# Sega Megadrive (Genesis) Flashback Mini HD with an USB on internal mother board



## spikimini (Dec 10, 2017)

Hi!

You will find below Photos concerning: Sega Megadrive (Genesis) Flashback Mini HD

An USB type Mini B was discovered in the internal Mother board.



 

 



Is it possible to hack it?
I don't know... Do you have the answer?

Spikimini from Logic-Sunrise Members


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## Jojse (Dec 11, 2017)

I hope someone will hack it, so I can install a few missing games I want to play on Sega... Lands Talker, Light Crusader, Soleil, are three games that should have been with the 85 games pre-installed


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## spikimini (Dec 11, 2017)

Jojse said:


> I hope someone will hack it, so I can install a few missing games I want to play on Sega... Lands Talker, Light Crusader, Soleil, are three games that should have been with the 85 games pre-installed






A video from EtaPrime on Youtube at the14/11/2017  said that it runs Androids !!!

This is an Android version RK3036:

Dual-core Cortex-A7 up to 1.2gHz
Mali 400MP GPU
DDR3 / DDR3L

Connected to PC on Ubuntu ---> RK3036

with directory like Android:

---\Alarms
---\Android
---\*Atgames*
---\DCIM
---\Download
---\LOST.DIR
---\Movies
---\Ringtones
---\.android_secure



Is it possible to backup the Nand from a PC?
Is it possible to recharge the Nand from a PC?
The video does not tell us the available memory size ....?

Is there anyone who will work on this console?


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## spikimini (Dec 12, 2017)

Great News!!!!

You can find the first video hack of Sega Megadrive (Genesis) Flashback Mini HD at Logic-Sunrise:


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## Jojse (Dec 12, 2017)

Very good news, lets hope he release it to the public soon, it will be a great christmas present


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## the_randomizer (Dec 13, 2017)

Does this mean the emulation can be improved?


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## jkgamer (Dec 19, 2017)

I posted instructions on how to add your own roms via the USB port over at the AtariAge forums. Unfortunately, this forum won't let me post a direct link.

jkgamer


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## the_randomizer (Dec 19, 2017)

Is the emulation on this any good?


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## jkgamer (Dec 19, 2017)

The emulation is pretty good, much better than previous ATGames attempts. They do use their own proprietary emulation, but so far it's been able to run everything that I throw at it. I have seen occasional hiccups on some of the more intense graphics games and Virtua Racing won't run (Obviously they aren't emulating its custom 3D chip.) Also, the sound is much better that it is with older ATGames emulation. I would not put it on par with the NES Classic or SNES Classic, and the menu navigation sucks, but its definitely able to play most Genesis and Sega Master System games. It also plays Game Gear, but I haven't added any of my Game Gear games to my current build.

jkgamer


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## asper (Dec 20, 2017)

Emulation is quite good, sound is not unfortunately. Some boards come with a 2gb 29F chip (29F16) some with 4gb 29F chip (29F32).









I extracted the full firmware partitions and installed some apk in my samsung androud device: some installs (with no special permissions needed) some not; the ones installed have no icon and cannot be run.





To extract the full firmware splitted in all the 15 "partitions" you need an (i suppose) official and free rockchip tool, just need to install adb drivers previously and then connect the usb mini cable, start the tool and switch to "usb mode" instead of default mtp (no need to install mtp drivers, just install the adb ones).

My device is dated September 2017 and i cannot find this file /sdcard/Android/obb/com.atgames.menu.hal/com.atgames.menu.hal.obb nor the /Android/obb folder so I am sure this is a newer system OS revision.

ROMs are stored at /system/atgames/Genesis and all-game.ini is inside /system/atgames/

/system is ro so you need to make it rw, copy files and re-ro it. It works, just tested.


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## Jojse (Dec 22, 2017)

Very easy to add your favorite games on Sega Flashback, check this great youtube guide


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## asper (Dec 22, 2017)

Jojse said:


> Very easy to add your favorite games on Sega Flashback, check this great youtube guide



Yeah. The only problem seems to be that windows below 8 (ex. Windows 7) does not have MTP USB drivers (mandatory to see the device SDCARD partition as a FAT32 flashdrive); but if you installed Android drivers (ex. Portable Devices) you can use them: here it is a quick guide.

I managed to get screenshots:









I hope to get USB support as soon as the adapter i ordered will arrive.


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## Jojse (Dec 22, 2017)

Yes USB support would be nice, and also some kind of controller-hack to use d-pad to move up and down, I can't understand why they did it like this


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## asper (Dec 23, 2017)

Retroarch started. Not working correctly (yet). Hope to find more time to work on it.

EDIT
Made it to work using touch software emulation via ADB (NES Aladdin using FCEUMM core):









Wireless controller is working ! Need to make use of it inside the Retroarch main screen otherwise it is a real pain to load cores and games.


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## asper (Dec 24, 2017)

Picodrive is working too:









If there is some andorid-guru listening i can provide the decompiled apk; what is really needed now is a way to enable wireless pad buttons to control launched applications, they (pad keys) seems to work only with the default "launcher/menu".

EDIT:




Now keys are partially working; still need to configure the 3 menu-start-rewind keys and make retroarch to start instead of default (ugly) launcher.


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## DaFixer (Dec 25, 2017)

Nice find!


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Dec 25, 2017)

Is this only for the HD version or also SD version?


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## asper (Dec 25, 2017)

Sonic Angel Knight said:


> Is this only for the HD version or also SD version?


Just Mega Drive Flashback HD version, i do not have the SD one.

I just managed to permanently install retroarch and resize system partition, if i manage to obtain something useful i will make and release a custom rom (it is an Android device). Dunno if i will be able to get it working; progress will be posted here.


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## asper (Dec 29, 2017)

The package with the 1st Custom ROM/Firmware for Mega Drive Flashback is ready !

It contains 3 folders:

1 -     the 1st one provide a way to fully backup your console NAND to have a working recovery solution if something goes wrong.
2 -     the 2nd one is a pre-cooked firmware with RetroArch integrated; it can be flashed as-is if your console NAND configuration is the same as the one provided
    (read the included .txt for more information)
3 -     the 3rd one is a folder where you can play with ADB and the console; you can find some batch scripts and some shell script to see how the console works.

The console is based on Android 4.4.4; my unit has 4GB NAND but I saw some other units with 2GB only so be careful when flashing (read the included .txt files) !
The console is probably compatible with external USB flash drives but I need to test it (I miss the correct USB mini to USB female adapter).

It took me almost 2 weeks to achieve that result and it is nothing more than some "script-kiddie" stuff, feel free to modify and use it as you prefere.
The readme files are best readable with Metapad (wrap test option ON).

I will probably not have the time to answer questions but I wrote quite exaustive readmes inside the package to explain each step better. if you have doubts write them here but do not get angry if I will not answer 




Download link.


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## belmont (Dec 29, 2017)

Thanks!!


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## KiiWii (Dec 29, 2017)

Exceptional work @asper thank you.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 5, 2018)

Thanks heaps for your work any more videos of how it works on the flashback HD please


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## DaXyro (Jan 5, 2018)

I got everything working on a 2GB model, with the exception of the start/menu/rewind buttons. After a ton of tweaking, I figured out how to get those to work, though it does break those buttons for the original emulator (you can easily restore them, though). I wrote up a basic guide and the files I'm using to achieve this.

https://mega.nz/#!RFckxSIL!PyHxZpxaYjOlDDUQV7VSMo0gR
7gCVK6JD4cGWsCenKY

Edit: Forgot to write somewhere that I made start + down show the Retroarch menu while in a game.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 5, 2018)

cool, so it runs well , can you add extra space via usb host ?? , video of it running please


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## asper (Jan 5, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> cool, so it runs well , can you add extra space via usb host ?? , video of it running please


Thanx to DaXyro for is work around ! I confirm my gamepad vendor and product ids are the same as yours.

I will test usb extra space as soon as my adapter will arrive. About videos unfortunately i have no time to produce them, sorry.


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## Regulators (Jan 5, 2018)

Hi Asper, I have the same model genasis. I tried to do the adb patching alternative method, but no controllers seem to work in game. And everytime I try to restore the ini back it cannot find the original ini file. Is there any way you could email the ini file and possibly the stock firmware as I think I might have bricked it? I would be ever so grateful. This writeup is exactly what I have been looking for for 3 days since I have been modding the system. Haha beginners luck.  Also I ca get the games running but no image comes up.. is this a resise issue? Thankyou. Open to anyone else that has had this issue. Thanks!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Also once that is fixed is it possible to just add games without a full hack? I just want to add games without any issues.


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## asper (Jan 5, 2018)

The link to the stock firmware of my console (Mega Drive Flashback, NOT Genesis Flashback, I don't know if they are the same because I do not own a Genesis Flashback) can be found in the readems .txt i provided.

My mod does not imply any .ini editing so you probably have a problem not related to my mod (anyway the original .ini is inside the stock rom file, system.img file).

Game images (PNG) must follow some rules about the image format (not x:y size, just format) which must be:
Color: [ ] ICC Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1
if you do not know how to save inthat specific format i cannot help you, sorry.
Those info were provided by the original hacker of the .ini file.

If you care about x:y they are 214 x 300 but the console accepts also different x:y (tested).

Without editing the .ini file it will be not possible to add any games to the original emulator, sorry.


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## asper (Jan 5, 2018)

EDIT:

Just tested a japanese cartridge and found it perfectly fits inside the cartridge slot even with my usb 90-angle is inside (look here see what I mean). The dump will go do /mnt/asec/ folder in .bin format (the name of the cartridge dump tested was rom-9370.bin and it perfectly matches the CRC of the same dump found on the web).

To automatically get the dumps put the extremely simple batch file I attached to this post in the same ADB.exe folder and doubleclcik on it.


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## nl255 (Jan 5, 2018)

How does this compare hardware wise to the NES/SNES Classic and Rpi3?


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## asper (Jan 5, 2018)

nl255 said:


> How does this compare hardware wise to the NES/SNES Classic and Rpi3?


It is probably slower than NES/SNES Classic Mini and Rpi3 anyway PSX games work fine. Very slow on N64 games (this can be dued to the core used: mupen64; unfrotunately this particular core seems to have a bug in the Android version and it does not work [rom won't load] so I used Parallel: rom loads but it is very slow, almost 10fps with Super Mario 64). Good on SNES, NES, SMS and Genesis. Not tested on other platforms/cores.


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## Regulators (Jan 5, 2018)

Thanks mate. Yes the genasis is the same as mega drive. And mine is hd also.so I should see compatibility.  Just curious if I need to flash via a untouched stock version or just use your cracked version. Just looking at restoring to stock for fail safe as ever time I try to restore to stock it's fine but controllers don't work in game for some reason.. would you know what would caus this? Ty


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## asper (Jan 5, 2018)

Regulators said:


> Thanks mate. Yes the genasis is the same as mega drive. And mine is hd also.so I should see compatibility.  Just curious if I need to flash via a untouched stock version or just use your cracked version. Just looking at restoring to stock for fail safe as ever time I try to restore to stock it's fine but controllers don't work in game for some reason.. would you know what would caus this? Ty


I have no idea, sorry.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 6, 2018)

hi again so you can run both emulator with your hack ?


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## asper (Jan 6, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> hi again so you can run both emulator with your hack ?


Yes; at start you will enter for few seconds in the original menu and then retroarch will automatically launch; exiting retroarch will take you back to the original menu but form the original menu you will not be able to re-enter retroarch without powering off->on the console.


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## Regulators (Jan 6, 2018)

Hi Asper. Got it working again now but the images show up blank even png 214/300 using paint to convert the images. Is there something I could do better? The last step to get them running full.. thanks . mate


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## asper (Jan 6, 2018)

Regulators said:


> Hi Asper. Got it working again now but the images show up blank even png 214/300 using paint to convert the images. Is there something I could do better? The last step to get them running full.. thanks . mate


Use anther graphic software for those images; they are probably saved in the wrong PNG format. I use a very old software (paint shop pro 6 - really small) and it seems to produce good images.


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## Regulators (Jan 7, 2018)

Hi mate got the mod working everything works well. But now I'm still stick at adding games, after retroarch is installed I want to update to near version from 1.69 to 1.70 Is this worth it? /necessary? I still cannot seem to add any games all I see in window explorer is still the sd card.. frustrating! I'm thinking of soldering a Wi-Fi port if it's possible to get into the system and upload easier goading automatically. What do u think?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

And the console is exactly the same. Mega drive genasis is the same. Mine is the 4gb model so the files worked perfectly. Everytime I want to uninstall retro arch and reload to near version with updated cores, the cmd says device not found and waiting for device.. odd


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## asper (Jan 7, 2018)

Regulators said:


> Hi mate got the mod working everything works well. But now I'm still stick at adding games, after retroarch is installed I want to update to near version from 1.69 to 1.70 Is this worth it? /necessary? I still cannot seem to add any games all I see in window explorer is still the sd card.. frustrating! I'm thinking of soldering a Wi-Fi port if it's possible to get into the system and upload easier goading automatically. What do u think?
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> And the console is exactly the same. Mega drive genasis is the same. Mine is the 4gb model so the files worked perfectly. Everytime I want to uninstall retro arch and reload to near version with updated cores, the cmd says device not found and waiting for device.. odd



I feel difficult to understand what you are saying anyway I will try to answer about what I think I got from your sentences...

Updating to 1.7.0 just updates the cores, Retroarch NEVER provide games/roms; updating the cores is always a good thing (procedure for updating is written inside .txts).

In windows explore you will ALWAYS and ONLY see the "SD card" (rk3036 NAND /mnt/internal_sd/ partition) because all other console partitions can be accessed through ADB shell software only.

Soldering... where ? Without knowing where to solder it is a very "unsuggested modification"; you can try to attach an USB WiFi adapter but if you have difficulties with this simple mod I think you will find even harder to get a WiFi USB device working with the console.

It seems you are missing ADB drivers: I suggest you to CAREFULLY re-read the included .txt files.

I do not know if the files inside a Genesis Flashback console are exactly the sames (I do not own any), they should be checked/compared 1 by 1 to say that; the fact that my ROM works in your Genesis console does not mean that the data inside are identical to the ones you had when you bought it.


EDIT
*If someone can provide an Atari Flashback dump I can try to add the emulator to Mega Drive/Genesis Flashback.*


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## Regulators (Jan 7, 2018)

Yeah. The adb drivers are installed. Which is confusing me. Reason why I'm stumped is everything went awesome and works fine, followed your whole installation to a t. I'm looking to see if it's newer cores that could cause the system in Windows not to accept and copy more games to the games folder? Ever since I did the update adb shell works fine but just does not accept writing to the nand flash..

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Maybe I'll look for updated adb drivers? In the process of your install  doing the retro arch, then you copied files to the games folder? Or is there a workaround to install via adb? Sorry for being confusing I'm just stumped as looking at the winflash program you had, it had a file explore option.. How did you get the backups to mount? They all keep saying file is corrupted.. weird.. caus the programs you gave in the instructions read it fine.. lol. Damn micrisoft!!!


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## asper (Jan 7, 2018)

The console has 3 possible and DIFFERENT drivers to install, each one with its own purpose.

Flashing the custom rom does not require ADB drivers (just USB-Download Mode drivers).
Seeing rk3036 NAND Flash on Windows does not require ADB drivers (just MTP-USB drivers).
If ADB shell is not working for you (you said no device found when using the unisntall script) then you are missing ADB drivers, this is the reason why no devices are found.

I still find VERY difficult to understand what you are saying so I will probably not answer you again if you are not able to EXACTLY describe what your problem is.

I extracted .img files using WinHex but I suppose there are many other software able to manage them.


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## Regulators (Jan 7, 2018)

Ok I'll give it a shot.  Thanks.  Was just trying to explain it as how the procedure goes in the scripts. All good.


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## LibretroRetroArc (Jan 7, 2018)

Would be interesting if somebody could research what their actual emulator is. Their CEO contacted me half a year ago before they released this thing and it seemed like they were basically trying to shop around, so I'd be interested in learning if they just dropped RetroArch on there without even bothering to contact us back first. Not that it matters, but it would just confirm what I thought they did anyways.

Anyway, good to see that people are putting a version of RetroArch on it that isn't just a hollow shell of itself I suppose. Justice served in a roundabout way after all


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## asper (Jan 7, 2018)

LibretroRetroArc said:


> Would be interesting if somebody could research what their actual emulator is. Their CEO contacted me half a year ago before they released this thing and it seemed like they were basically trying to shop around, so I'd be interested in learning if they just dropped RetroArch on there without even bothering to contact us back first. Not that it matters, but it would just confirm what I thought they did anyways.
> 
> Anyway, good to see that people are putting a version of RetroArch on it that isn't just a hollow shell of itself I suppose. Justice served in a roundabout way after all


Sms and genesis emulators are 2 .so files and seems to be used like modules by the main menu. I tryed them as retroarch modules but they seems not to work with retroarch (i can provide them if you want to check).

I opened a retroarch issue about the missing keys scancodes if you want to have a look at it.


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## rrifonas (Jan 8, 2018)

LibretroRetroArc said:


> Would be interesting if somebody could research what their actual emulator is. Their CEO contacted me half a year ago before they released this thing and it seemed like they were basically trying to shop around, so I'd be interested in learning if they just dropped RetroArch on there without even bothering to contact us back first. Not that it matters, but it would just confirm what I thought they did anyways.
> 
> Anyway, good to see that people are putting a version of RetroArch on it that isn't just a hollow shell of itself I suppose. Justice served in a roundabout way after all


Their emulator seems to be an in-house development or some old emulator as it don't behave like any libretro core or MD.EMU. Some games don't work at all (Super Street Fighter II has a 'red screen' when loading, Virtua Racing doesn't work at all) and others have glitches not present in libretro cores (Mega Man The Wily Wars has graphics glitches, Outrun runs with slow sound and graphics glitches). 
Retroarch works fine but as this console use some unusual key scancodes we can't map all keys.


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## rrifonas (Jan 8, 2018)

DaXyro said:


> I got everything working on a 2GB model, with the exception of the start/menu/rewind buttons. After a ton of tweaking, I figured out how to get those to work, though it does break those buttons for the original emulator (you can easily restore them, though). I wrote up a basic guide and the files I'm using to achieve this.
> 
> https://mega.nz/#!RFckxSIL!PyHxZpxaYjOlDDUQV7VSMo0gR
> 7gCVK6JD4cGWsCenKY
> ...


Thank you for sharing your retroarch config file, it's very useful for the 2GB model where we don't have plenty of free space to install RetroArch.

I was trying to have the "ENTER" key to working with MD.EMU and figured out the same solution as you (playing with the key mapping files). In my case I've only remapped the "Rewind" key from Player 2 as "ENTER" and it worked for what I wanted to do.
I chose to use MD.EMU because I can use the same parameters to load a game as the original emulator does.
I was playing around with the menu code (using apktook and baksmali) and I was able to start the games directly with MD.EMU (i chose to assign the .7z extension to MD.EMU). Now I have the best of both worlds: I can use the default emulator with the built-in games (and use the rewind features) and load 'problematic' games with MD.EMU.


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## BlueFox gui (Jan 8, 2018)

why not just buy the new brazilian genesis, it already has support for roms and isn't emulator


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 8, 2018)

I have to say i am surprised the level of work that people have put into this thing. when i made my custom loader for it, i figured that not that many people would care. I noticed some people linked to a vid of my original work at the begining of the thread. I have had some time to polish it up now. It works kind of as a replacement dashboard for the original program(you can still launch the original app that was made for it, but this one works as a replacement dashboard of sorts)
so far what i have managed to do with it:
-loading of roms from nand works (without having to mess with the original app or editing ini files, just put the roms in a directory and it works!)
-it lets you choose what system you want to launch games from for (genesis, gamegear, sega master system)
-it lets you launch games of a usb stick (slight hardware modification required on the generations classic device)
-allows launching of external apps including the original app through an application button (bottom left button on the pictures below)
-you can make your own skin for it (sort of)
-no proprietary code was used to make this. This app (or dashboard which i prefer to call it) was made with hours of reading code examples on stack overflow which paid off these last couple of months!

I have to say that i am kind of concerned though that people are trying to mess with the obb's and ini's and messing with the input files on the android file system on this. Maybe i am wrong but the proper approach would be to adapt the code of the emulators to work with the default input this device uses. I also noticed that some people where complaining of having issues adding games by doing eta primes method on the commentary section of his video.

Like i said my dash is a work in progress but if anyboody is curious to what my app/dashboard looks like now:


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## rrifonas (Jan 8, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> I have to say that i am kind of concerned though that people are trying to mess with the obb's and ini's and messing with the input files on the android file system on this. Maybe i am wrong but the proper approach would be to adapt the code of the emulators to work with the default input this device uses. I also noticed that some people where complaining of having issues adding games by doing eta primes method on the commentary section of his video.



Your loader seems to be amazing, nice work! I really understand your concern and I noticed the same, while the issues are simple to resolve most people doing that don't have any the knowledge about OS and they are just 'bricking' their Flashbacks.
Your approach is also correct, it would be best to adapt the emulators to work with the default input and if possible to have a layer (loader) where you can switch between the default loader (with the catridge dump tool) and a custom emulator. The problem is that not anybody has programming skills or time to do that. I've been trying to understand the source code for MD.EMU (open-source and its binary is really small so it's perfect for the Genesis Flashback) but I realized that I don't have the skill and the patience to figure out how to do that. Maybe with more time...


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## asper (Jan 8, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> I have to say i am surprised the level of work that people have put into this thing. when i made my custom loader for it, i figured that not that many people would care. I noticed some people linked to a vid of my original work at the begining of the thread. I have had some time to polish it up now. It works kind of as a replacement dashboard for the original program(you can still launch the original app that was made for it, but this one works as a replacement dashboard of sorts)
> so far what i have managed to do with it:
> -loading of roms from nand works (without having to mess with the original app or editing ini files, just put the roms in a directory and it works!)
> -it lets you choose what system you want to launch games from for (genesis, gamegear, sega master system)
> ...


Great work!

In my opinion you are correct. What is needed is a launcher (dashboard) to be able to launch the application you prefere. If you are able to make such menu and share it this will be the perfect solution so everyone can customize it as he prefere.

About controller input problems with retroarch I created an issue on github hoping it will be managed by someone (as rrifonas already said not enough skills and time to do it myself).

Thank you to both of you for your contribution!


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## Regulators (Jan 8, 2018)

Ok sorry about that. The issue is that every driver has been installed. And checked for updates.
Every application runs perfectly 
But after finishing the whole process of installing the launcher in the flashback it boots up great. But

I cannot get the "games" folder in the sd card to accept the copied over new games. 
It just freezes at "copying files"

I have also tried to run the adb program scripts of allowing modifications and mounting" read only" afterwards.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I hope that is clearer for you. Thankyou for your help.


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## asper (Jan 8, 2018)

Regulators said:


> Ok sorry about that. The issue is that every driver has been installed. And checked for updates.
> Every application runs perfectly
> But after finishing the whole process of installing the launcher in the flashback it boots up great. But
> 
> ...


Try to copy 1 file at time from windows to the console. If it doesn't work use another computer and see if the problem persist. If persist (i am not able to guess why) you need to use adb to copy files inside the /mnt/internal_sd/ folder.


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## Regulators (Jan 8, 2018)

This command starts adb srvice
1. adb devices
This command copies the all-games.ini file
2. adb pull /system/atgames/all-games.ini
this command it tells your flashback to allow modifications to the system folder.
3.adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
This command creates a backup of the original all-games.ini
4. adb shell mv /system/atgames/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.bak
creates a symlink from the original all-games.ini
5. adb shell ln -s /sdcard/Games/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini
This command restores the original read only state to the system files
6. adb shell mount -o ro,remount,ro /system

Is this one i can use? under power shell command. tried but doesn't seem to do anything. might try another pc.


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## asper (Jan 8, 2018)

Regulators said:


> This command starts adb srvice
> 1. adb devices
> This command copies the all-games.ini file
> 2. adb pull /system/atgames/all-games.ini
> ...


The command to copy files from pc to console using ADB is:
push
Try to look at google to see how to use it.


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 8, 2018)

Regulators and everybody else:

using adb to add or change files is nonsense (for the most part)

use android commander for windows instead. it literally lets you drag and drop files into the device and you are done!
just make sure the device is fully booted and it will let you in.

google android commander and you will see what i mean. I would link to it here but gbatemps spam filter does not seem to like it.

warning: with this adding files becomes to easy. dont delete anything off the device, you can break it. dont do that.


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## asper (Jan 8, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> Regulators and everybody else:
> 
> using adb to add or change files is nonsense (for the most part)
> 
> ...


Very good suggestions.

Remember to make a nand backup before doing anyting "strange"


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## Ckunak (Jan 9, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> I have to say i am surprised the level of work that people have put into this thing. when i made my custom loader for it, i figured that not that many people would care. I noticed some people linked to a vid of my original work at the begining of the thread. I have had some time to polish it up now. It works kind of as a replacement dashboard for the original program(you can still launch the original app that was made for it, but this one works as a replacement dashboard of sorts)
> so far what i have managed to do with it:
> -loading of roms from nand works (without having to mess with the original app or editing ini files, just put the roms in a directory and it works!)
> -it lets you choose what system you want to launch games from for (genesis, gamegear, sega master system)
> ...


Your launcher looks awesome!
Would you please be kind to let me know what mod you did to the USB port for otg support? Thanks


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 9, 2018)

ill post pictures when i have a chance. you have to solder a single wire to the +5v of the usb bus. i found a reliable solder point on the board that powers it on and off as you turn the system on/off (keep in mind YOU ARE VOIDING THE WARRANTY BY A LONG MILE BY DOING THIS) Also this worked for me, but since i do not know how many variants this system has, you are doing this AT YOUR OWN RISK. keep in mind its a very small soldering point so i would only do it if you are completely confident in your soldering skills. if you mess the solder point up you also risk frying the usb bus.


On a separate note, please let me know if anybody would be interested in being a beta tester for the launcher. i would say its finished for initial release.
Please only volunteer if:

-you have all the adb/drivers installed and working properly
-you are willing to install android commander to your pc/or know how to send an app via adb
-you have a self powered usb/hub (5V) and a way to connect it the console(you only may need it the first time you run the Dash/loader) / OR you know how to send emulated keystrokes via adb (only needed the first time the Dash/loader is ran).
-have a troubleshooting attitude ( i am fairly busy with IRL work and stuff so i may not be able to get to you soon enough)
-will not be leaking this (i need to make sure it does not do more harm than good) until it has been tested.
-understand that you assume ALL responsibility for what happens to your console (it should be safe but this IS "beta testing")

to the mods: the app contains no copyrighted code. hope it is Ok to ask for testers in the thread. thank you.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 9, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> ill post pictures when i have a chance. you have to solder a single wire to the +5v of the usb bus. i found a reliable solder point on the board that powers it on and off as you turn the system on/off (keep in mind YOU ARE VOIDING THE WARRANTY BY A LONG MILE BY DOING THIS) Also this worked for me, but since i do not know how many variants this system has, you are doing this AT YOUR OWN RISK. keep in mind its a very small soldering point so i would only do it if you are completely confident in your soldering skills. if you mess the solder point up you also risk frying the usb bus.
> 
> 
> On a separate note, please let me know if anybody would be interested in being a beta tester for the launcher. i would say its finished for initial release.
> ...



Please post a pic when you have a moment. i would of private messaged you but cant find that option on this site.

i will also be willing to test your launcher as i have the setup already. thanks


----------



## asper (Jan 9, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> ill post pictures when i have a chance. you have to solder a single wire to the +5v of the usb bus. i found a reliable solder point on the board that powers it on and off as you turn the system on/off (keep in mind YOU ARE VOIDING THE WARRANTY BY A LONG MILE BY DOING THIS) Also this worked for me, but since i do not know how many variants this system has, you are doing this AT YOUR OWN RISK. keep in mind its a very small soldering point so i would only do it if you are completely confident in your soldering skills. if you mess the solder point up you also risk frying the usb bus.
> 
> 
> On a separate note, please let me know if anybody would be interested in being a beta tester for the launcher. i would say its finished for initial release.
> ...


Contact me for testing purposes


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 9, 2018)

Asper can you send me a PM? i cant seem to PM anybody until i have 10 posts. rather not spam.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 9, 2018)

asper said:


> Contact me for testing purposes


i am contacting you for testing.

Asper just for a FYI
I am using your custom FW now and if anyone asks you can change the menu and icons back to the Genesis version by
extracting the apk from the backup and rename from _eu to _usa and copy it to the unit.
then by extracting the games from the atgames folder from the backup and just copying and replacing what is on the unit.

Reboot and it will go back to the Genesis menu.


----------



## Nah3DS (Jan 9, 2018)

Would it be possible to load any android apk? I'm specially thinking of the Sonic ports made by The Taxman, that would be pretty cool.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 9, 2018)

depending on the system requirements, probably yes. 

as for loading android apks you can but.... to slap just any apk on the system would be asking for trouble and system instability. like i have said before the apps would need to be compiled with some changes to play nicely with the input of the device.


----------



## asper (Jan 9, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> i am contacting you for testing.
> 
> Asper just for a FYI
> I am using your custom FW now and if anyone asks you can change the menu and icons back to the Genesis version by
> ...


So just renaming the same com.atgames.menu.sega_eu.apk does the trick to "convert" genesis to mega drive ?


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 9, 2018)

asper said:


> So just renaming the same apk does the trick to "convert" genesis to mega drive ?


My unit was a US Genesis. Your's and fw was Megadrive based. 

so i took the apk out of the system.img backup com.atgames.menu.sega_usa.apk before flashing yours. 
flashed your fw. then renamed the file above to com.atgames.menu.sega_EU.apk then copied it back to the unit.

then rebooted and the menu was back to the US apk.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 9, 2018)

Hey there!, first of all thanks jasper for youre amazing work! This was totaly a reason to register here. 

Some of you might know me, i coded the Super Gameboy Classic mini Mod for the SNES Classic Mini. If not heres the video:



As im more into SEGA than Nintendo this is absolutly great. I Buyed a Mega Drive Flashback HD at my local store. And guess what i startet coding for it aswell. I will provide soon a short movie of what i have done till now.

@Jasper maybe theres interests in co-operate on this sweet little system?

Best Regards

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Ckunak said:


> My unit was a US Genesis. Your's and fw was Megadrive based.
> 
> so i took the apk out of the system.img backup com.atgames.menu.sega_usa.apk before flashing yours.
> flashed your fw. then renamed the file above to com.atgames.menu.sega_EU.apk then copied it back to the unit.
> ...




This is Interesting would you mind to share the US file with me? I checked my apk aswell and it looks like i have another version aswell. Mine is called: 

com.atgames.menu.sega_DE.apk

DE=Germany (thats funny as i Live in Switzerland.. but never mind)

This is very interesting because on my Version there was missing the Mortal Kombat section. The Whole menu seemed to be more buggy than it should.. maybe like an early beta version?

Any interests in making a collection of all Dashboards?


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 9, 2018)

This is Interesting would you mind to share the US file with me? I checked my apk aswell and it looks like i have another version aswell. Mine is called:

com.atgames.menu.sega_DE.apk

DE=Germany (thats funny as i Live in Switzerland.. but never mind)

This is very interesting because on my Version there was missing the Mortal Kombat section. The Whole menu seemed to be more buggy than it should.. maybe like an early beta version?

Any interests in making a collection of all Dashboards?[/QUOTE said:
			
		

> i will share if i am allowed. i am not sure of the rules on this forum. can some one let me know if ok to post apk?


