List of SD card hack, carts, alternative replacements to CD drive.

[Locke141]

I vote not. There are so many multi boards and variants out there that it'll muddle up the console list.
Neo geo is different as the same multicarts have AES versions planned.

Good point, from someone who knows better should start that list in a different section.

OMG, just googled it and I want the "Multigame 161-in-1 English AES by DGE" but not for $785 

If we open that floodgate then we'd have to do it for the other consoles and there are 20-30 new multicarts for the nes every season.  Thorwing it in another thread might be an idea though.

Agreed, my thought was to just say their their multicarts for a given system and leave it to readers to find one. That Darksoft board looks so cool and he made is a CP3 multicarts as well. Someone who follows that stuff should start a thread.

[thomas_surles]

I was watching one of dels videos today (zookeeper) and came across this in a related video.

The guy uses an arduino board as a modchip for the ps1. Kind of over the top as you can still get a basic modchip for 3 bucks but still interesting.

[thomas_surles]

New gameboy/ color everdrive coming from krikzz with save states. Hopefully this lowers the price of the old stock.

[opt2not]

New gameboy/ color everdrive coming from krikzz with save states. Hopefully this lowers the price of the old stock.

I might sell my current one and pick up an X7 version. He claims the new ones are 4x more battery efficient, which for me is a bigger selling point than individual game RTC and Save States. I run on a backlit Gameboy Pocket and would like to prolong the battery time more.

[thomas_surles]

Let me know first when you do sell it. I gots dibs. I don't plan on any long term play on the gameboy.  I will probably use it most on my super gameboy or gamecube. So battery life isn't a big deal.

[Locke141]

New gameboy/ color everdrive coming from krikzz with save states. Hopefully this lowers the price of the old stock.

I might sell my current one and pick up an X7 version. He claims the new ones are 4x more battery efficient, which for me is a bigger selling point than individual game RTC and Save States. I run on a backlit Gameboy Pocket and would like to prolong the battery time more.

That's a good point. I love my gameboy and this may be what makes me finally pick up a SD cart.

[Locke141]

My PS2 "network" adapter arrived at my parents house. This one doesn't have any network abilitys but it is SATA and I'm going for fucher proofing. I have a 250 SSD laying around that I may use or a 1T HD, depending what games I end up adding. I can always swap out for a 1T SSD in a few years when the price drops.

Any way, I'll be back in the US on Sunday

[Locke141]

My PS2 "network" adapter arrived at my parents house. This one doesn't have any networking ability but it's SATA. I'm going for future proofing so SATA is more appealing. I have a 250 SSD laying around that I may use or a 1T HD, depending what games I end up adding. I can always swap out for a 1T SSD in a few years when the price drops.

Any way, I'll be back in the US on Sunday

[thomas_surles]

My PS2 "network" adapter arrived at my parents house. This one doesn't have any network abilitys but it is SATA and I'm going for fucher proofing. I have a 250 SSD laying around that I may use or a 1T HD, depending what games I end up adding. I can always swap out for a 1T SSD in a few years when the price drops.

Any way, I'll be back in the US on Sunday

Isnt there a 250 game limit for the hd loader on ps2?

[opt2not]

So this has been floating around lately:
https://db-electronics.ca/2017/07/05/the-dangers-of-3-3v-flash-in-retro-consoles/

Opinions?

[thomas_surles]

So this has been floating around lately:
https://db-electronics.ca/2017/07/05/the-dangers-of-3-3v-flash-in-retro-consoles/

Opinions?

Well that's unfortunate for me. I own 2 bad 1 good and one mystery

[Howard_Casto]

So this has been floating around lately:
https://db-electronics.ca/2017/07/05/the-dangers-of-3-3v-flash-in-retro-consoles/

Opinions?

Sounds like an engineer missing the forest for the trees to me.  Early DC adapters weren't exactly rock solid, these consoles are in use all around the world including places where brown outs are common, they've been stored in storage buildings with crazy heat/humidity ect. and have survived it all.  Could they potentially shorten the lifespan of older consoles?  Sure, but when we are talking about solid state devices that have already lasted 30 years and by all accounts could last another 30 or more with proper maintenance  shaving a couple of years off isn't exactly a big deal.  I also seriously doubt that people are using these things on museum pieces anyway.   

Also I'm not even sure that the logic behind the argument checks out.  (Although I'm by no means an expert.)  Most components that run on 5v actually will accept anything from 1.5 to 7 volts without incident.... at least temporarily.  Most components will also handle quite a bit of excess heat and back voltage.... if they didn't then you wouldn't be able to solder them on the board.   

[thomas_surles]

We'll I dont game 24/7 I might fire up my snes once a month or so. Maybe a few days straight if im into a game. Same for my other consoles.

