The eagle has landed!
(http://s24.postimg.org/azh3nh7j5/IMG_20150805_161323794.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/azh3nh7j5/)
(http://s11.postimg.org/yua74rmcf/IMG_20150805_162541846.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/yua74rmcf/)
This thing is awesome, go and order one now:
http://home.comcast.net/~olimar/NES/FDSStick/
I had to make a change to the Makefile to get the fds utility to compile under Linux, but it's super simple apart from that. Just copied a couple of disk images on to it, off to play some FDS SMB 2 now :D
I have one in the post :)
It holds a few FDS games at a time - but can you half complete a game, pull it off to storage and replay later?
Quote from: L___E___T on August 05, 2015, 09:18:13 am
I have one in the post :)
It holds a few FDS games at a time - but can you half complete a game, pull it off to storage and replay later?
You can, yes. You can now write an FDS image to the FDSStick and read the image back (as modified) to your PC as an FDS image.
Quote from: Great Hierophant on August 05, 2015, 09:25:36 am
Quote from: L___E___T on August 05, 2015, 09:18:13 am
I have one in the post :)
It holds a few FDS games at a time - but can you half complete a game, pull it off to storage and replay later?
You can, yes. You can now write an FDS image to the FDSStick and read the image back (as modified) to your PC as an FDS image.
Yep, just tried it now and it worked perfectly.
This is a good read, it's about "purifying" FDS disk dumps to remove old save data etc:
http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12911
Oh yes! That's exactly what I've always hoped for!
Quote from: chowder on August 05, 2015, 09:30:13 am
Yep, just tried it now and it worked perfectly.
This is a good read, it's about "purifying" FDS disk dumps to remove old save data etc:
http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12911
That is definitely a very good read ;D
Wow, how have I not heard of this thing till now!?
From the site:
"Device can also read/write disks from an FDS drive with an adapter cable (not included)."
Does this mean I could use this device to re-write faulty fds disks I have laying around? Has anyone tried this?
Quote from: egg_sanwich on August 05, 2015, 02:21:13 pm
Wow, how have I not heard of this thing till now!?
From the site:
"Device can also read/write disks from an FDS drive with an adapter cable (not included)."
Does this mean I could use this device to re-write faulty fds disks I have laying around? Has anyone tried this?
Yes, you could use it to rewrite faulty disks.
Quote from: loopy on August 05, 2015, 05:40:52 pm
Yes, you could use it to rewrite faulty disks.
Awesome, I've been needing to do this for a while! So long, disk error 22!
Question to the group - not that re-writing disks has been impossible before, but do you think the accessibility of tools like these will lead to an increase in pirated disks? For example, label-less All-Night Nippon SMB disks entering the market?
Quote from: egg_sanwich on August 05, 2015, 08:02:27 pm
Question to the group - not that re-writing disks has been impossible before, but do you think the accessibility of tools like these will lead to an increase in pirated disks? For example, label-less All-Night Nippon SMB disks entering the market?
No. I have my QDC for personal-use-only and I can't get disks to read games between the two drives I have. Metroid won't write successfully at all, for example (loads fine, starting a game leads to ERR.24/26, disk never reads successfully again), so I don't think that even the minor variances in modern "properly" calibrated drives will allow non-Nintendo-written disks to load on all drives (even if all copy protection is circumvented or missing. Note that all of my non-test games load fine in both drives)
Plus I think Loopy's a smart enough guy to not sell 5 or 6 of these to some literally-who in mainland China.
Quote from: ImATrackMan on August 05, 2015, 11:31:46 pm
No. I have my QDC for personal-use-only and I can't get disks to read games between the two drives I have. Metroid won't write successfully at all, for example (loads fine, starting a game leads to ERR.24/26, disk never reads successfully again), so I don't think that even the minor variances in modern "properly" calibrated drives will allow non-Nintendo-written disks to load on all drives (even if all copy protection is circumvented or missing. Note that all of my non-test games load fine in both drives)
Interesting, I was unaware that there was a significant difference. Good to know.
Quote from: ImATrackMan on August 05, 2015, 11:31:46 pm
Plus I think Loopy's a smart enough guy to not sell 5 or 6 of these to some literally-who in mainland China.
Definitely not questioning Loopy's integrity ;D
This is why you shouldn't be rewriting all your disks. It's also probably a good idea to mark your rewritten disks for the future. I plan to use some bad disks I have to experiment rewriting with but I will probably use the FDSStick+RAM Adapter to play purified games on instead of rewriting old working disks.
Quote from: egg_sanwich on August 05, 2015, 02:21:13 pm
Wow, how have I not heard of this thing till now!?
Because it's brand new!
Quote from: Great Hierophant on August 05, 2015, 12:26:57 pm
Quote from: chowder on August 05, 2015, 09:30:13 am
Yep, just tried it now and it worked perfectly.
This is a good read, it's about "purifying" FDS disk dumps to remove old save data etc:
http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12911
That is definitely a very good read ;D
;D Thanks for writing it.
The FDSStick is proving perfect for my needs, namely playing FDS games without relying on my working but extremely temperamental disk drive. Looking forward to working on some dev stuff for FDS now too. Honestly, the Famicom Disk System is without doubt the most frustrating piece of hardware I own!
Thank you loopy :)
Yeah hopefully we will finally start seeing some more FDS homebrew from now on. I tried before to make a minimal working FDS image that just plays some sound on the square channel. I was finally able to get the disk image to be accepted by the FDS BIOS (on an emulator) after tweaking some tweaking but sadly no sound could be heard in the end.
Since I got a working FDS I was thinking of picking this up just in case it ever bites the dust lol.
Can anyone here make the cable so I can connect it to a FDS? I have a game I bought off ebay that had the wrong game written to it, I'd love to use the FDSStick to rewrite the proper game onto the disk.
Does this support the Disk System's FM sound?
