How to download roms manually onto your ds for dummies

this has NO IMAGES. you can only follow this tutorial if your 3ds is modded.

!! this WILL NOT do anything to pre-existing games or anything. no need to worry.!!

1. Download NDS forwarder. 

If your DS is modded, it should have an application called universal updater. open it. once you're in universal updater, search up 'nds forwarder'. there should be a app called nds forwarder with a narwhal as the icon. press on it, download it, and then when it's done, close universal updater and turn off your ds.

2. SD card

Take your SD card out of your ds, stick it into an adapter, and stick it in the SD slot on your computer. the SD should pop up. you can minimize this for now.

3. Downloading ROMS

i personally use romsgames.net because it doesn't give me any problems or viruses (i do all of the modding on my mom's laptop ,because i don't own one) and so far i haven't gotten ANY viruses. look up what game you want, and download it. once the download is complete, it should show up in the bottom bar of the computer. for me, it does, since i am using a HP laptop running windows whatever. 

4. putting it into your SD

After you've downloaded your ROM file, you should make a ROMS folder straight into the ds sd card. inside, make two more folders, nds and gba. (if you have one already, do not make another one.) your rom right now should be a .zip file. drag the zip file into the ROMS folder, and go into it. there should be a paper thingy in there. drag it to the ROMS folder on the sidebar. it should copy into there. now press back and delete the .zip, but keep the extra paper thing, because that's the game. you CAN keep it right there, or you can move it inside of the nds folder. 

5. forwarding the game

take the sd card out of your computer, take it out of the adapter, and put it back in your DS. turn on your DS and go to the homebrew channel. go all the way down and there should be an icon labeled nds forwarder. press it. your screen will pause for a few seconds, but then it will bring you to the list of files. go to your ROMS folder. press on the ROM that you downloaded, press yes, and close the homebrew channel. your game should then be on your home screen. 

6. playing the game

When you open the game, it should take a while to boot up. along with that, it will be a black screen creating save data, and doing all types of things. do not be scared if this happens, it's perfectly normal. when it is done, the game will boot up per usual and you can play. 

If you have any questions about this, homebrewing your DS, or how to do certain things you can always comment here and ask. i will have MOST of the answers LOL. anywho enjoy your manually imported games because the hshop doesn't have everything