UniROM 8.0.K - GDB Debugging, install/backup to/from memory card, homebrew from memcard, etc

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TheHypebeast
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Post by TheHypebeast » March 15th, 2017, 12:05 pm

I would like to thank the creator of this as it is a neat tool to have . I am also posting as I was having trouble loading backups and found a way that worked for me. I have a ntsc ps1 with a GameShark v.2.4 and successfully flashed the lattest version of unirom. My issue was I would press R2 and and I would see the message saying it was loading to hang on. The problem is it would never load.

Here is what I did. At the first start up screen with the message about eBay I click on X, at the following screen I use the directional pad and click down. I click down so that the x moves to the fastboot option. Once the X is next to fastboot I click the Xbutton on the controller and my backup game loads just fine. I do not click on R1 or R2 as doing that never got the game to load for me.

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Post by Shadow » March 15th, 2017, 5:41 pm

I think the problem is some Game Sharks, Action Replays and Gold Fingers have not wired all the addressing lines, and since UniROM is pretty large, it requires a certain amount of addressing to be connected. Sicklebrick should make a version that ONLY boots CD-R backups in minimalist space to solve this potential issue. He should also code in a CRC lookup, or a simple comparative state to verify what BIOS is present in the console, since some older PU-7 and PU-8 boards have a BIOS which simply doesn't boot with certain table elements. His logic should also act like X-Flash and check/verify the EEPROM has enough size to actually flash the binary code and to do a verification stage afterwards which will act as a failsafe to avoid bricking cartridges. If the verification stage fails, the original ROM from the cartridge can be attempted to be flashed back from RAM.

[C]
// PlayStation BIOS version dumper
unsigned char psxver[6];
memcpy(psxver, (void *)0xBFC7FF45, 4);
memcpy(&psxver[4], (void *)0xBFC7FF52, 1);
psxver[5] = 0;
printf("PlayStation BIOS Version = \"%c%c%c%c%c%c\"\n\n",psxver[0],psxver[1],psxver[2],psxver[3],psxver[4],psxver[5]);[/C]
Development Console: SCPH-5502 with 8MB RAM, MM3 Modchip, PAL 60 Colour Modification (for NTSC), PSIO Switch Board, DB-9 breakout headers for both RGB and Serial output and an Xplorer with CAETLA 0.34.

PlayStation Development PC: Windows 98 SE, Pentium 3 at 400MHz, 128MB SDRAM, DTL-H2000, DTL-H2010, DTL-H201A, DTL-S2020 (with 4GB SCSI-2 HDD), 21" Sony G420, CD-R burner, 3.25" and 5.25" Floppy Diskette Drives, ZIP 100 Diskette Drive and an IBM Model M keyboard.

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Post by BimboBoop » March 18th, 2017, 5:17 pm

Hi man this seems awesome!! You know my PS1 is already chipped but I was wondering, it would be possible to add the IMPORT PLAYER LIGHT , into the PAR cartridge? I suposse I can be able to upgrade my PAR cartridge whit this too, isn it? Do you know about a cartridge model with bigger memory?

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Post by Shadow » March 18th, 2017, 8:20 pm

BimboBoop wrote:Do you know about a cartridge model with bigger memory?
Xplorer FX.
Development Console: SCPH-5502 with 8MB RAM, MM3 Modchip, PAL 60 Colour Modification (for NTSC), PSIO Switch Board, DB-9 breakout headers for both RGB and Serial output and an Xplorer with CAETLA 0.34.

PlayStation Development PC: Windows 98 SE, Pentium 3 at 400MHz, 128MB SDRAM, DTL-H2000, DTL-H2010, DTL-H201A, DTL-S2020 (with 4GB SCSI-2 HDD), 21" Sony G420, CD-R burner, 3.25" and 5.25" Floppy Diskette Drives, ZIP 100 Diskette Drive and an IBM Model M keyboard.

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Post by tieigo » April 4th, 2017, 9:45 am

Hi, i just created a profile to say this, beware of the PS Hacker Cartridge (The one that only accepts unirom standalone version, i am using V6 and tested previous versions).
I just wasted over 10 good CDR's thinking they were bad burns or rips, and turns out they were not...
I am not supporting piracy as i am ripping my own games, and also i did the swap trick to see if the problem was the cartridge or the disc.
So here it goes the games that dont work for me.
-Metal Gear Solid discs (USA/PAL) (does not work, crashes in the first cutscene)
-Crash Bandicoot 2 (Crashes when the messed up textured naughty dog logo appears)
-Crash Bandicoot 3 (Does not work when select new game, when Doctor n cortex falls off his ship)
-Ape Escape (Does not work after loading level 2)
-Mortal Kombat Mythologies Sub-Zero (I only own USA-VER, and freezes when the menu appears)
-Colin Mcrae 2.0 - USA (Freezes during loading screen)
(Will update more as i am burning more games)
I am not here to cry over this not working, i am just willing to improve this for everyone. Thanks

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Post by CaelThunderwing » April 11th, 2017, 4:50 pm

i think theres an Issue w/ the GS 2.1 i have, if i try to flash Unirom+Caetla NTSC it fails t o update it but if i use normal option for just Unirom, it'll update and display on screen, will Disc based cheat utilities work w/ it and still let me use CD-R's?