Yes, it only emulates the disk drive and reads the disk into your RAM Adapter. So it works virtually the same as with a disk drive and physical disks.
Gonna get one next month :) Still have to find a way to connect it to my Twin Famicom tough ???
Mine arrived today - so gotta hunt me down a cheapo RAM adaptor now.
So, in theory, could you write translated/patched ROM's from it to a Disk and have an official "translated" copy? ???
Quote from: h0bbz on August 23, 2015, 04:56:02 pm
So, in theory, could you write translated/patched ROM's from it to a Disk and have an official "translated" copy? ???
I put some hacks on my FDSStick and they worked, so it should probably work if you write one to a disk.
Quote from: h0bbz on August 23, 2015, 04:56:02 pm
So, in theory, could you write translated/patched ROM's from it to a Disk and have an official "translated" copy? ???
I've written a couple translations to disks, not with the FDSStick, and they work great.
Just don't start trying to sell rewritten disks. Chances are they only work on your own drive.
Just got my FDS Stick yesterday, loaded up some disks on it, and it works sooooooo perfectly!! It's nice to finally have a way to play games fully without disk errors and having a way to rewrite physical disks if there was ever a need to. Great purchase and neat device!!
Quote from: P on August 25, 2015, 02:12:00 am
Just don't start trying to sell rewritten disks. Chances are they only work on your own drive.
I wasn't sure if there was a market for it, I have a few blank ones left. I made a few for a friend as well and all have worked without issues on his drive.
Quote from: muckyfingers on August 25, 2015, 08:15:17 pm
Quote from: P on August 25, 2015, 02:12:00 am
Just don't start trying to sell rewritten disks. Chances are they only work on your own drive.
I wasn't sure if there was a market for it, I have a few blank ones left. I made a few for a friend as well and all have worked without issues on his drive.
That's what I was thinking. As long as your own drive is calibrated and reads other factory-written disks, it should write disks properly too. I always thought that was just a myth. Thanks for confirming that.
There's nothing wrong with selling restored disks!
You know, how exactly do you make disks with this thing? I know that I need to make that female to female adapter cable that connects the disk drive to the FDS Stick, but then what? Do you just put the blank disk in, plug the FDS Stick in, just wait, and it writes itself, or is there more to it or a command you have to execute?
Also in a "Duuuh" moment and for anyone wondering, if you want to write to all 8 sides of the FDS Stick then use the executable in the first link through a command prompt of course. I kept using the drag & drop program trying to figure out why I couldn't drag multiple files to it and have it write to other sides.
It's completely not hard to figure it all out, but some quick and dirty 'idiot's guide' beginner tutorials would be a good reference to go to.
I'm pretty sure you use the tool for writing disks as well. You should tell Loopy and he will probably put up instructions.
Quote from: zmaster18 on August 25, 2015, 08:46:25 pm
Quote from: muckyfingers on August 25, 2015, 08:15:17 pm
Quote from: P on August 25, 2015, 02:12:00 am
Just don't start trying to sell rewritten disks. Chances are they only work on your own drive.
I wasn't sure if there was a market for it, I have a few blank ones left. I made a few for a friend as well and all have worked without issues on his drive.
That's what I was thinking. As long as your own drive is calibrated and reads other factory-written disks, it should write disks properly too. I always thought that was just a myth. Thanks for confirming that.
There's nothing wrong with selling restored disks!
I don't think that just because it works on two drives, it will work an all. Wasn't there another guy here that could play commercial disks on both his drives but couldn't get disks written on either of them to work on the other.
Flooding the market with rewritten disks that looks identical to original disks, and causing all sorts of problems isn't a very good idea.
Ohhhhhh, okay, I have no idea why I wasn't thinking this. You plug the FDS Stick into your PC then the other end into the adapter cable which will go to the disk drive. Then use the command line program to write straight from the PC to the blank disk. Pretty easy
Does this thing work with Windows 7?
I plugged it in and it gave me the 'installing drivers' spiel. Then it made the 'plugged in' jingle. Not the 'device failed to connect jingle.' Either way, nothing's happening.
Am I supposed to be able to open it like a drive? What's the deal?
It only interacts with the command line tool and the drag and drop tool.
But my computer is not recognizing a drive.
There's nothing to drag and drop into, and typing 'E:' returns 'The system cannot find the drive specified.'
I don't think it acts like a drive. Try starting the tool that is downloaded from the homepage and see if it can copy FDS images to it. I think Loopy put instructions in the nesdev thread, not sure.
There's a command-line version and a GUI version (drag-and-drop).
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on August 26, 2015, 11:32:42 pm
But my computer is not recognizing a drive.
There's nothing to drag and drop into, and typing 'E:' returns 'The system cannot find the drive specified.'
You have to drag and drop the game you want into FDSCopy (which can be downloaded on the FDSStick website) and it will be loaded onto the FDSStick.
I know, the command line tool is a bit clunky to use. I'm working on a windows GUI to replace it.
Quote from: BaconBitsKing on August 27, 2015, 03:38:18 am
You have to drag and drop the game you want into FDSCopy (which can be downloaded on the FDSStick website) and it will be loaded onto the FDSStick.
This site? http://home.comcast.net/~olimar/NES/FDSStick/
Oh, nevermind. Found it: http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=196
I thought those were ad links!
Edit: No matter what I type in, I get a 'Failed' message.
