R4 Adapter Loading Screen Problem

R4 DS Loading... Screen??

The R4 Adapter "Loading..." Crash

One of the most common problems with the R4 adapter, regardless of whether you are using the R4v2, R4 SDHC, R4v3, or anything else, is the "Loading..." error. The majority of people assume that this is because their R4 DS is broken, and immediately panic or send their card back.

THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. YOUR R4 ADAPTER IS NOT NECESSARILY BROKEN. READ ON...

The most common problem is that you have the wrong software for your R4 DS. Visit the NDS-Gear R4 Adapter Software Download page for help recognising what kind of card you have, and links to software downloads.

Steps to Solve the R4 Adapter "Loading" Problem

1) Make sure you have downloaded the correct and latest software for your R4 DS. For help with this, please visit our Downloads page here.

2) Make sure the software is position in the root directory - the 'base' or first directory of your Micro-SD card. What your Micro-SD card's files should look like, can be seen below:

3) Give your Micro SD a good clean (a good blow, since the card contacts can be sensitive to dirt).

4) Make sure that the micro SD is not overloaded. The remainder of your Micro-SD card's memory is needed to keep your card running in tip top shape. As a guide, we recommend filling your Micro-SD card no more than 60% full. That means that for a 1GB card, we only recommend filling it 600MB full of games on your R4 adapter. For a 2GB card, we recommend only filling it up to 1.2GB full for your R4 DS, and so on.

5) Make sure the micro SD is pushed down completely into the DS Card (ensure good contact between Micro SD and R4 card). In a very small minority of cases, the micro SD has to be pull up a bit if the 'click' between the micro SD and the R4 adapter causes them to misalign.

6) Reformat your micro SD (FAT16/32) for optimal performance with your R4 DS.

7) Use only Micro SD/ SDHC 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32GB. Untested for micro SD above 32GB and problems reported for 6GB micro SD. *(For R4 v2 adapter, only use 2GB micro SD or below)