I am sorry if something like this has been written before, I just found myself looking for information and had to put together scraps here and there to finally get proper results.
Basically, you have two possibilities which I will explain both in detail: using NxNandManager or hekate.
I personally recommend using NxNandManager.
The hekate Method:
=================
Tested:
======
hekate & Nyx version at time of test: 5.5.4 & 1.0.1
OS FW before emuMMC creation: 10.2.0
Partitioning tested: 4GB SD RAW Partition
Boots AMS: Yes (latest 0.18.1)
hekate & Nyx version at time of test: 5.5.4 & 1.0.1
OS FW before emuMMC creation: 10.2.0
Partitioning tested: 8GB SD RAW Partition
Boots AMS: Yes (latest 0.18.1)
hekate & Nyx version at time of test: 5.5.4 & 1.0.1
OS FW before emuMMC creation: 10.2.0
Partitioning tested: 2x4GB SD RAW Partition
Boots AMS: Yes, both (latest 0.18.1)
hekate & Nyx version at time of test: 5.5.4 & 1.0.1
OS FW before emuMMC creation: 10.2.0
Partitioning tested: 2x8GB SD RAW Partition
Boots AMS: Yes, both (latest 0.18.1)
Disclaimer:
==========
!WARNING! THIS WILL BRAKE THE GAMES YOU INSTALLED ON YOUR EMUNAND/MMC ASWELL AS THE SAVEGAMES ON IT!
BEFORE PROCEEDING MAKE SURE YOU MADE A BACKUP OF ALL THE GAMES AND SAVEGAMES YOU WANT TO KEEP!
This guide is aimed at people with having trouble managing their small SD cards, but can't buy bigger ones whysoever.
Resizing your emuMMC is not recommended if you don't necessarily have to, due to making a new emuMMC from sysNAND and losing games and saves.
Note that even if you don't install games to your emuMMC, some savegames can take up to 200MB or more (MH:Rise for example), so do not choose a too low value, 10GB would be my recommendation.
This process was tested thoroughly on a Mariko device, with multiple FW versions, 32/64/200GB SD card. Please keep in mind that the results can differ with your precise setup.
Utilizing this method, you could in theory run a 4GB emuNAND on your 8GB SD card if it can be formatted to FAT32.
In comparison to the other method that is described later, utilizing this RAW emuMMC makes your system really slow, so I would not recommend it.
EDIT: As of the latest hekate version, the issues with slowliness of emuMMC have been resolved and it is said to be of the same speed as if it would have been resized with NXNM.
Prequisites:
==========
- Latest release of hekate & Nyx from https://github.com/CTCaer/hekate/releases
- A backup of your previously savegames, preferably use JKSV from https://github.com/J-D-K/JKSV (and a backup of your installed games as dumps)
- Having (re)moved everything from your SD besides hekate (and Atmosphere)
- Optionally a backup of your previous emuNAND/MMC
Procedure:
=========
- Boot up your Switch into hekate
- Go to Tools and select "Partition SD Card"
- Drag the RED (emuMMC (RAW)) slider to whatever amount you desire (4-12 or 2x4-2x12 GB)
- Tap on "Next Step" and wait for the process to finish (hekate will now make a backup of everything on your SD to restore it after
formatting, hence why I advised you to backup and delete everything from the SD in case it runs out of space)
- Go back to the main menu and tap on the emuMMC option
- Tap "Create emuMMC", then choose "SD Partition" and choose the one you want it installed to
- If the process has finished (around 2 minutes for a 4GB RAW emuMMC), it should be automatically selected and you can boot Atmosphere
Epilogue:
========
If you want your previously installed games and savegames back do the following:
- Go into system settings -> Data Management -> Delete Savegames
- Choose the savegame you want to restore later and delete the saves of all users (or remove all the savegames while you are at it, they are broken anyway)
- Install the backup of your game with any installer solution you desire to use (recommended are Tinfoil/Tinleaf)
- Start the game once and make sure it either autosaves or you change something in the settings or alike to make it do so
- Start whatever backup manager you used, optionally select the user, restore the save file (this will fail if you didn't delete the savefiles beforehand and made a new one)
After you are done with everything regarding putting back previous files or installing homebrew etc, you should also grab the latest release of https://github.com/J-D-K/JKSV , put the NRO in your /switch/ folder and run this homebrew at least once to let it delete any broken savegames that have been on your resized NAND.
After that, run each game you want to restore your savegame to at least once aswell (and play a bit with the settings or until the first autosave to let it create data), quit it and launch JKSV once more.
