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400 in 1 Gamebox - Rebuilding or cracking the software
mamejay:
Hi Everyone,
Long time lurker and first time poster.
I recently got a new Candy cab which had a faulty Gamebox 400 in 1.
The hard drive is dieing.
I attached it to a desktop PC and managed to copy all the files from the drive except for a folder C:\EMU. I did manage to find in C:\BAK another folder call EMU.
I grabbed a working hard drive and formatted it with a DOS 7.1 boot disk. Then I copied all the files and folders that I previously backed up.
I reattached it to the gamebox and got a working menu. Buttons and joystick are working.
now when I start a game it hangs on a loading screen. There is only so much that I can diagnose as the autoexec.bat file calls game.com which obviously was a batch file converted to a COM file.
Does anyone know how to read the game.com file correctly or a way around this problem? I know that the com file was created using BAT2EXE V1.5 as when opened in TEXTPAD I can read that in the first line. I have read that these units use some sort of encryption or marry up to the actual hard drive serial so if you recovery to a different drive this is what happens.
I have read that there was a site called 400in1.com which had recovery software but that site is history and no mirrors or trace of any of the recovery files.
Here are some pictures of the MB and case so you know what I a working with. Its only a Pentium 3 MB.
I feel that I am so close to getting this thing running. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
BobA:
You might find relevant info on your PCB here multi board forums
This may be a bad going by the 60 in 1 thread but info should be free. :cheers:
mamejay:
I have tried that site and have not gotten any joy. The majority of that forum relates to the new XXXX in 1 boards.
Was hoping someone here has had experience with one of these and could possible offer some assistance.
lilshawn:
--- Quote ---game.com which obviously was a batch file converted to a COM file.
--- End quote ---
a .com file behaves identical to an .exe file, except that it's loaded into a different memory area... long LONG ago it was a type of modified batch file but not since the XT has it been that way.
mamejay:
I know that the .COM file is just the batch file that calls everything up and that it was created with an application call BAT2EXE. If i open this file in TEXTPAD i see the first line states the application that was used to create it.
There is an old thread on XXXXin1.com site which someone states that he had a way around this file which contained some sort of security.
I just want to savage this Gamebox as it just seems a shame to have to turf it due to a dud hard drive.