carts:nintendo:virtualboy

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carts:nintendo:virtualboy [2022/02/16 14:12]
hiccup 		carts:nintendo:virtualboy [2022/02/26 20:34]
camcamcs Changed and populated the one table. A few major fixes too. Adjusted wording in general, wording for notes that indicate a need for further investigation, and placeholder image notes.
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 Notes before starting Notes before starting
  
-  * This guide is for firmware version 1.9. As firmware updates happen, the instructions in this guide may need slight alteration for different firmware versions. You can check your firmware version at the top of the startup text, accessed via the <HRST> command, or use the <GSN> command. (Note: the <GSN> command needs confirmation by me.)+  * This guide is for firmware version 1.9. As firmware updates happen, the instructions in this guide may need slight alteration for different firmware versions. You can check your firmware version at the top of the startup text, accessed via the <HRST> command, or use the <GSN> command. (Note: the <GSN> command has not yet been tested and verified to work.)
   * The “Mellot Programmer” GUI program by thunderstruck does not currently work with this method. That may change in the future, but this guide will only focus on use of an alternate serial terminal program.   * The “Mellot Programmer” GUI program by thunderstruck does not currently work with this method. That may change in the future, but this guide will only focus on use of an alternate serial terminal program.
-  * The MicroSD card must have enough storage space for the given Virtual Boy ROM file. (This is kind of a given but worth mentioning I think.) 
   * It is much preferred but not required to have a way to directly connect to the MicroSD card, via a PC or other device able to access the filesystem. (There are functions in the Programmer that seem to allow copying files from the SD card to PC over Serial, but that will not be detailed in this guide.)   * It is much preferred but not required to have a way to directly connect to the MicroSD card, via a PC or other device able to access the filesystem. (There are functions in the Programmer that seem to allow copying files from the SD card to PC over Serial, but that will not be detailed in this guide.)
   * Please remember to take basic safety precautions. Things like working with dry hands and not reaching into the ports while the device is powered will suffice 99% of the time. Use this device and guide at your own risk.   * Please remember to take basic safety precautions. Things like working with dry hands and not reaching into the ports while the device is powered will suffice 99% of the time. Use this device and guide at your own risk.
  
-==== Step 1: Safely plugging in the device ====+==== Section 1: Safely plugging in the device ====
  
  
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 This safe plugging and unplugging practice is strongly recommended even when dumping multiple cartridges in one sitting. This safe plugging and unplugging practice is strongly recommended even when dumping multiple cartridges in one sitting.
  
-<image>+<image x2>
  
 ^ The MicroSD slot is located on the back of the dumper of the basic design, or on the side opposite the USB-B port on the VB-based design. In the basic design, the MicroSD card faces outwards. ^ The MicroSD slot is located on the back of the dumper of the basic design, or on the side opposite the USB-B port on the VB-based design. In the basic design, the MicroSD card faces outwards.
  
-<image>+<image x3>
  
 ^ The cartridge slot is located on the front of the dumper of the basic design, or on the bottom for the VB-based design. Note that, at least for the basic design, the cartridge slot is “keyed” so the cartridge can’t possibly fit facing the wrong direction. In the basic design, the cartridge faces inward (while looking at the display, you see the back of the cartridge). In the VB-based design, the cartridge faces up. ^ The cartridge slot is located on the front of the dumper of the basic design, or on the bottom for the VB-based design. Note that, at least for the basic design, the cartridge slot is “keyed” so the cartridge can’t possibly fit facing the wrong direction. In the basic design, the cartridge faces inward (while looking at the display, you see the back of the cartridge). In the VB-based design, the cartridge faces up.
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 Additionally, the cartridge slot has a gentle spring-loaded mechanism to protect the pins from being bent when no cartridge is inserted. This may help fight against dust also, but proper additional care should still be taken by the user for long-term storage. Additionally, the cartridge slot has a gentle spring-loaded mechanism to protect the pins from being bent when no cartridge is inserted. This may help fight against dust also, but proper additional care should still be taken by the user for long-term storage.
  
-<image>+<image x2>
  
 ^ The USB-B port is located on the left side of the basic design, and on the side opposite to the MicroSD slot on the VB-based design. ^ The USB-B port is located on the left side of the basic design, and on the side opposite to the MicroSD slot on the VB-based design.
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 After the Programmer is plugged in, and the USB-A side of the cable is plugged into the PC, it’s time for Step 2. After the Programmer is plugged in, and the USB-A side of the cable is plugged into the PC, it’s time for Step 2.
  
