Atmosphere fails to boot | Error Code 2168-0001

[UrDone4]

New issue report created after trying solutions provided here: #61

The system will boot fine if I remove ovlmenu.ovl from the /switch/.overlays folder. The crash happens even if ovlmenu.ovl is the only overlay present in the /switch/.overlays folder, so I have ruled out other incompatible overlays.

Firmware: 16.0.2 (latest)
Atmosphere: 1.5.2 (latest from here https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere/releases)
Hekate: 6.0.3 (latest from here https://github.com/CTCaer/hekate/releases)
nx-ovlloader 1.0.6 (latest from here: https://github.com/WerWolv/nx-ovlloader/releases)

[UrDone4]

I found the solution here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/tesla-the-nintendo-switch-overlay-menu.557362/post-10144412

When viewing the SD card on my Mac, the .overlays folder worked exactly like a folder should, and I could drop the files in place. However, if I looked at the SD card using the NX-Shell app in the Homebrew menu. It showed the .overlays folder as a file, instead of a folder.

How I fixed:

I used NX-Shell to delete the .overlays file and then create a new folder titled .overlays. I put the SD card in my Mac, and created a new folder in the switch directory titled ovl, and put all my overlay files in there. I then booted the switch back up and used NX-Shell to copy the overlay files into the .overlays directory. Finally, I rebooted the switch. Everything works as expected.

[Masamune3210]

Future reference, you don't have to delete the folder. What happened is that macOS messes with the archive bit of pretty much every folder and file it touches. Normally, that wouldn't be a issue, the bit's original purpose is to flag to backup software that the folder or file has been modified and needs to be backed up, but Ninty, in their infinite wisdom, decided to reuse the bit on the switch to tell the filesystem driver that a folder should be treated as a file.

if you have ever seen people talking about how macOS and the switch don't get along or that macs cause issues, this combined with macOS's obsession with dotfolders is a big reason why.