fake, and so you might consider buying another card (as a fake R4 is NOT recommended). There are very good cards available at the moment, the best ones being the CycloDS, Acekard and maybe the Supercard (even though this one has been getting some issues lately with some RomUlation fellas).Again: you have nothing to lose. :)

Thanks jin for your input will keep you posted with my findings.
Again cheers for your efforts i would be lost without you guys

No problem.By the way, I couldn't figure out much from the picture. It seems like the normal case in the R4 site. But it needs to be viewed in detail, so you are the one who has to do it.

Think it might be a fake!!!!
Why has it just "stopped" working tho?
Is there a way round it?

I don't know if there is one, although I wouldn't try to use it again, even if I repaired it. It has a good chance of bricking you DS.It's just me, if you repair it you HAVE something to lose. But you should ask someone else, as I don't even own a DS.