Synopsis #

Header: fxcg/system.h
Syscall index: 0x0EA7
Function signature: void TestMode(int vram)

Opens an hidden OS menu, the Test Mode, where some OS functionality can be tested and a look into the OS internals can be taken.\

Parameters #

• vram - Whether to restore the previous VRAM when exiting the Test Mode.

Functionality #

Functionality includes:

• MCS browser (“Valiable Manager” (sic));
• Memory viewer (but not editor) (F4 and F5 in the “Valiable Manager”);
• Font and character code checking, including for “GB codes” (Chinese codes plus alternatives to some Latin ones), probably a reference to the GB 18030 character set;
• Setup visualizer (opens a menu like the ones seen when pressing Shift+Menu in different built-in apps, but showing all possible settings);
• Function key bitmap visualizer;
• Ability to set function key label color and screen frame color;
• Fugue FAT File System and Bfile testing functions;
• Memory usage visualizer for the heap, the main process stack and the child stack;
• Disabled function to dump flash data over USB.

Some of this functionality is present and extended in Simon Lothar’s Insight add-in.

How to access #

Besides calling the corresponding syscall (something the Insight add-in lets one do), there’s also the key combination used for entering the diagnostics mode: on the “Delete all data” screen (which doesn’t delete anything), one can quickly type 5963 to open the Test Mode. So the key combination becomes as follows:

[OPTN]+[EXP]+[AC/ON], then quickly type 5963.

More key combinations can be found here.