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Author Topic: merit overlay  (Read 4960 times)

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ed12

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merit overlay
« on: March 12, 2014, 01:25:40 pm »
Hi ppl
i have had a q on my mind now for a week or 2,
and as i am now slowing down,i want to endevour to follow it through
so i thought i would ask u fine ppl,as i know what merit say's
i am just wondering..the overlay that is put on the hard drives by merit
is it the same over lay for all of the mega maxx ?,then would differ for the fource series
but all fource series would have the same base over lay
ie 2000-205.5/6 etc


ed
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ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2014, 03:26:14 pm »
ok
i am in need of a little help here
a push in the right way would be handy..
i have xandros distro running fine in adm mode.
i can see the merit master drive
quatum fireball and its sig # lct15-07.
now heres the rub
it report's it is not mounted ?
what exactley dose this mean ?
no s/w to report,or is linux not mounting it ?
and if it is linuix do i break it down through root ?
now 1 thing here is i am reading this drive via usb bus
which is just another way around the wheel.
in my mind if it can see it,it should show me all of the nessary stuff.
is this not correct or am i missing a step here?

ed
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ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2014, 04:19:06 pm »
ok
i have it mounted now..adm mode is wonderfull
but here is the return
usb removeable >fine that is what it is<
but it reports back 0 bytes ?
and i know it has a merit low level layer on it?
what command am i missing ?

ed
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ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2014, 10:37:40 pm »
ok futher to my story
i have a 2006 in right now
good drive from a working game
return is
merit 0011 >log id for overlay<
it will see it as a usb-storage device >which is right<
but i still cannot get around
please insert a disk into the removable drive?
once i get around ^^^ i can work it backwards
any takers ? or am i alone here ?
if so i will just take my sweet ass time

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2014, 11:27:50 pm »
ok this drive is in :cable-select-mode:,so windows will not read it..
whcih is what i thought,which is good news!!! next i think i will pull the sdcard reader
and see what the report in linux becomes..
here is my thinking
i knew windows would not see it as it is cable select mode..fair enough
no need to rewrite the winblows crap
when i have handy linux here.huh
but my linux is is not getting what i want it to do or i am missing a step ?
but in any account linux will see the drive as proper baged,whith that in hand i will
move programs over to linux
and see what i get..
my interest now is is getting the low level from this drive,
reason is simple with merit colsing,poff there goe's your master's
for these older machines

ed


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ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2014, 01:45:04 pm »
ok as a hunch i did a small readme on xandros
just to get the linux brain back up to snuff
thk-god for the mighty adm/root cmd along with devices   :applaud:
so
cmd to get to device .inf file >where u want to go to edit<
/dev/devices/devices.inf
now i can see the offending cmd
and edit it..
to place this in root is next,but i should have the hang of it anytime now..
thk's for not chimming in before to confuse me more then i am  8)
but now is the time

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2014, 04:30:07 pm »
I would like to help you but I cant understand anything you say man. What is your first language? Are you trying to read the data on the hard drive? You keep saying overlay, but i dont know what you are referring to.

1. cover the surface of (a thing) with a coating.
2. something laid as a covering over something else.

If you want to read the data installed on a merit hard drive you just need to connect it to a linux os system. I prefer ubuntu.

I posted awhile back how to make enable/install ftp server on force and ION systems. Here is the link to the thread on this forum.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,133356.0.html



« Last Edit: March 15, 2014, 04:36:07 pm by mahkeymike »

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2014, 04:48:01 pm »
thk-u for your reply
i thought i was clear on the point xandros
it is just dif distro for linux..it cannot get any easier then that
i to have ubuntu
but i just happen to go to a group that has gone through the distro i perfer to use
and get faster answer's to my q's..
which i did make public,
and for u to say just hook it up to a merit machine is just a patch, to find the real problem's,
q- what is the over-lay?
q-how big is it ?
q- how do we get it,with out using a merit machine ? :ie: hard drive out of the machine
these are the questions i am looking for answer's to..
i truly hope this is a decoded verison for u? and u can now read along as i go..
my question's to date was how to get to root of linux,as i truly forgot
but as my mem is comming back to me,i am getting the hang of it,also the second
problem is running the usb dupo through a via set of software,which i must now rewrite a .cfg file for so it will not look at the drive as a card reader and or removable unit

ed

« Last Edit: March 15, 2014, 08:32:29 pm by ed12 »
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2014, 09:54:19 pm »
Its very easy to get the partition data out of force and ion hard drives. You need a laptop to ide adapter and connect it to a linux pc and the partitions should auto mount. (atleast ubuntu does)

There is a few partitions, but the main one is around 5gb.

