# Snes Flash Cart (SD2Snes)



## darkseekerliu (Oct 22, 2013)

Hello guys!
I am interested on acquiring sd2snes (http://shop.retrogate.com/SD2SNES-SD2SNES.htm). I would like to know if some of you have this piece of hardware. What are your impressions? Does it Worth the price once sd2snes is expensive?


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## Taleweaver (Oct 22, 2013)

Despite all the technical stuff, it doesn't tell what the bloody thing does. I'm kind of guessing that it allows you to put a SNES rom (or roms) on an SD card, plug it into that thing, plug that into your SNES and game away.


A younger me would have sold his soul and left arm for this thing, but nowadays there are easier ways to play all snes games. Heck...for that price you can easily get a hackable wii that can do just that (or even two, for that matter).

So...yeah. Of course if you're very nostalgic and absolutely want to play the game using a SNES, the price doesn't matter THAT much. But still...I would think 190 bucks is a lot, even for them. :-\


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## DinohScene (Oct 22, 2013)

Isn't the one from Kirkzzz cheaper?


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## KazoWAR (Oct 22, 2013)

DinohScene said:


> Isn't the one from Kirkzzz cheaper?


i think it is, but sd2snes supports all kinda of special chip games.


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## DinohScene (Oct 22, 2013)

I never heard of the sd2snes.
Only the one from Kirkzzz and the everdrive..


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## Qtis (Oct 22, 2013)

Herp, Derp.

The actual board design is made by a German. Assembly is done by Kirkzz as far as I can understand. Source, source


If someone really had to get everything running on an original SNES and has a bit of extra cash, I'd say go for it. It is the best flashcart for the SNES, but it does cost that much too.


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## dragonblood9999 (Oct 22, 2013)

my friend got a Superufo Pro 8, you can use it as a pass thought for imported games or use backups.
he bought it on aliexpress. i think it was this one.
but i am not sure how good it is


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## reprep (Oct 22, 2013)

i have that thing. it works perfectly well. dsp and cx-1 special chips are supported. don't hold your breath for other special chips, they will probably be never available.

though it works perfectly fine. it is blazingly fast, game saving is auto (some flashcards need you to reset the device once to save the game)

go for it if you have the cash, if not go for super everdrive.


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## darkseekerliu (Oct 22, 2013)

I am interested on it because it can play special chips. Super everdrive only supports mario kart special ship other roms should work with no issues.


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## mickcris (Oct 22, 2013)

I have one and I really like it. Here is a comparison chart:

http://www.stoneagegamer.com/snes-flash-comparison.html
Snes powerpak is not included, but is pretty much the same comparability as the everdrive. 

ordering from kirkzz (retrogate store) is the cheapest.


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## emmanu888 (Oct 23, 2013)

reprep said:


> i have that thing. it works perfectly well. dsp and cx-1 special chips are supported. don't hold your breath for other special chips, they will probably be never available.
> 
> though it works perfectly fine. it is blazingly fast, game saving is auto (some flashcards need you to reset the device once to save the game)
> 
> go for it if you have the cash, if not go for super everdrive.


 

Wasn't the creator working on integrating Super FX support ?


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## reprep (Oct 23, 2013)

emmanu888 said:


> Wasn't the creator working on integrating Super FX support ?


 
yup he was but the last firmware update was 11 months ago and the last post in his blog is in May. http://sd2snes.de/blog/

so i do not get my hopes up for super fx support.


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## darkseekerliu (Oct 23, 2013)

I have emailed him through the contact tab and hoping for an answer.


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## raulpica (Oct 23, 2013)

What, no SA-1 support planned for sd2snes? Being SO expensive I'd have at least expected that.


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## lemonmeister (Oct 23, 2013)

The github repository was updated 5 days ago, I guess the project should be considered alive and kicking.


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## Jack Daniels (Sep 21, 2017)

*User Manual*

English

*September 21, 2017 *
PCB Revision: F

Firmware: v0.1.7e

*krikzz*.com                                             *sd2snes*.de                         *stoneagegamer*.com 

*ROM Files and System Hardware *

1.    Most ROM formats should work: headered, non-headered, and noninterleaved.

2.    The SD2SNES is not compatible with certain games. Please refer to incompatibility list in this manual.

3.    We offer no support if the user uses modified or hacked game files. Many of these modified or hacked game ROMs will only run on emulators and not original hardware.