Quote
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Users\James C>^V
'▬' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
-f file.fds [1..8] write to flash (disk slot# 1..8)
-s file.fds [1..8] read from flash
-r file.fds read disk
-R file.raw [file.bin] read disk (raw)
-w file.fds write disk
-l list flash contents
-e [1..8 | all] erase flash
-u file.fw update firmware
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Metroid v1.02.fds 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Metroid v1.02 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Vs. Excitebike.fds 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Vs. Excitebike 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f fdsstick\fds\Metroid v1.02.fds 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Almana no Kiseki.fds 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Almana no Kiseki 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>
You can't have spaces in filenames or it won't understand what argument is what (that's why people often use underscore instead of space in filenames). If you have spaces you must use quotes:
fds -f "Metroid v1.02.fds" 1
BTW Loopy's site for USA people changed to: http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/
Quote from: P on August 29, 2015, 03:02:45 am
You can't have spaces in filenames or it won't understand what argument is what (that's why people often use underscore instead of space in filenames). If you have spaces you must use quotes:
fds -f "Metroid v1.02.fds" 1
QuoteMicrosoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
-f file.fds [1..8] write to flash (disk slot# 1..8)
-s file.fds [1..8] read from flash
-r file.fds read disk
-R file.raw [file.bin] read disk (raw)
-w file.fds write disk
-l list flash contents
-e [1..8 | all] erase flash
-u file.fw update firmware
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f "Metroid v1.02.fds" 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
C:\Users\James C>^A
Changed the filename:
QuoteC:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Metroidv102.fds 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
Quote from: P on August 29, 2015, 03:02:45 am
BTW Loopy's site for USA people changed to: http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/
Okay, good. The link to FDSCopy works on this one.
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on August 29, 2015, 05:35:51 am
Changed the filename:
QuoteC:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f Metroidv102.fds 1
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Failed.
Where is the FDS file stored, "C:\Users\James C" or "C:\Users\James C\fdsstick\fds"?
It's in the same folder as fds.exe.
By the way, FDSCopy works. I have no problem using that, so long as I can transfer my saves back to my PC.
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on August 29, 2015, 11:55:49 pm
It's in the same folder as fds.exe.
That's the problem then :)
When you're running the program, you're specifying the directory (fdsstick) too, but you're not before the FDS filename, so it's looking for it in the current directory ie "C:\Users\James C". You can either add "fdsstick\" before the FDS filename, or just do "cd fdsstick" (without quotes) at the very beginning to change into the right directory, then just type "fds -f Metroidv102.fds 1" (again minus the quotes) and it should work.
Oh computer users today totally missed out on the "fun" us old guys called DOS. Tweaking config.sys and autoexec.bat, running into IRQ problems, and waiting 5 minutes for windows 3.1 to load. :)
Quote from: leonk on August 30, 2015, 07:23:52 am
Oh computer users today totally missed out on the "fun" us old guys called DOS. Tweaking config.sys and autoexec.bat, running into IRQ problems, and waiting 5 minutes for windows 3.1 to load. :)
Hahaha, those were the days! I couldn't play games without a "special" boot floppy, I spent half my childhood messing about with batch files.
Kids nowadays don't know how good they've got it... grumble, mumble, etc ;)
I thought filenames were relevant to the exe's directory. ??? I remember having to type
..\ to get out of it.
QuoteMicrosoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -f "fdsstick\Doki Doki Panic.fds" 3
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
Side 1
................................
Side 2
................................
Ok.
C:\Users\James C>fdsstick\fds -l
FDSStick console app (Jul 14 2015)
Opened FDSStick (16D0:0AAA:0102:E7C40341:4M)
1: Metroid (v1.02).fds
2: Side 2
3: Doki Doki Panic.fds
4: Side 2
5:
6:
7:
8:
Ok.
C:\Users\James C>
It works! Thank you, old people. ;)
(by the way, how many 4-sided disk games are there?)
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on August 30, 2015, 07:59:14 am
(by the way, how many 4-sided disk games are there?)
There are six two-disk games, with each disk using two sides. But I find it odd that they are referred to as 4-sided games except for emulator convenience. These games were released in two parts, each disk was released in a separate box and the releases were usually separated by at least a month.
Quote from: P on August 26, 2015, 07:30:47 am
I'm pretty sure you use the tool for writing disks as well. You should tell Loopy and he will probably put up instructions.
Quote from: zmaster18 on August 25, 2015, 08:46:25 pm
Quote from: muckyfingers on August 25, 2015, 08:15:17 pm
Quote from: P on August 25, 2015, 02:12:00 am
Just don't start trying to sell rewritten disks. Chances are they only work on your own drive.
I wasn't sure if there was a market for it, I have a few blank ones left. I made a few for a friend as well and all have worked without issues on his drive.
That's what I was thinking. As long as your own drive is calibrated and reads other factory-written disks, it should write disks properly too. I always thought that was just a myth. Thanks for confirming that.
There's nothing wrong with selling restored disks!
I don't think that just because it works on two drives, it will work an all. Wasn't there another guy here that could play commercial disks on both his drives but couldn't get disks written on either of them to work on the other.
Flooding the market with rewritten disks that looks identical to original disks, and causing all sorts of problems isn't a very good idea.
If I do sell any of these few disks I have, they would be of the couple of English Translated Games, not official releases. I don't have any sort of label or inserts or anything, so I haven't offered any.
Quote from: chowder on August 30, 2015, 02:25:40 am
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on August 29, 2015, 11:55:49 pm
It's in the same folder as fds.exe.
That's the problem then :)
When you're running the program, you're specifying the directory (fdsstick) too, but you're not before the FDS filename, so it's looking for it in the current directory ie "C:\Users\James C". You can either add "fdsstick\" before the FDS filename, or just do "cd fdsstick" (without quotes) at the very beginning to change into the right directory, then just type "fds -f Metroidv102.fds 1" (again minus the quotes) and it should work.
There's a handy shortcut for this - instead of typing in the file path, drag & drop a file into the DOS window. It'll enter the full path for you.
I've been working on a windows GUI, so you won't need to do this much longer.
Quote from: loopy on August 30, 2015, 10:01:09 pm
There's a handy shortcut for this - instead of typing in the file path, drag & drop a file into the DOS window. It'll enter the full path for you.
Wow. Now I feel really stupid not knowing this one. :( How long has this been a feature?
By the way, tested it out with the RAM adapter I just got. It all works! ;D (I was skeptical about the RAM adapter, though.)
