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Post by astaroth on Apr 28, 2011 8:43:22 GMT
Yo'
Ok, so i've made a Hook cart. Simples. Program EPROM, solder into cart pin for pin.
Now, i've done the same with Sonis Edusoft. Same 256kb game so same pcb type, soldered pin for pin, yet it just hangs at the SEGA screen.
Tried the hacked version for emu's in case i was doing something wrong but all i got was a software error.
I don't know every last thing about BIOS' etc, but is the BIOS of my machine an issue or something?
TIA
Where am i going wrong please?
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Post by meu2 on Apr 28, 2011 10:22:50 GMT
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Post by astaroth on Apr 28, 2011 12:34:15 GMT
Thanks for the tip. I've used the program and got the header info, only how do i tell if it is correct or not? I have nothing to compare too? I got the original file from sonicretro?
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Post by meu2 on Apr 28, 2011 12:46:45 GMT
The "From header" and "Calculated" checksums should be the same. If they aren't the calculated one will be marked as bad. Also, the region code should be SMS Export.
I'm sure there’s info on the SMS header on SMSPower, but basically the Sega copyright, checksum and region is checked before a game can boot on a EU/NA SMS.
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Post by astaroth on Apr 28, 2011 19:49:41 GMT
Thanks mate. I've looked but i don't undertand what the hell it means! ;D
I'm going to keep searching to find out what it needs to be. If i keep hitting walls then i'll give up i think!
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Post by Estimated Prophet on Apr 28, 2011 21:07:07 GMT
I've been having similar problems with dumping carts lately where the header info is wrong. I know what you mean by hitting walls... I eventually just gave up. I'll figure it out someday . edit: Welcome back astaroth! It's been a while.
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Post by astaroth on Apr 28, 2011 21:11:15 GMT
I've been having similar problems with dumping carts lately where the header info is wrong. I know what you mean by hitting walls... I eventually just gave up. I'll figure it out someday . edit: Welcome back astaroth! It's been a while. Cheers EP. It's been a while! A friend of mine asked if i could do a switchless mod on his SNES, so i tried it and it worked. he then asked if i could make SNES repros. I tried and they worked. I decided to expand onto other systems so i moved on to SMS and tried Hook, and it worked. Then came Edusoft, and that didn't work! ;D It's nice to pop back and see some friendly faces! ;D
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Post by meu2 on Apr 29, 2011 7:23:59 GMT
You can always set Meka, and probably other emulators, to run with an SMS BIOS. This will allow you to test a file without having to make a physical copy. If the emulator gives a software error message then it almost certainly won’t run on the real hardware.
You could also try it on a Mega Drive with the Power Base Convertor. It doesn’t have a BIOS, so you shouldn’t have ROM header issues there.
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Post by astaroth on May 2, 2011 12:26:56 GMT
You can always set Meka, and probably other emulators, to run with an SMS BIOS. This will allow you to test a file without having to make a physical copy. If the emulator gives a software error message then it almost certainly won’t run on the real hardware. You could also try it on a Mega Drive with the Power Base Convertor. It doesn’t have a BIOS, so you shouldn’t have ROM header issues there. Do you know if i can set a SMS BIOS on Fusion? If not, i'll download Meka and do what you say. I'd assume i need to make up a header that an SMS BIOS would like?
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Post by Bock on May 2, 2011 12:37:21 GMT
MEKA doesn't support emulating the test (it uses an hacked BIOS that always pass). RetroCopy would work and maybe Fusion. Maxim's Header Reader would definitively tell you if the checksum is right.
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Post by playgeneration on May 2, 2011 13:29:42 GMT
If you give it a proper play through on emulator, there's not much chance that you'll be inclined to play it again on a real system. Even as a educational game for young kids its very limited, it does look pretty though.
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Post by astaroth on May 3, 2011 6:49:08 GMT
MEKA doesn't support emulating the test (it uses an hacked BIOS that always pass). RetroCopy would work and maybe Fusion. Maxim's Header Reader would definitively tell you if the checksum is right. I'll have another look over the header reader when i get a minute. Had a quick look and all i saw were the details and nothing that said if it was ok or not.
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Post by astaroth on May 3, 2011 6:50:15 GMT
If you give it a proper play through on emulator, there's not much chance that you'll be inclined to play it again on a real system. Even as a educational game for young kids its very limited, it does look pretty though. I've got the repro bug big time! I just want physical copies of unreleased/translated games purely from a collectors perspective! Plus SMS repros are cheap like the chips!
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Post by meu2 on May 3, 2011 7:42:34 GMT
MEKA doesn't support emulating the test (it uses an hacked BIOS that always pass). RetroCopy would work and maybe Fusion. Maxim's Header Reader would definitively tell you if the checksum is right. My mistake, I was actually thinking of Fusion.
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Post by Maxim on May 3, 2011 9:29:49 GMT
There's some explanation of the game's problems here: www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=51481#51481It could be patched to work on all BIOSes, but nobody's done it yet. (It should be simple - just enable VBlank interrupts at boot.) Note that header problems show up as either going to the built-in game every time (no TMR SEGA) or SOFTWARE ERROR (wrong region or checksum). Hanging on the SEGA screen is a sign of an actual bug in the game.
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