Tech Help thread

[Almonds]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

@Penumbro; I personally own a 2DS, and I'll say that I never regretted buying one. If you don't care about the 3D feature, it's a good console to consider. Remember, the 2DS is part of the 3DS family, and of course all 3DS games work on the 2DS.

First of all, the performance of the 2DS and the 3DS/3DSXL is exactly the same. I'm playing Pokemon Y with my 2DS, and it's performing wonderfully. Here's the pros of the 2DS that I experienced.

1. Longer battery life. It doesn't have the 3D feature, so it obviously can stay on longer. Also, I think the simplified features contribute to taking up less battery life (making it kid friendly and all). Though, iirc, I once had it on for over 3 hours, and there was still more than 70% of the battery left.
2. It's not as big as many people think. I compared it with my own DS and my friend's 3DS, and it's only slightly wider. It fits in my makeup pouch, and it doesn't take up too much space. All the sides are shorter than an unused #2 pencil
3. It's not heavy. It's about the same weight as the average smartphone.
4. No hinges. No worries of snapping in two.
5. The Home button is at the bottom of the device and easy to press. You can put the 2DS to Sleep Mode by using a slide button that clicks in place.
6. The L and R buttons are stretched on the round corners and they are very easy and light to press.
7. It's very hand-friendly. I know they advertised it to be kid-friendly, but I'm an adult, and it fits perfectly in my own hands. The buttons are all placed where the thumb rests, and the round corners are very smooth and don't hurt the palms.
8. Graphics are the same as the regular 3DS (again, only missing the 3D feature).

The graphics of the original DS games not being crisp on the 3DS seems to be a feature shared on the family, 2DS included. I played Pokemon Black2 with the 2DS and yes, it got a bit pixelated. But still playable.

If you're worried about the screens getting damaged, just put it in a pouch or something.

 

[Penumbro]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

@Yato So is it worth the investment? Since I am only getting like 2-3 hours uptime with the battery at the moment anyway..?

 

[proserpina]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

MOD NOTE: Merging this thread with our Tech Help Thread - if you ever want input specific to you on which gadget to buy or whether to upgrade, consider posting there in future. However, you may also find some information relevant to this in our general 3DS, XL and 2DS comparison thread.

 

[Stratelier]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

The graphics of the original DS games not being crisp on the 3DS seems to be a feature shared on the family, 2DS included. I played Pokemon Black2 with the 2DS and yes, it got a bit pixelated. But still playable.

This happens any time you have any LCD screen displaying something not at its native pixel resolution. (I have a monitor that's like 1280x960 or somesuch, but we have the screen resolution set at 1024x768. It is not very noticeable on average, but if you have a pixel image onscreen then it is.) You can make a DS game start with the graphics displayed at a 1:1 pixel ratio (which retains crispness), but then it doesn't take up the entire screen which is a lot more noticeable than playing GBA games on the DS was (especially on an original 3DS).

 

[Almonds]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

@Yato So is it worth the investment? Since I am only getting like 2-3 hours uptime with the battery at the moment anyway..?

If considering the battery life (and not caring about 3D features), my personal opinion is that it is worth getting. But it's really up to you if you want to buy it or not. If you have the chance to see/use a 2DS, then I suggest actually using one through demos at gaming/electronics shops or borrowing from someone who has it before deciding.

 

[Penumbro]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

OK... thanks everyone, and @Mod, will do in the future! Did not realist that it belonged here, my mistake.

...

I did not ever think of it like that bit of an oversight on my behalf. It is a shame that they could not implement it so you can upscale the resolution of the DS games, a bit like running a computer game with a custom resolution parameter... I guess that is way too technical for this console though! They might fix this in a later update.

One last question about the 2DS/3DS issue...

...what are the odds of Nintendo releasing a new handheld within the next six months (new generation to a new variation of the 3DS family)? If they are likely to, then I will wait for that to be released first . The battery issue could be fixed by buying a battery pack grip if needbe, I don't know how great they are though.

Cheers everyone!

 

[Stratelier]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

It is a shame that they could not implement it so you can upscale the resolution of the DS games, a bit like running a computer game with a custom resolution parameter... I guess that is way too technical for this console though! They might fix this in a later update.

DS games are already "upscaled" already - the lower screen on the regular 3DS is the same physical size as the DS, it just has slightly higher pixel density. And the problem is that the scaling factor (between source DS image and 3DS screen) falls inside the (1.0 - 2.0) range; if it was inside the (2.0 - 3.0) range (or more), the scaling wouldn't be as visible. (Like when playing emulated NES games on a PC and the graphics are scaled to 3x)

 

[Dorothy]

Re: 3DS vs 2DS

One last question about the 2DS/3DS issue...

...what are the odds of Nintendo releasing a new handheld within the next six months (new generation to a new variation of the 3DS family)? If they are likely to, then I will wait for that to be released first . The battery issue could be fixed by buying a battery pack grip if needbe, I don't know how great they are though.

It's possible, but not very likely. Personally, I don't think we'll see a new entry in the 3DS line this year, except maybe an improvement upon the 2DS. If that's gonna happen this year I suspect it'd be announced in the next few months.

