I have had my DSi go unused for quite some time now, system says it's on version 1.4u, and I have an M3i Zero cart that hasn't been updated in at least a year. I actually have no idea where the dongle used for updating initially is, my first question is can I update without it, or if not is there somewhere to buy just the dongle? From there, I'm hoping to get pointed in the right direction of getting my cart up to date and being able to play some of the games of the last year or 2. Last thing I'm hoping for is to find out what would be considered "must-play" during that timeframe? I know I'll have to sort through a ton of JRPGs to see what can garner my attention, as that's an itch the consoles just aren't scratching.
So far from searching around it is not possible to flash the cart without the cable. To bad that cart is not like the DsTwo or the AceKard they both can use the DS's power to update the carts firmware. One post I had read said if you are very skilled and know how to strip a USB cable you could solder it to the cart update then remove it. I would suggest you get an AceKard or a Dstwo they are both top notch cards but the DStwo costs more then the AceKard. I would also say try and do a look over you might find the cable, better then finding it after you order a new cart and open it. You could always try emailing them and ask if they could send a replacement cable I think this is there site www.m3adapter.com. If you do find or are able to get the cable use that very site to download the firmware and system software they also tell you how to install it.
Thanks for the suggestion, though I ended up looking through my junk box after I posted this and found the cable, now it's just a matter of getting things up-to-date!