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 10, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> I have to say i am surprised the level of work that people have put into this thing. when i made my custom loader for it, i figured that not that many people would care. I noticed some people linked to a vid of my original work at the begining of the thread. I have had some time to polish it up now. It works kind of as a replacement dashboard for the original program(you can still launch the original app that was made for it, but this one works as a replacement dashboard of sorts)
> so far what i have managed to do with it:
> -loading of roms from nand works (without having to mess with the original app or editing ini files, just put the roms in a directory and it works!)
> -it lets you choose what system you want to launch games from for (genesis, gamegear, sega master system)
> ...




Hi thank you this looks really nice , where may I find more info about your dashboard and how to install please


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Sadly im new here and o dont have a clue about the rules in Here. If you like send me a PM.

Regards


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

I created a one button installer for easy switch between different Dashboards (Modders are now Welcome to make they’re own Dashs). If someone is Interested i can upload the installer. Im still looking for the US-File to test it out. Sadly i cant show any pictures.. as fast as possible i will upload some screenshots.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 10, 2018)

its becoming a bit difficult working without PM ability. so far only 1 member has pmed due to other members not being able to pm me. :/. beta testers for my dash are still needed.

if anybody has any suggestions, i am all ears.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> its becoming a bit difficult working without PM ability. so far only 1 member has pmed due to other members not being able to pm me. :/. beta testers for my dash are still needed.
> 
> if anybody has any suggestions, i am all ears.


Got the same problem.. but i guess its a matter of time till we can pm/upload and do other stuffs..


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I created a one button installer for easy switch between different Dashboards (Modders are now Welcome to make they’re own Dashs). If someone is Interested i can upload the installer. Im still looking for the US-File to test it out. Sadly i cant show any pictures.. as fast as possible i will upload some screenshots.


I am Interested very much


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 10, 2018)

thx1138... do you have the requirements i requested in the post? if so i will pm you as soon as i am able to.

Thanks


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 10, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> thx1138... do you have the requirements i requested in the post? if so i will pm you as soon as i am able to.
> 
> Thanks



Hi WD_Gaster yes I am fine with all the requirements if you like you can look me up on instagram. @fixingmytoys and on YouTube fixingmytoys also you can email me on my email that I use for my YouTube channel EMAIL [email protected]


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Nice community here :-) lets hope we get the best out of the MD Flashback HD.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Nice community here :-) lets hope we get the best out of the MD Flashback HD.


Send me an email at ck(AT)c-g.online and ill send you the US launcher. send me yours as well.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Perfect, i was finally able to check the US-Dashboard.

Interesting, the US is even more different than the DE-EU File.

The DE Version is missing the Mortal Kombat and the About Section

The EU Version is only missing the About section

The USA Version seems to be the most complete of all.. guess it will be even more stable than the other Releases...

I Will try to make a hyprid apk by switching the Images. Will let you know if this works xD..


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Perfect, i was finally able to check the US-Dashboard.
> 
> Interesting, the US is even more different than the DE-EU File.
> 
> ...




i am thinking the us got a better version and they where too laze to deploy across other platforms. 
they must of changed/fixed the issue people where complaining about in early reviews.
As you see in the attached photo from john hancocks review the us version in early 2017 is missing the mortal kombat section also.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> i am thinking the us got a better version and they where too laze to deploy across other platforms.
> they must of changed/fixed the issue people where complaining about in early reviews.
> As you see in the attached photo from john hancocks review the us version in early 2017 is missing the mortal kombat section also.


Basicly interesting.. you can nearly follow the whole development process :-D.. well good for us, makes it more easy to understand how things working.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Here is a Dashboard comparsion:

US





DE


 

EU


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 10, 2018)

So playing around with the Genesis-082917.apk ( the emulator program) i was able to access settings and play a game on my pc using bluestack.

Controls are Q Brings up the Menu
Z = A
X = B
C = C

the start button is on screen and in the top right.

to me it looks like a rewrite or copy of Gensoid.

Edit
also decompiling Genesis-082917.apk and com.atgames.menu.sega_usa  i see strings and images for Atari


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> So playing around with the Genesis-082917.apk ( the emulator program) i was able to access settings and play a game on my pc using bluestack.
> 
> Controls are Q Brings up the Menu
> Z = A
> ...


Thats pretty cool, but more interesting would be if we can change the emulator to md.emu or probably can replace the launch strings, so we would be able to use any emulator we want. This would open the possibility to add 32x, MEGA cd, SEGA cd.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 10, 2018)

That's very cool Hekel that you can flash multiple region dashboards! I wonder if the US one besides having more menu options has better emulation too? Have you had a chance to test how games run on different versions?

Will you also be releasing the tool or process you are using to swap dashboards?

Thanks!


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 10, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> That's very cool Hekel that you can flash multiple region dashboards! I wonder if the US one besides having more menu options has better emulation too? Have you had a chance to test how games run on different versions?
> 
> Will you also be releasing the tool or process you are using to swap dashboards?
> 
> Thanks!



the dashboard will most likely not change emulation. the Genesis-082917.apk is the emulator.

can anyone check to see what date is at the end of there Genesis-XXXXXX.apk mine is 082917


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> That's very cool Hekel that you can flash multiple region dashboards! I wonder if the US one besides having more menu options has better emulation too? Have you had a chance to test how games run on different versions?
> 
> Will you also be releasing the tool or process you are using to swap dashboards?
> 
> Thanks!


Hey, i checked the emulation and it looks like its the same apk as on the other regions. But something that works better is definitly the menu navigation itself. I added the complete mega drive library to the Flashback MD, and the console tended to crash alot. It looks like it has the same problem as the Nintendo Classic Mini series.. there is a cache folder if its overloaded it crashes. But I found a workaround to add all games and it seems to be pretty stable now..

I can upload my tool thats not a problem just give me some time to optimize it.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey, i checked the emulation and it looks like its the same apk as on the other regions. But something that works better is definitly the menu navigation itself. I added the complete mega drive library to the Flashback MD, and the console tended to crash alot. It looks like it has the same problem as the Nintendo Classic Mini series.. there is a cache folder if its overloaded it crashes. But I found a workaround to add all games and it seems to be pretty stable now..
> 
> I can upload my tool thats not a problem just give me some time to optimize it.



That's great - I look forward to seeing it!

I could only ever increase the Sega Games folder by one extra page (so 17 additional titles, after that it would crash) - I have the EU dashboard - I ended up removing the bonus games, moving all the master system and game gears to the Bonus section and then adding another 21 mega drive games to replace the ones I moved - I take it you got all the mega drive library on using the US dashboard along with your fix?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 10, 2018)

actually if this was overcome, color me surprised. good work


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> That's great - I look forward to seeing it!
> 
> I could only ever increase the Sega Games folder by one extra page (so 17 additional titles, after that it would crash) - I have the EU dashboard - I ended up removing the bonus games, moving all the master system and game gears to the Bonus section and then adding another 21 mega drive games to replace the ones I moved - I take it you got all the mega drive library on using the US dashboard along with your fix?



Hey, right now im using the europe dashboard that was given out by jasper. It worked with a limitation there.

What i did was using the favorite page as a folder for games. This was nice cause it was possible to have an extra section for games. And anyway when there is a fullset on the console it doesnt make sense to not use it in that way. The section Sega Games is used for all other PAL games. I keeped sonic games and mortal kombat games as it was and just putted the missing sonic and mk games in it. Bonus games is used for mega drive import games.. i personally killed all sms and gg games from the system for now. 

But i have good news! I was able to decompile the whole us dashboard and found the specific file that contains the folder and logo data. Now i can edit and convert this one as i wish. Re-compiled worked aswell!! Soon gonna have great news.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey, right now im using the europe dashboard that was given out by jasper. It worked with a limitation there.
> 
> What i did was using the favorite page as a folder for games. This was nice cause it was possible to have an extra section for games. And anyway when there is a fullset on the console it doesnt make sense to not use it in that way. The section Sega Games is used for all other PAL games. I keeped sonic games and mortal kombat games as it was and just putted the missing sonic and mk games in it. Bonus games is used for mega drive import games.. i personally killed all sms and gg games from the system for now.
> 
> But i have good news! I was able to decompile the whole us dashboard and found the specific file that contains the folder and logo data. Now i can edit and convert this one as i wish. Re-compiled worked aswell!! Soon gonna have great news.



Good Work! I never even thought about using the favourite section! What genre do you use to move the games under favourites? Is it just as simple as entering "favourites" in the genre section in the games.ini file?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Good Work! I never even thought about using the favourite section! What genre do you use to move the games under favourites? Is it just as simple as entering "favourites" in the genre section in the games.ini file?



No, sadly its more complicated.. the section favorites is not a typical command. Basicly i made a special ini file which lists only my favorites. First i launched them and marked as favorites. After that i dumped my favorite list from the md flashback. Once this is done i copied the ini entrees to my normal ini file and set the genre to: Fav (basicly theyre now gone in the wild). With this method theyre not gonna listed twice. And if i accidently unmark a game from the favorites i can simply reload the dumped file.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> No, sadly its more complicated.. the section favorites is not a typical command. Basicly i made a special ini file which lists only my favorites. First i launched them and marked as favorites. After that i dumped my favorite list from the md flashback. Once this is done i copied the ini entrees to my normal ini file and set the genre to: Fav (basicly theyre now gone in the wild). With this method theyre not gonna listed twice. And if i accidently unmark a game from the favorites i can simply reload the dumped file.



Ahh I see - I'll start adding some games to my favourites and then connect the console up again and pull off the favourite list file to see how it looks! Such good work!


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Here is a Dashboard comparsion:
> 
> US
> View attachment 110882
> ...


The DE is the same as the Austrian version which I have

Which I got for Christmas. Which might help with the time line


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Ahh I see - I'll start adding some games to my favourites and then connect the console up again and pull off the favourite list file to see how it looks! Such good work!


Step by Step :-) i launched a Little Project that i will release sooner or later. I Call it the Mega Drive / Genesis Flashback HD Workbench. It will include alot of selfrunning bat files which makes life for everyone easy. Specially as i am not a fan of the first symlink Version that was released.. this is too Buggy to work with.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



thx1138 said:


> The DE is the same as the Austrian version which I have
> 
> Which I got for Christmas. Which might help with the time line


Thats Interessting.. As i sad soon i can tell more about the Dashboards. After the Compile ist just a matter of time till ist fully editable. Just Need time to went trough all command lines..


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 10, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Step by Step :-) i launched a Little Project that i will release sooner or later. I Call it the Mega Drive / Genesis Flashback HD Workbench. It will include alot of selfrunning bat files which makes life for everyone easy. Specially as i am not a fan of the first symlink Version that was released.. this is too Buggy to work with.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...



That sounds great  - I'll make sure to check back regularly


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> That sounds great  - I'll make sure to check back regularly


Try my best!


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 10, 2018)

Changing the menu choices


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 10, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> Changing the menu choices


Wow - how did you do that?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> Changing the menu choices


Hey Nice Work! Im Trying to do the same. Can you tell me how did you managed it? I Decompiled the classes.dex from the Dashboard apk. I Think the key is in there just found out how to Switch Banks for other Regions inside the MainActivity file.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 10, 2018)

Jack and Hekel

i am using the US Launcher
just edit the main_noalpha.xml

in \com.atgames.menu.sega_eu\res\layout


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> Jack and Hekel
> 
> i am using the US Launcher
> just edit the main_noalpha.xml
> ...





Ckunak said:


> Jack and Hekel
> 
> i am using the US Launcher
> just edit the main_noalpha.xml
> ...


Thanks for the TIP i will try it out!


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

BIG thanks to WD_Gaster that sended me his selfmade Dashboard to test it out! Amazing Start!


----------



## belmont (Jan 10, 2018)

Keep going guys, we hardcore SEGA fans appreciate your work and cannot wait to try what you program.
Just got a MD HD by the way and it rocks, it even plays all my old cartridges!


----------



## Hekel (Jan 10, 2018)

belmont said:


> Keep going guys, we hardcore SEGA fans appreciate your work and cannot wait to try what you program.
> Just got a MD HD by the way and it rocks, it even plays all my old cartridges!


Well im a collector and a huge SEGA fan aswell.. But to be honest before jasper startet to release his cfw i didnt mind about the flashback hd.. simply because the quality is low.. now its time to correct the stuff atgames made wrong :-)..


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 10, 2018)

Mad props to Hekel!

he pretty much turned my messy install into a one click affair!

get ready for initial release guys! Replacement dashboard release inbound!

also i hear you guys, i will be adding atleast some self skinning options to my dash soon. not a terribly skilled coder but i will try to make something that people can make use of in terms of prettying it up!


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> Mad props to Hekel!
> 
> he pretty much turned my messy install into a one click affair!
> 
> ...


made a video of it


----------



## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> made a video of it



Haha nice :-). I created an uninstaller aswell, now ist easy to deinstall it if someone wants to turn back. I had the same Problem as you have with retroarch.. as retroarch is launching above the ordenary dashbord.. i could fix that but normaly you dont have a cfw installed.. this is only cause we uses jasper release.. if someone makes a Flash from stock theres no Need to tweak anything on my installer.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

also just a heads up! 
the original launcher and retroarch can be launched from my app. just go to the app drawer button and go from there


----------



## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> also just a heads up!
> the original launcher and retroarch can be launched from my app. just go to the app drawer button and go from there


Got an idea how to fix this Problem.. should i fix it? it just kills the selflaunch of retroarch but will Keep it installed. so no effect on useage.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Got an idea how to fix this Problem.. should i fix it? it just kills the selflaunch of retroarch but will Keep it installed. so no effect on useage.


the good thing is we can still launch retroarch from the app drawer of my launcher. also a note to everyone else reading the thread, this only affects you if you are using asper's cfw. However like Hekel said im sure there can be a tweak that can be done to it to solve this issue. 
@Hekel if you can fix this in an optional batch, file please by all means, you sir an MVP!


----------



## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Fixed, now retroarch shouldnt Launch anymore.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> Mad props to Hekel!
> 
> he pretty much turned my messy install into a one click affair!
> 
> ...


Sounds good can’t wait T give it a go


----------



## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Proof-of-Concept video. It shows my Dashboard changer:


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

wow. 

crazy day all around today. lots of developments, wouldn't you say?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Theres a lot more :-D but at Moment i had to clean my Desktop.. but in about 10 minit i will provide a Video with my work in Progress.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

This might be usefull for some of you: I made a Little script, it removes the stock games from the internal Flash. This gives us some freespace (about 60MB) for lets say.. xD better stuff..

No worry if you wanna reload them into the System theres a Re-Installer. Before the Games will be deleted from the System the scripts dump them to youre PC. Some Feedback would be welcome.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Theres a lot more :-D but at Moment i had to clean my Desktop.. but in about 10 minit i will provide a Video with my work in Progress.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...


Works good. good work


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

a bit slow on this, but i can confirm the game remover script is working properly on my unit as well.

also i have a question for you guys to those of you that got my dash, do any of you have a 4gb unit? and if so is it reflecting as such in the system information screen? (bottom right button with the "i" symbol)
my guess is that its reflecting 1900+mb as available or so right?
on my 2gb unit it shows 800mb which makes sense since we only get 1 gb for the sd card partition.

thanks


----------



## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> a bit slow on this, but i can confirm the game remover script is working properly on my unit as well.
> 
> also i have a question for you guys to those of you that got my dash, do any of you have a 4gb unit? and if so is it reflecting as such in the system information screen? (bottom right button with the "i" symbol)
> my guess is that its reflecting 1900+mb as available or so right?
> ...


I have the 4gb Version but i Need to check, ive got Sonic from Christian whitehead running :-)..

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Allright: Storage on SD 1014 MB


----------



## rrifonas (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thats pretty cool, but more interesting would be if we can change the emulator to md.emu or probably can replace the launch strings, so we would be able to use any emulator we want. This would open the possibility to add 32x, MEGA cd, SEGA cd.


I've already done that. I can launch MD.EMU directly from the launcher, it's the same job as you've done, edit the decompiled classes.dex. I can run Genesis and SMS games when they are compressed as .7z. Unfortunately I couldn't launch a SegaCD game from the launcher, but I could load it using "am start". I don't think it worth sharing this modified launcher as my Genesis Flashback HD is the .obb version and messing with the launcher can 'brick' the console.
Now I'm trying to build MD.EMU with the key mapping from the Genesis Flashback HD. I already found the files and remapped them, but build it tricky as the source is near impossible to be compiled. I could compile the "imagine" and "EmuFramework" but it's failing to compile the emulator itself. I will try to do that on the weekend but I'm not sure if it will work. If I have any progress I will share with you all.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

rrifonas said:


> I've already done that. I can launch MD.EMU directly from the launcher, it's the same job as you've done, edit the decompiled classes.dex. I can run Genesis and SMS games when they are compressed as .7z. Unfortunately I couldn't launch a SegaCD game from the launcher, but I could load it using "am start". I don't think it worth sharing this modified launcher as my Genesis Flashback HD is the .obb version and messing with the launcher can 'brick' the console.
> Now I'm trying to build MD.EMU with the key mapping from the Genesis Flashback HD. I already found the files and remapped them, but build it tricky as the source is near impossible to be compiled. I could compile the "imagine" and "EmuFramework" but it's failing to compile the emulator itself. I will try to do that on the weekend but I'm not sure if it will work. If I have any progress I will share with you all.


Absolutly amazing if you Need any help let me know!


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

okay i have some time tonight after work to get into this, i have ADB all working fine etc, android commander works great etc when i run AndroidTool she loads up finds my device can see it hit switch go to install the drivers for USB-Download Mode and i get this ( there where no x86 win 10 drives in the zip ) 

The driver for this device has been blocked from starting because it is known to have problems with Windows. Contact the hardware vendor for a new driver. (Code 48)

Click 'Check for solutions' to send data about this device to Microsoft and to see if there is a solution available.

I am on Win 10 any idea how to get it work on Win 10 just want to do a back up before i do anything else


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

Wow, I am a bit late ! Few hours but an AMAZING works guys ! It is GREAT to see someone working so hard for this almost "shunned-by-many" device !

About my release if you flashed my rom/my retroarch mod simply uninstall it via the appropriate batch file, it will remove retroarch automatic launch and the .cfg file i provided (even if you flashed or installed it without flashing my custom rom). My mod is useful just to have more space on /system and /data folder.

The link provided for the new Launcher expired ("Launcher" is the correct term for Android, not dashboard/desktop anyway this does not matter  ).

@WD_Gaster, can you re-send me it please ?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


@thx1138 (GREAT MOVIE!) - I will look for the appropriate drivers for you.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> Wow, I am a bit late ! Few hours but an AMAZING works guys ! It is GREAT to see someone working so hard for this almost "shunned-by-many" device !
> 
> About my release if you flashed my rom/my retroarch mod simply uninstall it via the appropriate batch file, it will remove retroarch automatic launch and the .cfg file i provided (even if you flashed or installed it without flashing my custom rom). My mod is useful just to have more space on /system and /data folder.
> 
> ...


thank you @asper thanks heaps , yes thx1138 is my fav movie which is why i use the name 

Good News @asper i am in and underway


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> thank you @asper thanks heaps , yes thx1138 is my fav movie which is why i use the name


Allright ladys and gentlemen its finally time ... to .. DROP THE BOMB!

I made it! I can run my project RetroShield on the SEGA Mega Drive Flashback HD. So if you want to see what Retro Shield is check:

www.retro-shield.com

What is the benefit to run it? Basicly everything you can dream of. Now its possible to launch any emulator, of youre choice! Visually it looks like a dream..

I will edit the files so that its a standalone version so we can spare alot of storage for games. But with my calculation it should not be a problem to get the full mega drive/genesis library on the system (as a benefit 32x included). I already have a database which contains all Metadata for EVERY (yes i mean all of them) Game ever released. If the Flashback HD wouldnt lack of wifi we even could get the files directly with a scraper.. (already programmed and working). But now ill stop spamming.. heres a proof of concept:



Feedback welcome.

* i will install ES File Explorer and hook up an external Storage device to see if we could Use a usb stick. Would be easy to run games from it and we could add the full mega cd library aswell.

@Jasper but i like the word Dashboard :-P


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright ladys and gentlemen its finally time ... to .. DROP THE BOMB!
> 
> I made it! I can run my project RetroShield on the SEGA Mega Drive Flashback HD. So if you want to see what Retro Shield is check:
> 
> ...




Good PoC Man !
I am sure it will get great ! The console is an Android device so everybody able to code for Android can make software for it but your one seems to be a REALLY GOOD app !

(anyway my nick is "asper", not jasper but if you prefere I can change it to "dahsboard" )


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> Good PoC Man !
> I am sure it will get great ! The console is an Android device so everybody able to code for Android can make software for it but your one seems to be a REALLY GOOD app !
> 
> (anyway my nick is "asper", not jasper but if you prefere I can change it to "dahsboard" )


Im sorry i thought its jasper xD sorry about that..


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> thank you @asper thanks heaps , yes thx1138 is my fav movie which is why i use the name


The attached one seems to be a driver installer, try it (it seems to be "certified" for Win10 !)

Directly from the included readme:


> 1) Support RockUSB driver and Rockchip ADB driver install and uninstall
> 2) Support Windows XP, Win7 & Win7 x64, Win8 & Win8 x64, Win10 & Win10 x64


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> The attached one seems to be a driver installer, try it (it seems to be "certified" for Win10 !)
> 
> Directly from the included readme:


And checkpot i launched the games im retroarch :-) asper.. a little unusual place for the config file xD.. needed to link it, as the controls wouldnt work else


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> And checkpot i launched the games im retroarch :-) asper.. a little unusual place for the config file xD.. needed to link it, as the controls wouldnt work else


As I wrote in the readmes there is a problem with retroarch .cfg file: sometime the file got corrupted (mainly if you disconnect the USB port BEFORE exiting retroarch and/or disconnecting it TOO EARLY after closing retroarch - it took me 2 days of bug-hunting to identify the exact root of this issue); it becomes a 0Kb file and when retroarch starts up again you get the default retraorch GUI that can be controlled by a touch-only interface; this was the best work-around I was able to make (replace at each boot the .cfg file with the one I stored inside the console) otherwise you can be stuck at the default settings (being not able to use the joypad).


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> As I wrote in the readmes there is a problem with retroarch .cfg file: sometime the file got corrupted (mainly if you disconnect the USB port BEFORE exiting retroarch and/or disconnecting it TOO EARLY after closing retroarch - it took me 2 days of bug-hunting to identify the exact root of this issue); it becomes a 0Kb file and when retroarch starts up again you get the default retraorch GUI that can be controlled by a touch-only interface; this was the best work-around I was able to make (replace at each boot the .cfg file with the one I stored inside the console) otherwise you can be stuck at the default settings (being not able to use the joypad).



I moved the file from my setup i can access it from where ever i want. This time everything works! Heres another proof-of-concept video:


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

so you


Hekel said:


> I moved the file from my setup i can access it from where ever i want. This time everything works! Heres another proof-of-concept video:



 so are using that as a frontend to load the games ?


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> so you
> 
> so are using that as a frontend to load the games ?


Well yes, but i killed the original frontend as it doesnt make sense to keep that. Same for emulators from atgames.


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I moved the file from my setup i can access it from where ever i want. This time everything works! Heres another proof-of-concept video:



SUPERB !

Yeah you can move the file wherever you want but I suggest you to keep it somewhere and replacing it at each boot to avoid the problem I mentioned above. The only real solution will be a "shut off" button to close (turn off) the console without suddenly powering it off by disconnecting the USB cable but if you forget to "press that shut off button" and you decide to remove the USB power chord the problem may re-appear (retroarch set to default config).


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> SUPERB !
> 
> Yeah you can move the file wherever you want but I suggest you to keep it somewhere and replacing it at each boot to avoid the problem I mentioned above. The only real solution will be a "shut off" button to close (turn off) the console without suddenly powering it off by disconnecting the USB cable but if you forget to "press that shut off button" and you decide to remove the USB power chord the problem may re-appear (retroarch set to default config).


I see, well at the end it doesnt matter where the file is stored. Important is just that it works.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> I see, well at the end it doesnt matter where the file is stored. Important is just that it works.


One thing still makes troubles. Navigating trough the menus.. i guess there would be remapping necessary. Asper you did that before? When i tell you which button i need to be mapped you could fix that?


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> The attached one seems to be a driver installer, try it (it seems to be "certified" for Win10 !)
> 
> Directly from the included readme:


thanks heaps again @asper will pop this in zip file and try this driver


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## leerpsp (Jan 11, 2018)

Love the work i'm seeing on this! gonna pick one up now!


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Theres a lot more :-D but at Moment i had to clean my Desktop.. but in about 10 minit i will provide a Video with my work in Progress.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...


was looking at your bat file , would it be possible to pick and chose what games to keep or not keep etc ?


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> was looking at your bat file , would it be possible to pick and chose what games to keep or not keep etc ?


Yes this is possible but you would need to kill the specific string out of the file. Then its only removing the ones you dont wanna have.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes this is possible but you would need to kill the specific string out of the file. Then its only removing the ones you dont wanna have.


was thinking i would remove the entry from the ini file and just delete the game  file and png files with android commander


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> was thinking i would remove the entry from the ini file and just delete the game  file and png files with android commander


Well another way to do but this will cause failure message because of a missing file that couldnt be transferd.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well anotjer way to do but this will cause failure message because of a missing file that couldnt be transferd.


if i remove a entry from all-games.ini it dose not show on the sega HD but the "files" are still there so was thinking delete the files as well as remove the entry from the all-games.ini file , get space back but keeps the one i like


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> if i remove a entry from all-games.ini it dose not show on the sega HD but the "files" are still there so was thinking delete the files as well as remove the entry from the all-games.ini file , get space back but keeps the one i like


Well the reason why its still show up is the ini file. The remover only delets the game and image. You need to manually edit the ini file and delete it from there as well.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well the reason why its still show up is the ini file. The remover only delets the game and image. You need to manually edit the ini file and delete it from there as well.


cool , so i am on the right track , thanks


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

This will make the library rock!


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Allright my Friends here it comes! 100% SEGA! And its still true.. SEGA does what Nintendont ;-).


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Master System.. a never ending story xD.. was lazy to scroll trough but its complete.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Some background story: all meta datas you see there are done by myself. I collected every cover and fixed it on Photoshop, writed down every plot, publisher and so on. Its not possible to say how much time of my life is spend into this project.. all the files are stored on my online database and can easy be downloaded when its done :-). But just to honor what this exactly is.. it seems like a over night project but its not.. there just never was a platform to make a usefull release till now.


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## leerpsp (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Some background story: all meta datas you see there are done by myself. I collected every cover and fixed it on Photoshop, writed down every plot, publisher and so on. Its not possible to say how much time of my life is spend into this project.. all the files are stored on my online database and can easy be downloaded when its done :-). But just to honor what this exactly is.. it seems like a over night project but its not.. there just never was a platform to make a usefull release till now.


You did a really good job on this! Your also the reason why i'm picking up a 3 more of these so i will have some for every room of the house.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

I have 3 aswell but 2 are still sealed :-).


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I have 3 aswell but 2 are still sealed :-).


Really appreciated work ! Are the "plots" all in german language ?


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> Really appreciated work ! Are the "plots" all in german language ?


Well yes they are xD.. my gdb has even a script which generates a standard txt for the import games. It uses the given information that i typed in. But as i life in switzerland i tooked the german plots ;-). But i can easy generate an standard text in ANY language like: Sonic the Hedgehog was developed & released in 1988 by Sega. And put the files in. Just need to have the correct gramatics.


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## Ckunak (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Master System.. a never ending story xD.. was lazy to scroll trough but its complete.



Let me test it please


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> Let me test it please


At moment im working on the game cores, when they run i need to fix first some bugs like the controller in the menu. I have to remap the buttons plus is the installation a mess. I will provide a dump of the system when its done (tough there will not be any rom, but you can see every games name. Its only a rename and put the rom in the folder thing. Very easy. And i can clean all stuffs so we have as much as possible storage for games.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

But ppls please keep up youre works and thoughts! I wanna see the other mods and frontends aswell. I will provide the metadate for all stuffs. Maybe its a good idea if we make a mega drive flashback workbench so everyones life is getting easyer. I make meanwhile 90% with bat files as its stable fast and save.


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

Well a launcher where you can run your apps and/or set the default app to open will be surely the right option together with your GREAT frontend !

Does anyone knows if the USB port (4gb version unit) is already powered or not ? I am still waiting for my adapter...


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## Ckunak (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> Well a launcher where you can run your apps and/or set the default app to open will be surely the right option together with your GREAT frontend !
> 
> Does anyone knows if the USB port (4gb version unit) is already powered or not ? I am still waiting for my adapter...


i could not get it to work with a adapter. i just ordered a usb hub that's powered will let you know tomorrow


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> Well a launcher where you can run your apps and/or set the default app to open will be surely the right option together with your GREAT frontend !
> 
> Does anyone knows if the USB port (4gb version unit) is already powered or not ? I am still waiting for my adapter...


Hey, my frontend has the ability to display apps and sort them out, no need of an additionel launcher :-). And no the usb port is not powered but i was able to add a 16gb usb stick and even bootet games from it. You can install es file explorer and you see the path. At moment im sticking around with the cartridge slot as i wanna integrate this too.. dunno how it works yet but i heard its dumping the rom file to a folder.. if this is the case i can make a section like on the original front end. Does anyone know if it has a specific name when its beeing dumped?


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

The dump will go to /mnt/asec/ folder in .bin format (the name of the cartridge dump tested was rom-9370.bin).
The name can be related to some hex values inside the cartridge (for example 2 bytes at offset 0x18E) because the cartridge name is always the same using the same cartridge (unfortunately I only have 1 to play with).

This is the dmesg information of the dumping process:




and then it stops. The dump procedure seems to start ad 15.435434 seconds from the console boot (after mtp_open) because this is the dmesg WITHOUT the cartridge inserted:





Can you explain what you did to succesfully connect an usb flashdrive ? Did you use a self-powered adapter ?

Can you also tell me the full path of the usb flash drive once mounted ? Is it /mnt/usb_storage/ as I suppose ?


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

i sent you guys a picture to make your usb port self powered 

try at your own risk. i only advice it if you are confident in your soldering skills.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Thanks alot :-D im not scared to soldier it :-) got slot of training as im modding game consoles with passion :-P. But i guess the boards are identical.


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

also i figured id share:

FYI connecting a usb hub has its fair share of bugs. 

this is due how to android handles it.
if you connect a usb device wether self powered or through the single wire mod, it will detect the hub but it will not detect the connected devices to the hub until you unplug and replug them after booting. 
if you conect a single usb device, say a usb memory stick, it will detect it automatically and no need to unplug. (atleast with the wire mod)


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> also i figured id share:
> 
> FYI connecting a usb hub has its fair share of bugs.
> 
> ...


I will perform youre mod tonight and try to add a small 2tb hdd. With this i can upload my full mega cd library and even sega arcade (well we see how well it performs). And maybe even some 2D dreamcast titles


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

on my end i can claim success with a usb stick up to 128gb's  however they dont consume as much energy as a usb hard drive, but worth a shot i guess. you may need to externally power it with an external 5 volt source.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> on my end i can claim success with a usb stick up to 128gb's  however they dont consume as much energy as a usb hard drive, but worth a shot i guess. you may need to externally power it with an external 5 volt source.


Im in hand of some good ones which worked well on my gpd xd and gpd win im pretty sure they will work. With that i will completly move the rom directory to external storage. And from that point we can focus on different frontends and load all of them to the nand. Then everyone can easy switch between what they prefer.


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## asper (Jan 11, 2018)

The HDD surely must be powered to also avoid data loss. Dreamcast games are really slow even on NES/SNES Mini, they should be really slow on MD Flashback. Anyway a PoC test will be cool indeed 

Can some of you tell me the mounting usb folder path please ?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Oh another thing: during the dump no other app is opened so it must be managed by the original AT "launcher" itself.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> The HDD surely must be powered to also avoid data loss. Dramcast games are really slow even on NES/SNES Mini, they should be really slow on MD Flashback.
> 
> Can some of you tell me the mounting usb folder path please ?
> 
> ...