Now how to develop an NSF playing program? ???
Got my FDSStick in the mail the other day! Works like a charm. :)
I can only run the last game I copied to the stick, I thought it could hold 8 sides? I keep getting error 02 when I try to cycle through.
If you're using FDSCopy.exe, that only loads one game at a time.
Use this instead - http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/FDSStick.exe (http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/FDSStick.exe)
pretty neat that guys shared the source of the client app.
I use FDSLoadr...
Wow how did I miss this. I need it! Great work loopy. Will probably get one next month. :)
I finally got (desirable) code to execute on the FDS using the FDSStick. It's an awesome Development tool. I can run tests and demos on real hardware! What more can I ask for! As for the NSF playing, i'm actually working on one right now. :)
There are even more reasons to be appreciative of the FDSStick now. The newest firmware shows a menu of disk images you can select on the FDS menu on your Famicom or NES. You can select the image you want to run with the controller, just like an EverDrive N8. The Windows Console application now allows you to add, remove and save played images. The button is used for switching disk sides and ejecting disks, not for selecting games. Finally, the FDSStick being sold now hold 32 disk sides instead of 8 of the old model.
Maybe I should buy another one...
So awesome, but soooooo unfair :'( Not only did I miss the first batch which were $10 cheaper, but I got stuck in the middle batch without the expanded memory. Booooooo
Quote from: Raverrevolution on December 18, 2015, 11:01:50 am
So awesome, but soooooo unfair :'( Not only did I miss the first batch which were $10 cheaper, but I got stuck in the middle batch without the expanded memory. Booooooo
I have that one too, but I can't say I'm feeling exactly shortchanged. I don't need that many games on the stick at once, I can only play one at a time :P I may be wrong, but the 3D printed case wasn't available with the very first batch, was it?
No clue, but I know they're not 3d printed anymore according to what he said on nesdev
When they were first released and could be ordered on the website. a 3-D printed enclosure was available. Now loopy makes injection molded enclosures available.
I just wanted to give a shout out to Loopy for his incredible support on his product. He is very prompt and helpful!
With his help I was able to upgrade my original FDSStick. I took on the soldering myself, but managed fine. It's super tough and not for beginners.
The new menu and amount of space on the new chip is awesome!!! I absolutely love this thing ;D
I have to ask you, Raverrevolution, how does selecting disk sides work?
In the video, it looks like the FDSStick was just plugged in and went to the menu on its own.
Yeah, that's exactly how it works. You plug it in and once you turn on the system it automatically takes over and goes to its own menu. Once you choose a game it'll start. 1 button press is for side 1, 2 button presses are for side 2, and if you hold the button down the disk ejects although I haven't had a need for that yet so I haven't tested it.
If you need more reason to appreciate the FDSStick, the latest software, released two days ago, allow you to load games directly from your PC without flashing them. Just keep your FDSStick inserted into the USB port and connect the other end to the FDS RAM Adapter. Use the Windows console program's new tab to select the game and change disk sides. It worked for me with Metroid, which is a bit finicky when it comes to saving and loading.
just received my fdsstick, and is awesome!!! next step read and write, i have to get the av cables and do the cable, and see if my disk system is able to hehe
Just ordered mine!
By the way, there was another software update recently, with speed improvements and adding support for Game Doctor ("copier") hardware. It also checks for updates automatically now, so you don't need to watch for announcements on forums like this anymore ::)
Quote from: loopy on April 06, 2016, 09:55:00 am
By the way, there was another software update recently, with speed improvements and adding support for Game Doctor ("copier") hardware. It also checks for updates automatically now, so you don't need to watch for announcements on forums like this anymore ::)
Nice!!!
Anyone knows what "Game Doctor disk format is fully supported." means? I have FDSStick and also an MGD1 but what exactly is supported?
http://www.famicomdisksystem.com/game-doctor-copiers/ (http://www.famicomdisksystem.com/game-doctor-copiers/)
Copier devices use a different file format (I mean PC files here, the format of data on the disk itself is the same).
This is because of a limitation of the .FDS file format, its disks are a fixed size. Many games made for Game Doctor are larger than a standard disk (about 65k) and can't be stored as an .FDS file.
I ran into a problem trying to play some copy protected games (The 3dMaze runner, Fūun Shōrin Ken: Ankoku no Maō) using the FDStick, anyone have a decent work around? >:( ;D
Hmm... not sure, I'll check them out.
Quote from: brandonx76 on June 13, 2016, 04:33:51 pm
I ran into a problem trying to play some copy protected games (The 3dMaze runner, Fūun Shōrin Ken: Ankoku no Maō) using the FDStick, anyone have a decent work around? >:( ;D
I cannot speak to the second game, but if you are trying to play Tobidase Daisakusen (released for the NES as 3-D Battles of the Worldrunner), then your disk image is almost certainly missing a file or is corrupt. This triggers the copy protection.
Both are working for me (I haven't played them completely though). What problem are you seeing? Maybe it's as Great Heirophant says.
Thanks all...re: Disk/copywrite error, I went back and updated the stick with latest software, then I also watched the youtube video on how to use (actually unplugging the FDSstick and plugging it in after turning on system), and pressing right to see selectable files, everything seemed to work fine doing that method.
QQ, say I have multiple games on the disk, I need to press the button in order of location of disk. So for example, .say I need to flip to side B for the 3rd game on the FDStick, I would need to hit the button 6 times to get the system to see side B?
Just wanted to make sure I understood the process. Lots of button clicking if I have multiple disks on the system so wanted to make sure this was the only way to access etc.
FDS is a reall cool solution nonetheless!
Quote from: brandonx76 on June 15, 2016, 08:32:55 am
QQ, say I have multiple games on the disk, I need to press the button in order of location of disk. So for example, .say I need to flip to side B for the 3rd game on the FDStick, I would need to hit the button 6 times to get the system to see side B?