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2014, 10:48:47 pm »
thk-u
i was using my removable bay's
but for 1 reason or another the new putter will not see them ?
i think as it is full sata driven,it turned off the ide ports or they are just blown.
so i went to my usb portable unit,my hang up was the distro was given me back as a cd-rom
when in fact it is a ide hard drive.
maybe i will bump the box to ubunta,and c if we can get on the same page.
but thk-u for your reply,i have seen the paritions before but that was 3 years ago
and i never coyped them,thinking merit would hang in there,
but hey i have been wrong before

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2014, 09:04:02 am »
I am not sure if you are trying to backup the data on the drives or if you want to look at the data on them. If you just want to backup the drives, the best way is to use a bootable cd based clone tool like G4L (ghost 4 linux). You would just connect the IDE drive to another pc as a slave w/master. If its a laptop drive you need a laptop to ide adapter. I have not tried using a merit hard drive as a usb drive. Not sure the usb controllers support ext2/3.

Re-reading your posts, it appears you think only specific data gets overwritten when doing an upgrade? This is not true with force/ion. All data/OS gets formatted and reinstalled along with a newer version of linux, the data content (games) and a bootloader (lilo=force) (grub=ion). There is no "overlay"with these. It all gets wiped out and redone. Everything is contained in the game version ISO's.

I can also verify that the maxx "jade" version is the same as force.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2014, 09:20:53 am by mahkeymike »

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2014, 11:43:50 am »
what i want to do
is get copys of the paritions on a bare drive
just like a service drive u would buy from merit..
or is this useless,because merit would ship acrording to the game u requested ?,
now rember i am talking service parts here..
ie: i call merit and tell them my maxx drive blew
do they send me a drive with the complete os on it ?
or just a merit paritioned drive ?
and if the first question is yes u get the complete game
then all this is for not,but if u just by it with a ready parition on it
then that is what i am after.

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #12 on: March 16, 2014, 12:30:35 pm »
I have never ordered anything from merit but i would assume that when people ordered a hard drive they would send them a hard drive with the version that matches the key they have in their machine. When you take a blank hard drive and install for example, force software from a downloaded ISO, it formats and partitions the hard drive, then uses a custom version of an old linux backup software utility called partimage to restore the partitions. Inside the ISO is partimage image files that contain the data for each partition. After its done restoring the partitions, it installs a bootloader and when you reboot, the bootloader boots the OS and loads a custom version of X window system (X11). During the boot process it reads the data off the key to determine the correct version info (country, currency..ect..ect).

So to answer your questions, yes you would get a hard drive with everything already on it for the version you need. I dont undersand why you want a hard drive with just the empty partitions.

I could make you a patch for the ISO that would only format, partition, and install a bootloader, but i dont see why that would do any good.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2014, 12:40:48 pm by mahkeymike »

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2014, 01:25:40 pm »
ok well
more to the point,i chatted there ol tech dept 1 day
and they said no u just buy a harddrive with there layer on it olny..
so in short if u wanted a game loaded u would make a second request for it,
or they just send u a formated drive.
which is where i was heading,but if u are sure it would come complete
then that makes all this work for not..which in its-self,is not to bad,as then the q has been
answered and i can move on

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2014, 03:43:14 pm »
The reason they told you "their layer" is because they reprogram factory hard drive firmware so their software pci bus reads its device id as a merit hard drive. This is not needed for force and ion. You only get a warning that its not an official hard drive. The entire software will still install from the downloadable dvd ISO's onto any hard drive.

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2014, 04:35:09 pm »
hi
yes the force and ion are as simple as it gets
i am refering to max/tubro-max/ruby etc >legacey<,
the ion or force we already crossed and waiting until merit shuts it door's down completely before we chat about >key's<>id< etc in public.
as i have been on and of the phone with all parts of that .co
the olny thing i could walk away with is they just send u a hardrive with there parition on it
and u load the game from your disks..
and if this is so? then my question still stands as a vaild point

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #16 on: March 27, 2014, 09:13:51 am »
After going over this thread a few million time, I think i am starting to decipher the language that is ed12.

To answer your question to the best of my knowledge, XL Titanium / Titanium 2, Maxx Emerald - Maxx Crown, and Force 2002 - 2011 all have the same as you say "overlay" or "base OS"

Now if you are talking about the modified hard drive firmware, they are also the interchangable in the sense that all software/key versions will accept them. I believe the software only looks for "merit" doesnt matter if it reads "merit001,merit002..ect..ect"

I dont have a Maxx mobo to test this, but you could in theory install Force 2006.5 on a Maxx system with a Crown key.