About the cartridge slot what i could do is make a section on my frontend. But it would be necessary to scan everytime you replace the game manually cause it will be stored in a database. I could hold the entry so if you put it in again its still available without rescan..


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 11, 2018)

asper said:


> The HDD surely must be powered to also avoid data loss. Dreamcast games are really slow even on NES/SNES Mini, they should be really slow on MD Flashback. Anyway a PoC test will be cool indeed
> 
> Can some of you tell me the mounting usb folder path please ?
> 
> ...


this may vary depending if you are using a hub, but in my case and im using the self powered mod:
"/mnt/usb_storage/USB_DISK0/udisk0/"


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> this may vary depending if you are using a hub, but in my case and im using the self powered mod:
> "/mnt/usb_storage/USB_DISK0/udisk0/"


Cant wait to perfom the mod xD im at working right now.. but when im at home this is the first thing to do

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> Cant wait to perfom the mod xD im at working right now.. but when im at home this is the first thing to do


*If everything works you will see a full mega cd section tonight xD

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Something different:

Hope you guys like Game related stuff :-D i made a remix from the 90s kids tv show MegaMan. Maybe some of you enjoy it!

https://m.soundcloud.com/solidus-music-official/mega-man-mega-man-solidus-mega-booty-mix-edit


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## Ckunak (Jan 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thanks alot :-D im not scared to soldier it :-) got slot of training as im modding game consoles with passion :-P. But i guess the boards are identical.


my board does not have the rework on the controller unit. there are differences. just use a tester to confirm the 5v at the solder point


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> my board does not have the rework on the controller unit. there are differences. just use a tester to confirm the 5v at the solder point



Allright :-) will check.


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## YONKE (Jan 11, 2018)

im really happy to see great development on the Sega flashback HD  , my wife gave me one as a presents days ago but i was really disappointed with the choppy emulation on the games , cant wait to try on all this fine stuff you're working to have a better experience ,  thanks to all of you doing this and working in this.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

YONKE said:


> im really happy to see great development on the Sega flashback HD  , my wife gave me one as a presents days ago but i was really disappointed with the choppy emulation on the games , cant wait to try on all this fine stuff you're working to have a better experience ,  thanks to all of you doing this and working in this.



Im sure you will be happy at the moment theres a release. I think the most important thing is teamwork so we can provide the best result.


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## Hekel (Jan 11, 2018)

And finally im on the way back home.. i found the time to watch some reviews about the mega drive flashback hd unit on youtube.. oh my god xD by watching these its no wonder nobody buys this system.. but to be honest basicly theyre right. XD XD... but now lets make it a useable system. Who in here wants to make a little developer group which works together and shares related informations? We can work together by swapping files, use teamviewer, email, one drive and make the system better than it ever was.


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## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> And finally im on the way back home.. i found the time to watch some reviews about the mega drive flashback hd unit on youtube.. oh my god xD by watching these its no wonder nobody buys this system.. but to be honest basicly theyre right. XD XD... but now lets make it a useable system. Who in here wants to make a little developer group which works together and shares related informations? We can work together by swapping files, use teamviewer, email, one drive and make the system better than it ever was.



Allright everybody i performed the usb mod and it works. I can now finally proof and confirm that a external Harddrive will work on the SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis Flashback HD! A big thanks to Ckunak and WD_Gaster on showing how to perform this modification.. but even from my side one word of warning. The mod is not that easy as the wire needs to be pretty small.. be carefull and hold on for a second. Because if you failure, theres no more usb port which means no more hacking and modding for you!

The harddrive fits perfectly in the empty space of the mega drive, with this successed we can add nearly all Sega games from the good old days.


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## Jojse (Jan 12, 2018)

I'm so impressed of what you guys are doing with the Sega Flashback HD 
Looking forward to test out your awsome work in the future....


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

LOL. 2tb on a sega genesis flashback.
but yeah glad my mod works for you.
also i have a pm for you incoming.


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## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Jojse said:


> I'm so impressed of what you guys are doing with the Sega Flashback HD
> Looking forward to test out your awsome work in the future....


Thanks, well im wondering aswell what the future will bring :-D

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



WD_Gaster said:


> LOL. 2tb on a sega genesis flashback.
> but yeah glad my mod works for you.
> also i have a pm for you incoming.


2TB is great or isnt it? To be honest im not interested to emulate other consoles than sega on the system.. but keep in mind the mega cd/sega cd library takes a lot of storage...


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

that being said, though for all the folks that are seeing our progress from the outside the usb mod IS NOT for the faint of heart and yes one short wire will fry the usb bus.
i had to use 30 gauge wire for mine and even then its hard.

also 2tb should be more than what anybody would ever need. i am laughing because that is AN absurd amount of storage which is awesome.


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## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> that being said, though for all the folks that are seeing our progress from the outside the usb mod IS NOT for the faint of heart and yes one short wire will fry the usb bus.
> i had to use 30 gauge wire for mine and even its hard.
> 
> also 2tb should be more than what anybody would ever need. i am laughing because that is AN absurd amount of storage which is awesome.


Basicly i would say the mod itself is simple.. but if you make a mistake .. youre done xD...

Yes 2TB is a lot, i guess we see how much is needed at the end. But for my full Retroshield project i work with 8TB and its nearly full.. but we all know the limitation of the sega flashback unit is big. We will see from which state emulations sucks.. but at the end if we can run dreamcast like [email protected] runs mega drive we can be happy LOL :-D


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

also on a silly side note, now you can load the genesis games for my dashboard off the usb drive as well.
if you click on the "usb" simbol near the bottom right. so far only loading games from "/Games/Genesis/" from the usb drive works but i will add support for game gear and master system off the usb in the future as well.


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## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Basicly i would say the mod itself is simple.. but if you make a mistake .. youre done xD...





WD_Gaster said:


> also on a silly side note, now you can load the genesis games for my dashboard off the usb drive as well.
> if you click on the "usb" simbol near the bottom right. so far only loading games from "/Games/Genesis/" from the usb drive works but i will add support for game gear and master system off the usb in the future as well.


Amazing! Good work, this will make things alot easyer. I had alot of troubles by loading files into the mega drive hd.. i think this way is the best. Tough the main problem with this is that ppls require the 5v wire..

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> Amazing! Good work, this will make things alot easyer. I had alot of troubles by loading files into the mega drive hd.. i think this way is the best. Tough the main problem with this is that ppls require the 5v wire..


By the way whats the plans on youre dashboard at the moment? What would you lile to implement? I might can help you


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Basicly i would say the mod itself is simple.. but if you make a mistake .. youre done xD...


Oh great now you tell me lol so the tv antenna cable I use is to big lol jk


WD_Gaster said:


> also on a silly side note, now you can load the genesis games for my dashboard off the usb drive as well.
> if you click on the "usb" simbol near the bottom right. so far only loading games from "/Games/Genesis/" from the usb drive works but i will add support for game gear and master system off the usb in the future as well.


Nice nice that would be so cool all I need now is 32x lol


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Oh great now you tell me lol so the tv antenna cable I use is to big lol jk
> 
> Nice nice that would be so cool all I need now is 32x lol


did you get the drivers to work on your pc? and also have you had a chance to try my dash yet?


@Hekel at the moment adding a file manager, that works well with the wireless controller is in my plans. that way we dont have to be plugging a mouse or keyboard to use android file managers. 

my focus is and was to make a lightweight dashboard( i know its a launcher but Dashboard is a term i cant get out of my head) that would offer a much easier way to launch your own games without all the ini editing, but one that can also launch other homebrew and apps made for the console(if you noticed, you can launch retroarch or any other apk from my dash through the app drawer if you have installed it as a separate apk) eventually if someone makes alternative emulators, homebrew apps and other utilities, i would like to add interoperability between my launcher and theirs. 
i guess i would like it to be an dash that offers utility.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> did you get the drivers to work on your pc? and also have you had a chance to try my dash yet?
> 
> 
> @Hekel at the moment adding a file manager, that works well with the wireless controller is in my plans. that way we dont have to be plugging a mouse or keyboard to use android file managers.
> ...




hey @WD_Gaster yes the drivers worked back up my nand, just trying to find a usb hub that i can pinch to use on the sega HD, so been able to use the wireless controller would be a god send i have my sega HD setup in my bedroom,well it the moment it's on my desk lol, but i have a few days off so i am going to get into today


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

oh you may have missed it. you no longer need a hub to install the dash, its a single click installer now. just put the contents in the same folder as your ADB executable. the rest is automatic. double click and done.
ill pm you in a minute.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

So far so good--- up and running but it wont let me get back to atgames "dashboard ??


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Okay i uninstalled and now reinstalling , okay this my dumb question lol what buttons do what on this screen


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

uninstall with the script, reinstall with the script.

A "is accept"
B "is back out"

you should not be seeing that prompt asking you to set one of them as default anymore. or atleast dont press any buttons on that prompt. the script is will take care of that part for you.
uninstall with the batch file then reinstall. after you do that. reboot your device. that is not a prompt from my app but from the android OS. the controller will not work at that prompt. the script to install may not have run all the way. you should be able to launch the atgames dash from the drawer by pressing A.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> uninstall with the script, reinstall with the script.
> 
> A "is accept"
> B "is back out"
> ...




cool doing it again again lol


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Basicly i would say the mod itself is simple.. but if you make a mistake .. youre done xD...
> 
> Yes 2TB is a lot, i guess we see how much is needed at the end. But for my full Retroshield project i work with 8TB and its nearly full.. but we all know the limitation of the sega flashback unit is big. We will see from which state emulations sucks.. but at the end if we can run dreamcast like [email protected] runs mega drive we can be happy LOL :-D


If it is not an ssd you can have data corruption problem with the simple 1-wire mod; if it is ssd there should be not big problems but i think 2tb it is not ssd.

Anyway thanks for testing !

Any chance you can pm me the german version of the ATgamesmenu ?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Allright im back after some sleep :-D, now i feel like reborn haha! 

@WD_Gaster this Sounds very nice!! If you like to add parameters for emulators/apps i can provide them. I dont know how far youre coding skills reaching but it would be amazing if you could select from a bunch of execute parameter for each section (Game Gear, Mega Drive etc.) This would open the possibility to have absolute controll of the emulator/game choice. You could even launch specific games with specific emulators to avoid emulations limitations and other problems. 

Well if the installation failed this might be happen cause you klicked on the joypad while it was working. I had 2x the problem the script was too fast cause my mega drive not even had boot fully at the moment. Maybe we should increase the waiting time.. but mostly it worked.. dont know.

If you like i can make a costum skin for youre dashboard (still loving it) im pretty skilled with Photoshop :-P.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



asper said:


> If it is not an ssd you can have data corruption problem with the simple 1-wire mod; if it is ssd there should be not big problems but i think 2tb it is not ssd.
> 
> Anyway thanks for testing !
> 
> Any chance you can pm me the german version of the ATgamesmenu ?



Hey, no actually its not an ssd but im
Working on a script which safty unplug the hdd from the device befor turning off. This should prevent. Sure ill send you the german one just a second :-D.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

This is driving me nuts even when using a hub and a USB mouse nothing ie no mouse pointer so can not click lol


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

So Start to share some stuff with you. I will Launch a Project which i call:

THE SEGA MEGA DRIVE, GENESIS FLASHBACK HD: WORKBENCH

This will be a Serie of Tools we generated and shared. I recommend to not Change the Folder Structur cause with every release i make you simple have to replace the files inside the Folder. At the end we will have a big Tool Workbench :-)

And here is my first Release! A Dashboard installer for everyone (APKS NOT INCLUDED, Just follow the instructions):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eni3uvrklh1a6py/DASHBOARD INSTALLERS (NO APKS).zip?dl=0


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> The DE is the same as the Austrian version which I have
> 
> Which I got for Christmas. Which might help with the time line


Sorry i made a typo it should read " The DE is the same as the Australian version, not Austrian


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Sorry i made a typo it should read " The DE is the same as the Australian version, not Austrian


Thanks for the information. Did you dumped youre .apk? Cause i would like to make an hex check if the files really are identical.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thanks for the information. Did you dumped youre .apk? Cause i would like to make an hex check if the files really are identical.


Not yet where and which one


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Not yet where and which one


Do you still have installed the original Dashboard or did you reflashed it once? If you never made anything on it i can send you a tool to Dump it.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> i sent you guys a picture to make your usb port self powered
> 
> try at your own risk. i only advice it if you are confident in your soldering skills.


may i get this as well please

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> Do you still have installed the original Dashboard or did you reflashed it once? If you never made anything on it i can send you a tool to Dump it.


i have just put WD_Gaster dashboard on thats it


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Perfect! Please Download this File and follow the instructions inside:

ANOTHER PART FOR THE WORKBENCH:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4is8zb2g7mby6u/DASHBOARD DUMPER.zip?dl=0


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Perfect! Please Download this File and follow the instructions inside:
> 
> ANOTHER PART FOR THE WORKBENCH:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4is8zb2g7mby6u/DASHBOARD DUMPER.zip?dl=0


DONE


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Perfectly Done, i checked youre DASHBOARD ist the same FILENAME but the source is different! I Cant say what the difference is yet but as i expected everyone should dump theyre DASHBOARDS. For this download the file i provided in the early post. You will find a E-Mail to contact me if there is any interests from youre side that i check the file for differences.

@thx1138 i will check for youre Problem with the SEGA GENERATIONS Dashboard now. Give me some time to check the Problem.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@thx1138 You sad youre living in Australia? So we Call it the Australia Version.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Perfectly Done, i checked youre DASHBOARD ist the same FILENAME but the source is different! I Cant say what the difference is yet but as i expected everyone should dump theyre DASHBOARDS. For this download the file i provided in the early post. You will find a E-Mail to contact me if there is any interests from youre side that i check the file for differences.
> 
> @thx1138 i will check for youre Problem with the SEGA GENERATIONS Dashboard now. Give me some time to check the Problem.


cool it's a bloody pain @WD_Gaster stuff works great can play lots more games now but i would love to get back to the original dashboard as well, was going to put on  the dumping cart mod as well


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> cool it's a bloody pain @WD_Gaster stuff works great can play lots more games now but i would love to get back to the original dashboard as well, was going to put on  the dumping cart mod as well



Did you tryed the uninstaller to get back to the original Dashboard?


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Perfectly Done, i checked youre DASHBOARD ist the same FILENAME but the source is different! I Cant say what the difference is yet but as i expected everyone should dump theyre DASHBOARDS. For this download the file i provided in the early post. You will find a E-Mail to contact me if there is any interests from youre side that i check the file for differences.
> 
> @thx1138 i will check for youre Problem with the SEGA GENERATIONS Dashboard now. Give me some time to check the Problem.
> 
> ...


yes i would call it the Australia/New Zealand Version. New Zealand gets the same stock as Australia dose

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> Did you tryed the uninstaller to get back to the original Dashboard?


yes just went to a black screen the only other things i have moved and linked the all-games.ini file to the games folder following ETA PRIME  guide


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

ok then i know what the Problem is. I had the same Problems with the ini file.. the SD-Storage that Pops up is very fast broken.. ist better to let the ini file where it is with  no SYM Link! i made a script which dump/Uploads the ini file. Best Thing would be to reload the stock Firmware and from there im sending you my script. So you can be sure that nothings gonna be corrupt.

Basicly youre Original Dashboard doesnt load because its missing the ini.. to check if i am right try to drag and drop the file from the storage device.. it will highly Pop up an error that the file doesnt exist.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> ok then i know what the Problem is. I had the same Problems with the ini file.. the SD-Storage that Pops up is very fast broken.. ist better to let the ini file where it is with  no SYM Link! i made a script which dump/Uploads the ini file. Best Thing would be to reload the stock Firmware and from there im sending you my script. So you can be sure that nothings gonna be corrupt.
> 
> Basicly youre Original Dashboard doesnt load because its missing the ini.. to check if i am right try to drag and drop the file from the storage device.. it will highly Pop up an error that the file doesnt exist.



yes tried to pull it out with Android commander

"
Items count: 1
Items destination: F:\sega flash back stuff hack\ini from sega hd\
Starting operation...
[1/1] Pulling file: all-games.ini
adb: error: failed to copy '/system/atgames/all-games.ini' to 'F:\sega flash back stuff hack\ini from sega hd\\all-games.ini': remote No such file or directory
*** Operation complete! ***"


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> ok then i know what the Problem is. I had the same Problems with the ini file.. the SD-Storage that Pops up is very fast broken.. ist better to let the ini file where it is with  no SYM Link! i made a script which dump/Uploads the ini file. Best Thing would be to reload the stock Firmware and from there im sending you my script. So you can be sure that nothings gonna be corrupt.
> 
> Basicly youre Original Dashboard doesnt load because its missing the ini.. to check if i am right try to drag and drop the file from the storage device.. it will highly Pop up an error that the file doesnt exist.



yes tried to pull it out with Android commander

"
Items count: 1
Items destination: F:\sega flash back stuff hack\ini from sega hd\
Starting operation...
[1/1] Pulling file: all-games.ini
adb: error: failed to copy '/system/atgames/all-games.ini' to 'F:\sega flash back stuff hack\ini from sega hd\\all-games.ini': remote No such file or directory
*** Operation complete! ***"

what  would like to do is have a USB for all the extra games and just the originals sitting on the unit

sorry about the double post not sure how that happened


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> yes tried to pull it out with Android commander
> 
> "
> Items count: 1
> ...


You can try to delete the sym link and load it again but this will not fix the damage on the Partition. I was sometimes able to get it back to work by deleting it manualy and reupload it then reboot the console.. but better would be to reset the whole console.

Well i made a script which dumps and then removes all stock games from the console. Another script can reload all the games at once. in mind to have the storage for using as the most games dont makes sense anymore if you can simply upload them with youre own Folder.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Allright. This LOADER i made will prevent from this Problem. Stop the SYM-LINK.. Its crap..

INI LOADER
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6716ii37d0so3l2/GAME INI LOADER.zip?dl=0


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

cool @Hekel she worked thanks heaps , just need to do the usb mod and i am done lol hint hint for info lol


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> cool @Hekel she worked thanks heaps , just need to do the usb mod and i am done lol hint hint for info lol


Youre Welcome.


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Cannot wait the adapter to arrive, here it is my hard mod:





Not too hard but not so easy if you have a too-big-soldering-tip


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> Cannot wait the adapter to arrive, here it is my hard mod:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice @asper very nice, am I able to get a nice close up of where you have soldered on to the USB port please


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Nice @asper very nice, am I able to get a nice close up of where you have soldered on to the USB port please


Look for the red dots


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> Look for the red dots


Im writing a tutorial down is it ok if i use youre pic in the folder to show how its beeing performed?


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Im writing a tutorial down is it ok igni use youte pic in the folder to show how its beeing performed?


Absolutely ! Remember to write a big "thank you" to @WD_Gaster as well


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> Absolutely ! Remember to write a big "thank you" to @WD_Gaster as well


perfect and thanks :-D


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Allright i managed to load games from the 2TB harddrive. But its shown with a specific name, the name can be chosen when format the harddrive on the pc whats anyway recomended. Now its working time for me.. but on the evening-weekend i will do some more stuff. We gettig closer to perfection :-)


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> Look for the red dots


Thank you me very happy now, believe it or not  i’ve been looking everywhere top to bottom for my 64 GB USB stick for the life of me I can’t find it grrrrr lol


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Thank you me very happy now, believe it or not  i’ve been looking everywhere top to bottom for my 64 GB USB stick for the life of me I can’t find it grrrrr lol


One of the best USB flash drive (writing speed/cost) at the moment is the Lexar JDS25-64G-1000; cheaper one are ABSURDLY slow in writing (while good at reading); if you have time check them here.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> One of the best USB flash drive (writing speed/cost) at the moment is the Lexar JDS25-64G-1000; cheaper one are ABSURDLY slow in writing (while good at reading); if you have time check them here.


Thanks for this link, will check it out. By the way the script from my dashboard works sand unplug the usb device before shutdown


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> One of the best USB flash drive (writing speed/cost) at the moment is the Lexar JDS25-64G-1000; cheaper one are ABSURDLY slow in writing (while good at reading); if you have time check them here.


i might have to get another one can't find it dont think i need a big one , YET


----------



## belmont (Jan 12, 2018)

Sorry for the newbie question but to flash it in the feature what kind of cable we need? Also we can store games on a usb drive? If yes we need an adaptor cable? Sorry for the trivial questions but I cannot make it out from the various pics of this thread...


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

belmont said:


> Sorry for the newbie question but to flash it in the feature what kind of cable we need? Also we can store games on a usb drive? If yes we need an adaptor cable? Sorry for the trivial questions but I cannot make it out from the various pics of this thread...


We can add a usb storage device by using an otg adapter cable. But if you wanna use a usb storage device you need to put a wire to the usb port. Because the port lacks of 5v whichs powers the usb device you plug in.


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

belmont said:


> Sorry for the newbie question but to flash it in the feature what kind of cable we need?


USB-Mini male -> Usb Standard (type-A) male;






the best one is a 90° LEFT-angled USB-Mini male -> USB Standard (type-A) cable.







> Also we can store games on a usb drive?


Yes.



> If yes we need an adaptor cable?



Yes; a cable/adapter able to adapt an USB-Mini female port to the USB peripheral you need to connect;
(in my opinion the preferred one is an USB-Mini male -> USB Standard (type-A) female cable):





By default the USB-Mini female port DO NOT provide 5v so you have 2 options:

1 - buy an OTG-powered cable like the ones used fot NES/SNES Mini OTG support (it must then be connected to an external power source); the following ones will probably works both but I suggest you the one with the switch to be sure (the other one does not work with my SNES Mini):





2 - do the 1-wire hardmod as shown in the previous pictures (below my one):





it's your choice.



> Sorry for the trivial questions but I cannot make it out from the various pics of this thread...


You should read a thread, not look at pictures only


----------



## belmont (Jan 12, 2018)

@Hekel @asper Thanks for the reply my friends, I will see what I will order. Probably already have those stuff lying around somewhere.
Again sorry for troubling you with this, cheers.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

Awesome. I just read the PM's that everybody got their dashboard to work fine.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> OK. i was away for a while and just came back to read something a bit concerning. anybody and everybody should be able to launch the atgames dashboard from my own without having to uninstall it. it can be launched from the app drawer.
> 
> is anybody still having problems with this?



The problem was not your dashboard. It was simple he broke the all-games.ini. I highly recommend to use my script instead of the symlink method. I helped him to fix this problem.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> The problem was not your dashboard. It was simple he broke the all-games.ini. I helped him to fix this problem


thank you sir, i got concerned there for a moment.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> You can try to delete the sym link and load it again but this will not fix the damage on the Partition. I was sometimes able to get it back to work by deleting it manualy and reupload it then reboot the console.. but better would be to reset the whole console.
> 
> Well i made a script which dumps and then removes all stock games from the console. Another script can reload all the games at once. in mind to have the storage for using as the most games dont makes sense anymore if you can simply upload them with youre own Folder.
> 
> ...



This great! Just to check before I get started I did add a symlink originally by using:

adb shell ln -s /sdcard/Games/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini

Is the correct syntax to remove this:

adb shell rm -s /sdcard/Games/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini

Is that right? I want to use your loader to push an updated all-games.ini

Thanks!


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 12, 2018)

I have it all sorted thanks to you both @WD_Gaster and @Hekel just have to the USB MOD/wire install and I think it’s all done


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright im back after some sleep :-D, now i feel like reborn haha!
> 
> @WD_Gaster this Sounds very nice!! If you like to add parameters for emulators/apps i can provide them. I dont know how far youre coding skills reaching but it would be amazing if you could select from a bunch of execute parameter for each section (Game Gear, Mega Drive etc.) This would open the possibility to have absolute controll of the emulator/game choice. You could even launch specific games with specific emulators to avoid emulations limitations and other problems.
> 
> ...




just had my evening coffee and read this, the parameter information may be quite useful.  and yes, i would definitely love help with a skin for it. the one is using now is mostly just placeholder. Making one that genesis/megadrive fans would appreciate a bit more would be great. let me know if you have some time to work with me on this going into the weekend.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> This great! Just to check before I get started I did add a symlink originally by using:
> 
> adb shell ln -s /sdcard/Games/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini
> 
> ...


Should be correct yes :-)


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Something new on the horizon 

https://streamable.com/s/9t9u0/zhwfty


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> Something new on the horizon
> 
> https://streamable.com/s/9t9u0/zhwfty



Does this replace the at game bootlogo?
It looks fantastic, but you should change the white background to black. Would better fit in. Dont know if this is a video xD could make things more problematic


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

Hy,
just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL for your efforts to make this device great.

I found a way to establish an Internet connection via reverse thetering on the Flashback HD, maybe it could be useful for your project.
Quick overview, pls ask if you need more details:

1:
Connect a linux pc to the Flashback HD USB Port. I used a Raspberry Pi 3, but a Pi Zero would be better because of its small size. It would easy fit in the Flashback HD case.

2.
Install ADB on your linux PC (for example "apt-get install adb" on Debian, Ubuntu, Raspbian etc)

3.
On the Linux PC:
"adb devices"
-> you should see the Flashback HD, mine shows up as "V5NQX36ZJH"

4.
At first, we need to start USB tethering on the Flashback HD:
"adb shell"

This starts a shell on the Flashback HD. It is rooted by default, so: Yeii!
As the Flashback runs on Android 4.4, type:
"service call connectivity 34 i32 1"

This command should kick you from the android terminal session, so you are back on your linux PC. Now check, if theres a new network device called "usb0", which is the connection to your Flashback HD:
"ifconfig"

 You should see the usb0-device in the list.

5.
Prepare your Linux PC to pass connection to the Flashback HD:
"ifconfig usb0 10.42.0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0"
"echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward"
"iptables -t nat -F"
"iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -j MASQUERADE"

6.
Now connect back to your Flashback HD with
"adb shell"

DHCP isnt working on our Flashback, so we setup the network device manually:

"ifconfig rndis0 10.42.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0"
"route add default gw 10.42.0.1 dev rndis0"

7.
Thats it, test your internet connection with:
"ping google.at"

Pings should be successfull.

This is a temporary setup, but its a proof of concept to go further. Your project will skyrocket with an internet connection 

EDIT: To be honest, when we permanently hook up a Raspberry to the Flashback, we could just use the Pi itself to make a RetroPie, but hey, we are not the typical user, isnt it?

EDIT2: Maybe you could host your Workbench Tools on Github?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> Hy,
> just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL for your efforts to make this device great.
> 
> I found a way to establish an Internet connection via reverse thetering on the Flashback HD, maybe it could be useful for your project.
> ...



Can you maybe help me to make this mod? If this really is working i can implement my scraper. If this could be happen we can use retroshield with simply put the game in the folder. The rest will be downloaded automaticly


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Can you maybe help me to make this mod? If this really is working i can implement my scraper. If this could be happen we can use retroshield with simply put the game in the folder. The rest will be downloaded automaticly



Sure, what do you need? Do you have a Raspberry? For testing, you can take any linux PC of course.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> Sure, what do you need? Do you have a Raspberry? For testing, you can take any linux PC of course.


Yes i have a raspery pi3 here with an os on it :-)


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes i have a raspery pi3 here with an os on it :-)



Best way to go 
Just try the steps and check in, if you have questions. I am online for the next hour


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> Best way to go
> Just try the steps and check in, if you have questions. I am online for the next hour


Well there are a lot of cheap usb wireless adapter if we can aktivate this function it would make sense to pluck one of these in.


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well there are a lot of cheap usb wireless adapter if we can aktivate this function it would make sense to pluck one of these in.



Would be better indeed, but i am not that deep into Android. Can you test it? i have no stick lying around yet


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> Would be better indeed, but i am not that deep into Android. Can you test it? i have no stick lying around yet


Yes i even have some for linux. But first i would need to perform the mod.


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well there are a lot of cheap usb wireless adapter if we can aktivate this function it would make sense to pluck one of these in.



OK, just report when you know further details.
Meanwhile i try to make the Game Foldes on the Flashback accessible on the local network


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> Would be better indeed, but i am not that deep into Android. Can you test it? i have no stick lying around yet


I will test as soon as my usb adapter will arrive but i need to connect to the console via ADB while the wifi dongle is connected... need to find other usb testpoints...


About the bootlogo it replaces the atgames one and it is an original sonic logo converted, it will be heretical to modify it (anyway it can be done) 

Do not attempt to play with the bootlogo without a backup, i got bootloop and semibricks while testing (all recovered with a backup).


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> I will test as soon as my usb adapter will arrive but i need to connect to the console via ADB while the wifi dongle is connected... need to find other usb testpoints...



If the Wifi Stick works, you could activate ADB over IP, so no need to hook up to a PC. Just "adb connect IP"


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> If the Wifi Stick works, you could activate ADB over IP, so no need to hook up to a PC. Just "adb connect IP"


Yeah but if it does not work "as is" (I suppose this will happen) it will mandatory to connect using ADB... now working a little more on boot animations and release a quick tutorial


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 12, 2018)

asper said:


> Yeah but if it does not work "as is" (I suppose this will happen) it will mandatory to connect using ADB... now working a little more on boot animations and release a quick tutorial



I could setup a Wiki if you want. We should collect our Tuts on a central place


----------



## Hekel (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> I could setup a Wiki if you want. We should collect our Tuts on a central place


Well im working on a dropbox folder which contains alot of batch files etc. I will give the download link out when its alot more stuff in

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Oh my god.. what a day.. but now im finally at home and ist time to work on the mega drive Flashback. Ok first of all:

@asper Totally amazing work with the boot logo Change. Can you tell me how you made this?
@Steckbecken Im pretty sure we can provide the wlan dongle, check youre pm box.

asper on the way to Change the bootloader you might found the string that tells the System whats the apk Name of the frontent? If yes you could Change the Name to:

com.atgames.menu.sega_multi.apk

and make a dump installer out of it? Cause it would make things easyer it doenst matter if you have a Genesis or Mega Drive Version. And im sure we could make a Multi Version in which you can select what should be loaded. btw. make a selector file.


----------



## asper (Jan 12, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> I could setup a Wiki if you want. We should collect our Tuts on a central place



I absolutely agree ! This will be great !

I thought another way to test WiFi without another USB connection:

- install some useful apk such as adb shell for Android ! (if someone has one coming from an ARM device please send it to me so I can test it)
- connect an USB hub
- connect an USB mouse to the hub
- connect an USB keyboard to the hub
- connect a WiFi USB dongle to the hub
- play with the Android interface using mouse and a keyboard and try to get the WiFi working !

For what I saw exploring the file system some basic applications got removed but I think drivers are still there so... I think I will try (I am near to become father those days so if my child is born I will have to suspend my research  )




Hekel said:


> Well im working on a dropbox folder which contains alot of batch files etc. I will give the download link out when its alot more stuff in
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> @asper Totally amazing work with the boot logo Change. Can you tell me how you made this?
> ...



You can "safely" remove the main frontend and replace it with the apk you want; if the apk is coded to behave as a launcher (or "dashboard" if you prefere) it will be the dashboard.

About the bootlogo:

1 - the main original animation is stored in /system/bin/bootanimation and it is an .elf (executable) ad you can launch it from adb sending "bootanimation" command (you can break it with CTRL+C); I made some tests on it but i think data inside are coded in some way (probably easy-compressed) so I abandoned the idea of editing that elf file but you can replace it with another .elf containing an animation (you can "browse" the whole rockchip official and unofficial ROM repository here looking for some working apk: I found a working image gallery and youtube apk there);

2 - after abandoning the ".elf way" I had a look at boot.img partition and found that it seemed to support the common Android boot animation format; so I tested the "/system/media/bootanimation.zip" road and it worked flawlessly: you need to create a common Android boot animation, calling it bootanimation.zip and store it in the folder I mentioned. The animation is composed by 2 main things: picture folders and a desc.txt file where you can specify the animation parameters (really easy to understand, try for example to read here); at the end of thre process you put all of the stuff inside a .ZIP file with compression level called STORE ! This is very important because if you use another compression type the animation WILL NOT BE SHOW and the console may hang !