Just wanted to make sure I understood the process. Lots of button clicking if I have multiple disks on the system so wanted to make sure this was the only way to access etc.
No, that was the old method which is no longer used. The modern method is you just select the game you want to play from the menu. This loads side A of your game. If the game asks for side B, you press the button twice. If the game asks for side A, you press the button once. When you want to play a different game, you turn off your console and turn it back on, then select the new game from the menu. Again this loads side A, press the button twice for B and once for A. For a two sided game, you never press the button more than twice at a time.
i finally ended my read write cable and everithing is wokring great i am able to read and write games to disks, this is great now i just need blank disk hehe
Price drop, yo.
Got a new batch of boards in with bigger flash.
Umm wow, $12?? I think I might actually order a second for that price.
Update: Ordered my second one, because I really wanted to fit every single game on this thing. We can fit every game on it now right?
Pretty sure. Unless you're counting every Super Mario Bros. graphics hack, which there are an infinite number of.
Will the price on Tototek change also?
Probably, that's up to him. I sent him new boards but his shop isn't updated yet.
(my site tells you to buy from Tototek if you're outside the U.S., but it will still take your order... you can buy from my site if you want to)
I actually like the FDS's click-whir-wait, as I think it's part of the experience. But at this price I'll get a FDSStick just for curiosity's sake ;D
Quote from: loopy on July 29, 2016, 12:49:07 pm
Probably, that's up to him. I sent him new boards but his shop isn't updated yet.
(my site tells you to buy from Tototek if you're outside the U.S., but it will still take your order... you can buy from my site if you want to)
Think I'll take you up on that, thanks. Made the purchase now. I see Tototek has changed his price now as well.
Guess I gotta look around a bit for the RAM Adapter as well then.
There aren't really that many FDS games I'm interested in (and most of the ones I am I've gotten the official cart versions of), but I do want to support a good thing.
I wish I had waited a week, I thought my FDSStick was getting quite the upgrade from 4M to 128M, but now with this new 256M and the lower price, I may start to :'(
Quote from: Ghegs on July 29, 2016, 12:30:00 pm
Will the price on Tototek change also?
it was updated on 7/30 :)
i've just ordered one pcs of fdsstick.
256M?
You can fit the whole FDS Library on that thing at least twice
Quote from: Great Hierophant on July 30, 2016, 07:06:44 am
I wish I had waited a week, I thought my FDSStick was getting quite the upgrade from 4M to 128M, but now with this new 256M and the lower price, I may start to :'(
If it makes you feel any better I first started by buying one of the very early 4M models like you did. The post office screwed up on something with the package, but that got figured out and like a couple of months after getting it the 128M model came out.
Loopy was cool enough to send me what I needed to upgrade the chip on mine which I successfully did, but holy crap it was small and precise soldering.
And now we have this one. 256M Ohhhh yeah!! Just be happy he's giving us a total break on the price! As this is something I desperately wished was made since I bought my FDS years ago I need to throw my support in.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong... I just got my 2nd FDSStick in and I've managed to make it work with just one disk image on the stick. However, I try to load multiple games on the stick and either it crashes on me before the menu pops up, I get the menu and it crashes when I try to move the cursor, or I select a game and get ERR. 20. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? I am using the FDSStick gui loader to load my games, and honestly while I do have a good supply of my own disks, I'm using a goodrom set to load from for the games.
Quote from: RoryDropkick on August 05, 2016, 05:21:32 pm
Maybe I'm doing something wrong... I just got my 2nd FDSStick in and I've managed to make it work with just one disk image on the stick. However, I try to load multiple games on the stick and either it crashes on me before the menu pops up, I get the menu and it crashes when I try to move the cursor, or I select a game and get ERR. 20. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? I am using the FDSStick gui loader to load my games, and honestly while I do have a good supply of my own disks, I'm using a goodrom set to load from for the games.
Hmm, strange. Have you gotten it to work yet? What happens if you load a different set of games on it?
No luck yet. Let me see if it'll work with a different set of games. Possibly character length on each rom is the issue?
No, it shouldn't be, it'll just cut off what doesn't fit. I'm not sure what it could be... if you can't figure it out, I can send another one.
It's got to be something with me or my computer. I gave my friend my old 128mb stick and he just got a ram adapter and it works fine. I'm using the 256 and it works with one game, but nothing with multiples. He sent me a different non goodrom set and I'm getting the same results. I'm using the front USB ports on my computer, could that have something to do with it? I feel like I'm doing something incredibly stupid somewhere down the line.
GNU/Linux users, anyone?
how do you use it?
i might be wrong on that i saw a link on github with the sources of client app a long time ago. it seems it's gone. >:(
:help:
Quote from: RoryDropkick on August 13, 2016, 05:08:27 pm
It's got to be something with me or my computer. I gave my friend my old 128mb stick and he just got a ram adapter and it works fine. I'm using the 256 and it works with one game, but nothing with multiples. He sent me a different non goodrom set and I'm getting the same results. I'm using the front USB ports on my computer, could that have something to do with it? I feel like I'm doing something incredibly stupid somewhere down the line.
Did you have any problems with the 128M stick? It wouldn't be your USB port. I'll send you a new one if you PM me your info.
Quote from: famifan on August 14, 2016, 09:48:44 am
GNU/Linux users, anyone?
how do you use it?
i might be wrong on that i saw a link on github with the sources of client app a long time ago. it seems it's gone. >:(
There used to be linux software. It's severely outdated now. I took it down almost a year ago, you are the first person to ask about it.
Quote from: loopy on August 14, 2016, 10:08:11 am
There used to be linux software. It's severely outdated now. I took it down almost a year ago, you are the first person to ask about it.
