Discussion of game backup, reproduction, burning, and ripping. Covers ROM backup, cartridge reproduction, optical disc ripping, burning, and storage. Focus on archival purposes and not deceptive selling.
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Anapan
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by Anapan Fri Feb 11, 2022 2:29 pm

I heard about RetroNAS tho I haven't set one up yet. It can do a lot of great things.
I still would prefer a self-contained plug&play solution in a memory card.
USBUtil seems to be the favorite utility to split images to an OPL compatible format which fits on FAT32.
GUIFormat will make FAT32 partitions on large drives in Windows.
I wish 1TB MicroSD card were cheaper.
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Ziggy587
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by Ziggy587 Fri Feb 11, 2022 6:34 pm

Anapan wrote:I still would prefer a self-contained plug&play solution in a memory card.


Yeah, I hear ya. I would actually prefer an actual ODE for the PS2. But we'll probably never get one because of OPL and FMCB. I mean, it would likely be a complicated installation. And at the end of the day, how many people would purchase one when FMCB and OPL are a free option that anyone can do. But yeah, I do agree, I want a simple plug and play solution. Which is why I haven't bothered to mess with the SMB loading before. But if I put RetroNAS on a Raspberry Pi, it would essentially be (for my purposes) a small SD card dongle that plugs into the back of the console. Not as sleek as plugging into the memory card slot, but still not bad IMO.

With the MX4SIO, can you install FMCB to that "memory card"? Because I like to have a dedicated memory card for FMCB and apps, in slot 2, then a separate memory card in slot 1 for actual game saves. But if MX4SIO is in slot 2, then wouldn't slot 1 have to be for FMCB? Then I would have to put game saves on my FMCB card?

marurun wrote:
chupon wrote:Also - thank you Ziggy for this thread. Amazing work and our community is lucky to have you.


Damn straight. Ziggy is an absolute gem.


Thanks, guys!

Now I feel obligated to finally update the info in the first post. :lol:
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Anapan
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by Anapan Sun Feb 13, 2022 5:57 am

I don't have one yet, but I think it's only a passthrough device that just allows you to store data in a compatible PS2 format in your MC2 slot and it's up to the program booted on the MC1 device to access the data.
Sorry, I was on phone previously. I love you too, Ziggy587. You are 1337.
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Re: MC2SIO

by Jagosaurus Sun Feb 13, 2022 9:09 am

Anapan wrote:I would have never guessed that the PS2 memory card port is faster than the USB ports and even adequate speeds to stream FMV in games.


I keep waiting on someone to do more with the FireWire/ilink port on the earlier PS2 Phats. Per test ran over at PS2-Home:

usb: 0.8MB/s
smb: 1.2MB/s
ilink: 6.0MB/s

There was an OPL fork using FW HDD at some point. Way external drive speeds & nice way to save those dying phat drives.

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SpaceBooger
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by SpaceBooger Sat Feb 19, 2022 12:27 pm

What is everyone's take on the article from 2017(?) that said the Mega Everdrive x7 and other flash carts have voltage issues that will slowly kill your consoles?
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Ziggy587
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by Ziggy587 Sat Feb 19, 2022 1:20 pm

SpaceBooger wrote:What is everyone's take on the article from 2017(?) that said the Mega Everdrive x7 and other flash carts have voltage issues that will slowly kill your consoles?


If I'm thinking of the same article, it was mostly talking about carts that improperly use 3.3v ICs on these old consoles that supply 5v. If done incorrectly, there will likely be eventual damage to the cart and possibly the console (possibly). Some early Everdrive carts had only resistors between the 5v bus and 3.3v parts, and those were the ones cited by that article. But all current Everdrives use level shifters, which are designed specifically for this purpose. In other words, all current Everdrives should be perfectly safe to use.

https://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topi ... 3#msg62333

It's worth noting though that there's still plenty of carts out there that do not properly interface 3.3v parts. Lots of Chinese bootleg (repro) carts and "X-in-1" multicarts, as well as some homebrew and indie carts as well. Definitely be cautious of these. If in doubt about a certain cart, just ask!
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by SpaceBooger Sat Feb 19, 2022 1:42 pm

I read that post too. It seems like many say the x7 is the worse. If the new ones are ok, I'm thinking about ordering from Amazon ($20 more but faster shipping and good customer service) but I'm not sure if the old one they have is the old version or not.
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Ziggy587
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by Ziggy587 Sat Feb 19, 2022 3:29 pm

Hmm, I don't see the X7 on Krikzz's site anymore, so I'm wondering if he discontinued it. But yes, I forgot that the Mega Everdrive X7 has two level shifter ICs but then uses resistors for a small remainder on lines.

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/201 ... thing.html

Personally, I have a Mega ED X7. And I had an old Everdrive MD for a while before that. I get the point that just because you don't see immediate damage doesn't mean it can't eventually cause damage. But me personally, as well as many others, have yet to have an issue with such flash carts. If you're really concerned though, I'd recommend getting either the X5 or the Pro. The Mega ED X3, X5 and Pro all have level shifters for everything.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Anapan
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by Anapan Sat Apr 16, 2022 11:04 am

I read the articles about the voltage issues, but nobody has legitimately reported a problem due to the power consumption; I regularly read through the forums of the flash carts I own. Anyone who does electrical engineering as a hobby always wants to understand their devices down to the resistor level, and given such an obvious faux-pas due to current draw, one would assume it could cause problems. Through a couple of forum posts and videos I watched, the problem is there, but the net damage seemed to be negligible. The testing done before these things were built made sure that the carts were in fact fully functional and would not cause long-term damage to any of the circuits, despite being out-of-spec. I have watched multiple videos about overheating issues with consoles and even old failing parts being viewed through FLIR, but despite all the back-and-forth, I've yet to see someone actually have a legitimate problem with these flash carts. IMO, if you see a good deal on a well-established flash-cart, even from the stock that used these components that are being accused of being out of spec, you should buy it and enjoy it. Too many people own them and have yet to report a problem that turned out to be anything other than failing old hardware.

I will not comment on the Chinese knockoffs that we try to not mention here. Do not buy out of principle if not out of shame. They might nuke your console, and I'd think less of you.
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opa
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Re: [GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

by opa Sun Apr 17, 2022 12:44 pm

You can place orders on krizz again. Might grab a mega x3 while I can before the war screws 'em up again.
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