Wood R4DS kernel/firmware VS. R4 kernel/firmware
Which is better?
There has been some confusion with the R4 kernel and the Wood R4 kernel. Some people have bought "special versions of the R4" that are more expensive so they can use the Wood R4 kernel. Wood R4 and R4 cards are the same. No difference. Nope.
Now lets get to the kernels. The R4 kernel comes with a very outdated version of Moonshell, which is a multimedia viewing app. Speaking of outdated, the R4 kernels last update was way back in 2008! The Wood R4 kernel is constantly updated.
The Wood R4 kernel is IDENTICAL to the Acekard 2 firmware. The R4 kernel is more like the M3 simply firmware. It has three options; games, multimedia, and slot 2. The R4 kernel uses encrypted data, so fake R4DS's may not be able to use it correctly, and will have to use the Wood R4 kernel. (See here)
The Wood R4 kernel does NOT come with Moonshell. However, that is a good thing, because we don't want Moonshell, now do we? We want Moonshell2. See here, and the download link is here.
Have you decided which kernel you want? I'm guessing you picked Wood R4. (Its better :D) But, if you chose the R4, well, I have also included how to install that too, below.
How to install Wood R4 firmware:
What you will need: R4DS card, latest Wood R4 firmware (Download link here), MicroSD card, and a MicroSD reader.
Step 1. Insert the MicroSD card into your reader, and then the MicroSD reader into the computer. Navigate to the root of the card.
Step 2. Unpack the Wood R4 kernel into the root of the card.
*Step 3. Delete the read me file and the changelog file.
Installing the R4 kernel:
What you will need: R4DS card, latest R4 firmware (Download link here), MicroSD card, and a MicroSD reader.
Step 1. Insert the MicroSD card into your reader, and then the MicroSD reader into the computer. Navigate to the root of the card.
Step 2. Unpack the R4 firmware you downloaded into the root of the card.
*Step 3. If your R4 card is not the English version, you will need to patch "DS_MENU.DAT" with the following tool. To do this, download the tool with via link, and put extract it into a folder. Then, copy DS_MENU_DAT into the same folder. Next, run the program, type in DS_MENU.DAT, and then type the number of the version you want to patch it.
Whether you have the Wood R4 Kernel or the R4 Kernel, you now have an up-and-running R4. I hope you like this article. Have a comment or a question? Feel free to comment!