I would have asked the same question if I didn't have a spare Windows box lying around ;D
Quote from: famifan on August 14, 2016, 09:48:44 am
GNU/Linux users, anyone?
how do you use it?
i might be wrong on that i saw a link on github with the sources of client app a long time ago. it seems it's gone. >:(
:help:
I have a Linux binary (and the source) that I use with my FDSStick. Mine's the first-gen one though, would the console tool be compatible with the new stick too?
I can send you it if you like :)
Quote from: chowder on August 14, 2016, 01:33:30 pm
would the console tool be compatible with the new stick too?
No, it isn't.
thanks for your responses folks.
i found few clones of fdsstick over the github. and yes, they look heavily outdated.
i understand, that the author may not be having enough bandwidth to fully support the linux version, so he did abandon it just because he didn't want to disappoint anyone with unfinished app. and actually, no one asked for a linux version for nex gen fdssticks.
so, the author safely assumed that there's no need for linux version since no one asked for it yet.
ok :) that's fine. that's always happening in the real world. it's better to concentrate all the efforts on windows version and polish it to the decent quality.
i thoroughly understand all of these points :)
Post Merge: August 15, 2016, 11:45:51 am
Quote from: loopy on August 15, 2016, 10:30:18 am
Quote from: chowder on August 14, 2016, 01:33:30 pm
would the console tool be compatible with the new stick too?
No, it isn't.
loopy, what are you thinking about unofficial community driven linux version?
if i have the recent sources, i think i may be able to backport some missing features and/or add the support for the recent h/w versions of fdsstick. just for fun :crazy:
at least i want it to become just useful for me.
anyway, it solely depends on the license and other distribution aspects which are fully in the author's hands :)
if the author is willing to share the sources, then the community will be able to adapt the app :bub:
QuoteDid you have any problems with the 128M stick? It wouldn't be your USB port. I'll send you a new one if you PM me your info.
I did, but I just used it with one game. I ordered this one thinking maybe I would have better luck. I gave the 128MB stick to my friend as a gift, and he had absolutely no trouble with it. This is why I'm hesitant to ask for a replacement stick because it seems to be something I'm clearly doing wrong on my end. He loaded up a bunch of games, got the menu and it ran a-ok. He even sent me the romset he used and I tried the same set, and I ran into the same issues.
He has a model 2 FDS adapter, could that be the issue? The one with the rough texture. We are both using AV Famicoms.
Strange things have happened before with certain combinations of Famicom and RAM Adapters. Did you try it with his RAM Adapter?
Quote from: P on August 18, 2016, 12:07:43 am
Strange things have happened before with certain combinations of Famicom and RAM Adapters. Did you try it with his RAM Adapter?
He tried the 128MB with his AV Fami and Ram adapter <v2> and it seems to work just fine. He just ordered his ram adapter recently. I have a V1 <smooth texture>
You're right, if both fdssticks failed the same way, they're probably not the problem. The only thing that makes sense to me is it's something with your ram adapter. I don't think it's just a matter of V1 vs V2. I've sold hundreds of these and nobody else has had this problem.
Single games always work for you?
There are several revisions of the board and the BIOS and the older ones seems less common. I have an early one (rough surface though) without the "programed by Takao Sawano" (https://tcrf.net/Family_Computer_Disk_System) screen, FDSStick works though.
Quote from: RoryDropkick on August 18, 2016, 03:05:28 pm
Quote from: P on August 18, 2016, 12:07:43 am
Strange things have happened before with certain combinations of Famicom and RAM Adapters. Did you try it with his RAM Adapter?
He tried the 128MB with his AV Fami and Ram adapter <v2> and it seems to work just fine. He just ordered his ram adapter recently. I have a V1 <smooth texture>
I mean you could maybe try his RAM Adapter on your Famicom if possible.
Speaking of which, there used to be this long thread in the troubleshooting section about glitchy ram adapters and others thinking that certain chips on them would degrade or not work correctly. I wonder if any of those troubled adapters got used with the FDSStick and/or if it's related to this.
Quote from: loopy on August 18, 2016, 10:28:08 pm
You're right, if both fdssticks failed the same way, they're probably not the problem. The only thing that makes sense to me is it's something with your ram adapter. I don't think it's just a matter of V1 vs V2. I've sold hundreds of these and nobody else has had this problem.
Single games always work for you?
They do work for me. That's why I'm trying to go down the list of what could possibly be wrong on my end. I hope it's not something dumb like "You've loaded your roms incorrectly using the program" haha.. And I own a disk system, so I know the ram adapter loads those fine. I own an AV Famicom also if that gives you any direction towards troubleshooting.
Just got my FDSStick all setup and running. It's a beautiful tool! Works perfectly. Next, to get the RAM Adapter chopped up to make a cable to plug the FDSStick into my Twin Famicom's built-in RAM Adapter instead of redundantly plugging the external RAM adapter into my Twin Famicom's cart slot.
Ok, so a followup to my issue. My friend finally came into town with his ram adapter and we did a test. It appears that my Ram adapter, while not necessarily "bad" for normal disk use is not compatible with the FDSStick. His ram adapter however does work with both FDSSticks perfectly. I'm going to go and hunt down a new ram adapter right away, no skin off of my teeth really.
Huh. Interesting. If you're willing to send it to me, I'll try and figure out what the issue is. I could buy it off you or something if you want to get rid of it.
Quote from: loopy on September 03, 2016, 02:12:22 pm
Huh. Interesting. If you're willing to send it to me, I'll try and figure out what the issue is. I could buy it off you or something if you want to get rid of it.
Sure, anything for research. PM me your address and I'll get it packed up and sent off.
I wanted to tell people that are looking to build a FDSStick to FDS Disk Drive Transfer Cable that HD Retrovision (the makers of the component video cables for the SNES and Genesis) made a Multi-Out AV Connector available for sale. All 12 pins are populated, and each connector costs $4.00. You still need to grind down the center nub, but at $8.00 and some time and cable it is still a reasonable price. I think you could also use the connector for a Twin Famicom adapter cable.
