QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 (edited) I've just gotten into the A8 hobby and I am, therefore, a newbie. I've tried solving this problem on my own but after hours of reading and watching videos I am stuck. I have an 800XL into which I've just installed a U1MB along with a Side3 cartridge. I've updated to flashjazzcat's latest firmware on both and everything seems to be working except for 1 problem. I can mount and run cartridges (CAR files) that are 16k (17k for CARs) or less in size, but anything larger does not work. A good example is Ballblazer from Mr Robots CAR file collection, which is a 64k cartridge. When I have the U1MB enabled, mounting the cartridge gives a screen full of BOOT ERROR messages. If I disable the U1MB, mounting the cartridge takes me to the Atari Self Test screen. I'm using this one cart as an example, but i have been unable to mount any larger car files, and I have tried many. Anyone have any ideas on what I've done wrong? Edited October 23, 2021 by QubertWI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 It would help if you showed your U1MB BIOS settings when you're trying to boot larger carts. Are you sure you have the SIDE3-specific plugin installed with your U1MB firmware? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, DrVenkman said: It would help if you showed your U1MB BIOS settings when you're trying to boot larger carts. Are you sure you have the SIDE3-specific plugin installed with your U1MB firmware? Here's my BIOS settings. Can I assume the S3 in the Plugin section is for the Side 3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 I attached an image but I guess it needs to be approved by a moderator,,, My BIOS plugin say "VXS3STCO". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 It would also be helpful if you could upload one or more problem files and/or link to the CAR collection (since I don't know of it); I can then test things in a matter of minutes and establish whether there is a problem, or if it's a settings issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 4 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said: It would also be helpful if you could upload one or more problem files and/or link to the CAR collection (since I don't know of it); I can then test things in a matter of minutes and establish whether there is a problem, or if it's a settings issue. Here you go... Ballblazer (1987)(Atari).car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, QubertWI said: Here you go... Thanks. Works here, same U1MB BIOS/plugin, and doesn't require any special SIDE3 loader settings. Have you also flashed the SIDE3 U1MB PBI BIOS? If the SIDE/SIDE2 PBI BIOS is still there and the HDD is enabled in the PBI settings (and perhaps with the ATR button enabled), you'll be lucky to run any cart at all. Quick way to test: boot SDX and see what's at the top of the screen, or run UFLASH, select the PBI BIOS slot, and press 'P'. If everything's good there, we can troubleshoot further. The only other possible issue is that - this being an XEGS 64K cart - the SIDE3 could have the older JED which incorporated bugs in XEGS cart emulation. EDIT: Check the SIDE3 loader version as well (info menu) to be sure that isn't ancient and in need up updates. Edited October 23, 2021 by flashjazzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 8 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said: Thanks. Works here, same U1MB BIOS/plugin, and doesn't require any special SIDE3 loader settings. Have you also flashed the SIDE3 U1MB PBI BIOS? If the SIDE/SIDE2 PBI BIOS is still there and the HDD is enabled in the PBI settings (and perhaps with the ATR button enabled), you'll be lucky to run any cart at all. Quick way to test: boot SDX and see what's at the top of the screen, or run UFLASH, select the PBI BIOS slot, and press 'P'. If everything's good there, we can troubleshoot further. The only other possible issue is that - this being an XEGS 64K cart - the SIDE3 could have the older JED which incorporated bugs in XEGS cart emulation. UFLASH reports the PBI BIOS as "PBI.BIOS" version 1.0. Is this correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Just now, QubertWI said: UFLASH reports the PBI BIOS as "PBI.BIOS" version 1.0. Is this correct? Sounds right, since the SIDE2 (wrong) PBI BIOS is at version 4.0. Please check the loader version next. Most recent is version 0.44. There is one other option, which correlates well with the symptoms you're describing: if longer files don't work and shorter files do, you may be experiencing transmission errors. In which case, you should try a different SD card if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 1 minute ago, flashjazzcat said: Sounds right, since the SIDE2 (wrong) PBI BIOS is at version 4.0. Please check the loader version next. Most recent is version 0.44. There is one other option, which correlates well with the symptoms you're describing: if longer files don't work and shorter files do, you may be experiencing transmission errors. In which case, you should try a different SD card if possible. The loader is version 0.44. I'll try a different SD card next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QubertWI Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 A different SD card works fine. Im glad it wasn't a stupid error on my part! Thanks Jon - I really appreciate your work and responsiveness! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 No worries. Glad a solution could be found quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irich2 Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 6 hours ago, flashjazzcat said: It would also be helpful if you could upload one or more problem files and/or link to the CAR collection (since I don't know of it); I can then test things in a matter of minutes and establish whether there is a problem, or if it's a settings issue. Here is the link to Mr. Robot's .CAR collection that was talked about: https://atari8bit.net/dl/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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