DS Lite Flash Cards

So You have purchased a DS Lite want to be able to run Nintendo DS ROMs / games that are available on the internet but You are totally new to console gaming and wondering and need advise on what exactly do you need to play NDS ROMs. DS Flash card? Passkey? Passcard - all sounds like greek to You. Well we will try to help you out here stating with the Basics!

Now in order to put NDS roms on to your console you need some kind of memory card that will store the files. Original Nintendo DS game cards are Read-Only-Memory (ROM) meaning that you can only read from them, but can not erase or rewrite their memory. What we need is a rewritable media, and that is where DS Flash Cards come in. By adding flash to DS you make it possible to copy .nds rom files to the comsole as you copy songs to mp3 music player. In fact after you get a DS Flash Card putting a new free game is just as easy as playing a new song...

DS Flash Card - are cartridges with re-writable memory. They can be in a shape of a GBA cartridge or a DS game card and can have built-in memory or serve as a adapter for SD, TransFlash or CF flash memory cards.

If you choose a SLOT-2 GBA cartridge slot DS Flash Card you will also need a DS PassKey. Latest generation passkey is a card that looks like a DS Game Card and is used to fool your DS Lite into playing NDS Game rom from the GBA slot. Without it DS would try to execute it as a Gameboy Advance game on a single screen. (You don't need Pass card if you wan't to play GBA ROMs on it as they do not have any incryption or copy protection but need it for DS mode.)
So to cut a long story short to play stuff un DS Lite You need:

For GBA + NDS ROMs + and other media:

1. GBA / NDS Flash Card for Slot-2
2. DS Pass Card for Slot-1
3. Flash Card writer
(Flash Writer = USB cable for DS rom cards with internal memory and a SD, MMC, miniSD, microSD, TransFlash or CF memory card and any regular SD or CF writer for Adaptor cards)

For NDS ROMs + and other media:

1. DS Flash card for Slot-1
2. USB Cable for transferring roms
(if the DS card has no built-in memory depending on the model you have to add an SD, microSD, TF card and a writer for that memory card type)

DS SLOT-2 (GBA) Flash Cards

Flash Card that is shaped like a GBA cartridge or even smaller like a DS Lite gba slot dust cover. Inside it has re-writable memory that can be used to store and play NDS ROMs, MP3s, Pictures, Movies, Emulators and any other program that you can find for the DS.

DS SLOT-2 Flash Adapters

Nintendo DS Flash card that has no internal memory for roms, but has a slot for plugging in an SD, miniSD, TransFlash (microSD) or CF flash memory card. Means you have to buy the memory separate from the card, but gives an option of upgrading memory size.

PassCard / PassKey

Used to bypass DS security check and run any unsigned code (game rom, program) from GBA cartridge slot (SLOT-2) on your DS. You have to have this to run NDS roms and in most cases DS flash sets come together with a pass card of some type.

SLOT-2

DS SLOT-1 Flash Cards

All in one solution with everything packed to fit into the DS Lite SLOT-1. Doesn't require a PassKey and more simple to use, but has no way to run Gameboy Advance Roms that many of the DS SLOT-2 flash cards can.

DS SLOT-1 SD / TF Adapters

Similar to DS Lite Slot-1 flash cards, but with no internal memory - requiring you to plug-in an SD or TransFlash card that will hold the NDS roms. Many of them stick out of the console at the top or bend under it.

Other DS Backup Solutions

Cards like DSLink that requires a special MK4 PassKey Swap card or a DS with a hacked BIOS.

SLOT-1

Will this work on my console? I assume you have a Nintendo DS Lite console. It doesn't matter where you live or where the console was bought as they have NO country lockout, so all games and accessories work on all DS Lite consoles worldwide.

Your guide to Nintendo GBA and NDS Rom flash backup hardware...