4.    Modified/over clocked SNES/SFC systems or clone SNES/SFC systems may or may not work. There is no guarantee the user's SD2SNES cart will work on a modified, over clocked, or clone SNES/SFC system.


*Basic Controls *

Either Controller #1 or Controller #2 can be used to navigate operating system.

*File Browser*
•      *(A)*                              - Select / Enter Directory

•      *(B)*                              - Back / Leave Directory

•      *(X)*                              - Open Mein Menu

•      *(Y)*                              - Open File Context Menu

•      *Start*                          - Open ROM History

•      *D-pad Left/Right*    - Page through files

•      *D-pad Up/Down*      - Move file select up and down


*Menu *
•      *(A)*                              - Select

•      *(B)*                              - Back / Leave Menu

•      *D-pad Left/Right*    - Change Values (where appropriate)

•      *D-pad Up/Down*      - Highlight Menu Item for Selection


*Clock Setting *
•      *(A)*                              - Confirm Input and Set Clock

•      *(B)*                              - Leave Without Setting the Clock

•      *D-pad Left/Right*    - Select Date/Time Field

•      *D-pad Up/Down*      - Change Value



*In-game *
•      *SNES/SFC Reset Button* - Hold until all LEDs turn on to reset to menu.                                                  During this time it also saves SRAM content to                                                SD-card.

•      *(L)+(R)+Select+Start*         - Reset game

•      *(L)+(R)+Select+(X)             *- Reset to SD2snes menu

•      *(L)+(R)+Start+(B)*               - Disable cheats

•      *(L)+(R)+Start+(A)*               - Enable  cheats

•      *(L)+(R)+Start+(Y)*               - Permanently disable in-game hooks (in case

they interfere with game operation)

•      *(L)+(R)+Start+(X)*               - Temporarily disable in-game hooks (~10

seconds if you need to get past a glitch but don't want to lose in game buttons)

*File Browser *

After powering on the SNES/SFC the File Browser is shown. If the clock isn't set the Clock Setting window will appear. The File Browser currently supports the following extensions:

•      *SMC*, *SFC*, *FIG* (SNES/SFC cartridge ROMs)

•      *BS* (BS memory pack ROM. Note that BS ROMs with SMC, SFC, or FIG extensions can also be loaded)


*Main Menu *

To access the Main Menu use (X) button on the controller. • *Set Clock *

Allows setting of the on-board real-time clock (RTC).

• *System Information *o Shows various information, such as: Firmware version, SD card information, File System statistics, CIC states, and SNES/SFC master clock.

o CIC States:

§  Original or no CIC - The host console either has original CIC, none at all, or it was modified with simple CIC pin mod.

§  Original CIC(failed) - The host console has an original CIC and the unlock sequence failed. This should never be visible because the console will shut down.

§  SuperCIC enhanced - The host console has SuperCIC inside, and the SD2SNES is utilizing its enhanced feature by setting 50/60hz mode via software. This mode will be enabled  in the future.

§  SuperCIC detected, not used - The host console has

SuperCIC inside, but its enhanced feature is not used. o SD access time provides measurement of the SD card's maximum and average _access_ times. Not to be confused with throughput, short access times (< 1ms) are crucial for MSU1 auto+data games to work reliably. For all other games it does not matter.


*Errors *

Errors can occur on several levels. They can be signaled by LEDs if visible installed or on screen.


*LED Error Codes: *

•      *Ready is blinking slowly* - No firmware was found on internal flash and there is no firmware image on the card that can be flashed.

•      *All LEDS blink slowly* - CIC unlock sequence failed. Push reset so the CIC close can retry with another region.

•      *All LEDs are blinking rapidly* - FPGA communication failed. This should never happen. It can be caused by a corrupted FPGA configuration file.

•      *Write LED stays lit during game play* - The automatic save feature cannot be used because RAM content is constantly changing (this game uses the battery RAM as working RAM). SD2SNES must be reset to save the current SRAM contents.

•      *Write LED blinks rapidly during game play* - A write error occurred while trying to save the SRM file.

*On-screen Errors / Boot Problems:*

•      *"No SD Card found!"* - No SD card was detected. Verify that the card is

properly seated in the SD slot and that its outer shape is unaltered. Try another card. If the problem persists there is a contact problem with the card slot then contact vendor.

•      *"/sd2snes/menu.bin not found!"* - The menu ROM was not found in its                                      expected location. Verify that the firmware was

properly extracted on the card. A folder "sd2snes" should exist in the root directory. Also see *Files*.

