Some advice about the Atarimax 5200 flash cart...(& Macs)

[doctorclu]

... I have the Atarimax 128-in-1 USB flash cart. I managed to get like 122 games on it just fine with the Dell 3 ghz computer at work.

 

I'm a Mac user at home. I worked to get Virtual PC running, which normally supports all PC functions (with the exception of CD-Rs for some reason) just as if it were on a real PC. So the Atarimax program ran the new batch of images, said it was complete, and came up a gibberish menu.

 

I tinkered with it a few more times and tinkered with it, and the end result was a green screen (no menu) for the cart.

 

I've since tried running another batch with a 500 mhz XP machine I managed to dig out, but the cartridge is just reporting a black screen now.

 

Moral of the story, Virtual PC under a Mac may not have the complete USB support needed to make a proper flash. Not sure. All I hope is that Steve at Atarimax has any ideas on how to get my cart to work again. If not, it was a short but very fun ride.

 

Just wanted to warn anyone that might have thought of trying this in the meantime though.

[mellis]

... I have the Atarimax 128-in-1 USB flash cart. I managed to get like 122 games on it just fine with the Dell 3 ghz computer at work.

 

I'm a Mac user at home. I worked to get Virtual PC running, which normally supports all PC functions (with the exception of CD-Rs for some reason) just as if it were on a real PC. So the Atarimax program ran the new batch of images, said it was complete, and came up a gibberish menu.

 

I tinkered with it a few more times and tinkered with it, and the end result was a green screen (no menu) for the cart.

 

I've since tried running another batch with a 500 mhz XP machine I managed to dig out, but the cartridge is just reporting a black screen now.

 

Moral of the story, Virtual PC under a Mac may not have the complete USB support needed to make a proper flash. Not sure. All I hope is that Steve at Atarimax has any ideas on how to get my cart to work again. If not, it was a short but very fun ride.

 

Just wanted to warn anyone that might have thought of trying this in the meantime though.

 

The Atarimax cart works great on an Intel Mac running either Parallels or VMware Fusion. I have personally used both virtual machines to program mine.

 

If you are actually using Microsoft's (formerly Connectix's) Virtual PC emulator for PowerPC macs, it doesn't surprise me that the emulated PC's USB has trouble feeding the cart fast enough to store the data in the cart's flash memory.

 

It would be nice to have a Mac-native app, but that might be asking too much for such a niche product. Perhaps I'll chip in and help with that effort someday.

[doctorclu]

The Atarimax cart works great on an Intel Mac running either Parallels or VMware Fusion. I have personally used both virtual machines to program mine.

 

If you are actually using Microsoft's (formerly Connectix's) Virtual PC emulator for PowerPC macs, it doesn't surprise me that the emulated PC's USB has trouble feeding the cart fast enough to store the data in the cart's flash memory.

 

It would be nice to have a Mac-native app, but that might be asking too much for such a niche product. Perhaps I'll chip in and help with that effort someday.

 

Thanks for confirming that. I was using a PowerPC (G4 Quicksilver dual 800 mhz) with the older Virtual PC. After running some tests, the flash is fine, but the 5200 logic encoding may be blown. Anyway Steve is working with me on it. Cool cool.

[strangedogs]

I just ordered my Multicart from AtariMax. I have a G5 Imac and VPC 7 (mine's a 1st gen G5 so no Intel - PPC all the way). So it's a NO-GO with VPC then? I do have a couple of PC's collecting dust in the bedroom I guess I could use if it's not going to work on my Mac.

[+Allan]

Correct. You have to use either a PC or an Intel Mac until someone rewrites the program for the powerPC Macs. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

 

Allan