Testing some pre-made animation works fine but some of them made the console in a bootloop state and I needed to reflash the system partition with a previous backup so *BE AWARE WHEN PLAYING WITH FOREIGN* bootanimation.zip ! More in general *BE CAREFUL PLAYING WITH IT *! Problems can be animation size or animation parameters.

3 - It is also possible to add sound but the common Android way seems not to work (specify the file in the desc.txt and/or put the PowerOn.ogg file in /system/media/ or in /system/media/audio/ui seems not to work); .mp3 and .ogg should be supported but no luck in making them playing until now.
The correct path is /system/media/audio/boot.ogg

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

For testing purpose here it is a working bootanimation.zip made by me. There are also some quite cool windows programs to build up boot animations such as Boot Animation Factory but I think google will find some more.

Using custom boot animations makes the USB ADB connection to fail sometime (the ADB connection suddenly disappear and you hear the USB windows disconnection sound), just reboot the console and retry.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Here they are 2 batch scripts, one to automatically install and another to automatically remove the bootanimation. Put them in your adb.exe folder.


IMPORTANT !

If you got a bootloop and you cannot "switch" to USB-Download mode with the flashing software remember that you can enter in that mode connecting the console to the USB port while holding the small button on the PCB !


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

I am highly interested in the inclusion of network capability. my dash originally supported IP detection code and i attempted to get usb astryx adapters to work to no avail, however... with what Steckbecken posted we may have a breakthrough, if people are willing to work with me on this let me know. I also know that certain things can be patched on the android OS to get it to internally enable ETH0 (ethernet) detection. I also know how to enable apk installation via filemanager (without the need for adb) with a simple patch
On another front, I have now root access on the console itself without the need for ADB.
what this means:

any app that we know run can have escalated access such as directly rebooting the console and we can even send SU commands to the device. However i would like to test this with a few of you guys before revealing a bit more about it

Finally i love the progress in this thread but it be great if discussion could get separated into different topics, its getting hard to track all the stuff happening at once  (I know gbatemp has been kind to allow discussion, but i wonder if a place where we could network and separate topics individually could be a good idea.)


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> I am highly interested in the inclusion of network capability. my dash originally supported IP detection code and i attempted to get usb astryx adapters to work to no avail, however... with what Steckbecken posted we may have a breakthrough, if people are willing to work with me on this let me know. I also know that certain things can be patched on the android OS to get it to internally enable ETH0 (ethernet) detection. I also know how to enable apk installation via filemanager (without the need for adb) with a simple patch
> On another front, I have now root access on the console itself without the need for ADB.
> what this means:
> 
> ...


Happy to work with you WD_gaster


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> I am highly interested in the inclusion of network capability. my dash originally supported IP detection code and i attempted to get usb astryx adapters to work to no avail, however... with what Steckbecken posted we may have a breakthrough, if people are willing to work with me on this let me know. I also know that certain things can be patched on the android OS to get it to internally enable ETH0 (ethernet) detection. I also know how to enable apk installation via filemanager (without the need for adb) with a simple patch
> On another front, I have now root access on the console itself without the need for ADB.
> what this means:
> 
> ...


The previously suggested wiki will be the best option in my opinion. I am here to test @WD_Gaster


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

Just found the correct path for the boot audio file: */system/media/audio/boot.ogg *it plays now


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 13, 2018)

asper said:


> The previously suggested wiki will be the best option in my opinion. I am here to test @WD_Gaster



I will setup a wiki today.
Did anybody progress with the WIFI Stick?

I played around some time with the Flashback/Pi Combo yesterday and managed to access files over Samba Share (Windows Network Folders). Unfortunately theres no way to use USB for tethering and MTP at the same time, so i had to go another way: Setup a Samba Server on the Flashback, mount the Folder on the PI. This way, the Flashback folder is accessible on the local LAN.
Its not really beautiful, but it works for now. Maybe we find a way to directly mount from the Flashback.

Someone with deep knowledge in networks here?


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

Just found another USB Mode for the console, the "Recovery Mode":

- in this mode VID is 2207 and PID is 0006;
- it uses the same ADB Drivers as VID 2207 - PID 0011;
- to connect via ADB you need to "adb kill-server" and then "adb start-server" but when connecting no /system/bin/ is found probably because the recovery partition lacks it;
- in this mode there is no MTP-USB support;

To enter this mode execute: "adb shell reboot recovery": the console will reboot and an Android recovery logo will appear with no text:





To exit this mode simply unplug and re-plug the USB cable.

I suppose we can flash a custom recovery there (over "rknand_recovery" partition) !


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

asper said:


> Just found another USB Mode for the console, the "Recovery Mode":
> 
> - in this mode VID is 2207 and PID is 0006;
> - it uses the same ADB Drivers as VID 2207 - PID 0011;
> ...


We definitly make good progress well done!!


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

i had seen the recovery menu prior. the problem is that its a  "DEAD END" you are booting to a different partition, not the android partition itself. like you said, its a recovery partition that lacks a recovery method. LOL.
somebody would need to port a rockchip compatible clockwork like recovery and make it compatible the controller input (that shit would be tough)
also i am now tackling the ethernet challenge again. im a glutton for punishment. I spent already a long time on this back when i started. i even had IP detection code to check if ASIX usb chipsets would return an pingable address on my network. nothing .

although i do have a lead that may lead us to having wifi (just a lead, not much to go by, but... /system/lib/modules... can someone confirm with me on their units that they have a file named "8192cu.ko" on it? if so we may have native compatibility with 8192cu wifi usb chipsets, with any luck, editing the wpa_suplicant file will give us wifi internet but still a long shot.

also Asper congrats on being a future dad.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> i had seen the recovery menu prior. the problem is that its a  "DEAD END" you are booting to a different partition, not the android partition itself. like you said, its a recovery partition that lacks a recovery method. LOL.
> somebody would need to port a rockchip compatible clockwork like recovery and make it compatible the controller input (that shit would be tough)
> also i am now tackling the ethernet challenge again. im a glutton for punishment. I spent already a long time on this back when i started. i even had IP detection code to check if ASIX usb chipsets would return an pingable address on my network. nothing .
> 
> ...





@WD_Gaster yep i have 8192cu.ko right where you said it would be


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> @WD_Gaster yep i have 8192cu.ko right where you said it would be


great! i still need more folks to confirm, to make sure it was not ommited on some revisions. if this is the case i will try to get a 8192cu chipset later today and try my luck.


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 13, 2018)

I saw that .ko yesterday, theres a wlan.ko and rkwifi.ko too if i remember correctly.
If you run dmesg | grep wlan, you get this:

<6>[    0.478339] [WLAN_RFKILL]: Enter rfkill_wlan_init
<6>[    0.478495] [WLAN_RFKILL]: Enter rfkill_wlan_probe
<6>[    0.478520] [WLAN_RFKILL]: wlan_platdata_parse_dt: wifi_chip_type = rtkwifi
<6>[    0.478538] [WLAN_RFKILL]: wlan_platdata_parse_dt: enable wifi power control.
<6>[    0.478555] [WLAN_RFKILL]: wlan_platdata_parse_dt: disable wifi io reference voltage control.
<6>[    0.478572] [WLAN_RFKILL]: wlan_platdata_parse_dt: wifi power controled by gpio.
<6>[    0.478628] [WLAN_RFKILL]: wlan_platdata_parse_dt: get property: WIFI,poweren_gpio = 94, flags = 0.
<6>[    0.478675] [WLAN_RFKILL]: wlan_platdata_parse_dt: get property: WIFI,host_wake_irq = 36, flags = 0.
<6>[    0.478694] [WLAN_RFKILL]: rfkill_wlan_probe: init gpio
<7>[    0.478712] _gpio_request: gpio-94 (ap6210_wlan_poweren) status -16
<6>[    0.478721] [WLAN_RFKILL]: Failed to get ap6210_wlan_poweren gpio.
<4>[    0.478753] wlan-platdata: probe of wireless-wlan.11 failed with error -1

At first, i thought its a deactivated wifi interface, but i think its the wifi for the controllers. I did not get any further with this.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> I saw that .ko yesterday, theres a wlan.ko and rkwifi.ko too if i remember correctly.
> If you run dmesg | grep wlan, you get this:
> 
> <6>[    0.478339] [WLAN_RFKILL]: Enter rfkill_wlan_init
> ...


interesting. well one way to find out if my hunch is any good. .
by the way amazing work, good sir, hope you stick around, you brought some rather interesting information to this discussion.


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## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

.ko files can also be added if needed


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## MaxiBus (Jan 13, 2018)

The wiki is online:
https://flashback.steckbecken.at

I just installed, registered account necessary to edit pages. Nothing done with design.

To be honest, i have no experience with wikis, i just took doku wiki for simplicity. We can install a mediawiki too, but its much more complex.

I will go deeper in configuration tomorrow, as i do not have much time today. Admin anyone? 

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



asper said:


> .ko files can also be added if needed



Yeah , but nothing loaded 

Go with:
"cat /proc/modules" at flashback shell:

mali 160550 5 - Live 0x00000000
rk30xxnand_ko 112093 10 - Live 0x00000000 (P)

Nothing more is loaded.
Try to load wlan.ko module:

"busybox insmod /system/lib/modules/wlan.ko"

Result:

insmod: kernel-module version mismatch
        /system/lib/modules/wlan.ko was compiled for kernel version ▒᳾
        while this kernel is version 3.10.0

So all the modules cannot be loaded, we have to recompile them against the kernel 3.10.0. Maybe i will try that, but i do not think, its the way to go. There are ways much convenienter then that. I prefer the PI way.


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> The wiki is online:
> https://flashback.steckbecken.a
> 
> I just installed, registered account necessary to edit pages. Nothing done with design.
> ...



Yeah but they can be recompiled (as you said) using Android NDK (unfortunately I have not so much experience in that) as last hope.

I am trying to get a custm recovery right now; after that I will look for already-compiled .ko files looking through the big Rockchip ROM repository i linked some posts back.


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 13, 2018)

asper said:


> Yeah but they can be recompiled (as you said) using Android NDK (unfortunately I have not so much experience in that) as last hope.
> 
> I am trying to get a custm recovery right now; after that I will look for already-compiled .ko files looking through the big Rockchip ROM repository i linked some posts back.



Alright, keep us informed


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

Managed to boot into TWRP custom recovery:





as expected it needs touch support but this is another step forward ! (need to test with a mouse... the USB adapter I am waiting for seems to never arrive...)

The "secret" is to find a near-SoC recovery; looking at SoC specs rk3036 is similar to rk3126, rk3128 and rk3229 (dual core ARM Cortex-A7); my guess was correct because when using rk3066 recoveries (Cortex-A9 and different MALI GPU revision) they does not boot while some for rk3126 does !

I will investigate more; Maybe a CWM with keys support....


----------



## DarthDub (Jan 13, 2018)

Been lurking for a bit and I just wanna say thank you all for trying to improve this! I'll be silently cheering you guys on in the background.


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## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

"Stock":





and CMW:





I am almost sure 1 of those 2 supports mouse


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

Testing some apps:


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

asper said:


> Testing some apps:


You can easy use those apps with mouse and keyboard i tested them


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Something that Looks better than [email protected] boot logo. Thanks to Asper for the help.. sadly i couldnt get the boot Sound working correctly.. but to be honest ist not really necessary.

Have FUN:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/70jxn8i8blgjlf6/bootanimation.zip?dl=0

To In- and De-Installation click on the bat file.


----------



## asper (Jan 13, 2018)

Does anyone know how a recovery manage inputs ? No .kl or .kcm files inside...


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

asper said:


> Managed to boot into TWRP custom recovery:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dude!!!!! thats awesome!!!! well for our luck some of these can support keyboard and mouse inputs since they can use those during their testing phase. so plug in a keyboard and mouse and try away as soon as you can please.
@Steckbecken, my deal with using a pi is that at that point why not just using a pi .
also any way if you can confirm if 8192cu.ko is loaded into the kernel or compiled for it, because if not, i think i will save myself the trip to the store lol.


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Annyone messed around with the integraded dev tools?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

yep. it doesnt do much. it stress tests the system for random sorts of behavior. enabling the wifi button may be of use tho. ill mess with it once iget the wifi chipset today.


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

ok too bad xD


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Something that Looks better than [email protected] boot logo. Thanks to Asper for the help.. sadly i couldnt get the boot Sound working correctly.. but to be honest ist not really necessary.
> 
> Have FUN:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/70jxn8i8blgjlf6/bootanimation.zip?dl=0
> ...




This like great - just downloaded it but once I extracted it I can't find the batch file to run to apply it....


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> This like great - just downloaded it but once I extracted it I can't find the batch file to run to apply it....


Maybe i forgot to put them in but im pretty sure theyre in the zip.

I will recheck the file


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## JackMonty (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Maybe i forgot to put them in but im pretty sure theyre in the zip.
> 
> I will recheck the file


Thanks!


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

well i downloaded the file from my dropbox

Installboot.bat
Uninstallboot.bat

Those file you have to looking for. Double click on them and youre fine.


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Seems like the progress slows down a little :-D but i think we have it done soon.. when everything is running we can work faster and i guess its just a matter of time till we can provide an ultimate CFW


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## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Allright my friends another good news :-D i managed to remap the controlls so it finaly works 100% in retroshield! Frontend is basicly functional :-) i only need to fix some small bugs and we have:

New bootlogo
SEGA CONFORM

New frontend (modifyed kodi)
(with a beautifull look)
(File manager included)
(Apk manager included)
(PERFECT EMULATION)
and many other features!!

FULL USB ACCESS:
This gives us the possibility to add a 2TB HDD which fits perfectly into the console! With this mass storage we can have All MD, GEN, 32X, SMS, GG MCD, SCD, Arcade (even saturn, naomi and other sega related stuff-we will see where the emulation limit is)
Games.

What would be a nice addition is WLAN, if we get this to work i will integrate my Scraper so we dont have to store metadata informations on the console any more. Which leaves more storage for other apks.

I tested some games and can confirm theyre working:

SONIC 1 (by christian whitehead)
SONIC 2 (by christian whitehead)
SONIC 4 EP 1&2

Im sure we find alot more sega games which will be a nice addition to the console.

From now on we need to work on the visuals and integrations. But the hard work is done. Thanks for everyone that helped here! Now we can make a cfw for the public and the sega mega drive flashback hd is better than any retro nintendo device :-) SEGA DOES WHAT NINTENDONT!

To be this good it takes ages.. i mean SEGA


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

just out of curiosity... did you remap your frontend or android itself to make it work?

also a reminder to people... i dont advise anyone distribute copyrighted apk's with their work(not even atgames, those are copyrighted by them). I personally am steering clear of doing so for ethical/personal reasons. At the end of the day its people's choice what they wish to do but keep in mind its probably best overall for people to do so.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> just out of curiosity... did you remap your frontend or android itself to make it work?
> 
> also a reminder to people... i dont advise anyone distribute copyrighted apk's with their work(not even atgames, those are copyrighted by them). I personally am steering clear of doing so for ethical/personal reasons. At the end of the day its people's choice what they wish to do but keep in mind its probably best overall for people to do so.



Remaped the apk.


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

also if you achieved perfect emulation, what emulator are you using for your back end?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> also if you achieved perfect emulation, what emulator are you using for your back end?



I can use any i want per game but if we talk about mega drive i highly recommend picodrive and md.emu. With picodrive we can add SEGA PICO Games now aswell :-)


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I can use any i want per game but if we talk about mega drive i highly recommend picodrive and md.emu. With picodrive we can add SEGA PICO Games now aswell :-)


well....i havent tested pico drive, but md.emu does NOT play well with the wireless controllers(you start getting increased input lag). its probably a driver compatibility issue. Also how would you exit out the emulator itself back into your frontend? as far as i know md.emu will treat external controllers for in game actions but defaults to "back" and "home" buttons for main menu input, which the wireless controllers dont exactly have.
also a note to people:
md.emu is a paid app. the only freely freely available version would be an older beta at his page/dev blog. 

sorry if i am asking all these questions, but i am just curious if you found a way around these issues?


----------



## Ulmez (Jan 13, 2018)

Hey everyone

First of all I wanna thank everyone who's working hard to make something better out of this machine. You're all great. I'd like to leave a suggestion and a question though:

Suggestion is, I personally believe it'd be best not to make the whole thing too "Frankenstein"-ish, handling all sorts of apps, addons and the like...I think having just a pleasant menu to load the games would be way more attractive. That is, what it's offering now but working PROPERLY, focusing on simplicity and ease of use.

About my question, will the device still be able to play original carts? I think it's a huge value the machine has and, while adding ROMs is cool and all, keeping the cartridge slot working is really important.

Thanks a lot!


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> Hey everyone
> 
> First of all I wanna thank everyone who's working hard to make something better out of this machine. You're all great. I'd like to leave a suggestion and a question though:
> 
> ...


Hey there, well this will be a little complicated to answer.. it depends on what kind of solution youre looking at.

I try to explain, the mega drive hd basicly makes a local copy of the game you wanna play and starts it then with the atgames emulator. This is whats happening behind the doors :-).

Basicly we can say you play a rom, its just a proper dump by youre cartridge. If you use the original dashboard than yes you will still be able to play youre carts- but there only with the atgames emulator. Which is totaly crap xD..

If you use an different dashboard theres the option to start an emulator, you could point the dump save folder and start the rom from there with youre specific emulator.

Thats the main problem.. if you want a more stable console you will have to change the original dashboard. But at the same way you particly loose the cartridge idea for some point. And it kills the idea of not adding to many app stuff as you will need it to change the dashes.

Maybe we can make a workaround.. were still at the start but i think thats the actual answer i can give.


----------



## Ulmez (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey there, well this will be a little complicated to answer.. it depends on what kind of solution youre looking at.
> 
> I try to explain, the mega drive hd basicly makes a local copy of the game you wanna play and starts it then with the atgames emulator. This is whats happening behind the doors :-).
> 
> ...



In that case having a tool capable of dumping the cart would be great. I mean inserting the cart and having it dumped and stored along with the other roms to play on any newly added emulator. I know it's easier said than done but there's that in case there's any hope


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> In that case having a tool capable of dumping the cart would be great. I mean inserting the cart and having it dumped and stored along with the other roms to play on any newly added emulator. I know it's easier said than done but there's that in case there's any hope



That is not the problem, its should be easy to point the rom. But the Dump wil be named randomly.. so it would later be hard to recognized which game it was.. and somehow its pointless to add it to the collection as you can easy put a fullset in. But a temporary dump to play would make sense.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> Hey everyone
> 
> First of all I wanna thank everyone who's working hard to make something better out of this machine. You're all great. I'd like to leave a suggestion and a question though:
> 
> ...


ok to immediately clarify. my app does not do cart dumping. its just a dashboard to launch your own roms.
however you can launch the original atgames launcher from it to play your carts.
the cart dumping functionality, im pretty sure would be proprietary code and i have NO interest in looking into the matter.


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## Ulmez (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> That is not the problem, its should be easy to point the rom. But the Dump wil be named randomly.. so it would later be hard to recognized which game it was.. and somehow its pointless to add it to the collection as you can easy put a fullset in. But a temporary dump to play would make sense.



Maybe you can check the ROM header to obtain the game tittle? htt*://md.squee.co/Howto:Initialise_a_Mega_Drive


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

ok to immediately clarify. my app does not do cart dumping. its just a dashboard to launch your own roms.
however you can launch the original atgames launcher from it to play your carts. 
the cart dumping functionality, im pretty sure would be proprietary code and i have NO interest in looking into the matter.


----------



## DarthDub (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> ok to immediately clarify. my app does not do cart dumping. its just a dashboard to launch your own roms.
> however you can launch the original atgames launcher from it to play your carts.
> the cart dumping functionality, im pretty sure would be proprietary code and i have NO interest in looking into the matter.


I'd look, but the Atgames Genesis Flashback HD is my brother's.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> ok to immediately clarify. my app does not do cart dumping. its just a dashboard to launch your own roms.
> however you can launch the original atgames launcher from it to play your carts.
> the cart dumping functionality, im pretty sure would be proprietary code and i have NO interest in looking into the matter.


I think you could fix that easy, you just have to make a new section. Lets say: Cartridge

In this section you need to put s path in, simply use the save place where the rom is dumped. And then its easy to load as you have to assocciate with the correct mega drive emulator.

Just an idea and i guess it could work


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

thats cool. my interest is just to write android based homebrew for the device. its kind of a fun thing to do. if people get some use out of it ill be glad but im just making apps for it because its fun and a learning experience.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> thats cool. my interest is just to write android based homebrew for the device. its kind of a fun thing to do. if people get some use out of it ill be glad but im just making apps for it because its fun and a learning experience.



Its just an idea how you could handle it in no time xD well lets say in theory.. mostly it doesnt works that easy in the end.. but asper sad somewhere that the dumping process is made when its booting.. this would make this possible


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I think you could fix that easy, you just have to make a new section. Lets say: Cartridge
> 
> In this section you need to put s path in, simply use the save place where the rom is dumped. And then its easy to load as you have to assocciate with the correct mega drive emulator.
> 
> Just an idea and i guess it could work





Hekel said:


> Its just an idea how you could handle it in no time xD well lets say in theory.. mostly it doesnt works that easy in the end.. but asper sad somewhere that the dumping process is made when its booting.. this would make this possible




i dont think happens during boot though, asper can correct me and it be very interesting if it happens during boot. However i think the dump happens after the atgames app launches and it happens from within it.
@asper does this really happen at boot?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

Hmm im trying to get acess over the usb stick and somehow it doesnt works.. anyone an idea if there is a failur?

mnt/usb_storage/usb_disk0/udisk0/32x

Is there maybe something wrong?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hmm im trying to get acess over the usb stick and somehow it doesnt works.. anyone an idea if there is a failur?
> 
> mnt/usb_storage/usb_disk0/udisk0/32x
> 
> Is there maybe something wrong?


is this from within your app? were you able to access it before? and last but not least are you using a hub?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> is this from within your app? were you able to access it before? and last but not least are you using a hub?


Its a normal 16gb usb stick, the path is given me by kodi. No hub is there its connected direct


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Its a normal 16gb usb stick, the path is given me by kodi. No hub is there its connected direct


try to write a file to your destination with a file manager, if it succeeds, perhaps a rights permission by kodi?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 13, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> try to write a file to your destination with a file manager, if it succeeds, perhaps a rights permission by kodi?


I checked it with es file explorer was s simple writing style problem


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 14, 2018)

Question now that i have WD_


WD_Gaster said:


> thats cool. my interest is just to write android based homebrew for the device. its kind of a fun thing to do. if people get some use out of it ill be glad but im just making apps for it because its fun and a learning experience.


Love what you have done I will say @WD_Gaster


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright my friends another good news :-D i managed to remap the controlls so it finaly works 100% in retroshield! Frontend is basicly functional :-) i only need to fix some small bugs and we have:
> 
> New bootlogo
> SEGA CONFORM
> ...


Hi @Hekel sound like you are really cooking with gas lol , the modifyed kodi dashboard/fronted ( hehe both, both for both camps lol)  what changes did you do to Kodi ?


----------



## asper (Jan 14, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> i dont think happens during boot though, asper can correct me and it be very interesting if it happens during boot. However i think the dump happens after the atgames app launches and it happens from within it.
> @asper does this really happen at boot?


Dump seems to be done by atgames application when it boots.

Rom name is the same fir the same cartridge so it is not random. If someone can send me the dump of 2 or 3 other different cartridges i can check how it is created.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 14, 2018)

asper said:


> Dump seems to be done by atgames application when it boots.
> 
> Rom name is the same fir the same cartridge so it is not random. If someone can send me the dump of 2 or 3 other different cartridges i can check how it is created.


Ill try to make some soon. A little question. I like to uninstall some stock APK. BUT i cant get it to work its always aborting cause of missing root access does anyone know a workaround for this problem


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Ill try to make some soon. A little question. I like to uninstall some stock APK. BUT i cant get it to work its always aborting cause of missing root access does anyone know a workaround for this problem



You should be root by default. Whats the error message?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 14, 2018)

http://www.w0lfdroid.com/2015/05/How-to-Remove-Replace-KingUser-KingRoot-with-SuperSU.html

just follow this tutorial, the kingoroot removal portion just fizzles out in the script since we dont have it installed but it WILL do a proper root and install SU for you. as always backup your stuff



Steckbecken said:


> You should be root by default. Whats the error message?


you are not. ADB gives you root, but the android OS returns to user level access when adb is not running.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 14, 2018)

basicly that it contains System datas and it cant be removed :-D but thats even the same Thing for kodi! you can normaly install it but removing is impossible xD


----------



## asper (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Ill try to make some soon. A little question. I like to uninstall some stock APK. BUT i cant get it to work its always aborting cause of missing root access does anyone know a workaround for this problem



Dirty way: remove them manually from :
/system/apps/
or
/data/apps/

and
/data/data/
and
/data/dalvik-cache/


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 14, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> you are not ADB gives you root, but the android OS returns to user level access when adb is not running.



Ah i see, thought we all are working over adb


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 14, 2018)

once you have usb access in a way it becomes easier to just uninstall something at the flick of a mouse and keyboard when you have root


----------



## Hekel (Jan 14, 2018)

well the main Problem is i tryed it over adb, es file Explorer, @WD_Gaster Dashboard.. nothing helped..it always says the apps contains System data and i Need root acess to remove them.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 14, 2018)

writing a quick tut now. give me a few mins.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 14, 2018)

1-copy the mrw folder from the zip file to the sd card partition
2-open android commander.
3- 


4-click on "run sh script"

5-when picking location of where the script is, remember how windows sets an mtp drive when you plug in your generations? browse there, the mrw folder will obviously be there and choose the .sh script in the folder. Run it.

6-important. its gonna look like it froze it has not. wait 5 minutes before closing android commander and the script box.

7- reboot the device. in the app drawer you should know the see the "su" app. if you do.. congrats you have root. follow the rest of the tutorial on the page linked above if you have any questions but this should pretty much cover it.

also for anyone else reading this, i dont suggest you trying it. this requires a nand backup and a way to recover just in case.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 14, 2018)

will try it cause i wanna remove those apps to have make a Special cfw. sadly theres no easyer method to pass that by.. xD shitty apps


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> will try it cause i wanna remove those apps to have make a Special cfw. sadly theres no easyer method to pass that by.. xD shitty apps


you dont need to do all this for that....
backup your system image, extract the contents, then repack. I am sure Asper knows what i am talking about. lol


----------



## Hekel (Jan 14, 2018)

@WD_Gaster i tryed to delete it with 7zip but it told me i dont have the rights to do that..

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> @WD_Gaster i tryed to delete it with 7zip but it told me i dont have the rights to do that..


and ist not able to extract the full Image it spells some Errors out. i wanna avoid that as ist a raw dump.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> well i downloaded the file from my dropbox
> 
> Installboot.bat
> Uninstallboot.bat
> ...


Thanks for checking - maybe I'm downloading the wrong file... All I get is the bootanimation.zip and inside is a folder called part0 with lots of jpegs and a desc.txt file... no batch files... do I need to download something else? Thanks


----------



## asper (Jan 14, 2018)

I just tested KODI interface:
























As you can see KODI is able to start applications as a "launcher" and it works fine with .mp3 and pictures (need to enable the picture menu from settings - biggest picture tested 3840x2160, the "galaxy" one above) but it crashes exiting playing videos (even low quality ones); tested .mp4 and .avi; the error is:

init: sys_prop: permission denied uid:10017 name:media.cfg.audio.soundeffect

even SuperSu does not seem to solve the problem (no permission is asked). What exactly is "media.cfg.audio.soundeffect" ? It seems not to be an installed app (not present)...


EDIT: KODI is big (almost 60MB app) so you need resized partitions (ex. my custom ROM) to install it together with, for example, retroarch.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 14, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Thanks for checking - maybe I'm downloading the wrong file... All I get is the bootanimation.zip and inside is a folder called part0 with lots of jpegs and a desc.txt file... no batch files... do I need to download something else? Thanks


Yes you have only to extract it one time, you have to leave the bootanimation.zip zipped. just run the install.bat.


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 14, 2018)

A quick request: would you be so kind to suggest a wiki domain name in the comments?
https://flashback.steckbecken.at/

Thank you all


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes you have only to extract it one time, you have to leave the bootanimation.zip zipped. just run the install.bat.



Ahh I see the zip file stays as it is but then where are the bat files? The drop box link only takes me to the bootanimation.zip - did you post the batch files in an earlier link that I missed? Sorry to be a pain I just really want to try your boot logo!


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes you have only to extract it one time, you have to leave the bootanimation.zip zipped. just run the install.bat.


@Hekel , hey i downloaded your bootanimation.zip to pop on to my flashback , and i get the same files as well no bat file that @JackMonty  ie the zip file no bat file


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 14, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> @Hekel , hey i downloaded your bootanimation.zip to pop on to my flashback , and i get the same files as well no bat file that @JackMonty  ie the zip file no bat file



Dont worry @Hekel found it so all is good , sorry to bother you

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



asper said:


> I absolutely agree ! This will be great !
> 
> I thought another way to test WiFi without another USB connection:
> 
> ...



hey @JackMonty this is the post your missing re the bootanimation.zip


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 14, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Dont worry @Hekel found it so all is good , sorry to bother you
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...


Thank you thnx1138 - can't believe I missed them!


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 14, 2018)

Just want to remind you to find a proper domain name / wiki name for https://flashback.steckbecken.at
Pls comment on the start page, thx


----------



## asper (Jan 14, 2018)

Debugging errors I found the movie playback issue with KODI (movies crash the app causing a sudden exit); the problem, unfortunately, seems dued to RAM; 256MB are not enough to play big videos in fact small videos play fine... now there is a question: the RAM chip is 2GBs [Hynx H5TQ2G63GFR]... I suppose ATGames used a boot-kernel from another (RAM-smaller) device and flashed it over the MD Flashback... it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to have only 256MB of TOTAL RAM available if the chip is 2GBs and NO app is able to find more than 256MB:






I tried to find a way to "extend" the RAM but I miserably failed; if some Android-guru is listening this is the time to "appear"  ; this is the real last IMPORTANT thing missing in this small-jewel-console (I am confident that WiFi will come soon with the proper adapter).


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 14, 2018)

I tried the boot animation (using the install.bat) and I just get a black screen during boot up now. No atgames logo and no new boot animation.
Is there something else that needs installed to be able to use it?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 14, 2018)

there is no way the chipset is 2gb. that alone would exceed cost of the device itself to manufacture and they would be losing money per unit.
in an actual ram chip you would see array's of these in 8 to make a 2gb ram module


----------



## asper (Jan 15, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> there is no way the chipset is 2gb. that alone would exceed cost of the device itself to manufacture and they would be losing money per unit.
> in an actual ram chip you would see array's of these in 8 to make a 2gb ram module


You are correct: it is a 2 gigabit module and not 2 gigabyte, i re-checked the datasheet.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 15, 2018)

ok guys this is it:

https://flashback.steckbecken.at/generationslauncher

i will send version 3.0 to the guys that have helped me test. if no critical issues are found, release may be even moved as early as end of day today.

First Homebrew Dashboard for the system will be released shortly!!!

also a note: 

for the theming to work the image files need to be in 1280x720 size

thank you!


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 15, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> ok guys this is it:
> 
> https://flashback.steckbecken.at/generationslauncher
> 
> ...


