Enabling WiFi on DeSmuMe 0.9.7 for MAC With a Wireless Connection

First of all, all credit goes to prectorian for covering the basics in his thread for Windows 7. I have simply adapted it and added some new stuff for Mac users.

All information listed here is for informational purposes, and I will not be held responsible for any problems that may occur due to you executing the instructions here concerning real products. I urge you to support the developers for the various programs covered in this thread, because it is because of them that this can be done.




Introduction, Warning and Prerequisites

This tutorial was written on February 15th, 2014. Things may have changed from then.

This tutorial is about enabling and using the experimental Wifi feature on DeSmuMe, a Nintendo DS Emulator on a MAC. Unlike previous accounts, this tutorial supports both Wireless and Ethernet connection. This IS possible with a native Windows computer as well, but I’m not covering it here. As long as you have a good, STABLE Wifi connection inside your home, it should work.

This requires you have a copy of Windows 8, in ISO form on your computer locally (not on a USB, this may work but I have not tried it).


What You Need

1. A DeSmuMe Wifi-Enabled Package - The native version of DeSmuMe does not support Wifi. Some unnamed developers have created this Wifi-able package. For Mac users using a virtual machine, download the package below. If this package does not work, refer back to the original thread.

http: //www. mediafire. com /download/o832ctrxkvhsmcu/DeSmuMe+v.0.9.7+x64+WIFI+Capable+WinPcap+v.4.1.2.rar

2. WinPcap for Windows 8 - WinPcap fools the Nintendo Wifi Servers into believing that the emulator is, in fact, a legitimate Nintendo DS. Make sure to download the Windows 8-compatible version. I do not know exactly how this works, so any problems concerning WinPcap I cannot answer. Download the item here, and select Installer For Windows.

http: //www. winpcap. org /install/default.htm

3. High-Speed, Stable Wireless or Ethernet Internet connection on a home network.

4. Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac - This virtual machine will fool the computer into thinking your wireless signal is an ethernet variant. Also, it allows you to run DeSmuMe on a Mac computer without the pain of Bootcamping a Windows partition and using a slow Virtualbox to get Wireless connection working.

5. Windows 8 ISO File

6. Pokemon Black or White - Any other WiFi-compatible ROM will be alright, but these are unique in the way that they have the WiFi settings menu before the player even starts the game and a WiFi testing opportunity in Mystery Gift extremely early (after the player receives the PokeDex) as well as being easily found.





Chapter 1 - Installing Parallels Desktop 9


Download Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac if you haven’t already; click on Dowload Trial (don’t worry; we’ll transform it into a full copy later). Go through the installation procedures. One precaution - make sure to set it as run on computer startup, since we’ll need it every time we use WiFi on DeSmuMe.

Drag your Windows 8 ISO File onto your Desktop; we’ll need it to use Parallels. Click on the Parallels Desktop Application in your Applications folder. It will take you through a series of procedures. If it asks you if you want to boot like a Mac or boot like a PC, respond with boot like a PC. The installation is intuitive, so there should be no problems there. Remember to keep your computer plugged in during this setup procedure.
After some time as Windows 8 installs, boots up (select installation settings as your computer - for example, if you are using an American computer, select English Keyboard). This may take from 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your computer’s RAM. Follow the intuitive steps, and start up your new PC. Parallels may tell you that you only have X more days until the trial expires - ignore that for now. You should full-screen your Parallels display. That pauses all mac processes, giving you a smoother Windows experience.

After setting up your Windows 8 (such as installing a better browser, etc), shut it down by moving your cursor to a corner, and selecting Settings, Power, Shut Down. The full-screen mode should stop, replaced by a grey window with the words “Windows 8 - Click to Start”. Close the window.






Chapter 2 - Installing WinPcap and Desmume

Download and unpack WinPcap, and install it in the Windows desktop. Make sure to tell it to start on computer reboot; there should be a check-box somewhere. Otherwise, it will not work. Note: if it is compressed (.7z or .zip or .rar), you can use an unarchiving tool like Stuffit Expander on the MAC side, save to the Desktop, then drag it over to the windows desktop (yes, you can do that now. Quite amazing, isn’t it?).

Now, do the same for the Wifi-Enabled DeSmuMe package - this may be compressed too. Inside, there should be two items; a folder, and an application. The application should be WinPcap - do not touch it. Installing it can and will screw up your Wifi, since the included one isn’t compatible with Windows 8. Open the folder, and there will be many DeSmuMe-related files, folders and applications.

Click on the DeSmuMe application (that is NOT labelled x64). When opening it, right-click and click run as Administrator. This should open two screens - a programming-style screen with a black background (which we will call the command output from now on) and the actual emulator. From here, we’ll start fiddling with the Wifi Settings.

First of all, go to the Config menu, and Wifi Settings. Select Infrastructure (not Ad-hoc), and make sure the item selected in the Infrastructure settings section is NOT “Microsoft”. In the case of a MacBook Air running Parallels, it was “Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection”.

After pressing OK to close the window, move to Config -> Emulation Settings. Make sure the following check-boxes are checked:
- Use External BIOS Images
- Use External Firmware Image
- Boot From Firmware (Like the NDS)
- Enable Advanced Bus-Level Timing

All other checkboxes should be unchecked.