Whatever program you used previously for backing up savegames does not matter, they all create the same kind of data, just in different directories. For JKSV, they belong to a folder called the same in your root SD directory. Inside, each game usually is properly titled and into that you can copy the previous backups (in seperate folders) to restore them later.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NxNandManager Method:
=========================
Tested:
=======
OS FW before resizing: 10.2.0
CFW before resizing: SX
Prodinfo before resizing: clean
Formatted with NANDManager: No
Final size after resizing: 5,30GB
OS FW before resizing: 10.2.0
CFW before resizing: SX (later migrated to AMS after resizing)
Prodinfo before resizing: clean
Formatted with NANDManager: No
Final size after resizing: 5,30GB
OS FW before resizing: 11.0.1
CFW before resizing: AMS, migrated from SX on 10.2.0
Prodinfo before resizing: blanked with Incognito
Formatted with NANDManager: Yes
Final size after resizing: 6,0GB
OS FW before resizing: 10.2.0 (later updated to 11.0.1 after migrating)
CFW before resizing: SX (later migrated to AMS after resizing)
Prodinfo before resizing: clean
Formatted with NANDManager: Yes
Final size after resizing: 4,20GB
Disclaimer:
=========
!WARNING! THIS WILL BRAKE THE GAMES YOU INSTALLED ON YOUR EMUNAND/MMC ASWELL AS THE SAVEGAMES ON IT!
BEFORE PROCEEDING MAKE SURE YOU MADE A BACKUP OF ALL THE GAMES AND SAVEGAMES YOU WANT TO KEEP!
This guide is aimed at people with having trouble managing their small SD cards, but can't buy bigger ones whysoever.
Resizing your emuNAND is not recommended if you don't necessarily have to due to losing everything besides settings/users.
This guide only covers the process of trimming your emuNAND, as enlarging it seems unnecessary. In theory it is possible though.
Note that even if you don't install games to your emuNAND, some savegames can take up to 200MB or more (MH:Rise for example), so do not choose a too low value, 10GB would be my recommendation.
This process was tested thoroughly on a Mariko device, FW 10.2.0/11.0.1, 32GB SD card, blanked/clean prodinfo. Please keep in mind that the results can differ with your precise setup.
Utilizing this method, you could in theory run a 4GB (or lower) emuNAND on your 8GB SD card if it can be formatted to FAT32.
If coming from SX, selecting AMS file-based at the emuNAND creation saves you the struggle to migrate it afterwards.
Prequisites:
==========
- NxNandManager (get the latest release from https://github.com/eliboa/NxNandManager/releases)
- prodkeys (acquire them with the latest release of Lockpick_RCM from https://github.com/shchmue/Lockpick_RCM/releases, booting it with SX Gear or alike)
- sysNAND/emuNAND/emuMMC backup or alternatively a file-based emuNAND/MMC
- a backup of your installed games and savegames (preferably JKSV from https://github.com/J-D-K/JKSV) since the resizing WILL brake them
Procedure:
=========
- Open NxNandManager.exe
- Go to Options -> Configure Keyset
- Klick "Import Keys from file", navigate to your prodkeys file and select it, save afterwards
- Go to File -> Open File, navigate to the NAND that you want to shrink and open either 00 or full.00.bin
- Go to Options -> Resize NAND
- Check "Format USER" and select your desired NAND size (everything will brake anyway, just format it)
- Optionally change the location where the resized NAND gets saved to with "Save as" (default is in the same folder as the exe)
- Wait for it to finish, press the X buttons to close the newly opened windows until you are in the main screen again
- Select File -> Close file/drive and then open the newly resized NAND with the option above
- Go to Options -> EmuNAND Creation Tool, select boot0 and boot1 from your NAND backup source
- Choose your desired emuNAND option
- Make sure that at this point no emuNAND/MMC is left on your SD and delete Emu/Nintendo folder (optionally backup first)
- Select your target disk
- Click "Create emuNAND" and wait for it to finish
- Close the newly opened windows, close the file from NxNandManager and exit the program
- Optionally set up SX/AMS if you formatted your SD card
- Boot your Switch and enjoy your slim emuNAND/MMC
Epilogue:
========
If you want your previously installed games and savegames back do the following:
- Go into system settings -> Data Management -> Delete Savegames
- Choose the savegame you want to restore later and delete the saves of all users (or remove all the savegames while you are at it, they are broken anyway)
- Install the backup of your game with any installer solution you desire to use (recommended are Tinfoil/Tinleaf)
- Start the game once and make sure it either autosaves or you change something in the settings or alike to make it do so
- Start whatever backup manager you used, optionally select the user, restore the save file (this will fail if you didn't delete the savefiles beforehand and made a new one)
After you are done with everything regarding putting back previous files or installing homebrew etc, you should also grab the latest release of https://github.com/J-D-K/JKSV , put the NRO in your /switch/ folder and run this homebrew at least once to let it delete any broken savegames that have been on your resized NAND.
After that, run each game you want to restore your savegame to at least once aswell (and play a bit with the settings or until the first autosave to let it create data), quit it and launch JKSV once more.
Whatever program you used previously for backing up savegames does not matter, they all create the same kind of data, just in different directories. For JKSV, they belong to a folder called the same in your root SD directory. Inside, each game usually is properly titled and into that you can copy the previous backups (in seperate folders) to restore them later.