@WD_Gaster  Just had a look really good easy to read , love the notes about not pressing buttons lol , can't wait to try this one out for you


----------



## Hekel (Jan 15, 2018)

I was working the whole sunday and today to improve retroshield and im nearly done.. but accidently i deltet a folder which was work of 2h.. need now to recreate it.. pissed me off xD..


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 15, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I was working the whole sunday and today to improve retroshield and im nearly done.. but accidently i deltet a folder which was work of 2h.. need now to recreate it.. pissed me off xD..


Ouch , you don't have software to fine lost files etc


----------



## asper (Jan 15, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> I tried the boot animation (using the install.bat) and I just get a black screen during boot up now. No atgames logo and no new boot animation.
> Is there something else that needs installed to be able to use it?


Try the attached package (all included to install and uninstall bootanimation).


----------



## Hekel (Jan 15, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Ouch , you don't have software to fine lost files etc


The main problem is the data was on the console, but i made a rework and fixed the last bugs i had. Retroshield is now fully running and it fits a fullset of mega drive/32x inside the nand flash. I will show tonight a proof video and how it looks like.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 15, 2018)

asper said:


> Try the attached package (all included to install and uninstall bootanimation).


Thanks! That worked for me, in a round-about way.
When I run it, that adb.exe says the service is out of date and restarts it, then it couldn’t find the device. So I don’t know if that exe is newer than what I have installed or if it’s just because another copy of adb was already running. Anyway, after trying it several times in different ways, it worked. I don’t know if it was the adb in that package or the one I already had installed though... so my experience is probably of no use for troubleshooting if anyone else has trouble getting it installed.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

On another note, I’ve been adding Genesis games for several days, but yesterday I installed a bunch of SMS games and I used “genre=Arcade” so all the game gear and SMS games show up under “Bonus Games,” leaving the Sega list for only Genesis titles. The SMS Sonic games automatically appear in the Sonic list, so I’m thinking anything with “Sonic in the title must automatically be detected.

I can hardly wait to use a replacement emulator, because in addition to some Genesis games that don’t work properly or play too fast, I noticed that “Impossible Mission” for the SMS does not work right. The collision detection is comepletly broken so that no matter how you jump, you cannot get past any robot. Now I wonder how many other SMS and Game Gear games appear at first glance to work, but don’t.


----------



## asper (Jan 15, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> Thanks! That worked for me, in a round-about way.
> When I run it, that adb.exe says the service is out of date and restarts it, then it couldn’t find the device. So I don’t know if that exe is newer than what I have installed or if it’s just because another copy of adb was already running. Anyway, after trying it several times in different ways, it worked. I don’t know if it was the adb in that package or the one I already had installed though... so my experience is probably of no use for troubleshooting if anyone else has trouble getting it installed.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> ...


When it does not find the device try 2 thing: reboot the console and/or reboot pc; anyway glad it worked for you.

EDIT: you can actually use retroarch for this (already implemented in my custom rom with the most known cores).


----------



## Hekel (Jan 15, 2018)

asper said:


> When it does not find the device try 2 thing: reboot the console and/or reboot pc; anyway glad it worked for you.
> 
> EDIT: you can actually use retroarch for this (already implemented in my custom rom with the most known cores).


When things goes further like this i can release retroshield next week which will finaly fix all issues when it comes to game mega drive games. Need to say im not interestet in run any emulation for me this is a mega drive which should support games from md/gen, 32x and maybe mega cd. When someone is looking to emulate other stuff hes bettee bet with a rasperry xD


----------



## asper (Jan 15, 2018)

Hekel said:


> When things goes further like this i can release retroshield next week which will finaly fix all issues when it comes to game mega drive games. Need to say im not interestet in run any emulation for me this is a mega drive which should support games from md/gen, 32x and maybe mega cd. When someone is looking to emulate other stuff hes bettee bet with a rasperry xD



Well, once you have retroarch installed you can "pass" commands and parameters from your app to the retroarch cores and make the roms starting with it without retroarch main dashboard (this is a real dashboard  ) will come up, just the game starts to play 

I filled the wiki with more pages: https://flashback.steckbecken.at/ 

MANY thanks to @Steckbecken for setting it up !


----------



## Hekel (Jan 15, 2018)

asper said:


> Well, once you have retroarch installed you can "pass" commands and parameters from your app to the retroarch cores and make the roms starting with it without retroarch main dashboard (this is a real dashboard  ) will come up, just the game starts to play
> 
> I filled the wiki with more pages: https://flashback.steckbecken.at/
> 
> MANY thanks to @Steckbecken for setting it up !


This already works :-D check my other retroshield video. Just need to optimize a little on the controls.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 15, 2018)

Hekel said:


> ...Need to say im not interestet in run any emulation for me this is a mega drive which should support games from md/gen, 32x and maybe mega cd. When someone is looking to emulate other stuff hes bettee bet with a rasperry xD


I’m totally with you on that. That’s why I’ve only added NES games to my NES classic and SNES games to my SNES classic... now Sega games to my Genesis Flashback HD. I don’t mind adding SMS and 32x (or even Sega Cd) etc. since those are all legit playable on Genesis.

Once I get perfect emulation and the ability to KEEP the dumps of my carts that I insert into it, it will be perfect for me. Any interface changes is just icing on the cake.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 15, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> I’m totally with you on that. That’s why I’ve only added NES games to my NES classic and SNES games to my SNES classic... now Sega games to my Genesis Flashback HD. I don’t mind adding SMS and 32x (or even Sega Cd) etc. since those are all legit playable on Genesis.
> 
> Once I get perfect emulation and the ability to KEEP the dumps of my carts that I insert into it, it will be perfect for me. Any interface changes is just icing on the cake.



Well if you check nearly at the start of the posts you will see that i programmed a SUPER GAMEBOY CLASSIC MINI for the SUPER NINTENDO CLASSIC MINI. a love for details :-D as it was playable aswell and makes a nice view.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 16, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> I’m totally with you on that. That’s why I’ve only added NES games to my NES classic and SNES games to my SNES classic... now Sega games to my Genesis Flashback HD. I don’t mind adding SMS and 32x (or even Sega Cd) etc. since those are all legit playable on Genesis.
> 
> Once I get perfect emulation and the ability to KEEP the dumps of my carts that I insert into it, it will be perfect for me. Any interface changes is just icing on the cake.


Same with me I want my atgames Sega HD flashback for Sega games mega drive master system gg would love 32x as well but me it’s sega for sega only lol


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

As i promised here is a video to show my Dashboard called RETRO SHIELD:



At the moment all of those games where installed on the internal Storage. Its possible to add a usb stick which unleash the Fullsets of: GameGear, Master System, Mega-Tech, SEGA Pico and for the ultimate SEGA MEGA CD / SEGA CD System! I didnt showed this in the video cause its already become longer than planned.

If you like this project and wanna see a soon release please support me by adding a suscripe/like or comment. And Reposts on any social media site is welcome.

If theres any Feedback let me know!
Regards Hekel


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> As i promised here is a video to show my Dashboard called RETRO SHIELD:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Will say looks very nice well done


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Will say looks very nice well done


Thanks.

I made a dump of the CFW so its save for now. Tomorrow i will try to delete as much as possible junk files to get some internal storage free.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 16, 2018)

just a note. i still need feedback on the new theme/skin feature that my launcher can do now. if anybody can make one that that they feel is cool, let me know. id appreciate it.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I made a dump of the CFW so its save for now. Tomorrow i will try to delete as much as possible junk files to get some internal storage free.


I am yet to the USB MOD on my flashback , just waiting on eBay for the USB cable and plan to run most of USB


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 16, 2018)

last minutes changes and since i havent received much feedback i may need to delay release by a day or so.
that being said my launcher is now at version 3.1:
















Thats an example of the simple but effective theme/skin engine in action. good stuff


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 16, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> last minutes changes and since i havent received much feedback i may need to delay release by a day or so.
> that being said my launcher is now at version 3.1:
> 
> 
> ...


Man that looks nice oh she dose as well


----------



## Gamepimp (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> As i promised here is a video to show my Dashboard called RETRO SHIELD:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




This looks very nice. Great work!  It definitely has a format similar to the NES/SNES classic systems, which I'm a fan of. It's simple and clean. Will the installation be fairly simple?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

Gamepimp said:


> This looks very nice. Great work!  It definitely has a format similar to the NES/SNES classic systems, which I'm a fan of. It's simple and clean. Will the installation be fairly simple?


At moment working on a installation wizzard but the most easy way will be a dump of the whole system i guess with a batch file that uploads youre roms.


----------



## Gamepimp (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> At moment working on a installation wizzard but the most easy way will be a dump of the whole system i guess with a batch file that uploads youre roms.



That doesn't sound too difficult. Looking forward to trying this out!


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

We ill see when im done with that xD as ist running now ist only a matter of time. I like to Programm a game Manager which could handle all games, like hakchi did.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

Allright a Simple installer for retroshield is nearly done. I have to work now but i will try it out if it works correctly tonight. :-) we will see.. but the installation will take some time as it seems right now.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> As i promised here is a video to show my Dashboard called RETRO SHIELD:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Liked and Subscribed - (as Bigcondor) - one question, once your interface is finished will there be an option to change the descriptions to English? Or will all the text need to be typed in manually if we want to change it?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



WD_Gaster said:


> last minutes changes and since i havent received much feedback i may need to delay release by a day or so.
> that being said my launcher is now at version 3.1:
> 
> 
> ...



This looks fantastic! One question or perhaps suggestion, will you be making an version for EU - in the sense where the system is called Megadrive and not Genesis on the main menu?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Liked and Subscribed - (as Bigcondor) - one question, once your interface is finished will there be an option to change the descriptions to English? Or will all the text need to be typed in manually if we want to change it?


Well the original plots from the back will only be in german. But i will provide am english version which wilm be created with a standard plot. Something like: Sonic the Hedgehog  is an action game developed by Sonic Team and released in 1988 by Sega. Its not as good as the german version but im not interested in collecting the english plots.

I can provide a mega drive version of the sonic generation dashboard. Its only a image that needs to be replaced


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well the original plots from the back will only be in german. But i will provide am english version which wilm be created with a standard plot. Something like: Sonic the Hedgehog  is an action game developed by Sonic Team and released in 1988 by Sega. Its not as good as the german version but im not interested in collecting the english plots.



I noticed that the info page on the stock Flashback is the same as on gamefaqs, which is taken from the back of the game boxes. For the games I’ve added to mine, I started out typing it in from the boxes, then realized I could just copy/paste that info from gamefaqs into my all-games.ini.  Maybe a scraper could be made to grab those plots or descriptions.

BTW, will your setup allow for saving of the dumped cartridges to be accessed later?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



WD_Gaster said:


> last minutes changes and since i havent received much feedback i may need to delay release by a day or so.
> that being said my launcher is now at version 3.1



I’ve been traveling over the weekend and just got back home today (went straight to work). I’ve been following the thread since Saturday and getting pretty excited about the progess. I would have volunteered to test if I’d been home. I DID, however, take my Flashback with me to play a little while at the hotel, but wasn’t really in a place to do much. I added some more games and changed the boot animation, but nothing more. I’d like to see more of your interface and I could make some suggestions. Whatever I end up doing with my Flashback, I want to be able to still use cartridges and would love to be able to keep the ROM that gets dumped when you boot up with a cart inserted.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> I noticed that the info page on the stock Flashback is the same as on gamefaqs, which is taken from the back of the game boxes. For the games I’ve added to mine, I started out typing it in from the boxes, then realized I could just copy/paste that info from gamefaqs into my all-games.ini.  Maybe a scraper could be made to grab those plots or descriptions.
> 
> BTW, will your setup allow for saving of the dumped cartridges to be accessed later?
> 
> ...



Allright i see, yes i implemented the dump function now with a simple script. Now its possible to play dumped carts with my interface :-). Yes a scraper would basicly work (there is one for my retroshield i programmed) but due of internet lack you would need to scrape it to the pc and from there to the md flashback. Pretty annoying work..


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 16, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well the original plots from the back will only be in german. But i will provide am english version which wilm be created with a standard plot. Something like: Sonic the Hedgehog  is an action game developed by Sonic Team and released in 1988 by Sega. Its not as good as the german version but im not interested in collecting the english plots.
> 
> I can provide a mega drive version of the sonic generation dashboard. Its only a image that needs to be replaced


Can your firmware give the option of those using it to type in their own game descriptions or would that be too complicated?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 16, 2018)

Basicly its possible yes, i might will provide an english editable version aswell. But first i need to mske the whole thing done. I work right now on the installation file


----------



## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

Allright everybody the installer is working now:



Its a simple one click solution. Tough the installation progress takes some time, but its worth it!

I decided to not use the dump method. In this way you can keep youre console as it is and just install Retroshield as youre main Dashboard.

Keep in mind even if its running more than very well i still call it a prototype version. I have to fix some stuff before i will release it.
You can help me with support if you like. Share and spread the word. Stay tuned!


----------



## ScarletDreamz (Jan 17, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright everybody the installer is working now:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Once its done, ill take the bat files and create a Graphic Interface if desired.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

ScarletDreamz said:


> Once its done, ill take the bat files and create a Graphic Interface if desired.


What kind if Graphic Interface are you looking for?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

ScarletDreamz said:


> Once its done, ill take the bat files and create a Graphic Interface if desired.


What kind if Graphic Interface are you looking for?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

ScarletDreamz said:


> Once its done, ill take the bat files and create a Graphic Interface if desired.


What kind if Graphic Interface are you looking for? Btw are you able to make one?

*im sorry dunno why it created so much double posts...


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## ScarletDreamz (Jan 17, 2018)

Hekel said:


> What kind if Graphic Interface are you looking for? Btw are you able to make one?
> 
> *im sorry dunno why it created so much double posts...


https://gbatemp.net/threads/setmiiup-from-stock-to-latest-softmod-in-less-then-5-10-minutes.459416/
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-nin-jecter-multiple-system-injector-for-wiiu.417970/


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## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

ScarletDreamz said:


> https://gbatemp.net/threads/setmiiup-from-stock-to-latest-softmod-in-less-then-5-10-minutes.459416/
> https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-nin-jecter-multiple-system-injector-for-wiiu.417970/


Looks great well done


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 17, 2018)

i would love something like this for my own dash. can you help ScarlettDreamz?

thanks.

edit: if you cant that is totally ok . figured id ask


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 17, 2018)

also for all of you megadrive folks


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 17, 2018)

first dashboard has been released. please use this thread for comments, feedback and questions:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/sega-generations-1st-launcher-companion-for-the-flashback-hd.494432/


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## ScarletDreamz (Jan 17, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> i would love something like this for my own dash. can you help ScarlettDreamz?
> 
> thanks.
> 
> edit: if you cant that is totally ok . figured id ask


im sorry i didnt reply, i was at work, and its kinda late, ill take alook tomorrow and see what i can do ;D if that is ok with you.


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## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

This is unbelievable.. i restartet my computer and guess what? I had to use a recovery tool to fix my windows...yay.. -_-.. after that works All my generated .bat files where completly gone, the rest was in tact.. this may sounds crazy but it seems like a higher power dont wanna see me working on the mega drive HD.

No worrie i dont give up.. i recreated most of the .bat files already! incl. The installer and saved it external now. But this isnt normal. The second time i had to rework alot..

Now i can work on to get some nice sega android games working on the device. Stay tuned.


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## Ckunak (Jan 17, 2018)

Hekel said:


> This is unbelievable.. i restartet my computer and guess what? I had to use a recovery tool to fix my windows...yay.. -_-.. after that works All my generated .bat files where completly gone, the rest was in tact.. this may sounds crazy but it seems like a higher power dont wanna see me working on the mega drive HD.
> 
> No worrie i dont give up.. i recreated most of the .bat files already! incl. The installer and saved it external now. But this isnt normal. The second time i had to rework alot..
> 
> Now i can work on to get some nice sega android games working on the device. Stay tuned.



Reasons like this is why i have an Active directory domain and file server at my house.


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## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> Reasons like this is why i have an Active directory domain and file server at my house.


Yeah probably makes sende, but i never had 2x crashes in such short times. And normaly i backup the data manually to an external usb device. But nevermind i reworked the stuff


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## ScarletDreamz (Jan 17, 2018)

do you got just the bat file? so i can take a llook and see what do i need to code? i saw they are msotly adb commands, which is not hard to redirect, the bat file would do the job to send the start the GUI.


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## Hekel (Jan 17, 2018)

Does anyone here haves an SEGA Flashback HD Prototype/Reviewer Unit? I would like to get a dump of the files.


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## Ckunak (Jan 18, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Does anyone here haves an SEGA Flashback HD Prototype/Reviewer Unit? I would like to get a dump of the files.


I doubt that anyone here will have one. But I too would like the files


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 18, 2018)

Hekel said:


> This is unbelievable.. i restartet my computer and guess what? I had to use a recovery tool to fix my windows...yay.. -_-.. after that works All my generated .bat files where completly gone, the rest was in tact.. this may sounds crazy but it seems like a higher power dont wanna see me working on the mega drive HD.
> 
> No worrie i dont give up.. i recreated most of the .bat files already! incl. The installer and saved it external now. But this isnt normal. The second time i had to rework alot..
> 
> Now i can work on to get some nice sega android games working on the device. Stay tuned.


This happened to me BIG TIME it took forever to setup up the drivers, to the point that laptop is now in the bin and I have pulled out a old win 7 laptop and she just worked just fine a we bit slow but fine , me thinks it did not like win 10


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 18, 2018)

ScarletDreamz said:


> im sorry i didnt reply, i was at work, and its kinda late, ill take alook tomorrow and see what i can do ;D if that is ok with you.


please do:
all files that have been release can be found here:
https://www.mdfbrew.org/projects:generationslauncher


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## oldschoolnewbie (Jan 18, 2018)

Hey guys.  I'm hoping for some help.  I'm not nearly as technically capable as you guys on this message board.  I have the sega genesis flashback.  I'm just looking to add approximately 10 games at most to my system.  Is there a simple step by step tutorial that can be made available for me?  Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide.


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## MaxiBus (Jan 18, 2018)

oldschoolnewbie said:


> Hey guys.  I'm hoping for some help.  I'm not nearly as technically capable as you guys on this message board.  I have the sega genesis flashback.  I'm just looking to add approximately 10 games at most to my system.  Is there a simple step by step tutorial that can be made available for me?  Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide.


You are OK with this? https://www.mdfbrew.org/tutorials:addgamestostock


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## oldschoolnewbie (Jan 18, 2018)

Perfect.  Thanks for your help!  I'll give it a try.


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## Clint13579 (Jan 18, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> You are OK with this? https://www.mdfbrew.org/tutorials:addgamestostock



Thanks! Do you know if there is a limit to the amount of games on first upload?


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## JackMonty (Jan 18, 2018)

oldschoolnewbie said:


> Hey guys.  I'm hoping for some help.  I'm not nearly as technically capable as you guys on this message board.  I have the sega genesis flashback.  I'm just looking to add approximately 10 games at most to my system.  Is there a simple step by step tutorial that can be made available for me?  Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide.



A friend of mine is doing a write up of a basic mod which retains the menu and emulator but lets you add more games:

http://www.gniteproductions.com/projects/Flashback.html

It is a work in progress and should be done by the weekend - it meant to cover issues you can get,  game compatibility and more -it looks like it about halfway done so might be best to stick with the guide posted by Steckbecken until this ones gets developed a bit more but at least now you have an alternative too.*https://gbatemp.net/members/steckbecken.440044/*


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## MaxiBus (Jan 18, 2018)

Clint13579 said:


> Thanks! Do you know if there is a limit to the amount of games on first upload?



That depends on how much free space is left your the device. Someone said, that its recommended to fill the partition at max. 2/3 of its size.

To determine the partition size, connect the Flashback to your PC and run the command "adb shell df". You will see a row like

"/mnt/internal_sd         2.8G    27.2M     *2.8G*   8192"

That means, the partition has a size of 2.8GB, so you could load it with appr. 2 GB of roms. But you will need days to sort the covers and extend your "all-games.ini"  

EDIT: Just checked the average size of a rom, lets say its 1MB, so you are able to load 2.000+ roms... good luck with adding this to your .ini file

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



JackMonty said:


> A friend of mine is doing a write up of a basic mod which retains the menu and emulator but lets you add more games:
> 
> http://www.gniteproductions.com/projects/Flashback.html
> 
> It is a work in progress and should be done by the weekend - it meant to cover issues you can get,  game compatibility and more -it looks like it about halfway done so might be best to stick with the guide posted by Steckbecken until this ones gets developed a bit more but at least now you have an alternative too.



Cool! Maybe he wants to collaborate on the wiki?


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## Hekel (Jan 19, 2018)

You will not be able to add so many games with the original Dashboard/Menu/Frontend what ever you wanna call it. There seems to be the same problem as the NES/SNES MINI haves, there is a Cache Folder.. Once its full the menu crashes and restarts and you wil never reach the end of youre games list. So even if you change the emulator in the main menu you will stock on this problem. This is the reason why i stopped to work with the original menu.

You can check my Older posts, i already had some tricks to add a game fullset.

Regards


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 19, 2018)

Hekel said:


> You will not be able to add so many games with the original Dashboard/Menu/Frontend what ever you wanna call it. There seems to be the same problem as the NES/SNES MINI haves, there is a Cache Folder.. Once its full the menu crashes and restarts and you wil never reach the end of youre games list. So even if you change the emulator in the main menu you will stock on this problem. This is the reason why i stopped to work with the original menu.
> 
> You can check my Older posts, i already had some tricks to add a game fullset.
> 
> Regards


my dashboard also supports long lists as well and no ini editing required


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## Hekel (Jan 19, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> my dashboard also supports long lists as well and no ini editing required


What im missing is a cover function. If you could provide this it would be nearly perfect.


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 19, 2018)

Hekel said:


> What im missing is a cover function. If you could provide this it would be nearly perfect.


i may look into it in the future. at the moment working on the first homebrew app for this system.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 19, 2018)

also new homebrew app that i will be releasing soon 

https://www.mdfbrew.org/projects:generationsmediaplayer

the background art is just a placeholder. if any one wants to donate a wallpaper for this app it would be appreciated


----------



## Hekel (Jan 20, 2018)

I know it was quiet for some time. The reason why is i had to reinstall my computer. I wanted to avoid any data loose again. But this weekend i can work again :-D. By the way cool app. Could be nice to add some mega drive soundtracks :-)


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 20, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I know it was quiet for some time. The reason why is i had to reinstall my computer. I wanted to avoid any data loose again. But this weekend i can work again :-D. By the way cool app. Could be nice to add some mega drive soundtracks :-)


video playback is next (hopefully there is enough horsepower to do so)
also i am going to be migrating all of my stuff to fully support usb storage(still debating wether to keep making alternative builds that loads content from the sd card partition). its much easier when you have tons of gigabytes and a plug and play interface to just drop your stuff on.


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## Hekel (Jan 20, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> video playback is next (hopefully there is enough horsepower to do so)
> also i am going to be migrating all of my stuff to fully support usb storage(still debating wether to keep making alternative builds that loads content from the sd card partition). its much easier when you have tons of gigabytes and a plug and play interface to just drop your stuff on.


Basicly i like youre homebrew idea, myself just would never use it xD.. i like to keep this machine what its supposed to be.. a mega drive/genesis. I use my nvidia shield tv for multimedia :-D


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 20, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Basicly i like youre homebrew idea, myself just would never use it xD.. i like to keep this machine what its supposed to be.. a mega drive/genesis. I use my nvidia shield tv for multimedia :-D


i am mostly doing this coding for learning. I can easily use a pc and say the same, but in this case i am learning android and doing something neat with an under appreciated toy. .
Also notice that i am making these as separate apps from my launcher. people dont have to use them.


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 20, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> ...(still debating wether to keep making alternative builds that loads content from the sd card partition)...



Do you have a clue how to use kernel modules with the installed kernel? I am stuck since days with it, i want to use either nfs or cifs to mount shares on the Flashback Device.
As far as i found out the kernel supports loading modules, so i do not have to change the whole kernel. Building the nfs/cifs modules should be enough.
But  thats far beyond my android "knowledge".


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 20, 2018)

Hi sorry for the silly question I have just done the USB mod when I pop my otg USB cable on she turns on, the USB light turns on so it is getting power but no USB games show up I have games in the root folder/Games/Genesis of my USB stick, if I have the flashback plugged in the laptop USB port the flashback turns on but dose not show on my laptop , if I just have the USB cable no otg it pops up on my laptop , if I running it of the power supply in the lounge room no games show on USB, umm what am I missing please


----------



## asper (Jan 20, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> View attachment 111564 View attachment 111563 Hi sorry for the silly question I have just done the USB mod when I pop my otg USB cable on she turns on, the USB light turns on so it is getting power but no USB games show up I have games in the root folder/Games/Genesis of my USB stick, if I have the flashback plugged in the laptop USB port the flashback turns on but dose not show on my laptop , if I just have the USB cable no otg it pops up on my laptop , if I running it of the power supply in the lounge room no games show on USB, umm what am I missing please


There are 2 different cables: one is for OTG support and the other one is for connecting the console to a PC: I had the same problem and I would like to investigate the exact needed pinout but I have more important things right now


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 20, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> View attachment 111564 View attachment 111563 Hi sorry for the silly question I have just done the USB mod when I pop my otg USB cable on she turns on, the USB light turns on so it is getting power but no USB games show up I have games in the root folder/Games/Genesis of my USB stick, if I have the flashback plugged in the laptop USB port the flashback turns on but dose not show on my laptop , if I just have the USB cable no otg it pops up on my laptop , if I running it of the power supply in the lounge room no games show on USB, umm what am I missing please



use one of these:





and connect the usb flashback directly to it on one end and a usb stick directly to the other end. make sure it is fat32. your roms sound like they  are in the right location. Click on the USB icon on my launcher and go from there. remember the current build only supports launching .bin from usb. i will do some upgrades this weekend.

can guarantee this works for me.


----------



## Glyptofane (Jan 20, 2018)

Very awesome progress on the Flashback! I'm very tempted to pick up one of these overpriced pieces of crap now. Might not be half bad with this breakthrough, HDMI, and if I can manage to dig up my old official six button controllers.


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 20, 2018)

Glyptofane said:


> Very awesome progress on the Flashback! I'm very tempted to pick up one of these overpriced pieces of crap now. Might not be half bad with this breakthrough, HDMI, and if I can manage to dig up my old official six button controllers.


I can tell you that wired controllers are not supported at this time by the homebrew, wether it be mine or Hekel's there is some technical issues surrounding this.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Jan 20, 2018)

Hekel said:


> You will not be able to add so many games with the original Dashboard/Menu/Frontend what ever you wanna call it. There seems to be the same problem as the NES/SNES MINI haves, there is a Cache Folder.. Once its full the menu crashes and restarts and you wil never reach the end of youre games list. So even if you change the emulator in the main menu you will stock on this problem. This is the reason why i stopped to work with the original menu.
> 
> You can check my Older posts, i already had some tricks to add a game fullset.
> 
> Regards



i've looked this topic but i can't find your older post on that. now i got a problem with mine that the last 2 pages won't work. how can i fix this problem?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 21, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> i've looked this topic but i can't find your older post on that. now i got a problem with mine that the last 2 pages won't work. how can i fix this problem?



he has not finished his work. if you need a bit of a larger number of titles go read this:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/sega-generations-1st-launcher-companion-for-the-flashback-hd.494432/


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 21, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> use one of these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks @WD_Gaster @asper   like i said silly question knew it would be something simple, i had one in my box this whole time all working thanks


----------



## Hekel (Jan 21, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> View attachment 111626 View attachment 111627 View attachment 111628
> Thanks @WD_Gaster @asper   like i said silly question knew it would be something simple, i had one in my box this whole time all working thanks



Looks nice, good work. 

@WD_Gaster not directly true with the controllers, original wired sega controlers does work in retroshield. But its not the best solution in my oppinion.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 21, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Looks nice, good work.
> 
> @WD_Gaster not directly true with the controllers, original wired sega controlers does work in retroshield. But its not the best solution in my oppinion.



Thanks @Hekel i redid the bloody USB mod like 6 times, thinking i had done it wrong checked and check with my muiltmeter thinking i did not  want to ask another silly question again , glad i did , mind you i do love a bit of soldering have a look at my instagram if you like

https://www.instagram.com/fixingmytoys/


----------



## Hekel (Jan 21, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Thanks @Hekel i redid the bloody USB mod like 6 times, thinking i had done it wrong checked and check with my muiltmeter thinking i did not  want to ask another silly question again , glad i did , mind you i do love a bit of soldering have a look at my instagram if you like
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/fixingmytoys/



Haha interesting, i have myself 7 Arcade Cabs so i know how it is ;-). I like youre mvs mod well done.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 21, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Haha interesting, i have myself 7 Arcade Cabs so i know how it is ;-). I like youre mvs mod well done.



thanks man did you check out my youtube link


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 21, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Haha interesting, i have myself 7 Arcade Cabs so i know how it is ;-). I like youre mvs mod well done.


which Arcade Cabs do you have @Hekel


----------



## Menzo1986 (Jan 21, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> he has not finished his work. if you need a bit of a larger number of titles go read this:



thnx, i've got it working before all the pages (probably some luck). i've tried to add a few more games and the last the pages wont work.
So i tried to put it back to the way i got it before adding a bit more games. But with that one now also the last 2 pages wont work.

thnx for the link with the alternative interface. The only think i don't like is the anime wallpapers. But i can change them with image1. png, image2. png ?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 21, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> which Arcade Cabs do you have @Hekel


House of dead 1
House of dead 2
Sega Crazy Taxi
2x Sega Naomi Universal Cab
Sega Rally Twin Edition
Neo Geo MVS
Sega Blast City Jamma
Original Sega Sonic The Hedgehog machine


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 21, 2018)

Hekel said:


> House of dead 1
> House of dead 2
> Sega Crazy Taxi
> 2x Sega Naomi Universal Cab
> ...


BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP so jelly


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 21, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> thnx, i've got it working before all the pages (probably some luck). i've tried to add a few more games and the last the pages wont work.
> So i tried to put it back to the way i got it before adding a bit more games. But with that one now also the last 2 pages wont work.
> 
> thnx for the link with the alternative interface. The only think i don't like is the anime wallpapers. But i can change them with image1. png, image2. png ?


correct. you can change them to whatever you want. 1280 x 720 png format. all that information is in the wiki. . feel free to create your own skin and share.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> Looks nice, good work.
> 
> @WD_Gaster not directly true with the controllers, original wired sega controlers does work in retroshield. But its not the best solution in my oppinion.


@Hekel, try to load retroshield as launcher. in other words launch it on startup without running the atgames launcher first... wired controllers will not work.  feel free to confirm. their android build doesnt have drivers to deal with wired controllers directly.

@asper his cfw worked with wired controllers because it loads the atgames launcher for a few seconds before launching retroarch. call it a happy accident. I can try to do the same with my launcher but it seems rather messy when you do that.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 21, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> correct. you can change them to whatever you want. 1280 x 720 png format. all that information is in the wiki. . feel free to create your own skin and share.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...



@WD_Gaster so what does it means? Stop the original launcher from showing up and keep it running in the background.. thats exactly what i do with retroshield.. its easy to managed that. Kill the all-games.ini and the launcher wont show up. But there is also another workaround for this problem. Because you couldnt manage it This doesnt means its not possible ;-).


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 21, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> thnx, i've got it working before all the pages (probably some luck). i've tried to add a few more games and the last the pages wont work.
> So i tried to put it back to the way i got it before adding a bit more games. But with that one now also the last 2 pages wont work.
> 
> thnx for the link with the alternative interface. The only think i don't like is the anime wallpapers. But i can change them with image1. png, image2. png ?