-==== Step 2: Dumping the ROM ====+==== Section 2: Dumping the ROM ====
  
  
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-Basically… +  * Under the "Display" tab, enable “Scrollback” and set it to a value around 200. This is useful for debugging, as more of the previous commands will remain logged on-screen. 
- +  * (Don't enable this unless you know what you're doing!) If you are debugging, enable “Half Duplex” to see outgoing text. This is useful for debugging a few possible issues, but will be a little more confusing for the user. 
-  * (Not necessary, personal preference) Under the “Display” tab, enable “Half Duplex” to see outgoing text. You may also enable “Scrollback” and set it to something like 200. +<image x2>
-<image>+
   * Under the “Port” tab, set “Baud” to 500000 (yes, 500,000). Set “Parity” to none, “Data Bits” to 8, “Stop Bits” to 1, and “Hardware Flow Control” to none.   * Under the “Port” tab, set “Baud” to 500000 (yes, 500,000). Set “Parity” to none, “Data Bits” to 8, “Stop Bits” to 1, and “Hardware Flow Control” to none.
-<image> +<image x1> 
-  * Set the “Port” drop-down box to whichever COM port is to be used. To do this… click on the entry that says “(double click to scan ports)”. Then, click on the drop-down box again. Select the port which applies to you. My port is “3=\USBSER000” or just “3”. +  * Click the drop-down box next to the word "Port" inside the Port tab. Click on the entry that says "(double click to scan ports)". Then, click on the drop-down box again. Select the newly appeared port which applies to your setup. For example, in this image the port is "3=\USBSER000" or just "3". 
-<image>+<image x2>
   * After setting these values, click “Change” to apply changes.   * After setting these values, click “Change” to apply changes.
-<image> +<image x1> 
-  * Click “Open”, so now the button is depressed. This means communication is open. Switch to the “Send” tab. +  * Click “Open”, so now the button appears pressed-in. This means communication is open, you can start sending and receiving data. Yellow text may or may not appear in the black area of the window. 
-<image> +<image x2> 
-  * At this point, you can start receiving data! To send commands, click on the top left input-box (still under the “Send” tab), type the command, then click the button to the right of it that says “Send ASCII”. (Note: IIRC this is correct, but if not then try the “Send Numbers” button.) +  * Switch to the "Send" tab. To send commands, click on the top left input-box (under the “Send” tab, not the black area), type the command, then click the button to the right of it that says “Send ASCII”. (All commands to the VB Cart Programmer are in ASCII.) Any invalid commands will be ignored. 
-  * You may start receiving data from the Programmer. Also before now, the display on the Programmer may have turned on already. If either of these is not the case, send a <HRST> command (hardware reset). +  * As mentioned prior, yellow text should have appeared in the black area of the window. Additionally, the display on the Programmer device should have turned on. If one or both of these is not true, send a <HRST> command (hardware reset). 
-  * Either earlier or just now, the display should play a short animation, then stop and say “VB Cartridge Programmer”. +<image x1> 
-<image> +  * Either earlier or just now, the display should have played a short animation, then stop and say “VB Cartridge Programmer”. 
-  * And on the PC, it should tell you a bit about the hardware info. (You may have to resize the window!) This info includes the message “VB Programmer lives!” along with the device's Firmware Version (FW VER), Serial Number (SN), MicroSD card capacity and format, and info about the Virtual Boy cartridge inserted. +<image x1> 
-  * If the cartridge info says “Unknown flashrom”, that is 100% normal! That just means the device wasn’t able to auto-detect the size of the ROM, a feature only used by flash cartridges by RetroOnyx / Mellott. (And possibly more in the future, but certainly no old retail titles.) +  * And on the PC, the yellow text should tell you a bit about the hardware info. (You may have to resize the window!) This info includes the message “VB Programmer lives!” along with the device's Firmware Version (FW VER), Serial Number (SN), MicroSD card capacity and format, and info about the Virtual Boy cartridge inserted. 
-<image>+  * If the cartridge info says “Unknown flashrom”, that is 100% normal! That just means the device wasn’t able to auto-detect the size of the ROM, a feature only contained in flash cartridges by RetroOnyx / Kevin Mellott (and possibly more in the future, but certainly no old retail cartridges). 
 +<image x1>
  
-To verify that the commands used in this guide are available to you, send the <PM> command to see the Programmer Menu. If it doesn’t display properly, make sure the window is large enough to fit all the text. This will tell you all of the available commands for your firmware version. +Optionally, to verify that the commands used in this guide are available to you, send the <PM> command to see the Programmer Menu. If it doesn’t display properly, make sure the window is large enough to fit all the text. This will tell you all of the available commands for your firmware version.
-<image> +
-  * First, it is required to set the size of the ROM. Find your game in the table below, and send the corresponding ROM Size Command. The commands follow the format <SFS_XX>, where “XX” is either 24, 27, or 28. (Note: I need to add images.)+
  
