PCE Flash Cards

[Paisa49]

I heard a rumor that tototek is coming out with USB only versions of some of their cards.

The tototek flash cards don't look as nice as the ones that neoteam makes. What would be the benefit of purchasing the tototek one over the neoteam one?

[kokuryu]

What they don't tell you is that the CD contains drivers for 639 other flash cart/USB setups so you get the fun task of trial and error. To top it all off, the driver itself is incorrectly named (at least on the CD I got). I had to rename it for it to work with the provided .INF.

Hi!  What did you have to rename exactly?  A file?  A line in the .INF file?  And what did you change - from what to what?  Thanks in advance!

Personally, I had to hack my registry to make a registry based manual install of the drivers for the SL4 to get it to work - the .INF file way never worked for me with WinXP SP2 and full current patches.

The only other caveat I would say to people is to use a fully wall plug powered USB hub with the NEO units, otherwise, if the port on your computer cannot provide the voltage and current the NEO unit wants during writing (it varies it during the write process) your unit will hang.  Having a guaranteed full voltage/current from a fully plug powered hub makes it work like a charm.

[MissaFX]

In windows 2000 all you have to do is a normal driver install, which is automatic.  It asks you where the driver is, you tell it "cd-rom" and it finds it right away.  I suspect it is 100% the case in XP as well. 

Plug card into card reader.
Plug card reader into USB port.
Windows automatically discovers the new hardware.
Copy the "NEO PC-E Flash Cart" folder to your HD and you are in business.

[nat]

What they don't tell you is that the CD contains drivers for 639 other flash cart/USB setups so you get the fun task of trial and error. To top it all off, the driver itself is incorrectly named (at least on the CD I got). I had to rename it for it to work with the provided .INF.

Hi!  What did you have to rename exactly?  A file?  A line in the .INF file?  And what did you change - from what to what?  Thanks in advance!

In windows 2000 all you have to do is a normal driver install, which is automatic.  It asks you where the driver is, you tell it "cd-rom" and it finds it right away.  I suspect it is 100% the case in XP as well. 

Let me respond to both comments at the same time.

For me, Windows would NOT recognize the driver right away. After pointing Windows at the location where the driver resides, I got the message "SlimLoaderV4.sys not found." My CD has a filed called "SlimLoad.sys" on it, however, that I had to copy out and rename by hand. Apparently there is more than one "version" of these driver CDs because other users are reporting that they do have a file called "SlimLoaderV4.sys" and Windows has been recognizing it straight away.

The problem in my case is that the .INF file Windows looks for on the CD contains a reference to "SlimLoaderV4.sys". That's a problem when a file with that exact name doesn't exist. So I took a stab in the dark and renamed "SlimLoad.sys" accordingly. Luckily it works.

[kokuryu]

Mmmm, was another issue with mine then.  The drivers were there and correctly named.  WinXP would not recognize the .INF file itself as valid.  I had to hand create the registry entries to install the drivers for it.

[nat]

I think it's safe to say at this point that the driver bundle with the cart is a joke from the drivers themselves right down to the goofy 3" CD-R they used.

Nobody had a consistent experience installing them.

[nat]

So I've been using my flash cart on my US Duo for the past month or so since I got it.

Over the weekend I decided to try it out on the core TG-16 (no CD-ROM) I have in my bedroom since I was feeling especially lazy and it sounded good to play a little TG-16 while laying in bed. It doesn't work. I mean, it boots to the blue screen but all the games crash as soon as you start them. Some crash before even making it to the title screen. Some crash on the title screen. The TG16 in question is unmodified internally, although I have a custom-built connector hooked up to the expansion port that pulls composite video and stereo sound straight off the pins back there. I can't fathom how this could possibly have any effect on the flash cart, but there you have it.

My first thought was maybe the flash cart's pins had gotten dirty. No, they are fine. Next I thought maybe somehow it's memory got corrupted so I took it back to the Duo. Nope, on the Duo, everything works 100%. I even played into the English version of Bubblegum Crash for like an hour and a half on the Duo and it worked without a hitch.

My next though was maybe the pins inside inside the cart port on the TG-16 are dirty. So I tried like 60 real HuCards I had on hand and every single one booted fine, first try. I've had this TG-16 for many years and I've never had any trouble like this before.

Has anyone else had any difficulty using these carts on core TG-16s without CD-ROMs?

[Necromancer]

Has anyone else had any difficulty using these carts on core TG-16s without CD-ROMs?

I don't have a TG-16 to try it on, but I'll try it on my Express when I get home tonight.  Have you tried disconnecting your custom cable and using the standard hook ups?  I can't imagine why it would make a shit bit of difference, but it's worth a shot.

[nat]

No I haven't.

I'll try it though. But yeah, I can't imagine why that would affect anything.

[schnuth]

It works just fine on my TG-16 with Turbo Booster.  I'd try disconnecting your cable and trying the RF.  I know it doesn't make sense that it wouldn't work with the cable, but it also doesn't make sense that it won't work with my region modded Duo either.  This sounds almost exactly what happens when I try to use it with my Duo.  It seems that these flash carts are awfully sensitive to the smallest thing.  So give it a try and let us know what happens.  Good luck!

[spenoza]

What about the region detection problem? Will a US unit set to US settings (or unmodified) be triggering the region lockout system? Or is that only encoded at a software level?

[jimid2]

What about the region detection problem? Will a US unit set to US settings (or unmodified) be triggering the region lockout system? Or is that only encoded at a software level?

I thought the region lock out was entirely physical - two pins switch or something - which is why I can play Japanese PCE ROMs on my TurboExpress using my PCE Flash Card...

My card plays perfectly in both my TG16 and my TurboExpress (and thank God for that!)... I've had one or two hangs during writes, and I've had problems with a couple ROMs, but eventually managed to find working copies in both cases. Over all, however, I'm extremely pleased with mine - I only wish I'd sprung for the 128Mb model...

[nat]

What about the region detection problem? Will a US unit set to US settings (or unmodified) be triggering the region lockout system? Or is that only encoded at a software level?

I thought the region lock out was entirely physical

That's one form. There is another form-- American carts have lockout code in the software that prevent them from being run on Japanese systems even if you switch the pins.

[Necromancer]

I don't have a TG-16 to try it on, but I'll try it on my Express when I get home tonight.

By 'tonight', I musta meant 'some time next week'.  :oops:

Anyway, I think the flash cart works fine on my Express.  I say think because the screen has conked out since last I used it, but the games sound like they're working dandy.  Time for some cap replacing, I suppose.  Have you tried using plain old RF yet?

[nat]

Not yet, but only because the setup in the room that has the TG-16 in question is a real pain in the ass to get behind the TV. I'll do it one of these days when I feel like moving a cabinet and inhaling some dust.