I've read that the console is picky up to a max of eight pages cna stably be displayed. Have you removed everything and out all the files on from fresh? The whole process is described here: http://www.gniteproductions.com/projects/Flashback.html

Good Luck


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 21, 2018)

Hekel said:


> @WD_Gaster so what does it means? Stop the original launcher from showing up and keep it running in the background.. thats exactly what i do with retroshield.. its easy to managed that. Kill the all-games.ini and the launcher wont show up. But there is also another workaround for this problem. Because you couldnt manage it This doesnt means its not possible ;-).





Doing this makes the original launcher not work anymore though. kinda messy :S. Also how does this work for people with the OBB version of the app? the all-games.ini gets restored from it on every reboot. that wont work for them.

@Hekel i think you just gave me a great idea on how to possibly make this work.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Jan 21, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> I've read that the console is picky up to a max of eight pages cna stably be displayed. Have you removed everything and out all the files on from fresh? The whole process is described here: ...
> 
> Good Luck



yeah put it back to stock and removed the games folder.
i got it working again after many tries. on the last try i did wait a bit longer before remove the connection with my pc.
and now everything works fine.. all the pages. maybe the problem is that i pull out the usb from my laptop too fast.
but that sounds kinda weird.


----------



## Clint13579 (Jan 22, 2018)

@Hekel how’s the launcher coming? Anxiously waiting your work. 

Would be cool if it could go straight from the Sega load screen to the game selection without having to select the emu.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 22, 2018)

Unfortunately, I didn't have as much time this weekend as I'd hoped, but I did get the wire soldered to my usb.  

I have a couple of questions I hope someone can answer:

1) I followed the wiki guide on how to backup the Flashback system (all partitions).  However, I don't see an explanation on how to use the _RK Rom Dumper and Flasher_ to flash the backed up partitions back to the Flashback. The guide just says to do it if you mess up your system, but doesn't say "how".  I haven't borked it up, but I'd like to know how in case I do.

2) While I do want to experiment with the generations dash, for the time being, I'm mostly interested in replacing the emulator for better compatibility with some games and perhaps better emulation.  I've read throughout the thread that Picodrive is good for this, but can I just replace the emulator without installing another dash etc.?

3) If you backup a Flashback version that uses the obb file, AND you backup a newer one that does not, can you flash the firmware/partitions from the newer one to the obb one?... Other than the "user" partition, everything else appears to be the same type/size.

4) Slightly off-topic, but I'd REALLY like to know the answer to this.  I've read in various places that the Atari Flashback HDs are running the same Android setup, (but the obb version).  However, I bought both the Activision Edition and the Gold HD models and neither have a usb port.  There are 5 holes that look like something could be soldered to, but I don't know what they're for or the pinout.  Does anyone have knowledge on this?  Does anyone know how people have been accessing their Atari Flashback HDs like these Genesis/Mega Drive ones?


----------



## asper (Jan 22, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> Unfortunately, I didn't have as much time this weekend as I'd hoped, but I did get the wire soldered to my usb.
> 
> I have a couple of questions I hope someone can answer:
> 
> ...


A guide about restoring will arrive (hope) soon in the wiki; i am sorry for that but i am lacking time.

About atari fb the 5 "holes" can be (not sure) usb pins; i read something about in atgames forum iirc; if so you need to solder an usb port over them.

EDIT: I found what I saved days ago; if someone can do that "hardmod" and dump the system (and data) partition and share the dump I will be happy to study that system too:




I do not remember who found that but all the kudos go to him !


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 22, 2018)

asper said:


> A guide about restoring will arrive (hope) soon in the wiki; i am sorry for that but i am lacking time.
> 
> About atari fb the 5 "holes" can be (not sure) usb pins; i read something about in atgames forum iirc; if so you need to solder an usb port over them.
> 
> ...


Hmmmm that is so do able wish I had one hmm I want to do it now lol


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 22, 2018)

asper said:


> A guide about restoring will arrive (hope) soon in the wiki; i am sorry for that but i am lacking time.
> 
> ...I found what I saved days ago; if someone can do that "hardmod" and dump the system (and data) partition and share the dump I will be happy to study that system too:
> I do not remember who found that but all the kudos go to him !



Awesome.  Thank you.  That's exactly what I was looking for.  I will absolutely do that as soon as I get time.


----------



## asper (Jan 22, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> Awesome.  Thank you.  That's exactly what I was looking for.  I will absolutely do that as soon as I get time.


Restore tutorial added to the wiki, let me know if it is "understandable"


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 22, 2018)

asper said:


> Restore tutorial added to the wiki, let me know if it is "understandable"


Yep, super easy. I can also confirm that flashing a non-obb backup to an obb model works fine. I have a 2GB obb model and a 4GB non-obb model.
I backed up both and flashed the 4GB to the 2GB one. I worked fine, symlink and all. Of course, not the whole user partition flashed, but since I wasn’t taking up much space on it anyway, it didn’t matter. Content on both are identical now.

So, people with an obb model can convert theirs to the easier model, using the stock firmware from the wiki. They would just need to edit the parameter file and change the “count” portion of the user partition to the 2GB number.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 22, 2018)

Im working on a improved version of @WD_Gaster Dashboard. Here a little work in progress pic:







I Hope Gaster will join the improved version. It haves new sounds a better Skin and some other new Features.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 22, 2018)

Nearly Final Design of the main Menu


----------



## Greg956 (Jan 22, 2018)

Bought today this awesome couple. Can't wait to extend their functionality!


----------



## Hekel (Jan 22, 2018)

Greg956 said:


> Bought today this awesome couple. Can't wait to extend their functionality!
> View attachment 111835 View attachment 111836 View attachment 111837 View attachment 111838



I miss the atari flashback unit :-D i might gonna buy one aswell ;-)


----------



## Greg956 (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I miss the atari flashback unit :-D i might gonna buy one aswell ;-)


Activision edition is more expensive, but it has more beauty box, menu and more games than usual Gold version with 120 games.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Greg956 said:


> Activision edition is more expensive, but it has more beauty box, menu and more games than usual Gold version with 120 games.



I see well its anyway hard to get one of these in switzerland but i will take a look if i can pick up one :-D. I feel like it could be some fun to play with it hehe


----------



## Greg956 (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I see well its anyway hard to get one of these in switzerland but i will take a look if i can pick up one :-D. I feel like it could be some fun to play with it hehe


EBay is your friend, I think. I bought mine copies at local shop, but before done this I searched EBay for prices difference.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Greg956 said:


> EBay is your friend, I think. I bought mine copies at local shop, but before done this I searched EBay for prices difference.



Yeah, ebay is always good for a price check. But i guess even if i find one localy it will have a higher price than usualy :-) but we will see

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



 First check on the real Hardware. I will need some help from coders, as it looks like the console icons positions needs to be changed so they fit better into the projects idea..


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 23, 2018)

it would have been nice if you had asked before you went ahead and did this.
my app is still a work and progress where I am actually programming and i am still doing changes. editing the apk by changing assets and calling it "new features" is something i dont necesarily agree with. I also added a skinning option so people would not have to fully edit the app... I obviously cant prevent anybody from doing as they wish on the internet, but do me a favor if anything please remove the trademark fake line from the bottom of the launcher. Last thing i need is somebody  sending me a takedown notice over confusing a modified version of my app to my own.

Also if you are re-signing the apk after doing changes you can cause issues for people trying future updates of my app if they have installed your modified version previously.

also since you mentioned you have applied fixes, what changes have you done?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> it would have been nice if you had asked before you went ahead and did this.
> my app is still a work and progress where I am actually programming and i am still doing changes. editing the apk by changing assets and calling it "new features" is something i dont necesarily agree with. if you wanted to help me with the gui design you should have asked. I also added a skinning option so people would not have to full edit the app... I obviously cant prevent anybody from doing as they wish on the internet, but do me a favor if anything please remove the trademark fake line from the bottom of the launcher. Last thing i need is somebody  sending me a takedown notice over confusing a modified version of my app to my own.
> 
> Also if you are re-signing the apk after doing changes you can cause issues for people trying future updates of my app if they have installed your modified version previously.
> ...



I did asked you on pm if i should make a nice design and you sad YES.  I used the latest version with the skinning option. But its very very limited when it comes to editing.. and i did not release anything or given anything out. Even for retroshield nor anything for your sega generations related dashboard. So theyre wouldnt be any need of scared about resign youre app, like i mentioned in the pm‘s i sended you: i wanted to co-operate. By this meaning i would provide to you all the edited stuff (yes i decompiled youre app) so you could make a clean version out of it.. the sega copyright text is only a temp. placeholder! As i noticed in my comments its still a wip project...

- still if youre scared about any copyright problems you should remove all the logos you used on youre dashboard.. aswell as the skinning option cause everyone can add what ever he/she wish for in the images...just to have this sad.

I just wanted to help you but its allright. I will stop the project and move on with RetroShield.

Sorry about any circumstances.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Allright i recycled my design to use with RetroShield:



 

Looks great aswell!


----------



## MaxiBus (Jan 23, 2018)

@Hekel @WD_Gaster 
Hekels design is awesome, it would be a pity if you didn't cooperate


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Steckbecken said:


> @Hekel @WD_Gaster
> Hekels design is awesome, it would be a pity if you didn't cooperate



Thanks for those words. :-D

Now i integrated fully usb support to retroshield! Pretty great :-). These system are now running:

SEGA MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS/MEGA TECH
SEGA GAME GEAR
SEGA MASTER SYSTEM/MARK II
SEGA PICO
SEGA MEGA CD/SEGA CD
ORIGINAL CARTRIDGES FROM SLOT.

Now i need to fix some stuff in the Database. When everything is working i provide a english version aswell..

Any stuff you miss?


----------



## Jojse (Jan 23, 2018)

Looks great Hekel, looking forward to test an english version


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Jojse said:


> Looks great Hekel, looking forward to test an english version


Forgot to mention.. a file browser is onboard aswell :-D and a android app launcher!!


----------



## Ulmez (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thanks for those words. :-D
> 
> Now i integrated fully usb support to retroshield! Pretty great :-). These system are now running:
> 
> ...



Have you considered adding SG-1000 as well?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> Have you considered adding SG-1000 as well/too?


Not yet :-D but need to check if theres a good emulator for it :-)


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Nearly Final Design of the main Menu


Huh


Hekel said:


> Allright i recycled my design to use with RetroShield:
> 
> View attachment 111855
> 
> Looks great aswell!


Looks Amazing!! Just three quick questions:

1. Will you also be translating this main screen to English?
2. Can this have the option for users to enter or add their own text description for the games?
3. What emulators will be running under the interface ? Picco Drive?

Can't wait for release!


----------



## Ulmez (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Not yet :-D but need to check if theres a good emulator for it :-)



Retroarch + lr-genesis-plus-gx core


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Huh
> 
> Looks Amazing!! Just three quick questions:
> 
> ...



Basicly i can run any emulator i want, but for sega emulation its recomended to use retroarch. I will add the original game gear boarder aswell so it looks like on stock. Its possible to add youre own text description its pretty easy and user friendly. The english translation will be a standard text as i mentioned in a earlyer post.

But the image you selected is the canceled sega generations design.


----------



## Gamepimp (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Basicly i can run any emulator i want, but for sega emulation its recomended to use retroarch. I will add the original game gear boarder aswell so it looks like on stock. Its possible to add youre own text description its pretty easy and user friendly. The english translation will be a standard text as i mentioned in a earlyer post.
> 
> But the image you selected is the canceled sega generations design.



That "Sega Generations" dashboard is really nice and clean. Perhaps you and WD_Gaster might be able to find a way to make that a reality?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 23, 2018)

Gamepimp said:


> That "Sega Generations" dashboard is really nice and clean. Perhaps you and WD_Gaster might be able to find a way to make that a reality?


I dont know.. actuall doesnt looks like. But the SEGA Generation Dashboard is downloadable. Just in its original form.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright i recycled my design to use with RetroShield:
> 
> View attachment 111855
> 
> Looks great aswell!


Sorry I meant the image from your retroshield which had text in another language - will this be in English too?


----------



## asper (Jan 23, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thanks for those words. :-D
> 
> Now i integrated fully usb support to retroshield! Pretty great :-). These system are now running:
> 
> ...


I suppose you forgot to mention Sega 32x (runnable with picodrive).

Usually SG-1000 games can be executed by all SMS emulators.

@WD_Gaster products are really good and I support them together with @Hekel great stuff; I don't know if some of you are using github for their programs but sharing the sources together will be a truly great thing in order to develop faster anyway I will understand if each one of you want to keep their code; about me I try to share everything I may discover in the wiki.

EDIT:
I just tested a Wireless keyboard with USB dongle and it is working GREAT ! VID 0681 PID 0101; something similar (but not identical) to this one:





I also just tested an USB 3.0 HUB by ICZI and it is working great too:





If you add some USB peripherals and they will not be recognized at 1st boot try to turn off the console and reboot it.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 24, 2018)

anyone know how to reflash the system img when its in recovery? or how to bring up the options in recovery? all i get is the red triangle  i fucked it up.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 24, 2018)

there is no recovery. i think the only way is to flash it in bootloader mode. I hope you made a nand backup. Asper will have a better answer.

@asper






I sent you the tool you asked for. 


ALSO @asper the flashback supports SG-1000 natively.... so it actually supports 4 systems with the built in EMU. you were correct. it looks like i will have to update the generations launcher.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

As WD_Gaster did not answered any of mine or the user questions about the new Skin we can highly say its canceled. But as i sad i will re-use the design in my project. I will try now to totaly focus on retroshield and get all features faster working. If anyone needs help on his own project feel free to ask if any help is needed. 

If i find the time i will upload a new video which shows the build in file manager and the mega cd emulation.


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 24, 2018)

@Hekel
I think we have different approaches and differences on what we want to achieve. I honestly think you are talented but honestly I want to follow my own approach towards the Generations dash. I do look forward to see your achievements on Retroshield.
Also at the moment i am more focused on solid functionality.
to the comunity and (related to this)

would it be preferable to keep the system icons like this?:






or would it be preferable for all 4 of them to be straight in a line (although the icons would be smaller)
edit: ugh, disregard the bad quality it looks like imgur messed the screenshot up. also the wallpaper in the background is just a theme nothing part of the main dash.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> @Hekel
> I think we have different approaches and differences on what we want to achieve. I honestly think you are talented but honestly I want to follow my own approach towards the Generations dash. I do look forward to see your achievements on Retroshield.
> Also at the moment i am more focused on solid functionality.
> to the comunity and (related to this)
> ...


If they are in a  straight line then you have four sections to pick from so you would need 4 folders to put your roms in ? Or one folder for example master system double up but could you make it just show just thehe SG-1000 ,  can't remember if They have a different extension or not then master system


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 24, 2018)

since i want to keep the current code base clean and organized i am making it go in 1 more folder. it feels neater to me to at the moment (though i may change my mind)

and to clarify, its alread 4 sections to pick from. I guess my question is more regarding arrangement.

also sg-1000 use the .sg extension. odd but yeah.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> since i want to keep the current code base clean and organized i am making it go in 1 more folder. it feels neater to me to at the moment (though i may change my mind)
> 
> and to clarify, its alread 4 sections to pick from. I guess my question is more regarding arrangement.
> 
> also sg-1000 use the .sg extension. odd but yeah.



Just an input if you wanna have the current code clean and nice you should fix the icon size problem i mentioned before.. specially when it comes to the black border overlay. Its not clean as it looks different in size.

And to keep it clean change the game foldername from the pal dashboard to megadrive instead genesis :-)...


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

Update: GAME GEAR is now running with Original MD/GEN Flashback HD Boarder :-). Now we have full functionality of Retroarch in this case. It works the same like in the original console when you select gg you get a boarder if you choose any other system you get fullscreen.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

A question to the community.. at moment i added REGION categoeries to sort things out:

MEGA DRIVE (EUR)
GENESIS (USA)
MEGA DRIVE (JAP)

GAME GEAR (MULTI)
-doesnt make sense to split

PICODRIVE (MULTI)
-doesnt make sense to split

32X (EUR)
32X (USA)
32X (JAP)

MCD (EUR)
SCD (USAJ
MCD (JAP)

My question is would you like to have the same Style for the Master System or do we make an Multi folder like for ex. GG for those games?


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> A question to the community.. at moment i added REGION categoeries to sort things out:
> 
> MEGA DRIVE (EUR)
> GENESIS (USA)
> ...


i would just say a mult folder PAL master system games are the same as NTSC master games just running slower ( yes apart from sonic games which have been FIX) i don't even bother with PAL roms i just use USA and JAP


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> i would just say a mult folder PAL master system games are the same as NTSC master games just running slower ( yes apart from sonic games which have been FIX) i don't even bother with PAL roms i just use USA and JAP



I see well i added a game fullset with this order:

PAL if available
USA If no Pal release
JAP If no pal and no USA Release

For me it doesnt makes sense to have games twice and it looks better as they have different cover arts. And for sure different names: SEGA CD AND GENESIS for example


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I see well i added a game fullset with this order:
> 
> PAL if available
> USA If no Pal release
> ...


Hmm yes I would do USA games and pal for games did not come out in USA most likely sport games, there are the odd game that comes out in a different  Territory ie come out in the U.K. Only etc, like I said in my other post I run with NTSC as they are at full speed and full screen 60hz 9 out of 10 times the version of the same game that came out in a PAL  Territory was crippled to 50 Hz  black bars and slower music, with the flashback running in HD Tv which can  handle 60 Hz I don't see the need or want for  a full PAL 50hz rom set ,  regarding Japanese games there are some dam good ones especially like the translations Of RPG's  even now I'm running NTSC ROM sets  with the odd game that was not released in United States but was in Australia or the UK but that's like one or two ,  I will say this is true for mega drive and  Genesis master system and game gear mega cd etc and 32x,  if you play a game that's from PAL territory and then play from NTSC  territory you don't go back to PAL  especially when the gameplay slower music slower and black bars


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Hmm yes I would do USA games and pal for games did not come out in USA most likely sport games, there are the odd game that comes out in a different  Territory ie come out in the U.K. Only etc, like I said in my other post I run with NTSC as they are at full speed and full screen 60hz 9 out of 10 times the version of the same game that came out in a PAL  Territory was crippled to 50 Hz  black bars and slower music, with the flashback running in HD Tv which can  handle 60 Hz I don't see the need or want for  a full PAL 50hz rom set ,  regarding Japanese games there are some dam good ones especially like the translations Of RPG's  even now I'm running NTSC ROM sets  with the odd game that was not released in United States but was in Australia or the UK but that's like one or two ,  I will say this is true for mega drive and  Genesis master system and game gear mega cd etc and 32x,  if you play a game that's from PAL territory and then play from NTSC  territory you don't go back to PAL  especially when the gameplay slower music slower and black bars



Basicly youre totaly right xD but technicaly there are different reasons why i preffer pal. Youre 60hz theory passes if we talk about a original console (withouth modification) but on a emulator you can simply run the game in 60hz. One of the bigger problem is the snes! There are some graphic issues and other sound timing problems. But this doesnt count on the mega drive/gamegear/master System. 

Mega CD is another problem as the music soundfile will not be stretched when playing in 60hz. So there we will get time issues.

I personaly preffer mega drive cause i dont really like the genesis brandt.


----------



## 330 (Jan 24, 2018)

In terms of power, is this better than the NES Mini?


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Basicly youre totaly right xD but technicaly there are different reasons why i preffer pal. Youre 60hz theory passes if we talk about a original console (withouth modification) but on a emulator you can simply run the game in 60hz. One of the bigger problem is the snes! There are some graphic issues and other sound timing problems. But this doesnt count on the mega drive/gamegear/master System.
> 
> Mega CD is another problem as the music soundfile will not be stretched when playing in 60hz. So there we will get time issues.
> 
> I personaly preffer mega drive cause i dont really like the genesis brandt.


True I would run 60hz on the 16 bit and 8bit cart based games and 60hz on the cd base game sand also have the 50hz if the game is not  available  in 50 Hz why muck around with setting to get something go to run 60hz from 50 when it is available in 60hz just click and play please s you can save space etc


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

330 said:


> In terms of power, is this better than the NES Mini?


Nope its not. But powerfull enough to run till mega cd smooth.


----------



## 330 (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Nope its not. But powerfull enough to run till mega cd smooth.


Which is all I needed to know. Thank you


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

330 said:


> Which is all I needed to know. Thank you


I will make a video this evening and show off mega cd in action. So everyone can see how it runs.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I will make a video this evening and show off mega cd in action. So everyone can see how it runs.


You just have mega cd game as ISO or bin and cue ?


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> You just have mega cd game was ISO or bin and cue ?


 Iso & cue raw dumps.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Iso & cue raw dumps.


Okay so it can be just ISO or dose it have to be ISO WITH cue and also do bin and cues work ( most of mine are bin and cue Darkwater 1:1 rips )


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Okay so it can be just ISO or dose it have to be ISO WITH cue and also do bin and cues work ( most of mine are bin and cue Darkwater 1:1 rips )


Cue file is necessary to play audio. You can run a iso but you will miss sound then. The format doesnt matter bin, iso, img everything works.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Cue file is necessary to play audio. You can run a iso but you will miss sound then. The format doesnt matter bin, iso, img everything works.


Cool got it thank you


----------



## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

Youre welcome! Should i add neo geo, gba for sega specific games?


----------



## asper (Jan 24, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> anyone know how to reflash the system img when its in recovery? or how to bring up the options in recovery? all i get is the red triangle  i fucked it up.


Recovery is almost "empty", I am working to add other recoveries, you will see progress in the wiki (if there will be any).


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 24, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Youre welcome! Should i add neo geo, gba for sega specific games?


I say leave it as a seat system with games that came out on sega mega drive master system etc


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 24, 2018)

asper said:


> Recovery is almost "empty", I am working to add other recoveries, you will see progress in the wiki (if there will be any).


i got it to work. can you add to the wiki to remove usb mod if they cant get the firmware flasher to switch to loader mode. that how i was able to get it to work


----------



## asper (Jan 24, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> i got it to work. can you add to the wiki to remove usb mod if they cant get the firmware flasher to switch to loader mode. that how i was able to get it to work


What exactly you got working ? For what you answered it seems you got "recovery" to work.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 24, 2018)

I love the work each of you have been doing on here and have been eagerly anticipating future releases. I’ve also been wanting to put together a “wish list” of features for what I’d consider the “perfect Flashback”. Whether or not you consider having these features, perhaps it will answer some questions about what ppl might desire.

1) _Must_ have better emulation than the stock emu. (Preferably one that also supports FM sound emulation for Master System).
2) Needs to work with wired controllers.
3) Really want to be able to dump my own carts and keep the rom.
4) Should really have boxarts. Especially since the stock dash does it... but preferably less clunky feel.
5) Would also like to be able to view descriptions, like the stock dash. This may not be the most important, but it’s certainly nice, and it also lets us list game codes if we like.
     Ex: Description blah...
     Infinite lives: press up, up, down, left, start.
6) Must be a responsive interface and not take long to load/boot.
7) Should look like it belongs. Like if someone sees it for the 1st time, they’d say “that’s an awesome Sega product”, not “looks like a hack job”.
8) Should have a “Genesis” logo option as well as “Mega Drive”.
9) Would be nice to have a catchy tune in the background (that could be disabled) that feels like “Sega”, the way the NES classic menu background tune feels “Nintendo,” (not a must have, but would be nice).

— The Generations dash has some of these features, but is missing some critical elements that currently would keep me from using it as “my” dash. (Although I have it installed for testing).

— So far, it looks like the retroshield project has most of these. I jut hope it doesn’t get so expansive that it becomes clunky or slow to load.

*** Please don’t take this as a list of demands, by any means, but I wanted to make my wish list known in case you guys are open to implementing them.




WD_Gaster said:


> since i want to keep the current code base clean and organized i am making it go in 1 more folder. it feels neater to me to at the moment (though i may change my mind).



I used the folder structure from my (formerly) obb model. Inside the “Games” folder, I created the folders “Genesis”, “Sms”, and “Gg”. Those are the same folders as the obb. Because the Generations dash looks for SMS roms in the “Master System” folder, they do not show up in the launcher. Same with GameGear since it looks in “Game Gear”. I’d like to ask that the Sms and Gg folders be added locations that the Generations dash looks in.




Hekel said:


> A question to the community.. at moment i added REGION categoeries to sort things out:
> 
> ...My question is would you like to have the same Style for the Master System or do we make an Multi folder like for ex. GG for those games?



I would like a way to distinguish to the _Emulator_ to run a game at 50Hz, but that it would be transparent to the user experience. In other words, I’d like to be able to tell the emu to run it in PAL mode, but not see any designation that it’s a certain region in the interface. I like a nice rom list with clean names. I don’t use (USA), (EUR), (JAP), etc. in my rom sets.
Having 50 Hz for some SMS games is pretty much essential though, since some of them run too fast or have glitches when run at 60 Hz.
If you can tell the emulator to “run roms in this folder at 60Hz” and “run this folder at 50Hz”, that seems like an ideal way to handle it. Much better than rom names or CRC32 databases etc.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 24, 2018)

asper said:


> What exactly you got working ? For what you answered it seems you got "recovery" to work.


i messed up my system partition. i was not able to get it to switch in the FW tool. i was stuck in recovery. removed usb mod and then hit switch in the FW tool and it went in to loader mode so i could reflash system.img


----------



## asper (Jan 24, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> i messed up my system partition. i was not able to get it to switch in the FW tool. i was stuck in recovery. removed usb mod and then hit switch in the FW tool and it went in to loader mode so i could reflash system.img


You can simply keep pressed the small button near usb port while powering on the console to enter bootloder/dfu flashing mode.

I can also confirm that the 1-wire hardmod works PERFECTLY while switching from adb to dfu/flashing mode, no need to remove the hardmod: i suggest you to check if the soldering points are clean.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 24, 2018)

asper said:


> You can simply keep pressed the small button near usb port while powering on the console to enter bootloder/dfu flashing mode.
> 
> I can also confirm that the 1-wire hardmod works PERFECTLY while switching from adb to dfu/flashing mode, no need to remove the hardmod: i suggest you to check if the soldering points are clean.


it does work when booted.i just tried it. it was not working in what ever mode mine was in when i broke the system drive


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## asper (Jan 24, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> it does work when booted.i just tried it. it was not working in what ever mode mine was in when i broke the system drive


If you look a the boot sequence of the console you can see it is not possible to "destroy" dfu/flashing mode because dfu/flashing mode is booted from the bootrom and you cannot mess it up because it is written in rom. The problem was surely another one and if you solved unsoldering the hardmod the problem was 99% a bad contact.


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## Menzo1986 (Jan 24, 2018)

I'm following the conversation here but what is the wiki?


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## asper (Jan 24, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> I'm following the conversation here but what is the wiki?


https://www.mdfbrew.org


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## asper (Jan 24, 2018)

asper said:


> There are 2 different cables: one is for OTG support and the other one is for connecting the console to a PC: I had the same problem and I would like to investigate the exact needed pinout but I have more important things right now


Maybe tha answer is this: https://www.mdfbrew.org/info:ubs-mini-port


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## Hekel (Jan 24, 2018)

Hey there! Im sorry i didnt find the time to make a video.. but got some pictures for you:




 

 

 

 

 



You may will not believe it but i didnt played any game since i have the flashback :-D but my goal is.. as far everything is running to make a pizza buy some cool drinks and chill with my son and play the whole evening :-D... lets hope its soon done!


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## redunka (Jan 25, 2018)

Hello everyone, would you mind if I ask a question?
I see that you're adding Sega Pico roms, but how did you manage to setup controls for Magic Pen and Storyware cartridges?
Yes, Picodrive is the only emulator that has support for Pico inputs, but I've never seen them to actually work in Picodrive that runs through Retroarch.
Even though, I don't have a Sega Flashback myself, I'm curious if this can be achieved with Retroarch for other systems.
Good luck with your projects!


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

redunka said:


> Hello everyone, would you mind if I ask a question?
> I see that you're adding Sega Pico roms, but how did you manage to setup controls for Magic Pen and Storyware cartridges?
> Yes, Picodrive is the only emulator that has support for Pico inputs, but I've never seen them to actually work in Picodrive that runs through Retroarch.
> Even though, I don't have a Sega Flashback myself, I'm curious if this can be achieved with Retroarch for other systems.
> Good luck with your projects!



Its hard to say how i try to manage this, i guess most easy option would be with additional hardware and a new config. But as for now its more important that it is running. As far the programm is working i will start to mess around with retroarch itself. Till then i cant give any direct answer..


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## redunka (Jan 25, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Its hard to say how i try to manage this, i guess most easy option would be with additional hardware and a new config. But as for now its more important that it is running. As far the programm is working i will start to mess around with retroarch itself. Till then i cant give any direct answer..


Well, it's actually not that hard to "run" Pico roms, literally any Megadrive emulator should be able do that, because of almost identical hardware. 
They just won't be playable without Pico-specific controls emulation, which Picodrive supposed to have.
I hope you'll be able to make those controls work (perhaps a mouse could work for Magic Pen?), that would be awesome to play those little games!


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Here is a new Update: It shows some of the changes i made. And i introduce for the first time the MEGA CD/SEGA CD Support on the Mega Drive/Genesis Flashback HD!


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## Menzo1986 (Jan 25, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey there! Im sorry i didnt find the time to make a video.. but got some pictures for you:
> 
> View attachment 112016 View attachment 112017 View attachment 112018 View attachment 112019 View attachment 112020 View attachment 112021
> 
> You may will not believe it but i didnt played any game since i have the flashback :-D but my goal is.. as far everything is running to make a pizza buy some cool drinks and chill with my son and play the whole evening :-D... lets hope its soon done!





Hekel said:


> Here is a new Update: It shows some of the changes i made. And i introduce for the first time the MEGA CD/SEGA CD Support on the Mega Drive/Genesis Flashback HD!




this is awesome. but when i dont add any pico games will it show up in the menu or will it be hidden?


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> this is awesome. but when i dont add any pico games will it show up in the menu or will it be hidden?


It will be hidden.


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Basicly i wanted to show that original controllers works aswell on my dashboard xD.. but i forgot it.. but trust me its working!!


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 25, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey there! Im sorry i didnt find the time to make a video.. but got some pictures for you:
> 
> View attachment 112016 View attachment 112017 View attachment 112018 View attachment 112019 View attachment 112020 View attachment 112021
> 
> You may will not believe it but i didnt played any game since i have the flashback :-D but my goal is.. as far everything is running to make a pizza buy some cool drinks and chill with my son and play the whole evening :-D... lets hope its soon done!



Well @Hekel when that day comes i hope you and your son have lots of fun and stay up all night


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

I startet now to configure the controllers thanks go @asper its a easy thing as we can map what ever we like. I saw that retroarch has a rewind function.. the question is if its working. If it doesnt i will check for another way to save the game


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Played around with the controls and im nearly done. All configs where working as they should. Start is working and if you press menu you get back into the retroshield select menü! But rewind doesnt works as it seems the core doesnt support it. Now my question what should i do with the rewind button? I could use it as select (doesnt exist on the actual console) but we could acess the retroarch menu by pressing rewind and start.. so is the possibility for save-load given.

Another idea is to use player 1 rewind button for save. And player 2 rewind button to load.


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Nevermind REWIND IS WORKING!!! :-) finally we have managed the controlls ;-)


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Maybe a bit silly but i increased the flashback cartridge support.. you can now pull in a 32x game and play it from retroshield xD.. funny addition :-P

*and no you dont need a 32x to do that xD


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## asper (Jan 25, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Maybe a bit silly but i increased the flashback cartridge support.. you can now pull in a 32x game and play it from retroshield xD.. funny addition :-P
> 
> *and no you dont need a 32x to do that xD


You mean that an original 32x cartridge fits into Flashback cartridge slot ? It can be because jap cartridegs fit too...


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

asper said:


> You mean that an original 32x cartridge fits into Flashback cartridge slot ? It can be because jap cartridegs fit too...