and unless the Lasers Extremly weak or its my old PC's CD Burner, w/ DW3 after starting a new game it displays the street where you start at just before the Center where you transfeer to teh Digital word but thats it (its Intro video Studders like hell. )

Chrono Cross the studderings even Worse. (and cannot load any further when clicking New Game)

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Post by likeabaus » April 12th, 2017, 3:32 am

What brand of media are you using to burn your games? I highly recommend verbatim or tdk brand for use in game consoles as they're higher quality and more reflective than other brands so they read much better. Also the speed you're burning your discs at is another factor. Most drives these days wont burn at 4x, but what i do is set my burning software to burn the games at 4x anyways and that forces the drive the burn at the slowest speed it can handle, which makes for a much more accurate burn.

If neither if these are the issue, try unplugging the psx/psone and putting a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol on a qtip (or very soft tissue, NO paper towels or napkins, must be facial tissue if you go that royte, anything else will scratch the lens). Clean the laser lens with the damp qtip/tissue and let it air dry fir a couple mins, then try again.

If all else fails, the laser is likely dying, but you can usually squeeze more life out of it by adjusting the laser pot (to decrease resistance, therefore increasing the voltage and forcing the laser to work harder) i highly suggest doing this using a multi or ohm meter to avoid putting the resistance too low aa you can cook the laser completely. If you need pictures and/or any advice on this let me know.

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Post by tieigo » April 28th, 2017, 2:59 am

I know it is not the Laser dying because i swapped a laser with a Modchip console, used the same disc and they work just fine.
I guess the problem is the NOCA$H plugin that is outdated, i heard the guy was still in Beta of the development.
(Also i use high end CD-R Verbatim, at the lowest burn speed possible, so the console and the discs are not the problem)

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Post by rama3 » April 28th, 2017, 3:54 am

The unlock code is very small. If the UniRom UI loads (tons of code + data), then you can be sure that the unlock code (like 3 simple ASM commands) is getting sent and that it is correct.

- Make sure you use a supported console: It has to be an NTSC-U or PAL unit. NTSC-J does not work.
- Try different boot methods.
- Earlier UniRom versions had issues with "fastboot". V6 fixed them on my test games.

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Post by sickle » April 29th, 2017, 3:49 pm

'Ello. Been a while. Development's been slow recently (no PC with LPT port, favourite PSX PSU blew, need for SIO flashing, too much work, etc lol). Cheers people who were answering questions :)

brunolloko:
If it doesn't recognize the cart:
A- Make sure it's plugged in properly, sometimes putting it in half-way or pushing real hard helps
B- There's nothing you can do, short of desoldering the chip and soldering in something more compatible :(

kiel367:
Your laser can't read the disc at all! It's not 'normal' but it definitely happens. You'll have to try different CDRs, possibly with different dyes. Modern CDRs seem to be pretty shitty with the minimal amount of dye, since drive technology seems to have improved since the PS1's hayday. Sometimes it'll work nicely with a big brand like Verbatim, sometimes cheapy Tesco discs work :Likeabaus was right on with his post, a few back.

sucker:
Seems you didn't do much research or ready any of the instructions and didn't wanna contribute any info on your model/issue. Good riddance mate, no time for that.

TheHypeBeast:
Aaah, definitely a bug, thanks! I guess I'm missing a return on the stack or something, that seems to cause weird behaviour like that!

Shadow:
Good news, no need for a CRC - you can just check a byte :D In terms of the hardcoded BIOS addresses UniROM/PSIO use for the boot routine, there's only 2 versions. (E.g. the first few models in all regions had one layout, after the first change it never changed again ever on any BIOS. I think the original ASM code did a CRC because, without hindsight, they were expecting perhaps more changes in the future which we now know didn't happen.

Ty for the info on the GameSharks actually, I know 512kb asplorers only connect 384kb of lines, but it never crossed my mind that others would do the same shenannigans. Since reading beyond the connected addresses returns gibberish - any ideas for detecting the true amount? I thought over the idea of writing everything then doing a quick integrity check, but it would be pretty nightmarish taking account of each third party cart's own overriden addresses and blank spots (E.g. for switches LEDs, memory banks, etc). I guess it would have to be like "Yup, that's about 95% right, that'll do".


Tieigo:
Thanks mate, I'll try those when I have the time. The boot routine is definitely still sub-par, especially when compared to XPlorer ones, etc!

rama:
Cheers man, yeah that's pretty spot on. Which games btw?



Once again, for every game that's not working - please if you could retry the following, and let me know if any of the following fixes it.
-use dpad down to the menu option and tap x (instead of hitting R2)
-boot into something like the XPlorer cheat CD (even a CDR), then boot your game from there (better boot seq)
-boot into caetla and start your game from there (the unlock code is auto applied)
-boot into caetla, explore the disk and see if you have any joy that way. (Will show you for example if the PSX can't read it well).

For some reason I don't understand, a chipped PSX will often boot a bad burn without any fuss. The same PSX with the modchip turned off, might struggling like hell even after unlocking or disk swap, etc.

