Files that do NOT work :-\

[yerzmyey]

Hi,

some very very initial informations about files' reading.

We didn't test much for now (the comp came just yesterday, in the evening) but this regular ATR didn't start at all:
https://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3708
It just goes back to the carousel.
Which is a problem, as this particular ATR disk image uses standard, system sector reading procedures, so it is 100% compatible with the OS architecture. For example, it boots without any problems on real Atari XL/XE hardware, from HDD interfaces (IDE Plus, etc.)

So it would have to be corrected.

 

If the above issue is refined, then RetroGames should consider supporting less standard images, e.g.:
https://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3633

Please add more examples of files that don't work, to help guys from RG to determine and resolve the issue.

I will try to make more tests soon, but that's what we know at first.

Regards.
Y

[woj]

5 minutes ago, yerzmyey said:

We didn't test much for now (the comp came just yesterday, in the evening) but this regular ATR didn't start at all:
https://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3708
It just goes back to the carousel.

Doesn't The Top 3 require some larger amounts of RAM? I do not remember, but things like this should be verified first before making any failure claims.

[yerzmyey]

25 minutes ago, woj said:

Doesn't The Top 3 require some larger amounts of RAM? I do not remember, but things like this should be verified first before making any failure claims.

 

No it doesn't. It starts on a stock 130XE and does not start at all on the Mini with 130XE config.

 

If you don't remember, then know that things like this should be verified first before making any false claims.

[pjedavison]

I wonder if this is an instance where the fast loading system (which The400 Mini has turned on by default, and can't be disabled at present) is causing the load to fail. I know TheC64 Mini/Maxi (and VICE, by extension) has issues with fastloading some disk images, which is why the "True Drive Emulation" setting is there. I would like to see the equivalent added to The400 Mini, if only to hear the delicious IO sounds

[Sean_1970]

There are very few of my ROMs working, some of which I used to run under xAtari800x just fine. As I suspected I’m going to have to try changing extensions and see if that’s the issue. I was quite disappointed to find a QR code in lieu of actual instructions in the included manual. Also would have been nice to have anything in there about the 400Mini formatting your USB key upon insertion. I was confused to see only 400 Basic on there when I knew I hadn’t installed it! Copying all my files back wasn’t a big deal, though my multi-disk game folders didn’t open - I’ll have to review the online manual again - no doubt it’s spaces in the folder filename causing a problem…

[pjedavison]

13 minutes ago, Sean_1970 said:

There are very few of my ROMs working, some of which I used to run under xAtari800x just fine. As I suspected I’m going to have to try changing extensions and see if that’s the issue. I was quite disappointed to find a QR code in lieu of actual instructions in the included manual. Also would have been nice to have anything in there about the 400Mini formatting your USB key upon insertion. I was confused to see only 400 Basic on there when I knew I hadn’t installed it! Copying all my files back wasn’t a big deal, though my multi-disk game folders didn’t open - I’ll have to review the online manual again - no doubt it’s spaces in the folder filename causing a problem…

It doesn't format the USB stick -- at least it didn't for me. All it should do is create the THE400_BASIC.ATR image if that doesn't exist; everything else you put on the stick should stay where it is. That's what happened for me anyway.

 

Perhaps it has issues if the stick is not in the format it's expecting (FAT32 with a Master Boot Record)?

[skel28]

36 minutes ago, Sean_1970 said:

There are very few of my ROMs working, some of which I used to run under xAtari800x just fine. As I suspected I’m going to have to try changing extensions and see if that’s the issue. I was quite disappointed to find a QR code in lieu of actual instructions in the included manual. Also would have been nice to have anything in there about the 400Mini formatting your USB key upon insertion. I was confused to see only 400 Basic on there when I knew I hadn’t installed it! Copying all my files back wasn’t a big deal, though my multi-disk game folders didn’t open - I’ll have to review the online manual again - no doubt it’s spaces in the folder filename causing a problem…

The Full manual is here Sean - https://retrogames.biz/support/the400-mini/ (also attached). Cheers

THE400-Mini-User-Manual-v1.0.0.pdf

[Sean_1970]

12 minutes ago, skel28 said:

The Full manual is here Sean - https://retrogames.biz/support/the400-mini/ (also attached). Cheers

THE400-Mini-User-Manual-v1.0.0.pdf 5.05 MB · 0 downloads

Cheers I have it from using the QR code in the setup manual. I think it’s crap to have a QR code link to it rather than just print it - not like they went in-depth really, so you’re talking a handful of pages.