Now, we must select the specialised files in order to activate the WiFi function. Select the “…” button next to “ARM9 BIOS Image”, browse to the main folder, and select biosnds9. Do the same with “ARM7 BIOS Image”, but selecting biosnds7. Finally, select firmware.bin for the “Firmware Image”. Make sure you use the .bin file if there are multiple firmware files. Click OK to close the settings window.

Finally, go to Firmware settings, and enter necessary information there; remember what you enter, since you’ll need to enter the exact same information later.





Chapter 3 - Setting Up WiFi on DeSmuMe

Click on File / Open Rom, and select your ROM (we will be using Pokemon White for this tutorial). The screen should now be the Nintendo DS home screen. Enter your personal information if prompted - enter the exact same as what you entered in the Firmware Settings. After that, restart the emulator.

After re-opening DeSmuMe and clicking File / Open Rom (NEVER use Open Recent Rom, for reasons I will explain later), look at the username; there are several possibilities. In the best scenario, the menubar at the top should be green, with “Desmume” on it. The other, rather NG scenario is a grey menubar with the words “Setya” or similar on it. If you clicked Open Rom instead of Open Recent Rom and used the correct DeSmuMe application (NOT the x64) it should be “Desmume”. If not, keep quitting/restarting, switching back and forth between x64 and normal DeSmume until it says “Desmume” instead of “Setya” (I will refer to this process as switching). Once you have “Desmume” on it, continue. Click on the game file, and open the Rom.


The ROM should load. After that, take a look at the command output. There should be multiple messages on it. The latest one (or ones, since the emulator will spam the same message multiple times) should be:

Firmware - save config - done.

This indicates that the system is working well, and the Wifi after that will PROBABLY work. Keep in mind that I am still experimenting; sometimes, even if all the instructions are followed, it will come up with an error. In that case, keep “switching” until it works.

If it says:

Firmware - save config - failed.

Keep switching until it says “done”. Remember, run as Admin, and use Open ROM instead of Recent Rom. It should work.

NOTE: Since I am using a Japanese ROM, I cannot accurately name the button names for the english version. However, I will attempt to directly translate.


Go to the menu for Pokemon White. Click on Wifi Settings. You will need to do this every time you wish to use WiFi. Thankfully, this is not needed when you plan on simply playing the game offline. Click on the blue button. After that, you will be met with a screen with three empty setting slots. Click on an empty one. Select Find Access Point.

It should start searching for an access point. After a minute or so, it should come up with one named SoftAP. Select it, and select OK. It should move on to “test” the connection. The emulator may lag heavily; however, this is a good sign. After several minutes, it should say “Connection Successful”. If it gives you an error code, check your settings, run as Admin, Open Rom instead of Recent Rom, and your command output; if it says config - done, it SHOULD work. Also, check your internet connection on your Mac’s side (since the Windows partition's internet is recognised as wire Ethernet, you cannot “restart” it). Restart the internet connection. If your Windows has a triangular, yellow exclamation mark symbol next to the internet icon on the bottom right task bar, restart the internet then restart Windows. However, you may also use real Ethernet to ensure a better, stable connection if you have one.

After all that, the command output should say

SoftAP - Connected
SoftAP - Disconnected

The disconnected section is perfectly fine if the emulator tells you the connection was successful.





Chapter 4 - Testing The Connection

In my case, since I’m using Pokemon White, play through the beginning stages, get a PokeDex, then save in-game (not using Save States). Restart the Rom, check “config - done”. If it says failed, restart DeSmuMe, then do the previous steps again. Get used to it; you’ll be doing it a lot.

Once everything is successful, go to the main menu and select “Mystery Gift”. Select “Receive Mystery Gift”, click Yes, and select “Via Wi-Fi” (the second option). It should, once again, start lagging extremely hard; but that’s a good sign here. Wait until the screen changes, the lag should start again, and the screen should tell you:

No Mystery Gift Found.

However, in this process, check the WiFi symbol on the top right; if it is green and has 2 bars or more (as well as the game giving you no error messages), you have successfully set up and used WiFi on DeSmuMe!






Chapter 5 - Troubleshooting

During the time where I tried to make this work, I've found several, major tips for making things work; a) for enabling user "desmume" instead of "setya", b) displaying a "config - done" message, and c) fixing any error codes.

1. For Macs, use the version of DeSmuMe NOT labelled x64.
2. Run as Administrator.
3. Use "Open ROM" instead of "Open Recent ROM". THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
4. Having a stable Wifi connection; you can also have an Ethernet connection. For Bootcamp, the Windows OS does not recognise the Ethernet system, forcing you to rely on the slow (imo) Virtualbox.
5. Check all Wifi and Emulator settings.
6. Make sure you are using an uncracked, unhacked ROM.
7. If these don't work, just keep switching until it works! A lot seems dependant on luck, so just spend some time on it.






Good Luck! Keep in mind you can always refer back to Prectorian's thread for better, more refined information; I am simply posting this for Mac users. Windows 8 users can use the same concept by running a Windows 7 on Virtualbox.

 

Hey there could you help me? Every time i start up the rom it takes me to the setup page where you select your favourite colour, etc. and it never saves the settings? Any idea what could cause this?