Latest Harmony Cart software

[stlouisrod]

Tried the beta2, and it seems to be working fine. Not exactly sure how to rigorously test, as I simply ran original carts, as well as newer 32k homebrews. Let me know if there is a specific test plan to follow, and I'll assist more. Does this support holding port 2 button down to utilize that port for control? Etc.

[abrondino]

I cannot get the beta to work in Win 7 (I know, I need to update) without adding a VCRUNTIME140_1.dll (which is missing)

I saw someone in a video having the ability to delete roms from the menu. I figured the update might allow me that ability.
I used the vanilla updater, but it never updated past 1.05. Question: Does 1.06 allow for the delete option?

Question 2: Is there an automated process (external to the Harmony Cart) to delete all PAL roms?

thanks,

 

-Dino

Edited February 11, 2021 by abrondino

[+batari]

3 hours ago, abrondino said:

I cannot get the beta to work in Win 7 (I know, I need to update) without adding a VCRUNTIME140_1.dll (which is missing)

I saw someone in a video having the ability to delete roms from the menu. I figured the update might allow me that ability.
I used the vanilla updater, but it never updated past 1.05. Question: Does 1.06 allow for the delete option?

Question 2: Is there an automated process (external to the Harmony Cart) to delete all PAL roms?

thanks,

 

-Dino

Yes, you may need to install the latest VC++ redistributable package from Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads-2647da03-1eea-4433-9aff-95f26a218cc0

 

It's also needed for the latest versions of Stella, reportedly, so many won't need it.

 

Anyway, to delete ROMs from the menu, just delete them from the SD card itself. There are a number of ways to delete just the PAL roms in Windows. Using the Windows search function in Windows Explorer is one way to find the files so they can be deleted or moved to a separate folder.

[Prizrak]

I am running windows 10 and I get all kinds of DLL errors, installed the properly libraries like mentioned in the previous post and same issues remain. Tried for over an hour to solve the issue. I may try another computer and see if that fixes the issue. Going to try and help with beta testing.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[+batari]

1 hour ago, Prizrak said:

I am running windows 10 and I get all kinds of DLL errors, installed the properly libraries like mentioned in the previous post and same issues remain. Tried for over an hour to solve the issue. I may try another computer and see if that fixes the issue. Going to try and help with beta testing.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

In my experience, if you get the DLL errors, you'll need to uninstall then reinstall the Harmony software in order for it to work.

[Prizrak]

I'll try that again tonight and see if it resolves the issue.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Prizrak]

Still a no go, I have used two different pcs with windows 10 and installed the Visual C++ libraries required and still getting the error messages asking for required dll's. I'm stumped

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[alfredtdk]

I tried all the ways to update the cartridge using various types of Mini_B cable, but without success, I use Linux.

The cartridge is simply not recognized by the updater program. I suspect that the problem may be related to the

Micro USB connector. As I didn't open it to see the sign, this cartridge is almost 10 years old, I believe. Is it possible

that the solder is damaged or cold, causing poor contact?

[Prizrak]

Got the software working finally, downloaded another fresh copy of the 32bit and 64bit Visual packages and uninstalled and reinstalled the Harmony software and it worked. I ran through flashing and stuff with the bios and went smoothly. Tested a few games out from different bank switching types and didn't see any issues.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[alex_79]

9 hours ago, alfredtdk said:

I tried all the ways to update the cartridge using various types of Mini_B cable, but without success, I use Linux.

The cartridge is simply not recognized by the updater program.

Check if a new serial port is detected when you plug the usb cable (you should see a new device, e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0).

Also, try running the software as root. If it works that way, it's a permission issue. You need write access to the serial port.

[alfredtdk]

7 hours ago, alex_79 said:

Check if a new serial port is detected when you plug the usb cable (you should see a new device, e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0).

Also, try running the software as root. If it works that way, it's a permission issue. You need write access to the serial port.

Bingo!

Thank you

Alex

[alfredtdk]

Showing the whole process. From the first attempt that failed with the problematic cable(in the terminal it appears

as Prolific Technologic Inc .PL 2303), to the success with the second different cable(Future Technology Device

International) and its respective cartridge update. Once again I would like to thank alex_79 for a tip and so simple to solve.

[Sikor]

@batari: can you answer me on PM, please?

[HDTV1080P]

In the following thread I posted a issue I am having with the Harmony Encore SD cartridge latest hardware version that I am not experiencing with the more expensive old original Harmony Encore SD cartridge.

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/220696-new-harmony-product-harmony-encore/?do=findComment&comment=4774707

[+batari]

4 minutes ago, HDTV1080P said:

New Harmony Encore SD cartridge hardware revision is not as good when compared to the original more expensive hardware design that went out of production

Thanks for your opinion on that. I personally think it's a tradeoff, though.