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Post by rama3 » April 29th, 2017, 10:04 pm

The early UniRom fastboot broke audio in, for example, Chrono Cross. But I think that was way before v6 even.

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Post by Aergan » May 1st, 2017, 10:27 am

Would it be possible to add something to change/force the video mode output for the loaded game into UniROM please? e.g. I want to play a PAL game in NTSC mode or vice-versa. I know it's unstable for a lot of games but it's been fun testing. Mostly would like to try original PAL releases in a more convenient manner than booting UniROM Caetla, then booting a loader disc, then loading the game I want to try.

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Post by R1rich » May 8th, 2017, 11:42 am

I originally bought a GameShark v.1.92, but it would show up as Unknown in UniROM -- didn't work.

So today, I went to a local game shop and picked up two loose PS1 GameShark cartridges for $5 each. I was able to successfully upload "UniROM Standalone" on both of them. However UniROM v.6 would not load the games, it would just be stuck at the blue "wait, now loading" screen.

So then I downloaded UniROM V.0.44 and uploaded "UniROM Standalone" on both of the same GameSharks again. This time I was able to hit R1 and R2 and get the games to load up, however the discs freeze early in the game, even though they play perfect if I do the disc swap trick.

Burning back-ups of my originals on CD-R Taiyo Yuden at x8 speed (lowest I can get). Gonna mess around with the burn speeds (high and low) as I read conflicting theories on this. I am ripping them to PC at the lowest speed possible as well.

After a while of messing around with disc speed I can get a game called Tetris Plus to work written at x8 or x48, but other games I tried, Crash Bandicoot 3, Frogger, and Silent Hill are unable to get past the intro videos/screens and they just re-run in a continuous loop.


Edit* Reburned UniROM V.6 -- then re-uploaded on my GameShark, didn't realize you could scroll down to "fastboot" and hit X to load the games. Now just about of my games play as backed up burned versions except Crash Bandicoot 3 for some reason (the real game runs fine, and the burned games run fine doing the swap trick too)...

Any thoughts? Thanks !

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Post by rama3 » May 8th, 2017, 9:01 pm

Start by getting v6 working. It doesn't make much sense that 0.44 works and v6 does not. Use the standalone UniROM version.
What PSX do you use? Which region is it?

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Post by R1rich » May 9th, 2017, 10:02 am

rama3 wrote:Start by getting v6 working. It doesn't make much sense that 0.44 works and v6 does not. Use the standalone UniROM version.
What PSX do you use? Which region is it?
Thanks for the reply its a NTSC-5501 model. I was able to get V.6 to work, now just about all of my games play except Crash Bandicoot 3 for some reason

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Post by sickle » May 10th, 2017, 5:02 am

Aergan:
That's something I've been working on actually. In my head I remembered the XPlorer FX carts being able to do that when you flick the switch - e.g. there'd be an onscreen menu and you could switch video modes. Works for some things, but games which change/set video mode every frame or every so often are a bit troublesome. Also it's just not perfect.
I eventually got reasonably stable NTSC->Pal conversion working (since NTSC has fewer lines, and in PAL mode it only has to draw at 50hz vs 60) - going the other way the system tries to draw all the extra lines from PAL, but at NTSC's higher framerate so the thing kinda locks up and crashes. I vaguely remember matthew saying something about removing some lines manually but I've not looked into that.
I had to upgrade my work machine and couldn't find anything modernish (LGA 1151) with a parallel port, so I'm more focused on adding SIO support to XFlash first - just not had the time :(

R1ch/rama3:
It's all done in assembly, so I've probably just fucked up and skipped a few returns on the stack when jumping directly from the R1 press. Nice find though, I'm glad more stuff's working.
Not sure what's going on with Crash 3 - doesn't look to have copy protection, but there definitely does appear to be a few games that work with the disc swap or modchip but not the unlock code *shrug*.

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Post by rama3 » May 10th, 2017, 5:31 am

Sicklebrick: Of course, every anti modchip protected game will fail the check and stop. Also most likely libcrypt protected titles. That's just a limitation of the unlock code.

Those "Crash" titles have anti mod and will not work with the secret unlock:
Crash Bandicoot Carnival (Japan)
Crash Bandicoot Racing (Japan)
Crash Bash (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It)
Crash Bash (USA)

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Post by pepe » May 12th, 2017, 9:54 am

is posible to remove 62 KB (xflash utility) from unirom ? i need more space for use uniroom plugin in 128 KB epproms

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Post by dustyjo » May 25th, 2017, 7:34 am

So I don't know if I screwed something up or what. I flashed my Gameshark Pro with the "Unirom+Caetla NTSC" ROM and it seems to work, but the screen scrolls wildly on the Unirom menu. I can't tell what the hell is happening. It's almost as if it's trying to display PAL or something.

Console is a Japanese SCPH-5500.

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Post by likeabaus » May 25th, 2017, 9:28 am

Have u tried using the old time based swap trick to boot the flasher program again and reflash with a different firmware? I agree, it sounds like you may have inadvertanely installed a PAL firmware on ur cart

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