Neo Flash Cart problems

[schnuth]

Hey all, I recently picked up a Neo Flash Cart from ic2005.com.  But I'm having all sorts of trouble getting it to play games.  Out of all the games I've tried on it I can only get two to work.  All the others either lock up, displays a black screen, or play with garbled graphics.  I've read on these boards that you might have to try different versions of games to get them to work.  I've tried that too with little luck.  From reading online reviews I didn't expect to have this much trouble with it.

So for those of you who own one, am I doing something wrong?  I got the drivers and software to install and I'm able to get the games on the card but they just won't play.  I have a region modded Duo-R, could this somehow be the source of my problems?  I've tried both the PCE and TG16 settings but both do the same thing so I don't think the region mod is the problem.  Could I have a bad card?  Any insight would be appreciated.

[nat]

You're probably dealing with incorrect ROMs. While the ROMs might play fine in some emulators, they may have headers or other non-standard crap in them that your Duo doesn't know how to deal with. This would be transparent on a computer since many emulators know how to deal with headers and the like. We should boycott NEC for not considering people who wanted to rip & steal games and add their own ridiculous headers when they built the Duo. f*ck NEC!

Since I don't own a flash cart, this is technically speculation, but I'd bet some good money this is your problem.

[Turbo D]

I would say find a better version of the roms. Try to find one with "!" at the end. Should work better.

[Spector]

Interesting story. I have a neo flash cart and I've not had the problems you've described with ROMS at all. Maybe on a couple of occasions a game has frozen, but in 8 months of heavy playing that's hardly anything to write home about - normal PCE cards would do that.

I am convinced that the problem is with your region modded Duo-R. I recommend a standard PC Engine to use with the neo card, not the TG16, because I find that most of the US versions of ROMS are available in hacked versions which will work perfectly when uploaded onto the neo card and played in a Jap PCE. Not that you would need to play most of the US versions anyway, but it at least gives you the choice.

So yeah, I think it's the system you have - apparently neo test every card before sending it out, fully loading it and playing it, so I'm sure it isn't faulty.

I can help you out if you like, as long as it's not a problem with people on this board. I've could send you a ROM file that I know definitely works on my Neo Flash Card, and you could try it on your own. If it doesn't work, then it's  not the ROMS that are to blame.

[schnuth]

Thanks Spector I'll drop you a PM about it.  I was afraid it might be my Duo since I Googled this heavily and haven't found anyone else with the same problems.  So either it's my Duo or the card.  The Duo has played all my other real games no problem, so I was thinking it might be the card.  It loads up to the menu screen, it just won't run the games.  Unfortunately I sold off my CoreGrafx to help pay for my Duo.  Ah well.   

Aaron

[schnuth]

Just wanted to post an update to my problem.  I got my hands on a cheap TG-16 so I could test the card on a second machine before sending it back to China.  As it turns out, it works no problem on the TG-16.  So you were right Spector, it was my machine.  Which really sucks since I love my D-Lite modded Duo and have been so spoiled by the S-video out.  Now I'll have to play my flash cart through RF until I can find a Turbo Booster.  I suppose this is what I get for selling off my old TG-16 in the first place.   

Thanks again to everyone (especially Spector) who tried helping me get this thing to work.  It was my machine all along.  I'm just happy I can finally use the flash cart.  Since before it seemed like I paid a lot for something that didn't work and that just sucks.

On another note, it seems like they finally released the 128M model a couple weeks after I finally broke down and got the 64M one.  Ah well.

Aaron

[Turbo D]

I assume that you reprogrammed it before using it on the turbografx-16 right? If not, then that is your problem right there. When you program the card, make sure to either program it as tg-16 or pce.

[Necromancer]

I assume that you reprogrammed it before using it on the turbografx-16 right? If not, then that is your problem right there. When you program the card, make sure to either program it as tg-16 or pce.

I wouldn't think so, considering schnuth's Duo is region modded and the card doesn't work when the Duo is set for either region.  That would be quite odd if the region switch kept the flash card from working properly, but who knows?

[Turbo D]

Maybe he had it switched to the wrong region, who knows. I do know that that card is moody; it may not like being in a region modded system. For example: It works in a tg-16, but when you plug the cd attachment in it stops working. We'll see when he replies  I do have the card and can confirm that it works in a tg-16, a white pce, tg express and an american duo.

[Tatsujin]

You're probably dealing with incorrect ROMs. While the ROMs might play fine in some emulators, they may have headers or other non-standard crap in them that your Duo doesn't know how to deal with. This would be transparent on a computer since many emulators know how to deal with headers and the like. We should boycott NEC for not considering people who wanted to rip & steal games and add their own ridiculous headers when they built the Duo. f*ck NEC!

Since I don't own a flash cart, this is technically speculation, but I'd bet some good money this is your problem.

haha..this answer couldn't be any better.

[schnuth]

Maybe he had it switched to the wrong region, who knows. I do know that that card is moody; it may not like being in a region modded system.

    I put ROMs on the flash card using both the PC Engine and TG16 setting in the program, and then switched the switch in the correct position multiple times on the Duo.  No luck.  I only ever got one ROM to work right in my Duo, and that would be Devil's Crush.  Some others seemed to work but would then crash.  So far everything I've tried on my TG16 has worked fine.  I have no idea why the card wouldn't work on my modded Duo, but trust me... I tried it several times and every way imaginable with no luck.  Pretty weird, but there you have it.    I'm just glad the card works at all at this point.

Aaron

[Spector]

It can't be the region modding switch thing, as I sent schnuth a hacked ROM that works on any PCE, regardless of region, and that was the very reason I sent him it, so that he could rule that out as a reason.
I'm pleased to see that you've found out that it was the Duo-R, as I felt it had to be that. I knew that neo wouldn't give you a dud card. It makes me wonder what I'm going to do when I think about buying a Duo, as there is a chance it might not work with the neo card, and that would be a pretty big bummer for me.

And yeah, I've seen that neo have finally released the 128M card 
Actually I'm not bothered at all, as the 64M card does me fine, and it's easy to switch ROMs on it. With the weak dollar, the $109 price tag and free postage offer is very tasty!   O:)

[schnuth]

Yeah it's very strange.  All my legit games work no problem on my modded Duo, just not the Neo card.  I have a couple dozen TG16 and about a dozen PCE hucards too.  Maybe the Neo card isn't getting enough power or something with the region mod?  I'm not a technical person so I really have no idea what would be causing it.