Quote from: Great Hierophant on September 10, 2016, 07:37:00 am
I wanted to tell people that are looking to build a FDSStick to FDS Disk Drive Transfer Cable that HD Retrovision (the makers of the component video cables for the SNES and Genesis) made a Multi-Out AV Connector available for sale. All 12 pins are populated, and each connector costs $4.00. You still need to grind down the center nub, but at $8.00 and some time and cable it is still a reasonable price. I think you could also use the connector for a Twin Famicom adapter cable.
Very useful info! Thanks much! Was scouring the internet for a source of multi out av connector which all pins populated. I need it to build a Twin Fami adapter cable. Now to find the appropriate 12-pin header connector...
Helder over at assembler games sales the same connector but a dollar cheaper.
http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/helders-modding-parts-systems-sales.51006/
Quote from: Pikkon on September 14, 2016, 05:55:29 am
Helder over at assembler games sales the same connector but a dollar cheaper.
http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/helders-modding-parts-systems-sales.51006/
Even better. Bought one from him.
Quote from: RoryDropkick on September 03, 2016, 02:55:40 pm
Quote from: loopy on September 03, 2016, 02:12:22 pm
Huh. Interesting. If you're willing to send it to me, I'll try and figure out what the issue is. I could buy it off you or something if you want to get rid of it.
Sure, anything for research. PM me your address and I'll get it packed up and sent off.
I fixed the loading bug. The early FDS BIOS version was causing it.
Quote from: P on August 19, 2016, 04:57:32 am
There are several revisions of the board and the BIOS and the older ones seems less common. I have an early one (rough surface though) without the "programed by Takao Sawano" (https://tcrf.net/Family_Computer_Disk_System) screen, FDSStick works though.
Strange that it still worked for you ... are you still using the old software without the game menu?
Ah yes I'm still using the old FDSStick and the old firmware and read-/write-software. Haven't upgraded anything yet. How many versions of the FDS BIOS are there and what's the difference between them?
There are 3 versions that I know of (2 for regular FDS, and Twin Famicom). I don't know what functional differences there are. They seem to work the same. There are small visual changes, a different font on the first two, and the Twin has a different title screen showing "FAMICOM" instead of "Nintendo". Some code locations changed, that was the problem. The early BIOS version must be quite rare, I've only received a couple of complaints about it.
The software works with all fdsstick versions, in case you didn't know. You don't need to buy a new one to use it.
I see, it seems to be the same three variants on the Cutting Room Floor.
Hmm it seems that I have been mistaken. I was sure that I had the older RAM adapter when I tested this long ago, but I just checked it again now. It appears that I have the newer RAM adapter without shadows in the fonts and with the full DEV.NO.2 Takao Sawano message on the credits screen. Sorry for confusing you.
Quote from: loopy on September 27, 2016, 09:37:37 am
The software works with all fdsstick versions, in case you didn't know. You don't need to buy a new one to use it.
Yeah I know, I just haven't gotten around to download the new software yet. Haven't played the FDS for some time either.
I might pick up the new FDSStick sometime anyway though, just because of the extra memory.
Edit: nevermind, I didn't notice in the instructions that you need to press the button twice for Side B, I thought it was once. Sorry about that.
I just got an FDSstick from Tototek. Whenever I need to switch a disk to Side B, it gives me Error 07. It has done this in every game I've tried so far.
I've tried deleting the .fds files and re-loading them, but I still get Error 07. Also tried using FDSStick_20160729.exe instead of the current version.
Games that don't need to be switched to Side B seem to work fine. Tried googling for this problem, but couldn't find anything.
Please let me know if there's anything I can do, thanks in advance.
Loopy, that diagram of the twin famicom port C on your site, is it facing the end of the adapter cable or is it facing the port on the twin fami?
Post Merge: October 04, 2016, 03:52:03 am
What manner of ritual should I perform to summon the great and wise Loopy? :D
Got excited about the FDSStick after I heard about it on the RetroRGB podcast... so I ordered one. Then I set about trying to track down an inexpensive RAM adaptor... found one... it just arrived today.
Here's the trouble. Even without the FDSStick plugged in, it does it very strange things:
https://youtu.be/YfDJzHpJGGE
Mario and Luigi seem to disappear without a trace.
Things get ever crazier with the FDSStick plugged in... with all sorts of video corruption and random characters showing up.
Is my RAM adaptor bad? Are bad caps a common issue?
Thanks!
Quote from: toadhall on October 02, 2016, 06:10:06 am
Loopy, that diagram of the twin famicom port C on your site, is it facing the end of the adapter cable or is it facing the port on the twin fami?
That's looking at the back side of the twin fami (pin 12 is next to port D)
Quote from: Tyrantulas on October 06, 2016, 09:58:37 am
Got excited about the FDSStick after I heard about it on the RetroRGB podcast... so I ordered one. Then I set about trying to track down an inexpensive RAM adaptor... found one... it just arrived today.
Here's the trouble. Even without the FDSStick plugged in, it does it very strange things:
https://youtu.be/YfDJzHpJGGE
Mario and Luigi seem to disappear without a trace.
Things get ever crazier with the FDSStick plugged in... with all sorts of video corruption and random characters showing up.
Is my RAM adaptor bad? Are bad caps a common issue?
Thanks!
Looks like a problem with your ram adapter.
Related? http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=10607.0 (http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=10607.0)
Quote from: loopy on October 06, 2016, 10:27:43 am
That's looking at the back side of the twin fami (pin 12 is next to port D)
Thanks! I'm still having problems though. Now I'm getting a battery error 02.
Can anyone please explain how to write a disk with this? Info seems very sparse. I have a few disks with corruption so I would like to rewrite those.
Thanks
Quote from: Syco54645 on October 14, 2016, 09:36:10 pm
Can anyone please explain how to write a disk with this? Info seems very sparse. I have a few disks with corruption so I would like to rewrite those.
