PC Engine Briefcase and CD Rom 2 Issue

[swisstoni]

I'm loading the System 3 bios on my Turbo Everdrive with my white PC Engine and CD Rom 2. Does this actually work or do you need an original system bios card (ive been trying to load Akumajou Dracula X and get the mini game appear with the system bios message instead of the game loading).

[ginoscope]

Depends what version of the everdrive you are using.  If you are using version 2 then it should work.  Just load the bios and the game should load.

[Black Tiger]

It does not work and can damage your hardware!

elmer made a custom version of the 3.0 system card that will work on a TED v2 without harming your console.

In order to access Akumajo Dracula Peke/Stage X, you need to use a system 1 or 2 card. These are safe to run on any TED as-is, since they are strictly a rom and the ram they use is in your IFU.

[swisstoni]

Ok ive checked my TED and its version 1.2 that's probably explains why the system 3 bios isn't working

[elmer]

Depends what version of the everdrive you are using.  If you are using version 2 then it should work.  Just load the bios and the game should load.

Nope ... not on a briefcase.

You need to use my modified system card image in order to enable the RAM on the TED v2.

It does not work and can damage your hardware!

elmer made a custom version of the 3.0 system card that will work on a TED v2 without harming your console.

It's only the SuperCDROM and DUO machines that will have the potentially-damaging bus-fighting when using an unmodified System Card 3 image on a TED (v1 or V2).

A briefcase or TurboGrafx should be OK (AFAIK), but just not work (because the 240KB of System Card 3 RAM isn't present).


The OP can find the modified System Card 3 images for the TED v2 (that works safely on ALL PCE/TG hardware) here ...

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=20120.msg436168#msg436168

Ok ive checked my TED and its version 1.2 that's probably explains why the system 3 bios isn't working

Sorry, you'll either need a TED v2, or a real System Card 3, or even an Arcade Card Pro.

[Keith Courage]

Sorry to hijack a thread but is a special super system card bios needed for using an everdrive v1 in a DUO? Meaning can it be left in the system to run the super system card without any issues or does it have to be removed everytime to avoid damage?

[SmokeMonster]

Yes, you should remove v1 Turbo EverDrives and use the Duo's system card to launch games. TED-V2 is perfect as long as you use elmer's modified bioses however.

[Keith Courage]

So there isn't a bios patch for the V1 everdrive available for it to make it okay to leave it inserted? It would be a bummer to remove one all the time since everdrives are known for eventually bending hu slot pins from too much removal and insertion over time.

[elmer]

So there isn't a bios patch for the V1 everdrive available for it to make it okay to leave it inserted?

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it too much on a TED v1, because the fix (i.e. removal) probably causes as many long-term problems as the bus-fighting.

What we're trying to avoid is having two devices (the DUO's RAM and the TED) driving the PCE's data bus at the same time.

The problem is likely more severe on the TED v2 which uses onboard 3.3V RAM (and doesn't clear it) together with level-shifters. That combination is pretty-much-guaranteed to fight with the PCE, and a lot of them are extra-thick cards which are much more likely to damage the PCE's HuCard connector over time.

Luckily, it's easy to fix by using the modified BIOS.

The TED v1's circuitry is much simpler (just an overdriven 3.3V flash chip IIRC).

There's less to damage, and I *believe* that Krikzz actually wipes the entire flash (leaving $FF) before programming the new HuCard image, which will avoid the worst of the bus-fighting.

It's still a problem that a good designer would not allow in their design, but AFAIK it's much less likely to damage the PCE.

[Keith Courage]

Good to know. thanks.