•      *The menu does not show up after the loading screen* - Most likely one

or more required files are missing. Verify that the firmware was properly extracted on the card. A folder "sd2snes" should exist in the root directory. Also see *Files*.


*Files *

The SD2SNES needs several files on the SD card to work properly. Some are created at runtime. All SD2SNES related files reside in the "sd2snes" directory in the SD card's root directory.


Required files:

•      *menu.bin*                  - The menu ROM

•      *firmware.img*           - (Only needed once per firmware upgrade) contains

the firmware that is written to internal flash.

•      *fpga_base.bit*          - Contains the FPGA configuration for most features.

The menu will not run without it. RLE compressed.

•      *fpga_cx4.bit*            - Contains the FPGA configuration for the Cx4 core.

RLE compressed.

Files created at runtime:

•      *sd2snes.db*             - Contains a file system footprint checksum (to detect

file system changes) as well as all file names and directory names.

•      *sd2snes.dir*             - The file and directory tree structure.

•      *sd2snes.cfg*            - Various configuration settings.

•      *lastgame.cfg*           - List of recently played games.


Supplementary files are required to support enhancement chips with embedded ROMs. These files are not distributed with the firmware. They can be found on the internet.

•      *dsp1.bin*       - Data and program ROM dumps for DSP1 (optional, for

Pilotwings. If dsp1.bin is not found SD2SNES will fall back to dsp1b.bin, breaking the attract mode - Airplane demo)

•      *dsp1b.bin*     - Data and program ROM dumps for DSP1B (all DSP1

games except Pilotwings)

•      *dsp2.bin*       - Data and program ROM dumps for DSP2

•      *dsp3.bin*       - Data and program ROM dumps for DSP3.

•      *dsp4.bin*       - Data and program ROM dumps for DSP4.

•      *st0010.bin*    - Data and program ROM dumps from ST-010.

•      *cx4.bin*          - Data ROM dump from Cx4. This file is supplied with the

firmware due to the trivial nature of its content.

 Cheat files:

•      *romfilename.yml*           - if cheats are enabled the cheats in this file will

be auto used. The cheat files can be created yourself it should look like:

---# 7th Saga, The (USA)# Generated by GameHacking.org- Name: "Infinite HP"  Enabled: false  Code:  - "7E1DC4E7"# GG code: N/A (WRAM cheat)  - "7E1DC503"# GG code: N/A (WRAM cheat)- Name: "Infinite MP"  Enabled: false  Code:  - "7E1DC8E7"# GG code: N/A (WRAM cheat)  - "7E1DC903"# GG code: N/A (WRAM cheat)- Name: "Max Money"  Enabled: false  Code:  - "7E1DDAFF"

# GG code: N/A (WRAM cheat)- Name: "Gp Max"  Enabled: false  Code:  - "C0E28BFF"# GG code: EE36-84AD

You see "code" is Pro Action Replay code and GG code: code is Game Genie code.

*There’s a max of 6 cheat lines per game in these files so be careful.*

You can also just download these files at:

http://gamehacking.org/system/snes/all

click the desired game and region, select max 6 cheat lines (some cheats use more than one line), click on Download Codes (top right), format: sd2snes, checked codes (since if there are more than 6 cheat lines the system will corrupt itself), download, rename file to match your rom name.


*ROM Incompatibility *

Carts with BS memory pack slots, other than BS-X BIOS (e.g. Derby Stallion 96, any Tsukuuru). They may run but cannot use memory pack related features.

·        *Sufami Turbo games:*

o  Car Ranger

o  Crayon Shin Chan

o  Gegege No Kitarou

o  Gekisou Sentai Carranger: Zenkai Racer Senshi

o  Poi Poi Ninja

o  Sailor Moon Stars Panic 2

o  SD Gundam Generations: part 1

o  SD Gundam Generations: part 2

o  SD Gundam Generations: part 3

o  SD Gundam Generations: part 4

o  SD Gundam Generations: part 5

o  SD Gundam Generations: part 6

o  SD Ultra Battle: Seven Legend

o  SD Ultra Battle: Ultraman Legend

o  Sufami Turbo hardware

o  Tetris 2+ Bombliss



·        *SuperFX games:*

o  Dirt Racer

o  Dirt Trax FX

o  Doom

o  Star Fox 2

o  Star Fox / Starwing

o  Stunt Race FX / Wild Trax

o  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

o  Vortex

o  Winter Gold / FX Skiing



·        *SA-1 games:*

o  Daisenryaku Expert WWII: War in Europe

o  Derby Jockey 2

o  Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension

o  Habu Meijin no Omoshiro Shogi

o  Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1

o  Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius

o  J.League ’96 Dream Stadium

o  Jumpin’ Derby

o  Kakinoki Shogi

o  Kirby’s Dream Land 3

o  Kirby Super Star

o  Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima

o  Masters New: Haruka Naru Augusta 3

o  Mini 4WD Shining Scorpion Let’s & Go!!