 

[Penumbro]

Okydokes, cheers

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

I plan on buying a 3DS XL the day after thanksgiving (Black Friday), and I was just wondering what memory card I should get for it?

I heard that 32GB Sandisk Class 4 is the best 3DS XL memory card, unless I'll only need 16GB?

I don't plan on buying any DLC or eShop/online exclusives, just physical retail games.

 

[Fairy Ice Ricky]

@Toddler Naruto - Right now I have five retail digital download games... plus a lot of Virtual Console games, some eShop-only games, quite a few apps & demos, and like a crap-ton of photos from Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Tomodachi Life...

... And so far I've used no more than 56K blocks out of my total ~256K blocks (I have a 32GB SD card).

Ultimately it depends on how many games you decide to buy on the eShop and their MB/block size, but I think a 16GB card (~128K blocks I believe) should be fine.

 

[dman_dustin]

Computer Issue

Not sure if this is the right thread or place but I think this goes here.

I'm having some weird computer problems (I have Windows 8) by the way, and all of it started when my mouse (USB mouse), as well as my built in mouse Keyboard (Laptop) didn't work completely. It's behavior is very erratic.

I can't click on some things, but I can click on other things, I keep clicking something and nothing happens, so this isn't a USB mouse problem because it affects the built in mouse stuff from the Laptop Keyboard.

I checked things as best as I can, by trying to delete some unwanted suspicious programs, then my laptop won't even boot up. I will get to the log in, put in the password, it will load and then it will be pitch black with the mouse cursor, and nothing will load.

However Safe Mode with Networking works fine, just disabling some features, the problem is, I'm still encountering mouse issues even in Safe Mode. Such as scanning my computer for viruses, and yet it won't let me take any sort of action.

I don't want to stay in safe mode with networking forever, in fear something I try to do will even screw that up.

Is there anyone who knows exactly what's going on with my computer and the best way to fix it, without resorting to a Windows Refresh. Before anyone asks, the system restore point is a no-go, because I don't have one, or at least a reliable one, besides I think I tried to that.

There must be something wrong with disk itself, be it a virus, or a virus ate some "meat" off my computer and it's dangling by a thread, but I really want to resolve this as soon as possible. Or maybe some sort of driver corruption of some kind.

Perhaps if I could resolve the mouse issues, perhaps everything can go from there.

 

[Neon Borealis]

I think I have a problem.
Recently, I finally got a 3dsXl, but today as I was changing games something happened. Now I have to apply a little more pressure to get a game in and the game cartridge tilts to the side. Luckily, I have warranty up to 6 months. But I would still lose the digital games I downloaded (some indie games). I don't know what to do.

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

My Used 160GB Slim PS3 Won't Play Games

My Used 160GB Slim PS3 is refusing to play any of my physical PS3 game discs.

I think it's the bluray drive/laser, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyways, I was hoping someone here could help me solve the issue please?

Preferably without having to spend much money, I'll be broke until July 26th at least.

 

[Isramon]

I need help (again). I have an Enhanced CD and when I want it to play on my computer it doesn't work. Not just the Enhanced part, but the music isn't playing for some reason. Every other kind of program works on my DVD-ROM and the Enhanced CD works on all CD reading devices but mine. What can I do?

Anyone can help me? I found no answers on the Internet. On my girlfriend's XP PC it works great. Is it the fact that I have Windows 7?

 

[Berrenta]

So I'm trying to access File Explorer on Windows 8. Every time I try to access, screen flashes blue then goes back; it won't let me access the Explorer. Went into Safe mode and did a virus scan, which resolved some cookies. I go back to normal mode, but I'm still unable to access File Explorer. It opens perfectly fine in Safe Mode, however.

When I do manage to access File Explorer, I try selecting an item. Right clicking on the selected item afterwards for a menu closes the explorer instead of giving me the menu options.

Update: Had some technicians look at it, and they had to refresh the operating system. I hope it works.

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

Update: I had my friend look at my 160GB Slim PS3 again, and apparently it's either the Blu-Ray drive itself that's malfunctioning, which will cost me $80 New on eBay, or it's the HDD, in which case I'm hoping just formatting it and re-installing the PS3 OS will fix the problem.

If it is the HDD and formatting/reinstalling doesn't work, I have my eyes set on a 500GB Western Digital for only $50 New on Amazon.

I just hope they're not both malfunctioning, I can't afford to spend $130 all at once.

 

[Umbreon Freak]

For the past week, my 3DS has refused to connect to my wi-fi, and when it does connect, it only stays online for about ten minutes before it disconnects again. I've tried everything the Nintendo website told me and nothing seems to be working.

 

[Almonds]

I want to get rid of iStartSurf but nothing seems to work :/ I went to the control panel to see if there was a program that I could uninstall, but there was none. I tried resetting Goggle Chrome and everything but it just wouldn't leave my computer. I did a virus scan and deleted anything suspicious, but iStartSurf is still appearing as the homepage. How can I get rid of it :/

 

[Isramon]

So I have a new problem (not that the old one was solved):
My 3DS is second hand, and the seller never gave me a regestration code for the system. I can't reach the seller because I deleted his info from my phone after the deal. My question is: Can I register my 3DS with a different unregistered code for a 3DS? or does it have to have been bought with the system?