Maybe if i have some time i will play around with this for you.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2014, 09:18:18 am by mahkeymike »

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #17 on: March 27, 2014, 10:42:27 am »
thk-u mahkeymike
for the answer..
overlay/base o/s/preformat i just chose to use overlay.
now i can test this futher
thk-u again

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #18 on: March 27, 2014, 11:04:14 am »
The only base OS im not familiar with would be XL - XL Platinum / Double Platinum, and Maxx - Maxx Diamond / Diamond 2.

These i believe use some form of DOS. And as was mentioned in another thread is that they ran from CD and some ran from a hard drive but they came preloaded with the base OS and the upgrade Disc's only contained the game files. This however, is not hard to figure out because the Disc's contain a script that deletes game files and installs the new game files. It would be easy to narrow down what files are system files and make a image file that copies those files to a new hard drive.

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #19 on: March 27, 2014, 11:19:49 am »
hi
i think u answered a question i had
merit-01 merit-02

now i understand the way the game disk's work
they do not touch the base o/s
just the game file's,i have read enough of them to undrstand as much

but what i am after is the base o/s,and yes doing a compare on a running game
and the game disk's should narrow down what is used on the base o/s
at least that is my understanding

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #20 on: March 27, 2014, 12:09:53 pm »


but what i am after is the base o/s,and yes doing a compare on a running game
and the game disk's should narrow down what is used on the base o/s
at least that is my understanding

ed

If you would get around to making a 1:1 image copy of that maxx hard drive for me, i could make you an image of just the base OS.

It needs to be no later then Maxx Diamond / Diamond 2

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #21 on: March 27, 2014, 12:24:26 pm »
fair enough
i am going in to the warehouse today
we have 6 running  maxx's there running
i can snag 1

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #22 on: March 27, 2014, 12:35:07 pm »
If possible, snag one that was a Maxx CD to Hard drive conversion kit. Meaning one that was originally only designed to run off the hard drive. I read there are versions out there that were originally run from the CD drive and somehow converted to hard drive. Those might make things a bit more difficult if the data structure was altered.

Im pretty sure Diamond and Diamond 2 would be the best choice.

Also, if you can find any Force 2002- 2004 software install Disc's I would like if you could make some iso images of them aswell. Force 2002 - 2002.5 would best.

Im pretty sure i can get Force 2002 to run off a wide variety of chipsets, pretty much any mobo that has the same chipset as XL, Maxx, and Force.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2014, 12:41:00 pm by mahkeymike »

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #23 on: March 27, 2014, 02:55:28 pm »
for the fource i am not sure what i have
but i have them i can burn to iso..
just not sure what year they got into them,will chk

ruby came as to different types
1=hard drive driven
1=cd rom driven
i have both

brought home a max emarld
will it work ?

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #24 on: March 27, 2014, 03:33:33 pm »
for the fource i am not sure what i have
but i have them i can burn to iso..
just not sure what year they got into them,will chk

ruby came as to different types
1=hard drive driven
1=cd rom driven
i have both

brought home a max emarld
will it work ?

ed

Maxx Emerald should have the same base OS as Force. But yes I will take the Maxx Emerald hard drive image if you can. The Ruby should be the DOS based OS.

I will pretty much like anything you have so i can compare. I have the older XL platinum and i have force 2005+ so anything below would help.

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #25 on: March 27, 2014, 03:51:20 pm »
anything i have u are welcome to a iso of..
will dump the drive i brought home tonight.

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #26 on: April 01, 2014, 09:02:11 am »
Whats the deal man? Im starting to lose interest in this old megatouch stuff. I even went and bought a ps2 keyboard from a yard sale just to work on this old stuff for you. You cost $0.50 man, pay up!

We need to just start focusing on force and ion. I already got patches for every force and ion version ISO so they install onto any hard drive in any regular pc with a microtouch touchscreen. Still need to have a key though, but im working on that. I can get into the main screen but its empty. But i got past all the hardware checks.

ed12

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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #27 on: April 01, 2014, 11:44:36 am »
ya i loaded unbtnu last night
i have all week off and every thing is here
so i will get back at it

ed
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Re: merit overlay
« Reply #28 on: April 12, 2014, 05:06:04 pm »
You get that damn emerald image yet mang?

I was going to play around with jade partition images but kept getting some dang partimage error when trying to extract them to a loopback device since i dont have a maxx mobo to let the install disc extract them.

No idea why it only seems to be an issue with the cd versions(2005.5 and below). The dvd versions (2006.5 and up) extract to loopback device perfectly fine.

Send me that damn image mang!