Gauging interest for a group buy for Neo Flash Cart

[HercTNT]

good advice, i'm glad you mentioned it. i had the same problem earlier and forgot to say something. Definately plug into the back of the pc, not a front header. It works much better.

[Sadler]

I'd be happy to whip up a util to strip out the headers of multiple ROMs if one does not exist. Couple quick questions to save me some time:

1) How large is the header?
2) Can the header be completely removed, or does it need to be overwritten with something (i.e. 0's)?

[HercTNT]

the link i provided has several utilities that does just that. it also mirrors 3mb roms.

[Duo_R]

Thanks a ton guys...i thought I did something wrong and jacked it up...lol

It's times like these that having a shoutbox would be nice =)

[Duo_R]

this is my first time playing MC on a console....WOW!!!!

[esteban]

If it makes anyone feel better, I recall that nearly everyone with PCE flash carts has experienced a few hiccups initially.

I've never tinkered with a flash cart and I can't wait to get mine.

[HercTNT]

You can indeed mix japanes and american roms on the same cart. some people may need to use the links to the software i provided to iron out some issues as i did. As of this morning every game i have tried worked perfect with the exception of military madness. thanks to sadler for his feedback, it helped alot!

[Duo_R]

Yeah I mixed and matched with the software you provided, worked fine after clearing the headers. I couldn't figure out how to batch command an entire folder though.

[HercTNT]

the neopcepad software from the second link strips and mirrors every rom in a folder that it finds.

[Duo_R]

The DOS command one? I couldnt figure out the batch command.

[HercTNT]

duo, I'm not following you. it does all the roms in the folder at once. what do you need a batch command for?

[Duo_R]

I can't figure out how to do that...sorry I feel dumb

[HercTNT]

no need for that, your just over thinking it. run the program once, no special commands. it does the rest. just make sure its in the directory with whatever roms you want fixed.

[Senshi]

Its a good thing you can download the drivers. I think someone jizzed on my driver disc.

[Mishran]

I apologize for the delay in getting the remaining flash carts out. We recently (last week) bought a house and it has seize my full attention over the past week. I also do not have internet, which is being remedied tomorrow, and cell signal is almost nonexistant. I've tried making an update over the past few days on here, but my phone kept losing connection.

I'm going to make an effort to get the rest of these out by the end of the week. Again, I apologize for the delay. Didn't want anyone to think I up and ran off with your carts and cash.

[HercTNT]

Senshi, mine was in the same condition. In fact the whole thing looked horribly used. It works though so i can't complain to much.

[tiptopjames]

getting error "bad or invalid rom fat" when i plug it in to my computer. tried formatting it as it suggested, and it failed there too. anyone know how to get around it?

[tiptopjames]

actually it's "old version or invalid rom fat" sorry

[Mishran]

I've had zero issues every time I flash mine and the carts I've tested on my PC flashed without issues as well.

As for the driver discs, I only checked to see if the packages contained discs, I did not open, handle, masterbate with, or otherwise fondle them in any way, shape, or form. They are practically useless anyway since better software can be downloaded from the neoteam site.

Compatibility wise, I've only had problems with  5 US titles not wanting to start, freezing at the menu. That is even after ensuring the header is removed. I've only tested/played the games on my unmodded TE, so I suppose compatibility could possibly change depending on the system.

Here is an interesting development... That "bad" cart I swapped for neoxeno appears to be very much functional and works very well... just on certain systems. It failed to operate on my Express as well as my TG16, but operated flawlessly on my Supergrafx, Duo-R, and modded Core. I'm beginning to wonder if people aren't pointing the finger in the wrong direction. Perhaps the carts innards might be different from the rest, requiring more juice to operate than the others. Any thoughts?

[tiptopjames]

i just cannot get any version of the software to see that i even have the usb device plugged in, my computer sees it, and it's using what i assume is the correct driver. can i ask about your setup? OS and software version? i'm on windows 7, tried the newest software in one of those linked threads, which my first post refers to. now i'm downgraded to neo ultra 2, still no luck at all.

[HercTNT]

James, i had the same issue, no matter what i did i could not get anything to work in windows 7 even though others could.  once solution is this, microsoft offers virtual pc, and windows xp free of charge to most users of windows 7. it might seem like alot to go through, but if you virtualize winxp and then install your neo on that, it should work fantastic. The only other option is either to have a winxp system lying around, or know someone that does. In my case i used my daughters winxp computer (the whole thing is hello kitty, i looked great behind it) and had zero issues after that. 

Mish, i get my gt back from steve soon, i will test the card in my gt and on my grafx. so far i have only got the card working on my duo-r. I did have it in my grafx but thats is when i was having trouble loading roms. I suspect that now that i have ironed out the rom issue that it would work in my grafx as well.

[tiptopjames]

i don't have 7 pro, so no xp mode for me. also don't have a windows xp machine in my home, nor know friends that have one handy. so i guess it's no go for me basically. anyone wanna buy this new brick i have?

[HercTNT]

dont give up yet, there is another work around i just have to find it. i will get back to you.

Edit: here is some information that might help, it seems that older software might help.

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?topic=6695.0

[tiptopjames]

the furthest i have gotten is having no error messages in Neo2 Pro Manager, though i cannot do anything at all.