Not just fits :-) you can dump it and play it xD


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## Hekel (Jan 25, 2018)

Im still playing around with the console im now able to completly run: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 1 and 2 and CD for android by christian whitehead. Which is pretty cool. Just that you know sonic the hedgehog 4 boots... but it looks like the system is a way to slow to handle it. After the sega/sonic logo the game crashes.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Im still playing around with the console im now able to completly run: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 1 and 2 and CD for android by christian whitehead. Which is pretty cool. Just that you know sonic the hedgehog 4 boots... but it looks like the system is a way to slow to handle it. After the sega/sonic logo the game crashes.


SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 1 and 2 and CD for android ohh would like to play that


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## Clint13579 (Jan 26, 2018)

Are you close to a release?


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Clint13579 said:


> Are you close to a release?


Sadly no.. there is still a bunch of stuff to do. I fixed now the android-emulation controls so its possible to use both with the same controller and my interface. Next step is to finish the design. When this is done i have to edit my script.. the plan is to kill all unecessary tools and programms on the device. So theres more storage for android games. Got a script in progress which dumps the original games, sort them out (basicly kill all the shitty bonus game) and makes the file ready to use with my interface. With this everyone haves already playable roms ready to go.. dont forget about all the legal stuff...


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Sadly no.. there is still a bunch of stuff to do. I fixed now the android-emulation controls so its possible to use both with the same controller and my interface. Next step is to finish the design. When this is done i have to edit my script.. the plan is to kill all unecessary tools and programms on the device. So theres more storage for android games. Got a script in progress which dumps the original games, sort them out (basicly kill all the shitty bonus game) and makes the file ready to use with my interface. With this everyone haves already playable roms ready to go.. dont forget about all the legal stuff...


I am planing to run everything of USB so space is not an issue in that regards , my question is about the scraper you use to put the game info in etc so I can input English info ?


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> I am planing to run everything of USB so space is not an issue in that regards , my question is about the scraper you use to put the game info in etc so I can input English info ?


Well you wont be able to launch apk from an external source so space is important. If you just wanna work with roms then its easy to go. Its possible to change all text files.. i will provide an pseudo englisch version. Check the older posts if you dont know what that means. I explained it about 2x


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well you wont be able to launch apk from an external source so space is important. If you just wanna work with roms then its easy to go. Its possible to change all text files.. i will provide an pseudo englisch version. Check the older posts if you dont know what that means. I explained it about 2x


  I am going to/want to store the games on USB not the apk files  had a look at your earlier post might just take a bit of time lol


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Not just fits :-) you can dump it and play it xD


Yeah i know the pinout is the same but was not aware it fits! Can you tell me some rom name dumps (genesis and 32x) to see in which way the dumped .bin name is generated?


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 26, 2018)

im going to take a wild guess and say all games keep the same generic name.


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Had a sleepless night .. sadly to say but im sick :-(.. used the time to work on this:



Sonic 1 (Android) running on the device, all Controllers working.


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Allright my friends :-) Original Cartridge is now fully running! Still one downside. If you wanna change the game you have to turn off the console. Well basicly original feeling isnt it? XD


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 26, 2018)

As a side note, i am re-designing my GUI since people sound like they are not too happy about it.







if anybody is willing to make some bezels in photoshop for me it be much appreciated . I am not sure if i can release it with the current one yet. the image in the center will transition to scenes from various iconic games so it will be semi-animated.


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Design is done. I keep it close to the original:

It did some tests and its possible to play 32x cartridges in my Dashboard. The games will be recognized in the original Dashboard aswell. You can even launch the game but sadly there is no 32x support in the original atgames emulator. Now we come to the downside :-) the cartridges doesnt fit inside the console when the case is closed :-D.. so if you wanna play 32x you need an (import) adapter :-)... but it works i tested it.

And before anyone asks no everdrive is not supported and no this will never happen.. and it would anyway be nonsense as we can launch any game we want from sd card..


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Yeah everdrive cannot be supported because the console dumps the cartridge content real time and everdrive is not a cartridge, it is an hardware cartridge emulator with its own bios.

Sad to hear about the 32x carts do not fit in the slot... this was what i was aware of.


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

asper said:


> Yeah everdrive cannot be supported because the console dumps the cartridge content real time and everdrive is not a cartridge, it is an hardware cartridge emulator with its own bios.
> 
> Sad to hear about the 32x carts do not fit in the slot... this was what i was aware of.


I just wanted to say it.. cause im pretty sure alot of ppl would ask if the everdrive will work.. 

Well there is still the option to put a game shark between the console and 32x game to play it. I will later test a small master system  converter and see whats happen. Maybe we get this support aswell!

Its pretty cool to play original cartridges but still its non sense as you can anyway put any game on a sd-card. I understand if peoples say they wanna play theyre originals but there is absolutly no difference between a downloaded rom or a self dumped rom xD..


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I just wanted to say it.. cause im pretty sure alot of ppl would ask if the everdrive will work..
> 
> Well there is still the option to put a game shark between the console and 32x game to play it. I will later test a small master system  converter and see whats happen. Maybe we get this support aswell!
> 
> Its pretty cool to play original cartridges but still its non sense as you can anyway put any game on a sd-card. I understand if peoples say they wanna play theyre originals but there is absolutly no difference between a downloaded rom or a self dumped rom xD..


Can you erite down some .bin dumped rom file names please?


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

asper said:


> Can you erite down some .bin dumped rom file names please?


Well i made a workaround cause every dump will be renamed to rom-????.bin. 

I couldnt get any sense out of the file name but the displayed Name on the dashboard was taken out of the rom Header.

But as every game will be named as rom-????.bin i hardcoded my script to load the file „rom-*.bin“ with my emulator so its always beeing the actual dump loaded.

To display something in retroshield i insered a dummy file.. what im trying to say i dumped 2 games and not more so i cant provide names.. already deleted the dumps.


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well i made a workaround cause every dump will be renamed to rom-????.bin.
> 
> I couldnt get any sense out of the file name but the displayed Name on the dashboard was taken out of the rom Header.
> 
> ...


Can you try to redump them and tell me if the file name is different from each other? If it is different can you tell me the rom bin file, the game name and region?


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Sure but it will take some time. Will do it this evening. But i can already tell that the filename is different only the start: ,,rom-*‘‘ is identical.

I dont believe that the filename contains the region information as it can be easy readed from any emulator.


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Sure but it will take some time. Will do it this evening. But i can already tell that the filename is different only the start: ,,rom-*‘‘ is identical.
> 
> I dont believe that the filename contains the region information as it can be easy readed from any emulator.


Thank you. I tested with 1 cart only and the name is always the same for the same game. Waiting for your tests!


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

asper said:


> Thank you. I tested with 1 cart only ans the name is always the same for the same game. Waiting for your tests!



Ah yeah the same game results in the same file! But different game different filename..


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Ah yeah the same game results in the same file! But different game different filename..


I have a theory about the .bin name, let's see if i am correct (i need the file dump too but if you tell me the name game and region i can find them online).


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Allright everyone doing some research and we will never be able to play most of the unl., homebrew and other special kind of cartridges.. i could explain in detail why but lets say it easy:

the md/gen flashback hd is not able to recognize or dump it correctly. No direct support.

Sure there is a work around for this problem and you can play most of this kind of cartridges by using an retrode2 - tested and working (you would then play even the real cart not just a dump of it xD), but this would kill the idea of this console.

Conclusion: play the rom and be happy with it xD..

Cheers


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

Allright i have the answer on how the dumped ROM-Files gets theyre Name. I dumped these games to get an idea how it works:





Basicly its very simpel. But lets start in the beginning. I placed the games in my MD/GEN Flashback HD and grabbed the dumps. This was the result:





So how was the name given? Every SEGA Game Has his own GAME-ID. The MD/GEN Flashback HD takes the HEX-Code of the last 2 letters in the line of this ID and save it in the filename.

As an example:
rom-6ADE = Separation Anxiety

By searching for the HEX-Code ,,6ADE‘‘ we find the following GAME-ID:





My guess is.. if the GAME-ID is missing like in some of the unlicensed Games the MD/GEN Flashback HD is not able to recognize the insert Cartridge.

Here you can check the other results:

rom-52E8




*Do not compare my PAL Smurfs with the Retail version, because this is a Prototype Cartridge which was missing the Import Region lock! So the HEX is different!

rom-C1DA




rom-FC1A




If someone wants to add this informations to the Wiki feel free to use stuff from my post. (Please quote the source)


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## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

If anyone likes to Dump his Cartridges here is a simple Tool. Just put the game in youre MD/GEN Flashback HD Console, turn it on wait until the game appears in youre Front and hit the Start.bat File. Done. HAVE FUN.


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## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright i have the answer on how the dumped ROM-Files gets theyre Name. I dumped these games to get an idea how it works:
> 
> View attachment 112227
> 
> ...



Well as I posted many pages back my theory was correct 



asper said:


> The dump will go to /mnt/asec/ folder in .bin format (the name of the cartridge dump tested was rom-9370.bin).
> The name can be related to some hex values inside the cartridge (for example 2 bytes at offset 0x18E) because the cartridge name is always the same using the same cartridge (unfortunately I only have 1 to play with)....



And that 2 bytes are not a game ID, it is a well known 2bytes-checksum that is calculated as follow:

0 - Checksum initial value is zero
1 - Skip the first 512 bytes of the ROM (start calculating from offset 0x200 and on)
2 - Read a byte from the rom and multiply its ascii value by 256, then sum it to the checksum value
3 - Read the next byte from the rom and just sum it to the checksum
4 - If you're not at the end of file, repeat step 3
5 - Get the first 16 bits from the resulting checksum and delete the higher bits

here it is a small asm code for its calculation:

```
movea.l #$200,a0
               movea.l #ROM_End,a1
               move.l  (a1),d0
               moveq   #0,d1
loop:
               add.w   (a0)+,d1
               cmp.l   a0,d0
               bcc.s   loop
               movea.l #$18E,a1        ; Checksum
               cmp.w   (a1),d1
               bne.w   WrongChecksum
```

You guess it almost correctly: this checksum was introduced by Sega to try to avoid unathorized editing of the game data and this can be the reason why those kind of cartridges are not dumped by the original software but I suppose a patch can bypass this "protection".

EDIT: I already released a similar batch script days ago


----------



## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

asper said:


> Well as I posted many pages before my theory was correct
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can you maybe provide a patch so it would support any cartridge? As i mentioned before the Retrode2 doesnt have this kind of problem. Would be cool to apply this patch in my Dashboard Project. Thanks for the correction. Im not so much into binary/hex and such stuff.


----------



## asper (Jan 26, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Can you maybe provide a patch so it would support any cartridge? As i mentioned before the Retrode2 doesnt have this kind of problem. Would be cool to apply this patch in my Dashboard Project. Thanks for the correction. Im not so much into binary/hex and such stuff.


To achieve what you are asking for I need to decompile and edit the original launcher .apk but I don't know if I am able to do that kind of patch, really; unfortunately I also have really few spare time with my newborn so do not expect me to "solve" that problem or solve it too soon 

EDIT: wiki will be updated soon with the above info !


----------



## Hekel (Jan 26, 2018)

asper said:


> To achieve what you are asking for I need to decompile and edit the original launcher .apk but I don't know if I am able to do that kind of patch, really; unfortunately I also have really few spare time with my newborn so do not expect me to "solve" that problem or solve it too soon
> 
> EDIT: wiki will be updated soon with the above info !



Haha yeah i can totaly understand that time is rare for you right now. Would be a nice addition if someone could do that. But as i sad not a must have as you can find most of the game dumps anyway. And those are working fine from my frontend.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> View attachment 112224 Allright everyone doing some research and we will never be able to play most of the unl., homebrew and other special kind of cartridges.. i could explain in detail why but lets say it easy:
> 
> the md/gen flashback hd is not able to recognize or dump it correctly. No direct support.
> 
> ...


@Hekel just a question please dose pier solar work when you play it from cart ?  When you play it from rom in the flashback it comes up ie starts gives you the this is not made by sega screen and that is far as it will go


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## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> @Hekel just a question please dose pier solar work when you play it from cart ?  When you play it from rom in the flashback it comes up ie starts gives you the this is not made by sega screen and that is far as it will go



IT will not, the reason is simple cause its an emulation problem. But it can be played in my dashboard! But it needs a special emulator to work with..


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> IT will not, the reason is simple cause its an emulation problem. But it can be played in my dashboard! But it needs a special emulator to work with..


will the rom work as well?


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## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> will the rom work as well?


I meaned the rom, its not dumpable with the flashback.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I meaned the rom, its not dumpable with the flashback.


okay , i now it works on my famicom mini, it would have been nice to have all my sega in one please


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 27, 2018)

New "animated" skin engine for the generations launcher has been implemented. custom skinning is now out. in exchange we get a pretty sweet UI. Buttons are still a WIP at the moment. however i think this may be more "in touch" than the previous version.

boot sound is more familiar now too


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 27, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> New "animated" skin engine for the generations launcher has been implemented. custom skinning is now out. in exchange we get a pretty sweet UI. Buttons are still a WIP at the moment. however i think this may be more "in touch" than the previous version.
> 
> boot sound is more familiar now too



@WD-gaster looks very cool can't wait to see it in action


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## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Can you maybe provide a patch so it would support any cartridge? As i mentioned before the Retrode2 doesnt have this kind of problem. Would be cool to apply this patch in my Dashboard Project. Thanks for the correction. Im not so much into binary/hex and such stuff.


I got where the control is done but I really never studied the android low level language before so I suppose it will take me some time to find a way to patch it (if i never find a way to patch it).


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> I got where the control is done but I really never studied the android low level language before so I suppose it will take me some time to find a way to patch it (if i never find a way to patch it).



I see, what im wondering can you tell if there is a save path to the rom before its beeing dumped?

* i mean the actual cartridge not the rom xD


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## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

It seems that the game is 1stly dumped as /mnt/asec/cartridge.bin then it is renamed using the checksum algo but I still cannot verify that. I think this is the "temp" file when it is dumped real time. You can check if that file is created before the rom is renamed but that process should take less than a second.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> It seems that the game is 1stly dumped as /mnt/asec/cartridge.bin then it is renamed using the checksum algo but I still cannot verify that. I think this is the "temp" file when it is dumped real time. You can check if that file is created before the rom is renamed but that process should take less than a second.


I found that string aswell and i tryed to pull this file off. It was not possible if you dont run the original dashboard. I was hoping that there is a way to hide the original dashboard without loosing the dump function..or even better launch the game from the actual cartridge. But the Cartridge.bin is before the renaming i guess.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Hekel said:


> I found that string aswell and i tryed to pull this file off. It was not possible if you dont run the original dashboard. I was hoping that there is a way to hide the original dashboard without loosing the dump function..


----------



## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I found that string aswell and i tryed to pull this file off. It was not possible if you dont run the original dashboard. I was hoping that there is a way to hide the original dashboard without loosing the dump function..


I don't even know if that file is created, I never saw it inside that folder, mine is just a guess, still to investigate further.


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## fixingmytoys (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I found that string aswell and i tryed to pull this file off. It was not possible if you dont run the original dashboard. I was hoping that there is a way to hide the original dashboard without loosing the dump function..


I am not a coder by a long shot mind you I use to be in crew back in the c64 days mainly music , my question is can you “call up” the  original dashboard to use the dumping Functions and then drop unload the original dashboard ie call it up in the back ground just do that task ?.
 I have no idea if this is possible just an idea


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## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> I am not a coder by a long shot mind you I use to be in crew back in the c64 days mainly music , my question is can you “call up” the  original dashboard to use the dumping Functions and then drop unload the original dashboard ie call it up in the back ground just do that task ?.
> I have no idea if this is possible just an idea



Yes this is possible this was already made by @asper in the cfw. I use the same method. First it loads the original dashboard. Then it dumps the cartridge and open my dashboard. Its just not very eye candy :-D


----------



## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes this is possible this was already made by @asper in the cfw. I use the same method. First it loads the original dashboard. Then it dumps the cartridge and open my dashboard. Its just not very eye candy :-D


Well, we just don't do anything because at start the original launcher automatically dump a cartridge when one is insterted so we just copied the .bin file without need to use any "hacking" ability at all. I suppose there is a method to use the original launcher libraries to ask for a dump and it is a thing I am investigating right now.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> Well, we just don't do anything because at start the original launcher automatically dump a cartridge when one is insterted so we just copied the .bin file without need to use any "hacking" ability at all. I suppose there is a method to use the original launcher libraries to ask for a dump and it is a thing I am investigating right now.



This would be amazing, would be great if its possible to inject this function before the apks starts.


----------



## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> This would be amazing, would be great if its possible to inject this function before the apks starts.


I think I found where the check is performed; can you please send me scrrenshots of the 1st 0x200 bytes of your unlicensed rom dumps ? PLEASE provide dumps screenshots done with your dumper and not dumps found online, thank you.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> I think I found where the check is performed; can you please send me scrrenshots of the 1st 0x200 bytes of your unlicensed rom dumps ? PLEASE provide dumps screenshots done with your dumper and not dumps found online, thank you.



This will be a problem because it does not dump the carts. Its simply recognized as no cart insert.


----------



## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> This will be a problem because it does not dump the carts. Its simply recognized as no cart insert.


Oh I supposed you own a retrode2; if not i will try to patch the code and send you the new file but do not expect it too soon


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> Oh I supposed you own a retrode2; if not i will try to patch the code and send you the new file but do not expect it too soon


I thought youre talking about rhe flashback HD xD yea the retrode can dump the files.


----------



## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I thought youre talking about rhe flashback HD xD yea the retrode can dump the files.


You told MD Flashback it is not able to dump the unlicensed cartridges... I read all the posts 
If you can provide unlicensed dumps created with retrode2.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> You told MD Flashback it is not able to dump the unlicensed cartridges... I read all the posts
> If you can provide unlicensed dumps created with retrode2.


That shouldnt be a problem. Will send you a pm.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes this is possible this was already made by @asper in the cfw. I use the same method. First it loads the original dashboard. Then it dumps the cartridge and open my dashboard. Its just not very eye candy :-D


there is also a flaw with this method. it has to do with how android handles memory. if your app is not registered as launcher, and lets say you decide to play a game for an extended period of time, say several hours, its possible that androids "garbage collector" service which is used in clearing used ram for applications that are not in use after an extended period of time (launchers are exempt) that have not ran for a while, may terminate retroshield. since android handles memory different than other OS. Now i really dont know what the odds of this happening per session are, but it leaves itself open to possibility. Android sadly loves to determine "what app should be running" in the background if its a non-essential app.
Now for the good news, since i am guessing retroshield is a modified kodi, if it has any services running in the background this may prevent it from being terminated, but i have not looked into what services if any kodi runs on start.


Asper's cfw was clever in the sense that retroarch uses itself as an emulator so it forces android to keep it running since it has its own emulation built in, so its active at all times. awesome stuff.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> there is also a flaw with this method. it has to do with how android handles memory. if your app is not registered as launcher, and lets say you decide to play a game for an extended period of time, say several hours, its possible that androids "garbage collector" service which is used in clearing used ram for applications that are not in use after an extended period of time (launchers are exempt) that have not ran for a while, may terminate retroshield. since android handles memory different than other OS. Now i really dont know what the odds of this happening per session are, but it leaves itself open to possibility. Android sadly loves to determine "what app should be running" in the background if its a non-essential app.
> Now for the good news, since i am guessing retroshield is a modified kodi, if it has any services running in the background this may prevent it from being terminated, but i have not looked into what services if any kodi runs on start.



Thanks for the informations, so far i didnt had any troubles. Retroshield is basiclys a modified kodi/spmc version. Will take a look if theres any troubles. I will anyway start soon a closed beta to test all out.


----------



## asper (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Thanks for the informations, so far i didnt had any troubles. Retroshield is basiclys a modified kodi/spmc version. Will take a look if theres any troubles. I will anyway start soon a closed beta to test all out.


Try to leave it open for 24 hours and see if any crashes and/or sudden closes happens. I doubt someone will keep the console on for 24 hours


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

asper said:


> Try to leave it open for 24 hours and see if any crashes and/or sudden closes happens. I doubt someone will keep the console on for 24 hours


I already did that .. even longer and i did not had any issue so far. Everything runs like it should be.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 27, 2018)

technically that wont do, i suggest you launch a game, keep it running so ram is doing its thing and then after a long period of time, say several hours then try to return to your dash.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> technically that wont do, i suggest you launch a game, keep it running so ram is doing its thing and then after a long period of time, say several hours then try to return to your dash.


As i sad i did that today spiderman was running for 4h, then i quit the game with my home button and i came directly back to my dashboard. No problems.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

But even if youre right and some apps haves this problem.. the worst case would be that the apk will reboot or not? Dunno if it re-initialize the sh commands


----------



## WD_Gaster (Jan 27, 2018)

Hekel said:


> As i sad i did that today spiderman was running for 4h, then i quit the game with my home button and i came directly back to my dashboard. No problems.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> But even if youre right and some apps haves this problem.. the worst case would be that the apk will reboot or not? Dunno if it re-initialize the sh commands


no. android will return to home (in this case the default atgames launcher) android presumes that you can relaunch the app again from your launcher. however since the default atgames dash has no such options, you can see how this is a problem.

also afaik the sh only runs post boot. once.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 27, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> no. android will return to home (in this case the default atgames launcher) android presumes that you can relaunch the app again from your launcher. however since the default atgames dash has no such options, you can see how this is a problem.
> 
> also afaik the sh only runs post boot. once.


As i sad i did not have this problem and i have retroshield installed on a second console since over s week. So for me it doesnt matter as long it works.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 28, 2018)

Allright, i created now a script which dumps the original games on the hardware and creates a new folder that contains all files needed to put on the sd card. With this youre directly able to use my dashboard with the original included games.


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## Hekel (Jan 28, 2018)

Hey There
This is a little Patch for the Original Dashboard to replace some Covers.

FIXES:

SEGA GAME GEAR:
- Change all Covers to PAL (Looks like ATGAMES preffered the US Ones..)

SEGA MASTER SYSTEM:
- Updates the SNAIL MAZE Cover
- Updates the ASSAULT CITY Cover (There is no Zapper support)

SEGA MEGA DRIVE:
- Updates the VECTORMAN 2 Cover (From Genesis to the Brasil Mega Drive Release)


----------



## asper (Jan 28, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey There
> This is a little Patch for the Original Dashboard to replace some Covers.
> 
> FIXES:
> ...


You are a real sega fan my friend


----------



## Hekel (Jan 28, 2018)

asper said:


> You are a real sega fan my friend


Well im Collecting video games :-) and mega drive is my favorite ;-) i will try to get all out of the machine xD


----------



## Hekel (Jan 29, 2018)

Does anyone know here if its possible to hack the Atari Flashback Gold? 

I know it haves a simulare hardware but looks like informations are hard to come by..

But what i readed so far it runs android haves an different storeplace for the roms and it needs s modification to acess?


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 29, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Does anyone know here if its possible to hack the Atari Flashback Gold?
> 
> I know it haves a simulare hardware but looks like informations are hard to come by..
> 
> But what i readed so far it runs android haves an different storeplace for the roms and it needs s modification to acess?



Not hard to put a USB port the rest I leave that to you


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 29, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Does anyone know here if its possible to hack the Atari Flashback Gold?
> 
> I know it haves a simulare hardware but looks like informations are hard to come by..
> 
> But what i readed so far it runs android haves an different storeplace for the roms and it needs s modification to acess?


Yes, it is.  It's nearly identical to the Genesis/MD Flashback.  It even has remnants of the Genesis emulator in the data/data folder. You just have to add header pins and then you can connect a standard usb connector, except the ground is one pin over so I pulled that connector out of the plastic housing of my usb connector and moved it over one pin.

 

I have an Activision Edition and a standard Gold HD edition.  I got the standard Gold one recently and it has a 4GB flash the same as the Activision one and the newer Genesis ones.  From what I've read, some of the earlier ones were 2GB and had the obb file, but both of mine are the newer 4GB ones.  I'd guess that all Activision Editions are the 4GB models because they were released a month or so after the Gold ones.

I've added games to both of them.  The emulation is a little better than the handheld, but does have some of the same issues, so roms hacked to work with the handheld seem to work on this as well. Ex: Tapper displays too low on the screen, so it was hacked to work with the handheld's emulator and that rom displays fine on these.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 29, 2018)

Allright. Modded mine.. now its a dev unit xD.. otg support with hub. Yay.. and i dumped mine aswell will see what i can do with the files.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jan 29, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Allright. Modded mine.. now its a dev unit xD.. otg support with hub. Yay.. and i dumped mine aswell will see what i can do with the files.
> 
> View attachment 112448
> View attachment 112449


I’m glad to see your pics. I was debating on where to permanently install the usb. I had planned to put it in the back, but then, because of the hdmi port, started considering putting it exactly where you put yours.  Seeing yours there confirms that it does indeed look nice.


----------



## Hekel (Jan 29, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> I’m glad to see your pics. I was debating on where to permanently install the usb. I had planned to put it in the back, but then, because of the hdmi port, started considering putting it exactly where you put yours.  Seeing yours there confirms that it does indeed look nice.


Well first i was thinking to put it beside the power connector.. then i was thinking in front of the controller ports bit .. wouldnt fit well there.. then i came up with the idea i chosen at the end.


----------



## JackMonty (Jan 29, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey There
> This is a little Patch for the Original Dashboard to replace some Covers.
> 
> FIXES:
> ...



This is great! One quick question - is this okay to run even though I have a symlink to the all-games.ini file?


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## Hekel (Jan 29, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> This is great! One quick question - is this okay to run even though I have a symlink to the all-games.ini file?


If the games where not sorted correctly (dunno how symlink exact works) just place it manually to the symlink folder. Then it should work. But if you have custom games installed backup youre ini before overwriting!

You will have to copy the entries again.

I found 4 pcs of the atari flashback HD for less than 90$ ..

I modded number 2:


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 29, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> This is great! One quick question - is this okay to run even though I have a symlink to the all-games.ini file?


I put mine back to default and removed the symlink because when you left the dashboard it would hang when getting back to the original dashboard ha r a look back near the start of all the post @Hekel post a bat file that fixed it for me


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## Hekel (Jan 30, 2018)

Well as i sad before i would use a bat down/uploader for the ini file this is more save and i never had any failures. With the symlink it tends more to crash..


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 30, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well as i sad before i would use a bat down/uploader for the ini file this is more save and i never had any failures. With the symlink it tends more to crash..



Well your bat file uplaoder downloader Saved my sega flashback so I am
Happy worked for me


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## Hekel (Jan 30, 2018)

What a shame.. im playing with my Mega Drive Flashback DE version. I recognized there some games completly missing!

MD:
Mortal Kombat (Rom incl. - no MK section)
Mortal Kombat II (Rom incl. - no MK section)
Mortal Kombat 3 (Rom incl. - no MK section)

SMS:
Astro Warriors (No Rom)
Kenseiden (No Rom)
Kung Fu Kid (No Rom)
Psycho Fox (No Rom)
The Ninja (No Rom)

This is a total ripoff.. everyone pays the same price and some gets less games than others? Makes me sick -_-... 

I can understand if there was troubles with the MK brand but what about the SMS games?

And the Store Sellers lies on us xD they promise the sms games where included..


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jan 30, 2018)

Hekel said:


> What a shame.. im playing with my Mega Drive Flashback DE version. I recognized there some games completly missing!
> 
> MD:
> Mortal Kombat (Rom incl. - no MK section)
> ...



Early version of the flashback?. The Australian version which I got for Christmas has the MK section , I do remember reading online that early version did not have the MK section


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## Hekel (Jan 30, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Early version of the flashback?. The Australian version which I got for Christmas has the MK section , I do remember reading online that early version did not have the MK section



Well i dont think so i recognized there even more games missing than i mentioned in the other post i made. I guess its simply the german version.. who knows why.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Jan 30, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well i dont think so i recognized there even more games missing than i mentioned in the other post i made. I guess its simply the german version.. who knows why.



i've seen 2 different versions of the flashback. one with mk games and one without mk games.
maybe there are like the atari flashback different versions.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Menzo1986 said:


> i've seen 2 different versions of the flashback. one with mk games and one without mk games.
> maybe there are like the atari flashback different versions.



https://www.amazon.de/Drive-Flashback-inkl-Spielen-Board/dp/B0783PCRQP

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/sega-megadrive-mini-hd-inkl-85-spielen/9200000077590885/


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## Hekel (Jan 30, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> i've seen 2 different versions of the flashback. one with mk games and one without mk games.
> maybe there are like the atari flashback different versions.


Basicly we know of 4 different versions.

DE - guess germany
AU - Australia
EU - Europe
Usa - Genesis

Regards


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## Hekel (Jan 30, 2018)

Does anyone here haves a RAW Dump of the original GENESIS 4GB (NOT OBB) Mega Drive Flashback HD?

I Managed to buy and get RAW Dumps (Means untouched not played any game instead directly plugged in to make a dump) of These versions:

MD-AU (PROVIDED)
MD-DE (SELFMADE)
MD-EU (SELFMADE)
GEN-USA-OBB (2GB) (PROVIDED)
* Any other version that is missing is welcome aswell!
* I ordered a USA GENESIS i think it will have the 4GB non OBB version on it. I will inform you when i know more.

if someone haves any other dumps it would be very helpfull to optimize my upcoming new CUSTOM-ORIGINAL Dashboard.

Thanks in advance for any help.


----------



## Ckunak (Jan 31, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Does anyone here haves a RAW Dump of the original GENESIS 4GB (NOT OBB) Mega Drive Flashback HD?
> 
> I Managed to buy and get RAW Dumps (Means untouched not played any game instead directly plugged in to make a dump) of These versions:
> 
> ...


i sent you my dump a few weeks back

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

A video of @WD_Gaster new launcher. i love the way it looks. Good Job!
And Hekel boot screen is awesome also


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## Hekel (Jan 31, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> i sent you my dump a few weeks back
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...




Yea it looks great! Well done. Sended you a pm whats happend.. xD


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## WD_Gaster (Jan 31, 2018)

i will be addressing the bug with the sound shortly. it shouldnt be playing when launching an external app. but thanks for the vid.


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## Hekel (Jan 31, 2018)

Allright out there! Everyone who wants to test my:

"SEGA MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS FLASHBACK HD - REGION CHANGER "

Hit me with a PM. You will be able to change the Original DASHBOARD to any Region you want without reflashing youre system. Pretty usefull in some cases!


----------



## asper (Jan 31, 2018)

I was finally able to (partly) use a twrp recovery (adb only); if there is some of you out there expert in recovery source build please contact me.


----------



## asper (Feb 1, 2018)

I was able to use the terminal emulator from inside the console without connecting it to the PC; TWRP v3 recovery is working using mouse but it is unable to mount partitions (need to investigate more); I will try to get wifi dongle to be recognized by the system in the following days, whish me good luck


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## Hekel (Feb 1, 2018)

asper said:


> I was able to use the terminal emulator from inside the console without connecting it to the PC; TWRP v3 recovery is working using mouse but it is unable to mount partitions (need to investigate more); I will try to get wifi dongle to be recognized by the system in the following days, whish me good luck


Good luck :-D we believe in you


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## Hekel (Feb 1, 2018)

Looks like the australia version has an additional sticker on it:





Will try to track one down :-D If someone can buy one uf these and is willing to send me the console i would pay for it. Just if someone is able to get a sealed one.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Feb 2, 2018)

Found an alternate version of NBA Jam TE that works.  You'll need to use the one with [f2] at the end of the name.

Unfortunately, Forgotten Worlds does not seem to work because of the 6 button controller.  It would probably work with a 3 button wired controller, but I haven't tried it yet.  I'm surprised no one has patched the game to be compatible with 6 button controllers.  Surely there's at least a better emulator that fixes that problem (which appears even on original hardware).