[opt2not]

I'm glad I didn't buy any of the home console everdrives, I only got the portable ones.  For NES I use the Powerpak, and SNES is running my SD2SNES aka "Pure Gold!".
For my Sega needs I have the GD-ROM replacement boards for Saturn and Dreamcast, so I'm covered for the Sega titles I'm interested in.


Speaking of portable flash drives, the EZ Flash IV has a new firmware update that eliminates having to patch the roms when copying it to your microSD. I'm betting it's to combat Krikkz's EverdriveGBA.
Now you can copy your roms straight to the card, and whenever you boot up a game the EZ Flash IV creates a patch file on the disk and will access it whenever you play that game.  More info here:
https://hackinformer.com/2017/06/17/flash-news-ez-flash-iv-kernel-2-01-released-features-faster-patching/

[Howard_Casto]

That's cool.  Portable flash carts often rely on annoying patches like that to get things working, so that's certainly a step in the right direction. 

[Locke141]

Isnt there a 250 game limit for the hd loader on ps2?

I have not gotten to it yet but there are at least 3 methods to Load games of the HD. I'll let you know.

Should I add a like to the 3.3 vs 5v articsl? It wouldn't hurt to have more info up front.

[Howard_Casto]

Maybe if you put an asterisk next to it stating that the carts aren't confirmed to be damaging consoles.   Like I said in my reply, I think most consoles are far too durable to get fried from low voltage issues.

[Locke141]

Tants what I was thinking. I'll get to it when I have time to give the wording some thought.

[Locke141]

Had big plans for my Home leave back to US. Hard to remind my PS2, SD mod my Wii,, and maybe an original xbox for moving for game back ups.

I got phone materials needed an software for the PS2 in the original Xbox mod but Never actually got around to them.

I do however homebrew my wii and it's awesome. I used letterboom to get homebrew onto the Wii. And USB loader GX for the game back.

Next year I'll get around to the PS2 in the original Xbox.

 

[Howard_Casto]

I just posted a small tutorial on how to use a SD card as a HDD for the ps2.... I don't know if it's appropriate for this thread or not. 

[Locke141]

I just looked at your post and I would say it fits in spirit. However there are a lot of options around PS2 HDD modding so I think it would be best if we keep the list on the first post simple for the soft mods. IE acknowledge their existence and gave the enough information for people to do their own research.

Letting people know what you did and your opinion of the method is fine to post here with a link a how to.

Here is your post for others who want to look.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,154854.msg1624292.html#msg1624292

[ChadTower]

Found a Dreamcast at a thrift shop today.  Doing a bit of research now to see what SD options are out there.  Looks like it's sort of spendy to go full on USB interface and there is only one actually available option.

[Howard_Casto]

There's the IDE mod.  It uses the gd-rom connections, so in theory it should be just as fast as the original discs.  I've been waiting until I get my glasses before I try it as the bios chip soldering looks like a pain in the butt, but I go to get fitted Thursday.  I might go ahead and see if I can get the stuff ordered through a third party service. 

[ChadTower]

Interesting, thanks for the pointer.  A bit of research says it's way faster than the GD ROM and really only requires an IDE cable and some decent soldering skills.  I'm not a big fan of wire onto surface mount mods but this does look doable.  You don't need to do the bios chip if you leave the GD ROM's controller in there.  Apparently you can take out the mechanics, leave the controller in there, and that gives you enough room for what appears to be a laptop IDE drive.  I might give that a shot if I can ever find a full afternoon for it.  Forty lines, though, seems like it would be super easy to have a pair crossed someplace and spend an hour doing continuity checks.

[Howard_Casto]

You don't need to do the bios chip if you leave the GD ROM's controller in there. 

Now that one is news to me.  Do you have a link to info on that?  The laser died on my dreamcast so I have no problem gutting the gd-rom.  I posted a thread in this forum somewhere.  There's a Chinese manufacturer that makes an adapter that just clips onto the ribbon connector but you have to use one of those services to order as the site doesn't have an English page.  I think it's like 8 bucks or something... well worth not having to do the soldering. 

[ChadTower]

That is how this guy did it.  Relevant part starts at 4:00.


http://youtu.be/XiinXB1K8Lk?t=4m6s

[Howard_Casto]

No I think this guy is leaving out an important step.  He mentions at the end that he has region free bios.... well that's the bios mod and that's what is required to load off the hdd.  Then he mentions that you can't flash the original bios... so wtf?  Also how did he get dreamshell on the hdd in the first place?  There are some steps missing somewhere or he doesn't know what he is talking about and left the gd rom in when he didn't have to. 