 

I personally think the new USB chip is better, actually. It programs the cart twice as fast and has proven itself to be more reliable than the old FTDI chip.

 

The USB micro is an improvement as the cables are ubiquitous, and the older mini-B from the last version is getting harder to find.

 

The SD card slot was a compromise, yes, as the push-pull slot was chosen to be able to offer the cart at a lower price. The microSD slot, however, still uses a push-push design like the old cart.

 

I haven't personally had any compatibility problems with SD cards on the old vs. the new. I can't think of a reason I can think of why a particular SD card would work with one cart and not another. I will pick one up one of these problem cards you have found though, and see what results I get.

 

The USB port is there for game development, but more importantly it's there in case of firmware corruption. If the firmware is corrupt the cart can still restored by the user.

 

You are correct that removing the USB would make for a cheaper device, as per your suggestion, but I would never release a flashcart that has the potential to be be bricked with no simple recourse to recover it yourself.

When firmware is corrupt you cannot restore firmware with an SD card. This is also true if firmware gets corrupted on a UNOcart. On a Harmony cart you can restore your device with a USB cable you probably already have. A UNOcart with corrupt firmware can be restored as well, but you need to purchase a ST-Link programmer to restore it. If I had designed the UNOcart, I would have included the ST Link programmer hardware on the cart itself, even if it did make the cart cost a little bit more.

I sent you the driver for the USB chip, so let me know if you still have issues.

[HDTV1080P]

41 minutes ago, batari said:

Thanks for your opinion on that. I personally think it's a tradeoff, though.

 

I personally think the new USB chip is better, actually. It programs the cart twice as fast and has proven itself to be more reliable than the old FTDI chip.

 

The USB micro is an improvement as the cables are ubiquitous, and the older mini-B from the last version is getting harder to find.

 

The SD card slot was a compromise, yes, as the push-pull slot was chosen to be able to offer the cart at a lower price. The microSD slot, however, still uses a push-push design like the old cart.

 

I haven't personally had any compatibility problems with SD cards on the old vs. the new. I can't think of a reason I can think of why a particular SD card would work with one cart and not another. I will pick one up one of these problem cards you have found though, and see what results I get.

 

The USB port is there for game development, but more importantly it's there in case of firmware corruption. If the firmware is corrupt the cart can still restored by the user.

 

You are correct that removing the USB would make for a cheaper device, as per your suggestion, but I would never release a flashcart that has the potential to be be bricked with no simple recourse to recover it yourself.

When firmware is corrupt you cannot restore firmware with an SD card. This is also true if firmware gets corrupted on a UNOcart. On a Harmony cart you can restore your device with a USB cable you probably already have. A UNOcart with corrupt firmware can be restored as well, but you need to purchase a ST-Link programmer to restore it. If I had designed the UNOcart, I would have included the ST Link programmer hardware on the cart itself, even if it did make the cart cost a little bit more.

I sent you the driver for the USB chip, so let me know if you still have issues.

I like the USB port on the Harmony Encore SD cartridge. Thanks for sending me a link to download the 64 bit Windows driver. Ok my Harmony Encore SD cartridge with the new micro USB port is now working perfectly fine with the programming tool version 1.3 which is the latest officially released version (I just needed a different 64 bit driver for the new cartridge). Now the only issue that remains on the new redesign is that it is not compatible with high-end name brand SDHC cards like the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC card. I never had problem with a SanDisk card working in a consumer product. Maybe a BIOS or firmware update will fix the issue, but that same SDHC card works in the older more expensive version of the Harmony Encore SD cartridge. Hopefully the new SD card slot being used is not causing a hardware incompatibility issue, and I hope this issue can be fixed by software.  

Edited March 11, 2021 by HDTV1080P

[vinniet]

On 3/11/2021 at 1:48 AM, batari said:

 

I sent you the driver for the USB chip, so let me know if you still have issues.

I have the new design with the microSD and microUSB and I can not get driver working for Windows 10.  No matter what driver I load is not working.  Can you please send me the driver also so I can get this working. 

 

I also tried Linux and that too did not work but I was doing it under VirtualBox.  I would rather get it working under Windows.  Thanks!

[HDTV1080P]

6 hours ago, vinniet said:

I have the new design with the microSD and microUSB and I can not get driver working for Windows 10.  No matter what driver I load is not working.  Can you please send me the driver also so I can get this working. 

 

I also tried Linux and that too did not work but I was doing it under VirtualBox.  I would rather get it working under Windows.  Thanks!