Thanks
You need 3 things, fdsstick + adapter cable + modded fds drive or 7201 drive.
Follow the info from here http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/ to make the cable.
Download the latest software http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/FDSStick_20160926.exe
It is not so difficult.
Quote from: Tomy on October 15, 2016, 07:27:58 am
Quote from: Syco54645 on October 14, 2016, 09:36:10 pm
Can anyone please explain how to write a disk with this? Info seems very sparse. I have a few disks with corruption so I would like to rewrite those.
Thanks
You need 3 things, fdsstick + adapter cable + modded fds drive or 7201 drive.
Follow the info from here http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/ to make the cable.
Download the latest software http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/FDSStick_20160926.exe
It is not so difficult.
Just opened the software and looked. Well now I feel pretty dumb...
Is there any place to buy an FDSStick other than Tototek? I don't want to wait a month for it to come from Hong Kong
If you are in USA it's probably better to buy directly from Loopy (http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/) than buying from Tototek.
I think the FDSstick is brilliant. I bought one for myself, and one for a friend. I'm unsure if he's even tried it yet tho.
I really like how the menu looks like you're still in the FDS. Just amazing.
Did however not try to backup/rewrite diskettes with it. Don't really have the cable for it, but it would be cool to own one of those cables.
I just got mine in the mail today. I think I may be missing something, but if you're using just the FDSStick with a Famicom (AV Famicom in my case) can you save your game?
I just tested it with Castlevania and Vs. Excitebike and my saves didn't seem to stick after a console reboot
What kind of Famicom you use shouldn't matter. Unless something was changed in an update, the FDSStick write to the disk image like a real drive writes on a real disk. If you copy the image to a PC, all changes will be on the disk image (so you may want to keep a copy of the untouched disk image on your PC as well).
Just make sure you save in the game though. In Castlevania I believe you have to die and then choose save on the Game Over screen. Wait until it has finnished writting (a LED will be blinking when writing) before you turn it off.
I can only guess I was somehow doing something wrong. Zelda II saved fine. Castlevania didn't save my file but it did delete the saves that were still on the ROM, so once again I probably didn't save it correctly. Not sure about Vs. Excitebike though, will look into it
Edit:
I know what I saw but I'm honestly at a loss for words. I just double checked each of the games just to be sure and what do you know, each game had their respective saves on the ROMs without issue. Everything is as it should be. Strange
So I'm having trouble with my FDS Stick I'm wondering if any of you might be able to help me figure out what is going on.
I just received a twin famicom in the mail and had previously ordered an FDS Stick with the twin famicom adapter to go with it assuming that the belt would be broken on the disk system and I probably wouldn't get around to fixing it any time soon. I didn't have a ram adapter cable to make the cable out of though so I ended up soldering some ribbon cable directly to the pads on the fds stick and then the other end directly to the twin famicom adapter that loopy makes.
When I turn on the twin famicom in disk mode the little title screen pops up and I can see Mario running around, the image looks great the sound is great. When I plug in the FDS Stick nothing happens. But I discovered that if I pulled it out of the port slightly I could occasionally get the LED on the FDS stick to light up momentarily. After about an hour of messing with it I as able to get it to load the game select screen twice if I held it just right for long enough. One of those times I was then able to select a game and it loaded up the game to the games title screen.
I figured this must mean a bad connection so I opened up the twin famicom and disconnected the expansion port from the inside to look at it. It seems fine and a multi-meter shows it has continuity to the main board. Turning it on with it open yielded the same results as before, nothing when plugged in regularly and the LED briefly flashing when pulled out slightly and I was again able to get it to boot to the menu then title screen of a game once but only once.
I removed the female pins from inside the connector one at a time and bent them down further so they would make easier contact and sanded them a little in case of corrosion but that didn't help. Then I removed the connector entirely and soldered all the wires directly to the pins on loopy's twin famicom connector just to be sure it wasn't a connection issue and even soldered directly it doesn't light up at all or even detect it's connected.
If i take the FDS stick and plug it into my computer the computer still recognizes it and it pulls up all the games that are stored on it. I even put it into a separate computer just to make sure it wasn't just remembering which games where on there or something.
I'm at a bit of a loss. If anyone has any insight into what might be the problem it would be very helpful.
Thank you.
Quote from: darcoza on December 08, 2016, 06:48:11 am
I'm at a bit of a loss. If anyone has any insight into what might be the problem it would be very helpful.
Thank you.
Sorry, I haven't been checking the forum lately.
It sounds like something isn't wired up correctly, but it's hard to say without seeing it.
After years of procrastination, I finally ordered a RAM Adapter and fdsstick.
I've been getting a folder together of the whole FDS library, but I have a question about file names.
Does the file browser on the fdsstick scroll individual game titles? Or is it hard locked to show a certain number of characters?
If you mean scroll horizontally, no. It shows whatever fits on one screen (30 characters or so).
Thanks Loopy! That's exactly what I needed to know, will start shrinking down my filenames a bit.
I'm thinking about getting an FDSStick for several (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement)reasons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_preservation), but how do I get an FDSStick working on a Twin Famicom?
The fdsstick site (http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/) spells it out pretty well, I think? On the bottom half of the page. Is there some part of it you don't understand?
Thanks! ;D
Is there any documentation on how to interface with an FDSStick? I'd like to write a client application for Unix systems (mostly Linux).
I don't think so. You'll have to contact Loopy and ask.
Hi, I'd like to buy an FDSStick for my Famicom Twin. I've checked and my disk board has the 7201 chip, but I don't know if there is a power board modification needed like in the regular FDS accesory to read/write disks. Does anyone know anything about that?
Thanks
It's needed if you want to overwrite disks even with the FDSStick. It's not needed for playing games or for dumping disk images. The write-protection in the disk drive only prevents it from writing entire disks, not from any kind of reading or from writing to a single file (saving in a game).