 

34 minutes ago, pjedavison said:

It doesn't format the USB stick -- at least it didn't for me. All it should do is create the THE400_BASIC.ATR image if that doesn't exist; everything else you put on the stick should stay where it is. That's what happened for me anyway.

 

Perhaps it has issues if the stick is not in the format it's expecting (FAT32 with a Master Boot Record)?

Must have been as it trashed everything. Mainly the lack of support for .car files might be causing my issues. I’m hoping just renaming to .rom will resolve, but if not .bin and then .atr because they might not be cart images I suppose!

[Sean_1970]

Renaming .car to .rom had no effect - is it maybe the “Basic” enabled thing? Didn’t impact my other .bin and .rom files that worked leaving it as default…okay going to change the extensions to .bin and then .atr and then .xex I guess…?

[bfollowell]

I would think that, if it is a cartridge image, that none of those would work. A true CAR image has a 16B header that tells the software/device what type of cartridge it is and how to use it. A bin or rom image don't have that. Renaming a car to bin or rom leaves a strange file with this extra weird 16B header that it shouldn't have, so I'm assuming the emulator thinks it's part of the code, so then the image fails.

 

That's just my opinion of what is happening though, and I could be wrong.

 

If I were you, I'd strip the 16B header from your car images then rename them to rom or bin and try them again.

 

[Sean_1970]

3 hours ago, bfollowell said:

I would think that, if it is a cartridge image, that none of those would work. A true CAR image has a 16B header that tells the software/device what type of cartridge it is and how to use it. A bin or rom image don't have that. Renaming a car to bin or rom leaves a strange file with this extra weird 16B header that it shouldn't have, so I'm assuming the emulator thinks it's part of the code, so then the image fails.

 

That's just my opinion of what is happening though, and I could be wrong.

 

If I were you, I'd strip the 16B header from your car images then rename them to rom or bin and try them again.

 

Aren’t they binaries? How would I remove the header?

[bfollowell]

Yes and no. They are binaries, but they are not straight dumps. A basic 16KB cart dump would be 16,384 bytes. A 16KB car image; a true car image, not one just renamed to car, would be 16,400 bytes. That 16B header tells the emulator/software/hardware that is using the image what type/brand of cartridge the original cartridge was so that it knows what to do with the cartridge. Not all carts were the same and some had banking schemes and they worked completely different. With a basic bin or rom, you lose this data and many cart images won't run properly.

 

As far as removing the header, I'm not certain myself. I'm sure you could use a hex editor to take off the 16B header and then save the image back out to bin or rom. I think that you might be able to open a car image in Altirra and then save it back out as a bin or rom without the header, but I'm not 100% certain.

 

[pjedavison]

This from the manual may be of relevance to those having trouble with cartridges. I'm not sure what the relevant extensions/cartridge types are, but perhaps someone can clarify?

(Text for those who can't read the image: "Note: In the unexpected case where a cartridge file (specifically .rom or .bin) files is not identified correctly, you can instruct THE400 Mini to use the correct type by giving the file an extension of .c##, where ## gives the correct cartridge type number. For example .c02")

[bfollowell]

27 minutes ago, pjedavison said:

This from the manual may be of relevance to those having trouble with cartridges. I'm not sure what the relevant extensions/cartridge types are, but perhaps someone can clarify?