-  * In case you don’t know the ROM size of your cartridge, and/or your game isn’t in the list shown in this guide, you can set it to the maximum(?) size using the command <SFS_28>. This is equivalent to about 32 MB. (Note: I don’t fully grasp the math behind this command. Please double-check my work. Apologies if I’m wrong.)+Note that your list of commands may not perfectly match the list shown in this image. Namely it may be missing commands RDR, RGH, RSD, RST, SC, and SSN_XXX. Those four commands are not required for dumping the ROM, so don't worry. (Editor's note: This discrepancy needs to be explained better. I don't know/remember why it acts like this sometimes. -CS) 
 +<image x1>
  
-  * Note: if the size is set incorrectly, undocumented behavior can occur. If the size is too small, it will cut off the ROM data too early. If the size is too large, the data will start repeating. If you don’t know the correct size (as in the preceding bullet point a), and you set it to the wrong ROM size, you will just have to have the Overdump trimmed. This can be done in a hex editor like HxD, or with the help of a community member.+First, it is required to set the size of the ROM. Find the game on the [[https://datomatic.no-intro.org/index.php?page=search&op=datset&s=15&sel_s=15&text=&where=1&button=Search|No-Intro DAT-o-MATIC list of dumped Virtual Boy cartridges]], check the Size (in bytes), refer to the table below, and send the corresponding ROM Size Command. The commands follow the format <SFS_XX>, where “XX” is an exponent: ROM Size (bytes) = 2 ^ XX. (XX can be 24, 27, or 28, and possibly other sizes. Editor's note: document this.)
  
-  * Note 2: If you happen to be dumping the ROM from a RetroOnyx / Mellott flash cartridge for which the Programmer was able to auto-detect the flash ROM size, part 11 is not necessary. This case will be quite rare. If you don’t know, then don’t worry about this note.+  * In case you don’t know or can't determine the ROM size of your cartridge, you can set it to the maximum size using the command <SFS_28>. This is equivalent to 256 MB. Note that no old retail cartridges exceed 32 MB, so the command <SFS_25> should work. (Editor's note: I have unfortunately not tested this functionality. -CS)
  
-<code>  +  * Note: if the size is set incorrectly, undocumented behavior can occur. If the size is too small, it will cut off the ROM data too early. If the size is too large, the data will start repeating. If you don’t know the correct size, and you set it to the wrong ROM size, you will just require the Overdump to be trimmed. This can be done in a hex editor like HxD, and/or with the help of a community member.
-|**Game**|**ROM Size Command**|**ROM Size (bytes)**| +
-|        |                    |                    | +
-|        |                    |                    | +
-|        |                    |                    | +
-</code> +
  
-  * The PC should ask you to enter a number, either 0 or 1, and press Enter. At this point, our method of input will change. Click the bottom of the black area, below the yellow text. Make a choice: either 0 or 1. Choice 0 is to automatically name the file, based on text characters fetched from the cartridge/ROM header, and Choice 1 is to manually name the file.Personally I prefer 1 to avoid any potential issues due to invalid text characters in the filename, or if the cartridge Header can’t be properly read.+  * Note 2: If you happen to be dumping the ROM from a RetroOnyx / Mellott flash cartridge of which the Programmer was able to auto-detect the Flash ROM size, the <SFS_XX> command is not necessary. This case will be quite rare. (If you don’t know what this means, ignore this note!)
  
-  * If you chose 0 and it gave an error, please try again from 12 and select 1. If option 0 worked, you can skip to step 15.+<code> 
 +|**Command**|**MB**|**Size (Bytes)**|**Notes** 
 +|   <SFS_19>|   0.5|          524288| 
 +|   <SFS_20>|     1|         1048576| 
 +|   <SFS_21>|     2|         2097152| 
 +|   <SFS_22>|     4|         4194304| 
 +|   <SFS_23>|     8|         8388608| 
 +|   <SFS_24>|    16|        16777216| 
 +|   <SFS_25>|    32|        33554432| 
 +|   <SFS_26>|    64|        67108864|Aftermarket/Flash Carts only 
 +|   <SFS_27>|   128|       134217728|Aftermarket/Flash Carts only 
 +|   <SFS_28>|   256|       268435456|Aftermarket/Flash Carts only 
 +</code>
  
-  * Also, the Programmer display will say “Reading” as it waits for your input.+(Editor's note 1: I have unfortunately not tested all of these commands to ensure they work. -CS)
  
-<image>+(Editor's note 2: we could use another image right here, showing the <SFS_XX> command.)
  