This new 64 bit Windows driver worked perfectly fine using Windows 10 Professional 64 bit edition while using the new micro USB port on the Harmony Encore cartridge with the full size SD card slot (should not matter if the card slot is micro or full size since the driver is looking at the USB port only). The following is the link that was supplied to me to download the driver. I used the official Harmony Programming Tool version 1.3 since when I tried to use the Harmony 2.0 BETA that is mentioned in this thread, Norton Internet Security claimed it was a virus threat, but I decided to install it anyways, but then wanted to remove it once installed. However I had to use the Norton Power eraser feature to remove difficult to detect threats feature since a normal full scan would not pick it up once the BETA 2.0 was installed. So I am sticking with the official released Harmony Programing Tool version 1.3 for now. However, this 64 bit driver link sent to me in email worked perfectly fine for me and Norton Internet Security says its fine.

 

http://www.wch-ic.com/downloads/file/5.html

Edited March 23, 2021 by HDTV1080P

[vinniet]

6 hours ago, HDTV1080P said:

This new 64 bit Windows driver worked perfectly fine using Windows 10 Professional 64 bit edition while using the new micro USB port on the Harmony Encore cartridge with the full size SD card slot (should not matter if the card slot is micro or full size since the driver is looking at the USB port only). The following is the link that was supplied to me to download the driver. I used the official Harmony Programming Tool version 1.3 since when I tried to use the Harmony 2.0 BETA that is mentioned in this thread, Norton Internet Security claimed it was a virus threat, but I decided to install it anyways, but then wanted to remove it once installed. However I had to use the Norton Power eraser feature to remove difficult to detect threats feature since a normal full scan would not pick it up once the BETA 2.0 was installed. So I am sticking with the official released Harmony Programing Tool version 1.3 for now. However, this 64 bit driver link sent to me in email worked perfectly fine for me and Norton Internet Security says its fine.

 

http://www.wch-ic.com/downloads/file/5.html

That link did not work for me.  Can you attach it here?

[HDTV1080P]

17 hours ago, vinniet said:

That link did not work for me.  Can you attach it here?

The link works perfectly fine using both Microsoft Edge 64 bit and Firefox 64 bit browsers. The link downloads a compressed folder with the 64 bit driver for the micro USB port. It does not take one to a website, but does a direct download. Then one unzips the compressed folder to get the auto launching program. I do not want to post it as a attachment in case there is some unknown copywrite issues. Maybe the Harmony programming team can post it as a attachment.

 

In the rare chance you are using Windows 10 32 bit the 64 bit driver well not work and you well need a 32 bit driver. Most Windows 10 devices are 64 bit. So if you have a Windows 10 32 bit operating system then you need to request a 32 bit driver for the micro USB port from the Harmony Programming team.

Edited March 24, 2021 by HDTV1080P

[HDTV1080P]

The new version of the Harmony Encore SD cartridge is better when compared to the older design.

I posted brief information about this in the following thread.

 

New Harmony product: Harmony Encore - Page 18 - Harmony Cartridge - AtariAge Forums

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by HDTV1080P

[vinniet]

4 hours ago, HDTV1080P said:

The link works perfectly fine using both Microsoft Edge 64 bit and Firefox 64 bit browsers. The link downloads a compressed folder with the 64 bit driver for the micro USB port. It does not take one to a website, but does a direct download. Then one unzips the compressed folder to get the auto launching program. I do not want to post it as a attachment in case there is some unknown copywrite issues. Maybe the Harmony programming team can post it as a attachment.

 

In the rare chance you are using Windows 10 32 bit the 64 bit driver well not work and you well need a 32 bit driver. Most Windows 10 devices are 64 bit. So if you have a Windows 10 32 bit operating system then you need to request a 32 bit driver for the micro USB port from the Harmony Programming team.

I got it down but PiHole just did not like it.   Thanks .. No I am Windows 10 64 bit.  I will try that one.

2 minutes ago, HDTV1080P said:

The new version of the Harmony Encore SD cartridge is better when compared to the older design.

I posted brief information about this in the following thread.

 

New Harmony product: Harmony Encore - Page 18 - Harmony Cartridge - AtariAge Forums

 

OH BTW I have just the regular Harmony with micro SD card.  Do you think the driver will work ?

[HDTV1080P]

Just now, vinniet said:

I got it down but PiHole just did not like it.   Thanks .. No I am Windows 10 64 bit.  I will try that one.

OH BTW I have just the regular Harmony with micro SD card.  Do you think the driver will work ?

The driver is for the USB port. It does not matter if the card slot is full size SD or microSD. 

[vinniet]

5 minutes ago, HDTV1080P said:

The driver is for the USB port. It does not matter if the card slot is full size SD or microSD. 

What about Harmony or Harmony Encore?

[HDTV1080P]

22 minutes ago, vinniet said:

What about Harmony or Harmony Encore?

The 64 bit driver worked perfectly fine for the Harmony Encore, and in theory if the same USB port is used on the standard Harmony the same driver should work.