(Text for those who can't read the image: "Note: In the unexpected case where a cartridge file (specifically .rom or .bin) files is not identified correctly, you can instruct THE400 Mini to use the correct type by giving the file an extension of .c##, where ## gives the correct cartridge type number. For example .c02")

 

Yes, this makes it sound like The 400 doesn't support car images or their headers, so, he's going to need to convert his car images to bin or rom without a header and try again. If they still won't work, he'll need to rename using this criteria depending on what cartridge type the image is from.

 

[+remowilliams]

1 hour ago, bfollowell said:

Yes, this makes it sound like The 400 doesn't support car images or their headers

Even though it's not listed in the manual it definitely seems to support .CAR images.

 

[Sean_1970]

These might be 5200 images (downloaded so many years ago I honestly cannot remember), so could be I just need to tick the 5200 radio button? Anyway cheers for all the info. I can’t see doing any manual edit, so worst case I’ll just try to source .atr versions 🤷‍♂️

[bfollowell]

9 hours ago, Sean_1970 said:

These might be 5200 images (downloaded so many years ago I honestly cannot remember), so could be I just need to tick the 5200 radio button? Anyway cheers for all the info. I can’t see doing any manual edit, so worst case I’ll just try to source .atr versions 🤷‍♂️

 

No idea. The machine is too new. Try it and see what happens.

 

If they're actually 5200 titles, there won't be an atr version, or any other version other than some type of rom/bin/car image.

 

What titles are you talking about?

 

[pps]

.car is clearly supported. Besides the Space Harrier, I started ATARI Tennis and ATARI Blast! without any problem.

 

If the ROMs are for the 5200 you should check the 5200 option. This machine has different internal structure from all the other A8 machines, The400 mini supports.

 

btw: Stunt Car Racer (.atr) and Crownland (.xex) are working fine, too 👍

[Sean_1970]

1 hour ago, bfollowell said:

 

No idea. The machine is too new. Try it and see what happens.

 

If they're actually 5200 titles, there won't be an atr version, or any other version other than some type of rom/bin/car image.

 

What titles are you talking about?

 

There are some that were 5200 versions of games that were originally on computer: Gremlins and Ballblazer immediately come to mind. I'll try changing the extensions back to .car and use the 5200 radio button and see if that sorts things; otherwise I may search for .rom or .bin files, the few of which I have worked fine.

 

The biggest selling point for me is being able to play 8-bit Atari computer games without using an emulator on my Mac. I actually prefer Last Starfighter to Star Raiders II just because the weapons auto-switch in space battles and the names of the planets from Last Starfighter 😁

[Sean_1970]

3 hours ago, pps said:

.car is clearly supported. Besides the Space Harrier, I started ATARI Tennis and ATARI Blast! without any problem.

 

If the ROMs are for the 5200 you should check the 5200 option. This machine has different internal structure from all the other A8 machines, The400 mini supports.

 

btw: Stunt Car Racer (.atr) and Crownland (.xex) are working fine, too 👍

%100 correct on both counts. Now to weed out the rubbish like Astro Chase - what was the thought process with this one?!?

[dely]

Tried all available models, different ATR versions of The Top 3, 400 mini always returns to the carousel

Edited April 1 by dely

[Sean_1970]

2 hours ago, dely said:

Tried all available models, different ATR versions of The Top 3, 400 mini always returns to the carousel

What files? I haven’t tested all of mine, but after weeding out ones I had never tested previously I’ve been having good results.

[beatles2001]

I have noticed that not only changing the system from 800 to 800xl and also toggling the basic on and off, gets 95% of the programs running for me.

[pps]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:52 PM, dely said:

Tried all available models, different ATR versions of The Top 3, 400 mini always returns to the carousel

Imho the disk drive emulation is not as exact as it would be needed to run this demo. They used own loading routines there, so that the method the emulator in the400 uses won't work.

 

The400 is not a machine for watching demos. The emulation is not good enough for this and atm you can't set it to be able to see the whole Atari screen. Best example is one of my rather simple intros - Atari 50, a simple one screener with music and scroller. The font has glitches on the400, that are not seen on A8 or Altirra.