[HercTNT]

here is another one i found, apparently this is the latest software available. i dont even have this yet.

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,7346

dont plug in the device before you install the software, only after. I was able to get it to work in windows 7. my issue was that the usb kept timing out before i could format. if you read down, and you can format they recommend doing a low level format to fix the problem.

[tiptopjames]

was able to get a terribly out of shape xp computer, seems to flash ok but when i load a game on my TG-16, it either goes to a black screen or starts freaking out like an old arcade game startup. bloody wolf just makes a crazy noise forever, even after resetting the cart. no idea what's happening here.

[HercTNT]

gotta clean the headers off the roms using the utilities i linked to also select the region for the console your going to burn for, not the region of the roms your using. select them before adding roms in utility.

[tiptopjames]

actually using a nointro set and everything IS prepped correctly, what i did wrong was not disconnecting my turbo cd first, which makes me feel silly. but now it's working! yay, awesome, and also thanks!

[HercTNT]

glad i could help

[Gogan]

Got mine on Saturday! Thx a lot Mishran, very awesome of you.

...sounds like it's a bit frustrating to get workin tho, as far as on the computter side of things. Can't wait to get this sucker up and running!

[Mishran]

Again, I apologize for the delay with these carts, guys. I have 9 carts that will get shipped out today.

EDIT: Please check the first post to see which carts are getting shipped.

[kiketonto]

Mishran, you got a PM with my shipping adress!

[tiptopjames]

if anyone is having issues, i have not had one single rom not work from the no intro set. japanese ones running without any mods or header removal on a US turbo. cannot get the official loader to work though, does neopce 1.1 (think that's what it's called) format the card at all?

[Mishran]

mrhaboobi, kiketonto, and c0ldb33r, your carts will ship out today.

All that is left is xcrement5x and I'm finished!

I'll tell you, I'm glad... This has been a little of a hassle, but well worth it.

I wound up personally absorbing the $75.00 surcharge that IC2005 slapped on my bill. For both my cart as well as the extra, I paid $110.00 a piece.

All pouting aside, I hope everyone enjoys their flash cart. I personally have been using mine like crazy. Ripped a new one into Magical Chase's bum on my modded Core last night...

[tiptopjames]

i would gladly throw you an extra few bucks to help make up for that surcharge, the least i could do since you got this whole ball rolling

[Mishran]

if anyone is having issues, i have not had one single rom not work from the no intro set. japanese ones running without any mods or header removal on a US turbo. cannot get the official loader to work though, does neopce 1.1 (think that's what it's called) format the card at all?

I've gotten every US title to work except for Final Lap Twin. Still freezes at the menu...

[tiptopjames]

final lap twin working on mine, PMed you a couple links mishran

[mrhaboobi]

Hey mate, im sure if we all sent a couple of bucks we can cover that 75 bill for you..

[xcrement5x]

Just sent the last payment, alone with a PM to you with my address. 

Thanks again for organizing this!

[NecroPhile]

I wound up personally absorbing the $75.00 surcharge that IC2005 slapped on my bill.

Well that's just shitty.  What did they say the surcharge was for?

[Gogan]

I will help pay for the surcharge too. You went above and beyond, and should not have to pay anything extra.

[neoxeno]

I wound up personally absorbing the $75.00 surcharge that IC2005 slapped on my bill.

I want to help also, every person who has ordered one should share the 75$ between them.

[Frank_fjs]

What on earth was the surcharge for? I've never encountered such a thing, you buy something at a set price, pay for it and that's the end of it.

[Mishran]

What on earth was the surcharge for? I've never encountered such a thing, you buy something at a set price, pay for it and that's the end of it.

Something to do with the payment method, which was a credit card through paypal. If I knew about it before I collected everyone's money, I likely never would have bothered with the group buy. It's all said and done though, and isn't worth me fussing over. I'm planning on selling the extra cart which will help. Might have to attempt to sell at higher than I paid for it though. Anyone wanna buy a flash cart for $100 shipped?

[Frank_fjs]

Let me guess, they charged you 5% of the total order just to use PayPal? I hate it when retailers do that, it's such a crock.

How much did it work out to be per person including postage? Doesn't seem like you would have saved a lot of money for the group buy.

Who chipped in for the spare cart, everyone or just you? If everyone, doesn't that mean you pretty much got it for free, which should offset the hidden surcharge?

[Duo_R]

thanks again Mishran for organizing the buy!!!

[mrhaboobi]

Let me guess, they charged you 5% of the total order just to use PayPal? I hate it when retailers do that, it's such a crock.

How much did it work out to be per person including postage? Doesn't seem like you would have saved a lot of money for the group buy.

Who chipped in for the spare cart, everyone or just you? If everyone, doesn't that mean you pretty much got it for free, which should offset the hidden surcharge?

man, thats a bit rough questioning mishran.. your name isnt even on the buy list so why are you concerned.. If he got a free cart out of it then good luck to him, he did the work, and took the risk.. he saved me money regardless

[Frank_fjs]

Sorry, wasn't implying anything or trying to sound harsh, merely asking a question. Happy to edit/delete my post if it causes offence.

[HercTNT]

I will help pay my share, the surcharge is bogus.

[Duo_R]

also - i think we can pitch in for the surcharge, but I would give IC2005 some sh** for not making that clear. That's pretty bogus.