[TUTORIAL] Catflap and Caetla on Windows XP

[Sirrico]

Hello all, this is a tutorial on how to develop for the PS1 on Windows XP. Many people report problems when attempting to send data to a Playstation on an XP system, but through this configuration I've been successful.

You will need:
-XP computer with integrated DB-25 (printer) port
-DB-25 female to male cable
-Xplorer FX (flashed with caetla .34, or .35)

Firstly we need to enter the bios of the PC. We want to find the Parallel point settings. Mine were located within a peripheral submenu.



Once there, be sure the Parallel port is set to 378/IRQ7 and running in SPP mode. Save your changes and start the computer.

Next you want to flash your Xplorer FX with caetla .34 or .35. To do this, get the file from the topic below and burn it to a disk.
http://www.psxdev.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=135
Flash the rom and then ensure that it is running correctly.

Plug in the male end of the DB-25 cable to the motherboard port, and the female end into the Xplorer, which should be inside the PS1. Make sure this is one continuous cable, I encountered errors when experimenting with extensions.

Now we need to install the correct drivers.

We need to use drivers and an updated Catflap from a user called Orion_. You can acquire these from his website (google Orions website psx) or you can download the attachment below.

Driver and Catflap.zip

Extract the file, enter the inpout32 folder, and double click the driver installation file.
Hopefully it was successful. Now we want to open device manager. Locate the port and enter the settings.



We want LPT to be on 1, and make sure the range is correct.



Now locate the folder containing your code and copy the contents of the attached zipped folder containing the catflap files into the same directory as your PS1 executable. You can also install catflap to an actual location, but in case you do not know how, just make sure that the catflap.exe is in the same folder as your executable code. Open up the CMD and navigate to the folder. Turn on the PS1, make sure you are in the caetla main menu, and then run the code with a command such as:

Code: Select all

catflap run main.exe

If all works out, the program will be sent to the Playstation and you will see it shortly!

[Shadow]

I never tried CATFLAP when I was attempting to get my Xplorer to work 2 years ago. I was using PSEXE.COM.
Does that work too for you?

Code: Select all

PSEXE.COM -P10 MAIN.EXE

[Sirrico]

I never tried CATFLAP when I was attempting to get my Xplorer to work 2 years ago. I was using PSEXE.COM.
Does that work too for you?

Code: Select all

PSEXE.COM -P10 MAIN.EXE

Doesn't seem like any of the ports work... PSEXE is 16 bit, correct? That might be a problem on XP. Maybe there's an updated version somewhere, or the source can be updated.

[danhans42]

PSEXE definitely doesnt work under XP, it requires direct port access which XP prohibits.

CATFLAP works okay with the old driver they originally wrote too but the CPU utilization is huge..

PSEXE only works on DOS or in a DOS shell under 95/98/ME.

[Greg]

Sirrico use PSEXE ver 2.08, maybe try the ver 2.15 that support parallel port?

I not able to test it right now, but you can found it in the attached file.

[Sirrico]

Sirrico use PSEXE ver 2.08, maybe try the ver 2.15 that support parallel port?

I not able to test it right now, but you can found it in the attached file.

This version gets as far as to search for the PS1, but ends up hanging there. I'm still experimenting though, I feel like this could work.

[Shadow]

PSEXE definitely doesnt work under XP, it requires direct port access which XP prohibits.

CATFLAP works okay with the old driver they originally wrote too but the CPU utilization is huge..

PSEXE only works on DOS or in a DOS shell under 95/98/ME.

Ah, that's why I could never get it to work. I beleive there was someone here who recompiled PSEXE.COM for Win32. After all, I did release the source for it. I'll try to find the topic if it exists...

Sirrico use PSEXE ver 2.08, maybe try the ver 2.15 that support parallel port?

I not able to test it right now, but you can found it in the attached file.

This version gets as far as to search for the PS1, but ends up hanging there. I'm still experimenting though, I feel like this could work.

If it's hanging, it doesn't like your EEPROM still.

[Greg]

PSEXE can work on win xp with "DosBox Megabuild" but not with the regular DosBox

DosBox Megabuild: http://home.arcor.de/h-a-l-9000/

You will need PortTalk driver: http://retired.beyondlogic.org/porttalk/porttalk.htm

[danhans42]

Have you tested it yourself? I tried this a long time ago and could never get it to communicate.

[Greg]

Yes, I tested it, at the first attempt it not work, then I installed the "PortTalk", and everything works.

[Myria]

If it weren't for f*cking PatchGuard, this'd be possible all the way to 8.1 x86-64...