o  Pebble Beach no Hotou: New Tournament Edition

o  PGA European Tour

o  PGA Tour ’96

o  Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers

o  SD F-1 Grand Prix

o  SD Gundam G NEXT

o  Shin Shogi Club

o  Shogi Saikyou

o  Shogi Saikyou 2

o  Super Bomberman Panic Bomber World

o  Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

o  Super Robot Taisen Gaiden: Maso Kishin – The Lord Of Elemental



·        *S-DD1 games:*

o  Star Ocean (unhacked version)

o  Street Fighter Alpha 2 / Zero 2

·        *ST-011 games:*

o  Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shougi



·        *ST-018 games:*

o  Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shougi 2

·        *SPC7110 games:*

o  Far East of Eden Zero

o  Momotaro Dentetsu Happy

o  Super Power League 4

BS support is not feature complete (does not simulate lots of different satellite packet streams) so some BS games might not yet run as intended.

*SD2SNES FAQs*


·        Q1: When more enhancement chips get implemented in the future, does that mean a necessary hardware upgrade?

o  A1: No, the hardware is final. All additional features are introduced by means of firmware updates. Hardware upgrades might happen if any “physical” problems become known or some end-of-life parts have to be replaced. However the capabilities of the hardware will remain the same. That also means if SuperFX or SA1 should turn out to be impossible on the current hardware then that’s set in stone. Popular demand will determine whether or not I’d go and design upgraded hardware. 


·        Q2: Game XY doesn’t run properly.

o  A2: Check the compatibility list for known issues. If the game is listed it is known not to run on the sd2snes.


·        Q3: Mario Kart/Pilotwings/other DSP games just lock up immediately.

o  A3: DSP games require the DSP ROMs to be present in the “sd2snes” folder on the SD Card. You can get them here. For sd2snes you need the *.bin files, NOT the *.rom files.


·        Q4: Satellaview games just drop to a black screen.

o  A4: The BS-X BIOS is required to run Satellaview games. Find the BS-X BIOS ROM (there’s a good chance it’s already in your ROM collection), rename it to “bsxbios.bin” and put it in the sd2snes folder on your card.


·        Q5: My sd2snes doesn’t seem to run reliably. A large number of games crash at random, or the sd2snes doesn’t boot up at all.

o  A5: One of the following could be the case:

§  Weak capacitors in your SNES: The sd2snes draws more power than a normal game cartridge (and the Super Everdrive or Powerpak, for that matter). Weak capacitors in the power section of the SNES may cause the console to crash. Try another SNES or, if you feel like it, have the caps replaced.

§  Faulty power brick: The external power supply of the SNES doesn’t provide properly stabilized power, or the voltage has dropped. Try using a different power brick.

§  Dirty slot contacts: The sd2snes is more timing sensitive than a normal game cartridge. If the slot contacts are dirty it might introduce enough resistance to delay the signals coming from the SNES, or going to the SNES, enough to make it crash. Clean the slot contacts on the SNES and the sd2snes thoroughly and retry.

§  Freak SNES: Some consoles exhibit strange timing behavior or excessive address line noise. Try another console.

§  Freak SD Card: Some SD Cards might draw excessive power or exhibit other strange behavior. Try another card.

§  Faulty SNES: The SNES itself might be at fault. Verify that original game cartridges run properly on your SNES.

§  Firmware: There have been reports that some sd2snes firmware versions don’t work properly with some consoles. Try using a different (older) firmware version and see if the problem persists. If this fixes the problem, please report.

§  If you have tried different consoles, different SD Cards, different power bricks, and cleaned the contacts, the sd2snes itself is probably at fault (e.g. a bad solder joint or component). Please run the diagnostic firmware and send me the output, preferably a zip file of the entire sd2snes folder.