 +After the correct ROM size is set, the device is ready to dump the ROM.
  
-  * If you chose 1, you must now “Enter a short file name and press Enter.” You can type in a filename in the black area, then press Enter. The filename doesn’t matter, but certain characters may cause errors. So choose something simple like “dump.vb”. File extension also does not matter. +  * Send the command <RDF> (Read Flash). 
-  * If you enabled “Half Duplex” back in part 1, you should see both a red and a yellow text character for whatever you type. Don’t worry, it’s only doubled-up because of the way it displays. If “Half Duplex” is disabled, those inputted text characters should just be yellow. +  * The PC should ask you to enter a number: either 0 or 1. At this point, our method of input will change. Click the bottom of the black area, below the yellow text. Now make a choice, either 0 or 1, then press Enter. Option 0 is to automatically name the file based on text characters fetched from the cartridge/ROM header, and Option 1 is to manually name the file. Option 1 is generally recommended to avoid any potential issues.
-<image>+
  
-(Note! This is the part that the aforementioned GUI program by thunderstruck gets stuck on. I don’t know the solution.) +  * If you chose Option 0 and it gave an error, please try again, send the <RDF> command, and select Option 1. If Option 0 worked, you can skip down a few steps.
-  * Now, after you hit Enter the ROM should begin dumping. It will take a few minutes. The terminal window will display dots to show it is still connected and receiving data, and the Programmer display will show a % completion bar. When it is finished, the Programmer will display “Read to SD Completed!” +
-<image> +
-<image> +
-<image>+
  
-  * You can now unplug the USB cable from both the PC and the Programmer and safely remove both the Virtual Boy cartridge and the MicroSD card. Plug the MicroSD card into your PC, and the ROM file should be located in a folder titled "ROM_READ".+  * The Programmer display will say “Reading” as it waits for your input. 
 + 
 +<image x2> 
 + 
 + 
 +  * If you chose Option 1, you must now “Enter a short file name and press Enter.” You can type in a filename in the black area, then press Enter. The filename doesn’t matter, something simple like “dump.vb” works fine. File extension also does not matter, and can optionally be left off. (Note: the software used, both the Serial program and the Windows operating system for filesystem management, might run into errors if the filename contains a non-ASCII text character.) 
 +  * If, for debugging purposes, at the beginning you enabled “Half Duplex” in the Display tab, you will see both a red and a yellow text character for whatever you type. Don’t worry, it’s only doubled-up because of this option. If “Half Duplex” is disabled, those inputted text characters will appear yellow and not doubled. 
 +<image x2> 
 + 
 +(Editor's note: This is the part that the alternative GUI program by thunderstruck gets stuck on. I don’t know the solution at the moment. -CS) 
 + 
 +  * After you hit Enter, the ROM should begin dumping. It will take a few minutes. The terminal window will display dots to show it is still connected and receiving data, and the Programmer display will show a % completion bar. When it is finished, the Programmer will display “Read to SD Completed!” 
 +<image x4> 
 + 
 +  * You can now unplug the USB cable from both the PC and the Programmer, and safely remove both the Virtual Boy cartridge and the MicroSD card. Plug the MicroSD card into your PC, and the ROM file should be located in a folder on the root titled "ROM_READ".
  
  
 When dumping more than one cartridge... When dumping more than one cartridge...
  
-  * Remember that the safe plugging and unplugging practice detailed in Step 1 and at the end of Steps 2 and 3 is still strongly recommended when dumping multiple cartridges in one sitting. +  * Remember that the safe plugging and unplugging practice detailed in Section 1 and at the end of Section 2 is still strongly recommended when dumping multiple cartridges in one sitting. 
-  * Additionally, if the RealTerm software is already active when plugging in the Programmer, glitchy undocumented behavior can occur. This probably won’t affect regular use, but if something seems broken then try restarting the software as well as replugging the Programmer.+  * Additionally, if the RealTerm software is already active (and communication Open) when plugging in the Programmer, glitchy undocumented behavior can occur. This probably won’t affect regular use, but if something unexpectedly doesn't work then try restarting the software as well as re-plugging the Programmer.
  
 ==== External Links ==== ==== External Links ====
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 See [[submission:nintendo-carts|Gathering and Submitting Dump Info for Nintendo carts]] See [[submission:nintendo-carts|Gathering and Submitting Dump Info for Nintendo carts]]
 +
  • carts/nintendo/virtualboy.txt
  • Last modified: 2022/09/28 22:10
  • by hiccup