[ChadTower]

Could be.  I'm still doing some reading up on options.  I do like that he has the drive inside the case.  I can't figure out why half the people I see doing this cut a hole in the case and ran the ribbon cable out.  That's so ugly.

[Howard_Casto]

I watched the video from the beginning.  He mentions that he did the region free bios.  That is required to get the ide mod to run, so yeah... you still have to do the bios mod afaik. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok I understand the confusion now..... this guy just didn't explain things properly.  You need the bios mod for booting..... if you just solder an IDE cable you'll need the gdrom for the oscillator (used for timing) BUT.... why would you kill yourself...... just order what I intended to

https://world.taobao.com/item/527585564900.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4004-717747455.4.6a6c7371B66Kst
https://world.taobao.com/item/45784299888.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4004-717747455.8.6a6c7371B66Kst

You just plug it in and the oscillator is onboard.  You can even retain the gd-rom via pass-through with the more expensive version. 

They also sell pre-flashed bios afaict. 

[ChadTower]

That is pretty sweet.  I bet if you bought multiples when you buy you could sell a few around here.

[Locke141]

Ok I understand the confusion now..... this guy just didn't explain things properly.  You need the bios mod for booting..... if you just solder an IDE cable you'll need the gdrom for the oscillator (used for timing) BUT.... why would you kill yourself...... just order what I intended to

https://world.taobao.com/item/527585564900.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4004-717747455.4.6a6c7371B66Kst
https://world.taobao.com/item/45784299888.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4004-717747455.8.6a6c7371B66Kst

You just plug it in and the oscillator is onboard.  You can even retain the gd-rom via pass-through with the more expensive version. 

They also sell pre-flashed bios afaict.

Did you ever order one? If so How did it work out? Should I add it to the list?

[Titchgamer]

Just noticed you are missing the Everdrive 64 for the N64 and I have not ordered one yet but apparently the SD2SNES is better than the ED for SNES.

[opt2not]

^ it is.

[thomas_surles]

It is better, but im still happy with the super ed

[Howard_Casto]

I would argue that it's only better on paper.  It plays a handful more games and some really odd hacks/homebrew and if you really want that functionality that is great.  It's also 200 bucks more so you have to ask yourself if the minimal functionality it adds is worth it. 

I have the super ed china version and except for those special chip games it'll play anything I throw at it.  I mean the sd2snes still doesn't have SFX which is what I think a lot of people bought it for. 

[opt2not]

It's ridiculous if people are buying these flash carts for the maybe 2 good SuperFX games.

Anyway, if you're looking for more compatibility and features, the SD2SNES is hands-down the better choice. Sure it's more expensive, but you're paying for the quality. 
Here, from Krikzz's own site:
http://krikzz.com/pub/support/var/comparison/sd2snes-vs-super-everdrive.html


Also, there was a recent article a little while back about flashcarts harming systems over time, that some of them use different voltage chips that the consoles aren't expecting.  It was determined that the SD2SNES was perfectly engineered, and doesn't run a risk of harming your system.

[Titchgamer]

It's ridiculous if people are buying these flash carts for the maybe 2 good SuperFX games.

Anyway, if you're looking for more compatibility and features, the SD2SNES is hands-down the better choice. Sure it's more expensive, but you're paying for the quality. 
Here, from Krikzz's own site:
http://krikzz.com/pub/support/var/comparison/sd2snes-vs-super-everdrive.html


Also, there was a recent article a little while back about flashcarts harming systems over time, that some of them use different voltage chips that the consoles aren't expecting.  It was determined that the SD2SNES was perfectly engineered, and doesn't run a risk of harming your system.

Yeah my research has led me to believe that the SD2SNES was the way forward but like I said I have not tried one yet and having just brought the Everdrive 64 and a SNES bundle I have spent my gaming allowance for the month LOL

But I will get one in the future

[Howard_Casto]

I've seen the chart, but it doesn't really offer anything useful that the other one doesn't have.  Like the 64gig capacity limit.... that would be useful if it was the n64, but snes games aren't that big.  Like I said, it offers support for a handful of games you can't get on the super ed and if you really like one of those games then it's worth it. 

[opt2not]

It is that big if you fill it with MSU audio. I’m tellin ya man, the MSU hacks are pretty great. Zelda LTTP with orchestrated music in CD quality is beautiful. Same with Chrono Trigger.

Also if you’re using the Smokemonster romset, there is a lot of dupes because they have multiple sorting folders of genre types, top xx lists, includes all the translations and BS games. Ideally it would be great to have some sort of linking, or even metadata feature so you wouldnt have to duplicate Roms just for sorting, but it’s the best solution for now and the hardware supports the storage space.