·        Q6: Can you sell me an sd2snes?

o  A6: No. I do not manufacture or sell the hardware.


·        Q7: Where can I buy sd2snes?

o  A7: Here’s a list of shops. It’s probably incomplete.


·        Q8: Will there be SuperFX overclocking support?

o  A8: Maybe. It depends on how well the SuperFX can be synthesized on the FPGA and how much performance reserve will be left. Don’t count on it.

·        Q9: Will there be Super Gameboy / SA-1 / XYZ support?

o  A9: Technically, maybe. I’m already struggling to add features so I won’t make any promises I will add it myself. Keep in mind the sd2snes firmware is open-source and open to contributions – if I don’t implement something myself, maybe someone else can.


·        Q10: My sd2snes doesn’t save.

o  A10:

§  MSU1 games cannot auto save because access to the SD Card is reserved exclusively to the MSU1 features. It must be ready to serve MSU1 requests at any time. Therefore, to save your .SRM file with MSU1 games, a soft reset (hold reset button / use in-game button combination) must be carried out.

§  If you use v0.1.7-v0.1.7b you must make sure that the sd2snes/saves folder exists on card. Otherwise the migration code to load+move the SRM file will bail out and not even load the save file. This will be addressed shortly with a maintenance release.

§  Saving on the sd2snes works by constant monitoring of the save RAM area while the game is running. If a change is detected, a .SRM file is written out to the SD Card while the game is still running. There is no real-time “save state” feature like the Mega Everdrive has, for example. You must still save in-game for the sd2snes to write out a save file.

§  Check that the write protection slider on your SD Card is set to off, i.e. not in the “LOCK” position.

§  Wait 2-3 seconds after saving in-game for the sd2snes to detect the SRAM change and save to card.

§  There are occasions where games use the battery SRAM area as work RAM. In this case the contents change continuously and the sd2snes will not save every change in order to reduce wear on the card but instead save the SRAM contents periodically every 15-20 seconds. The red LED (Write) will be permanently on if such a case is detected. To minimize the risk of data loss (due to powering off the SNES while a periodic save is in progress) please reset the sd2snes by holding the RESET button on the SNES until all three LEDs light up before turning off the power.

§  After loading a saved game, some games – notably Zelda – don’t put you exactly where you left off so it might appear that your progress wasn’t saved.

§  If you still feel the sd2snes isn’t saving when it should, please report.

·        Q11: Can enhancement chip XY be realized using a pass-through adapter with the original enhancement chip on top?

o  A11: The only enhancement chip where that would work is the DSP series (DSP1-4, ST0010) which are already supported natively. All other enhancement chips have the game ROM “behind” them and control access to it, which a cartridge plugged in parallel to the sd2snes cannot do.


·        Q12: Will the sd2snes eventually support every game of the SNES library?

o  A12: Most likely not. Some enhancement chips are too powerful to be supported by the onboard FPGA, and for some others I can only say I don’t know before I’ve tried. See http://sd2snes.de/blog/status#enhance for the current state of enhancement chips.


·        Q13: My sd2snes keeps telling me to set the clock.

o  A13: The battery is probably empty. You can replace it with a very common CR2032 cell.

Copyright © 2017 Stone Age Gamer / KRIKzz / Ikari_01. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owner (modded by me to be up-to-date).

Download: PDF / Word


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## MockyLock (Sep 21, 2017)

I would say its main advantage is the MSU-1 support, for all the CD-quality hacks.
Else, it's a bit overpriced.


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## 8BitWonder (Sep 21, 2017)

Not much I can say on the tchnical side of things, but I've got one and it works very well with all the roms I've thrown at it. Though I think there's a list of a few special chipped games that it still doesn't support, but may be updated to support later.


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## THYPLEX (Sep 21, 2017)

darkseekerliu said:


> Hello guys!
> I am interested on acquiring sd2snes (http://shop.retrogate.com/SD2SNES-SD2SNES.htm). I would like to know if some of you have this piece of hardware. What are your impressions? Does it Worth the price once sd2snes is expensive?


I suggest you the everdrive snes , it's way better , at least in my opinion


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## Jack Daniels (Sep 21, 2017)

THYPLEX said:


> I suggest you the everdrive snes , it's way better , at least in my opinion


what?
no that's nonsense, in about everything the SD2snes is superior to the cart you suggest except price, but the sd2snes is opensource and so can be made yourself.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Sep 21, 2017)

Don't necrobump 4 year old threads kthx.


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