----------



## Hekel (Feb 2, 2018)

Hey there, finally a new update! I Proudly present my Custom Original Dashboard!



As we know now there has been 4 different Region versions of the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Flashback HD.

*DE-Version*
This version lacks of a complete menu. Its missing the Mortal Kombat section and the About section. It looks like ATGAMES released they‘re console with different games on the machine. The *DE-Version* is missing the following Retail titles:

Assault City
Astro Warrior
Defenders Of Oasis
Kenseiden
Kung Fu Kid
Mortal Kombat *
Mortal Kombat II *
Mortal Kombat 3 *
PsychoFox
SnailMaze
SuperColumns
TheNinja

*The Roms are still remaining on the system but it doesnt show up cause of the missing Mortal Kombat section.

The Game Gear Games haves all US-Covers, seems like ATGAMES preffered those. Overall i would say this is the most incomplete version that exist.


*EU-AU Version*
Those versions are basicly pretty simulaire. But the *AU-Version* contains a different Build of the main Dashboard APK. Both Versions are missing the About section and the following Bonus Games:

Bottle Taps Race
Break The Fireline
Chess
Fish Tank Live
Hang Man
Mahjong
Maze 2010
Snow Boarding
Warehouse Keeper

Seems like those Bonus Games are *DE-exclusive* titles. Those Both Versions has aswell the US-Covers for Game Gear Games.


*USA Version*
The USA Version contains the complete Dashboard. But its missing the same Bonus Games as the EU-AU Versions. The Covers are all region related.


This Custom Dashboard contains all games and fixes some covers. And for sure it unleashes the full Dashboard with all Features! I think it will not be allowed to put a download in here as it contains licenced material. But i will soon post a link on my YouTube channel.

Regards
Hekel


----------



## KiiWii (Feb 2, 2018)

Random: 

Anyone tried install the APK to android TV?


----------



## Hekel (Feb 2, 2018)

Not yet i was thinking to do it but at the end it wouldnt change anything.. well you could make it portable xD... but i dont see the sense behind it :-)


----------



## Hekel (Feb 2, 2018)

And here the Genesis Version:



Both versions contains a highly edited all-games.ini file which makes it easyer to manage all original games.


----------



## Hekel (Feb 2, 2018)

Yay! Only missing the AU-Version which is on the way.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Feb 2, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey there, finally a new update! I Proudly present my Custom Original Dashboard!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




i don't know if it's already posted here but how can i change the menu sections like you did in the video.
the Sonic games, Bonus games part.


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

:-) finished another project of mine.. here is my selfmade devolpment console for the SEGA Mega Drive Flashback HD:



 


 
Need to make a custom sticker later :-) do it for now!


----------



## JackMonty (Feb 3, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey there, finally a new update! I Proudly present my Custom Original Dashboard!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Very Cool Hekel, did you have to make new sections in the all-games.ini file to get games to appear under the newly created menu sections? Also how is your retroshield mod coming along?


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Very Cool Hekel, did you have to make new sections in the all-games.ini file to get games to appear under the newly created menu sections? Also how is your retroshield mod coming along?



No you have to work with the actual existing sections. Basicly its just renamed- but the new .ini file contains alot of tips and tricks how to manage all games. And i sorted the ini file so its easy to handle.

Retroshield is working great so far. At moment im trying to tweak the controller so they work with the original dashboard / retroshield AND RetroArch. Maybe its possible to make 2 functions per button. We will see :-)


----------



## JackMonty (Feb 3, 2018)

Hekel said:


> No you have to work with the actual existing sections. Basicly its just renamed- but the new .ini file contains alot of tips and tricks how to manage all games. And i sorted the ini file so its easy to handle.
> 
> Retroshield is working great so far. At moment im trying to tweak the controller so they work with the original dashboard / retroshield AND RetroArch. Maybe its possible to make 2 functions per button. We will see :-)


Sounds great let me know if you need some one to test it out for you before you do an official release!


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

@asper 

Some ppls asked me for a pic from inside:



 

Its basicly an upgrade of the USB-Mod. If you already have performed this you just have to add 2 more wires and a switch. The first brown wire is GND, the second is sense. Wire those cables to a 3 Pole Switch. Take care that the GND is in the middle. With this method you can later add a LED, which lights up when youre in device mode. The power for the led can be taken off the original led board (red wire). You might have to create youre own Mini-USB to USB cable, dont know if this can be buyed.


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

Maybe someone likes to see my dev unit in action:


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## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

I still have troubles on a device of mine. It looks like im stuck in the bootloader/dfu mode. Means i can reflash the system but after reboot it still remains in the bootloader mode. Anyone a idea how i get out of that?


----------



## fixingmytoys (Feb 3, 2018)

Hekel said:


> @asper
> 
> Some ppls asked me for a pic from inside:
> 
> ...



Can I see a photo of the whole thing including the switch, from what I  gather is going five volts to the switch then to USB right ?


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> Can I see a photo of the whole thing including the switch, from what I  gather is going five volts to the switch then to USB right ?



Wrong, 5v is going directly to the usb port. Sense and ground is going to the switch while sense is standing in the middle.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Feb 3, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Wrong, 5v is going directly to the usb port. Sense and ground is going to the switch while sense is standing in the middle.


It the way it was written just confused me, so the switch is just to join the sense to ground to put it in to otg USB


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

thx1138 said:


> It the way it was written just confused me, so the switch is just to join the sense to ground to put it in to otg USB


Correctly. I added a additional led which lights up when you leave otg mode, for that you can use the last pin of the switch.


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

Hmm strange i can reflash everything with no issue in the log file and still the system doesnt boot :-(..

Any help?


----------



## WD_Gaster (Feb 3, 2018)

put your usb switch out of OTG mode. then disconect everything and reboot.
sounds to me like you are shorting the board and forcing your own unit into bootloader mode.


----------



## Hekel (Feb 3, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> put your usb switch out of OTG mode. then disconect everything and reboot.
> sounds to me like you are shorting the board and forcing your own unit into bootloader mode.


Its not the unit with the switch, its the first one. There its only made a usb mod nothing else. I can try to remove 5v from the port but i dont think this is the problem.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Feb 3, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Its not the unit with the switch, its the first one. There its only made a usb mod nothing else. I can try to remove 5v from the port but i dont think this is the problem.


if its not even looping at the android screen that means the boot.img can be shot. may i ask what was the last thing you were doing before it did this?


----------



## Hekel (Feb 4, 2018)

I just reflashed to asper cfw. Everything worked well and the message OK was written in the tool. Then i rebootet my console since then im stuck.


----------



## WD_Gaster (Feb 4, 2018)

a different hardware revision perhaps? can you upload a picture of the board just out of curiosity?


----------



## Hekel (Feb 4, 2018)

WD_Gaster said:


> a different hardware revision perhaps? can you upload a picture of the board just out of curiosity?



Its the same i type i posted back earlyer when i performed the usb mod. Strangely i flashed it before with successes.. dunno why this happened :-( now. But i can redump all img and theyre identical with the flashed ones and i didnt changed anything on the dumps. I just cant get out of this mode


----------



## asper (Feb 4, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Its the same i type i posted back earlyer when i performed the usb mod. Strangely i flashed it before with successes.. dunno why this happened :-( now. But i can redump all img and theyre identical with the flashed ones and i didnt changed anything on the dumps. I just cant get out of this mode


Are you sure the param file is the one with original partitions and not the resized one or viceversa?


----------



## Hekel (Feb 4, 2018)

asper said:


> Are you sure the param file is the one with original partitions and not the resized one or viceversa?


Yes i used the dump i made myself. But the console doesnt give out any signal on the hdmi port. And as i sad its only be recognized as LOADER Device :-(


----------



## asper (Feb 4, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Yes i used the dump i made myself. But the console doesnt give out any signal on the hdmi port. And as i sad its only be recognized as LOADER Device :-(


I think you wrongly flashed the uboot partition (not the boot one) or the wrong loader. Try to reflash ALL partitions with their correspondant parameter file and retry.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Loader mode starts automatically if it cannot find anything to load at start. Look at the boot process i wrote in the wiki.


----------



## asper (Feb 5, 2018)

I give up with WiFi (for now). Waiting for something to arrive from china... it will take 1-2 month to arrive (if it will ever arrive...).

The problem seems to be in the kernel and only 2 cores seems to be correctly compiled (and already loaded) by the system.
The solution can be a kernel recompilation but it is too much work; if someone good wants to try feel free to share their recompiled .ko modules !


----------



## Ckunak (Feb 5, 2018)

asper said:


> I give up with WiFi (for now). Waiting for something to arrive from china... it will take 1-2 month to arrive (if it will ever arrive...).
> 
> The problem seems to be in the kernel and only 2 cores seems to be correctly compiled (and already loaded) by the system.
> The solution can be a kernel recompilation but it is too much work; if someone good wants to try feel free to share their recompiled .ko modules !


what wifi chipsets did you order?


----------



## asper (Feb 6, 2018)

Ckunak said:


> what wifi chipsets did you order?


I ordered an rk3036 board.


----------



## Ulmez (Feb 6, 2018)

Hey @Hekel, what can you tell us about Retroshield's arrival to our little nifty machines? Any news? We're so excited about it!


----------



## Excalibur007 (Feb 6, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> ...what can you tell us about Retroshield's arrival...We're so excited about it!



Seconded!!!


----------



## Jojse (Feb 6, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> Seconded!!!


Third!!!


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## Hekel (Feb 7, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> Hey @Hekel, what can you tell us about Retroshield's arrival to our little nifty machines? Any news? We're so excited about it!



Hey i dont know yet. Basicly there is not much to do but i cant work forward cause my console is still broken. Nothing mentioned here has helped so far so i guess its propably bricked.


----------



## asper (Feb 7, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey i dont know yet. Basicly there is not much to do but i cant work forward cause my console is still broken. Nothing mentioned here has helped so far so i guess its propably bricked.


Brick can only mean an hardware fault unfortunately; in my opinion dued to some circuit shorts of the hardmod (those rockchip boards cannot be bricked via software in fact you can enter dfu flashing mode) so maybe a nand fault?

I "bricked" mine many times but always recovered it via backup reflashing.


----------



## Hekel (Feb 7, 2018)

asper said:


> Brick can only mean an hardware fault unfortunately; in my opinion dued to some circuit shorts of the hardmod (those rockchip boards cannot be bricked via software in fact you can enter dfu flashing mode) so maybe a nand fault?
> 
> I "bricked" mine many times but always recovered it via backup reflashing.



I dont know what it exactly is but im not able to reload any dump i made before. But it did before so it cant be a fault dump.


----------



## asper (Feb 7, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I dont know what it exactly is but im not able to reload any dump i made before. But it did before so it cant be a fault dump.


Exactly, probably an unlucky hardware fault.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Feb 7, 2018)

@Hekel maybe time to open another of your sega flashback HD, it looks like this would have happened anyway


----------



## asper (Feb 7, 2018)

I tested LOT OF kernels and kernels+boots bricking many times (and many times recovering with a backup) but unfortunately the console won't boot. I just found out that also the misc.img partition seems to be "important" even if it contains just only zeroes... unfortunately rk3036 seems not to be a so common SoC so no specific firmwares seems to be available yet (if you find one please PM me !).

Another thing to add is that "Monkey King" chip can be an rk3036 revision built for atgames by rockchip so it can be slightly different.

If someone is good at linux-android kernel/modules recompilation contact me otherwise this project will be suspended for some time (probably months).

If someone is interested and has the necessary skills here they are source drivers for Realtek RTL8723BU, a WiFi+Bluetooth mini-device with usb support (already integrated for example inside Comfast CF-WU725B dongle): https://www.sendspace.com/file/7shwzc

If compiled for Android 4.4.4 on kernel 3.10.0 for rk3036 platform they can probably be used to support an external USB WiFi+Bluetooth device in our console. Here they are MD Flashback detailed system info:






Compiling infos:





All the patches seems to be included inside the provided archive which is freely available using google.


----------



## Walt05 (Feb 10, 2018)

I am about to buy a sega genesis flashback hd and I am not computer savvy at all. I am a big sega genesis growing up in the 90s and I would like to bring back my childhood and play my favorite games and share it with my son. I know I can buy a nes and snes classic with all the sega games on it but I would like to have it on a sega genesis and I wouldn't feel right playing it on another game system. If anybody would like to help me out I am willing to ship my sega genesis flashback hd and pay whoever could put a list of my favorite sega genesis games on there.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Feb 10, 2018)

Walt05 said:
			
		

> I am about to buy a sega genesis flashback hd and I am not computer savvy at all. I am a big sega genesis growing up in the 90s and I would like to bring back my childhood and play my favorite games and share it with my son. I know I can buy a nes and snes classic with all the sega games on it but I would like to have it on a sega genesis and I wouldn't feel right playing it on another game system. If anybody would like to help me out I am willing to ship my sega genesis flashback hd and pay whoever could put a list of my favorite sega genesis games on there.



You can do it yourself. i've added like 80+ games by watching this video.


http://www.instructables.com/id/Adding-Games-to-Atgames-Genesis-Flashback-HD/


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## Walt05 (Feb 10, 2018)

I don't have a computer/laptop just internet in my phone and even if i did I suck at doing stuff like that even with a video. I'm pitiful it's embarrassing lol I'm jealous of all of y'all on here on how great y'all are in technology.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Feb 10, 2018)

Walt05 said:


> I don't have a computer/laptop just internet in my phone and even if i did I suck at doing stuff like that even with a video. I'm pitiful it's embarrassing lol I'm jealous of all of y'all on here on how great y'all are in technology.



all the other people are great i'm not. i'm just doing what the youtube videos shows me and it's working fine for me.


----------



## JackMonty (Feb 13, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey there, finally a new update! I Proudly present my Custom Original Dashboard!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Hi Hekel - will you still be posting the batch files to perform this conversion? Also I guess work on RetroShield is stalled for now until you can get your console working again?


----------



## Ulmez (Feb 15, 2018)

JackMonty said:


> Hi Hekel - will you still be posting the batch files to perform this conversion? Also I guess work on RetroShield is stalled for now until you can get your console working again?



Not a lot of movement lately  It'd be fantastic if @Hekel or someone with the same knowledge gave this machine the quality it deserves. Don't leave us dealing with AT Games' incompetence, please!


----------



## Beetch18 (Feb 16, 2018)

Anyone know a quick easy way to delete the save states? Someone said holding the menu key down for 5 seconds when in the launcher. I'm not exactly sure what the launcher is. I've tried this at the main menu screen and the system did reboot but there was a message it was restarting to initialize the wireless controllers and the save states remained after the reboot. I also tried during the boot up screen (which displays the at games logo) but no success. Thank you!


----------



## Zinjonovic (Feb 17, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I dont know what it exactly is but im not able to reload any dump i made before. But it did before so it cant be a fault dump.



I pretty much gutted my American Genesis HD.  I kept all electronics and connections intact.  I'd gladly ship the insides to you if you could use it.


----------



## asper (Feb 18, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> Not a lot of movement lately  It'd be fantastic if Don't leave us dealing with AT Games' incompetence, please!


The device was built with a certain aim in mind, we extended its purposes. I do not see "incompetence", just businness


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## Ulmez (Feb 18, 2018)

asper said:


> The device was built with a certain aim in mind, we extended its purposes. I do not see "incompetence", just businness



A matter of opinion... To me, a €100 console that's unable to run its MD/GEN games included without frameskipping (or freezing issues), or emulate the original console accurately (Real bad sound on Sonic 2 or Eternal Champions and graphical errors on Sonic 3D's bonus stages)... not to mention some original carts not even working on it (Sonic 3, Gunstar Heroes...)...seems the result of total and utter incompetente.

Nintendo's charging way less for SNES Mini while offering a way more solid emulation quality. Nearly everything works perfect out of the box.

Including more games is cool and all, but to me the main priority is achieving emulation as close as an actual Mega Drive as possible. AT Games isn't offering that


----------



## Beetch18 (Feb 18, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> A matter of opinion... To me, a €100 console that's unable to run its MD/GEN games included without frameskipping (or freezing issues), or emulate the original console accurately (Real bad sound on Sonic 2 or Eternal Champions and graphical errors on Sonic 3D's bonus stages)... not to mention some original carts not even working on it (Sonic 3, Gunstar Heroes...)...seems the result of total and utter incompetente.
> 
> Nintendo's charging way less for SNES Mini while offering a way more solid emulation quality. Nearly everything works perfect out of the box.
> 
> Including more games is cool and all, but to me the main priority is achieving emulation as close as an actual Mega Drive as possible. AT Games isn't offering that


 the console isn't super expensive so I'm willing to over look some frame rate issues. I'll even give a pass on the console freezing occasionally. However, where I draw the line are games that are unplayable. On my console I can't cast a spell without shining force 2 crashing. To me that's unacceptable


----------



## WD_Gaster (Feb 18, 2018)

game compatibility will always be an issue with emulation. it should be better than it is though.


----------



## Menzo1986 (Feb 19, 2018)

if people don't like how games play with an emulation system then you should buy the original system with the original cartridge game.
for me the mega drive flashback is just like the nes and snes mini.
al the system are great. nes and snes bit better but mega drive flashback also work fine for me.
the only thing for me is that all the systems are missing some great games.
for example the flashback is really missing the street of rage games or outrun.
but you can hack all the systems and add the missing games.
too bad they aren't on the system when you buy it but i can add the missing games so all 3 the emulation (nes,snes,mega drive flashback) systems are doing the job for me when i've added the missing games.


----------



## Ulmez (Feb 19, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> if people don't like how games play with an emulation system then you should buy the original system with the original cartridge game.
> for me the mega drive flashback is just like the nes and snes mini.
> al the system are great. nes and snes bit better but mega drive flashback also work fine for me.
> the only thing for me is that all the systems are missing some great games.
> ...



Let's be clear and not mix terms; Being emulation isn't the problem, but the emulator it comes with being horrendous. As @Hekel already demonstrated, Retroarch+Picodrive core offers way better results with the same hardware. What I'm trying to criticize is offering BAD software on a hardware that's more than capable to emulate properly (Again, Nintendo is offering good quality emulation with its Minis while being cheaper on top of that).

I insist, Megadrive Flashback is unable to play its included games properly not because of emulation or the machine itself, but because of a poor choice when it comes to what emulator AT Games put on it.


----------



## Beetch18 (Feb 19, 2018)

Ulmez said:


> Let's be clear and not mix terms; Being emulation isn't the problem, but the emulator it comes with being horrendous. As @Hekel already demonstrated, Retroarch+Picodrive core offers way better results with the same hardware. What I'm trying to criticize is offering BAD software on a hardware that's more than capable to emulate properly (Again, Nintendo is offering good quality emulation with its Minis while being cheaper on top of that).
> 
> I insist, Megadrive Flashback is unable to play its included games properly not because of emulation or the machine itself, but because of a poor choice when it comes to what emulator AT Games put on it.


In some cases it's not even the emulator that is the problem. In my example of shining force 2 freezing every time I cast a magic spell.  Apparently putting  a different shining force 2 ROM on the machine it runs perfectly fine. It seems the ROM included on the machine is bad as I have seen many others have experienced the same with this game. To me that's just pure laziness/sloppiness on the part of AT GAMES.


----------



## Beetch18 (Feb 20, 2018)

Anyone know if there are performance differences between the 2gb and 4gb versions or do they both suffer from the same faults?


----------



## Menzo1986 (Feb 20, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> In some cases it's not even the emulator that is the problem. In my example of shining force 2 freezing every time I cast a magic spell I put a different shining force 2 ROM on the machine and it runs perfectly fine. It seems the ROM included on my machine is bad and I have seen many others have experienced the same with this game. To me that's just pure laziness/sloppiness on the part of AT GAMES.



i haven't play that game and i think i don't have that game on it/in the menu anymore to test it. but that's really lazy and then they didn't test the games properly. then they just did create a menu and throw some random roms from the internet on the system.


----------



## asper (Feb 20, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> Anyone know if there are performance differences between the 2gb and 4gb versions or do they both suffer from the same faults?


Hardware is the same, and same are the "core" emulators used (at least form the dump I saw); only the launcher seems to be different so I suppose performances are exactly the same.


----------



## Beetch18 (Feb 20, 2018)

asper said:


> Hardware is the same, and same are the "core" emulators used (at least form the dump I saw); only the launcher seems to be different so I suppose performances are exactly the same.


Thank you that makes sense. I'm not very technical so i wasn't sure.  I read somewhere the "freezing"/ "crashing" could be a cache issue so I wasn't sure if having more memory the system would freeze less.


----------



## asper (Mar 2, 2018)

Just found in a drawer an USB-LAN device... no drives for it, just like USB WiFi dongles. The only way to get internet access seems to be the Raspberry Pi method.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Mar 4, 2018)

asper said:


> Just found in a drawer an USB-LAN device... no drives for it, just like USB WiFi dongles. The only way to get internet access seems to be the Raspberry Pi method.


bummer,  i dont mind hooking her up to my PC to do stuff, but wifi would have been nice ,


----------



## Toony11 (Mar 6, 2018)

Hey Guy's,

I tried modding mine and bricked it I guess, as it only boots to the atgames splash screen. Does anyone know how to return it to it's original state, so i can be stupid and try again?


----------



## asper (Mar 6, 2018)

Toony11 said:


> Hey Guy's,
> 
> I tried modding mine and bricked it I guess, as it only boots to the atgames splash screen. Does anyone know how to return it to it's original state, so i can be stupid and try again?


https://www.mdfbrew.org/tutorials:restore_partitions

Hoping you backed up your partitions first ! If not you need to ask someone to send you its own.


----------



## Lindorel (Mar 8, 2018)

Hi guys, anyone has a ROMset pack of the native ganes? I can't find It. Thanks!


----------



## Vokuhila (Mar 14, 2018)

Hi Guys,

I installed the firmware with RetroArch from Asper and now I can not remove Retroarch with the Unistall Batch. Always comes the message: Error device not found. 
Anyone know what the problem is?


----------



## max0r4axor (Mar 15, 2018)

Is there anyway to use the wireless kaypads without having the 3 atgames apks.  If i remove the 3 atgames apks the wireless controllers stop working. i think it has something to do with the wireless controlers being attached to the GPIO and removing the apks unloads the libraries they use. didnt know if theres a work around. or can i just leave the atgames apks and remap the buttons. I dont plan on ever using the default emulator so i dont care if it breaks the buttons for it.


----------



## mercenary96 (Mar 19, 2018)

RetroArch on the Genesis Flashback will use a different emulator for the games and have less freezing and performance issues, or is it the same?
I got one of these machines and already encountered several complete freezes (on original games and some that I added).


----------



## asper (Mar 19, 2018)

mercenary96 said:


> RetroArch on the Genesis Flashback will use a different emulator for the games and have less freezing and performance issues, or is it the same?
> I got one of these machines and already encountered several complete freezes (on original games and some that I added).


Retroarch picodrive and genesis plus gx cores are far better than the original emulator considering emulation performances.


----------



## ArugulaZ (Mar 19, 2018)

Okay guys, catch me up to speed on this. I've hacked my Flashback with the instructions on YouTube to play more games, but I want them to play better than they currently do. What are my options? I noticed that someone had released a nifty new interface for this system, but does it use a better emulator or just the default built into the Flashback? If I install any of these hacks, will I still have access to the cartridge port? Could the new emulators use the cartridge port? Finally, how can I get access to the hacks people have discussed in this thread?

Thanks in advance for your help.


----------



## asper (Mar 20, 2018)

ArugulaZ said:


> Okay guys, catch me up to speed on this. I've hacked my Flashback with the instructions on YouTube to play more games, but I want them to play better than they currently do. What are my options? I noticed that someone had released a nifty new interface for this system, but does it use a better emulator or just the default built into the Flashback? If I install any of these hacks, will I still have access to the cartridge port? Could the new emulators use the cartridge port? Finally, how can I get access to the hacks people have discussed in this thread?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.



1 - best option is using retroarch;
2 - the nifty interface is not yet released by its author; the other interface you can find (SEGA Generations) is a very good Launcher able to manage the console "just like a smartphone" so you can open the original ATGames menu but also you can manage your console almost like a smarphone;
3 - yes, the cartridge port will always be accessible as soon as the ATGames menu is opened;
4 - if the ATGames menu is opened it will dump the cartridge slot so it can be used with any emulator (just browse the dump folder with the emulator internal browser - no emulator directly access the cartridge slot, they just load the dump done when the ATGames menu is opened)
5 - read the whole thread CAREFULLY; after that i suggest you to use my custom rom (it includes retroarch) together with SEGA Generations launcher but, again, read the whole thread CAREFULLY.


----------



## ArugulaZ (Mar 20, 2018)

Okay, do you have a link to your version of RetroArch? I kind of figured that it was included in Sega Generations... I guess I figured wrong!
Also, I had done ETAPrime's trick to add games to my system earlier. Will I need to undo that before I can proceed?


----------



## Hekel (Mar 20, 2018)

Well Just to inform anyone im still here and reading the thread. There is still alot progress with retroshield but i miss the time to write everything down.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Mar 20, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well Just to inform anyone im still here and reading the thread. There is still alot progress with retroshield but i miss the time to write everything down.



@Hekel good to hear you are still working on it


----------



## asper (Mar 20, 2018)

ArugulaZ said:


> Okay, do you have a link to your version of RetroArch? I kind of figured that it was included in Sega Generations... I guess I figured wrong!
> Also, I had done ETAPrime's trick to add games to my system earlier. Will I need to undo that before I can proceed?


If you "*read the whole thread CAREFULLY*" you will find the link you need; really, you NEED to read the whole thread to understand what you are doing (and also the included readme .txts inside my custom rom folders) 

No need to undo the process, with my custom rom all will be "restored" (more info in the thread and inside the above mentioned .txts).


----------



## ArugulaZ (Mar 20, 2018)

I just realized I already had it, heh! Sorry about that.

With all due respect, I think I may end up waiting for Retro Shield. I've got a system with 2GB of storage, and my understanding is that the installation has to be changed to fit in that space. I looked through the readme file for DaXryo's 2GB installation and it's not crystal clear to me what files have to be moved to the memory card.

This Flashback didn't cost me too much- they're selling them as salvage on ShopGoodwill- but nevertheless, there's no sense in ruining it. (I mean, ruining it more than AtGames already did with their crappy emulation.) I'll have to get by with either my Android TV or my hacked Xbox until Retro Shield arrives. Thanks.


----------



## asper (Mar 23, 2018)

ArugulaZ said:


> I just realized I already had it, heh! Sorry about that.
> 
> With all due respect, I think I may end up waiting for Retro Shield. I've got a system with 2GB of storage, and my understanding is that the installation has to be changed to fit in that space. I looked through the readme file for DaXryo's 2GB installation and it's not crystal clear to me what files have to be moved to the memory card.
> 
> This Flashback didn't cost me too much- they're selling them as salvage on ShopGoodwill- but nevertheless, there's no sense in ruining it. (I mean, ruining it more than AtGames already did with their crappy emulation.) I'll have to get by with either my Android TV or my hacked Xbox until Retro Shield arrives. Thanks.


Yeah, with a 2GBs unit partitions must be resized; having not one (2 GBs model) prevents me about doing a specific 2GBs custom ROM (I do nt want to release something which is not tested).


----------



## Beetch18 (Mar 26, 2018)

My On/off switch wires ripped away from the board. Should I try try soldering them back to the board? The switch does work and turn on and off the unit when I hold the wires in place. Currently powering through USB on board with cord going through cartridge slot but don't like that. Just don't want to do more harm then good


----------



## Hekel (Mar 26, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> My On/off switch wires ripped away from the board. Should I try try soldering them back to the board? The switch does work and turn on and off the unit when I hold the wires in place. Currently powering through USB on board with cord going through cartridge slot but don't like that. Just don't want to do more harm then good



Hey,

Sure just remove it from electricity and resolder it in the right way. Shouldnt be any problem. Its better than just hold the wires in place and its definitly more safety for you and youre unit xD..


----------



## Beetch18 (Apr 4, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey,
> 
> Sure just remove it from electricity and resolder it in the right way. Shouldnt be any problem. Its better than just hold the wires in place and its definitly more safety for you and youre unit xD..


Thanks for the encouragement. It worked perfectly.


----------



## hossbags2 (Apr 7, 2018)

is there a way to rename folders and remove the games from the console


----------



## ArugulaZ (Apr 8, 2018)

Everyone who was working on alternatives to the built in front end and emulator seem to have vanished...  
I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up about a hack for the Super Retrocade. It's better, no question, but there are still a few things about that system I'd like to change.


----------



## hossbags2 (Apr 8, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Theres a lot more :-D but at Moment i had to clean my Desktop.. but in about 10 minit i will provide a Video with my work in Progress.
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...




Do you have instructions on how to use your uninstaller?


----------



## Hekel (Apr 8, 2018)

hossbags2 said:


> Do you have instructions on how to use your uninstaller?


Well theres not much to explain just click on the bat file. Im still working on the project. But i had lately a little accident and as a family fahter i dont have 24/7 to work on it xD.


----------



## tguk611 (Apr 9, 2018)

Does anyone know how to access the box art files on this, would be greatly appreciated thanks.


----------



## Hekel (Apr 9, 2018)

tguk611 said:


> Does anyone know how to access the box art files on this, would be greatly appreciated thanks.


My tool to remove the stock games dumps the boxarts. Then you can change what ever you want and restore it (maybe you wanna make a backup of the folder to completly restore the original boxarts later).


----------



## tguk611 (Apr 9, 2018)

Hekel said:


> My tool to remove the stock games dumps the boxarts. Then you can change what ever you want and restore it (maybe you wanna make a backup of the folder to completly restore the original boxarts later).


Thanks so much for the tool I also used the dashboard installer, and went through the entire thread and I hope your retro shield gets finished soon.


----------



## Nils (Apr 10, 2018)

Hi my people,

I came across an issue with the saving game feature of the Sega Mega Drive Flashback HD. It's very frustrating and I want to ask you for help:

After playing some of the pre-installed games and about 35 games on cartridges and using all of the 10 save game slots for each game, the saving function suddenly isn't working properly anymore. Now I can only save on existing slots, which I have already used before, but I can not save the game on unused "black" slots anymore.

I have also tried to switch the console on and off or save new games, which I didn't play before, but the saving function doesn't work at all on further games. So right now, it's impossible to save any new game or rather use any unused savegame slot. 

Since it's impossible to delete game saves and only overwrite existing save slots, I can not save any new games. Neither pre-installed games, nor cartridge games.  Have you already came across this issue or do you know of this happening to anyone? How can I solve this problem? Is there a possibility of clearing the cache memory or backup my game saves, so they won't get lost?

I'm not sure what the problem is, so I thought maybe there's not enough space on the console for saving that many game status, but it turned out there's about 2GB unused space on the console!
I have already opened the console, connected it to my PC and ran ADB but I couldn't find any path or info on game saves.  
I have neither hacked, nor stocked any games. I have just used the console how I was supposed to. I have played the pre-installed games and cartridge games. Than suddenly someday I couldn't save anymore.
So I went online and found videos on how to connect the console to the PC. So I did just that to look up how much space is left on the console and if the game saves took all of the memory space.
After that I realized this wasn't the case because there is plenty of space left...  so I'm stuck at this point right now... :-(

Do you have any ideas how I can get my console back to work and keep saving my games (without losing all of my prevouis saves)?


----------



## Hekel (Apr 11, 2018)

Nils said:


> Hi my people,
> 
> I came across an issue with the saving game feature of the Sega Mega Drive Flashback HD. It's very frustrating and I want to ask you for help:
> 
> ...



Hey There,

Well i didnt noticed any issues so far but this belongs to the reason i didnt played long with the Original Dashboard. This problem will definitly be solved with the retroshield upgrade. But about youre question. Its definitly possible to backup youre savegames. I can create a .bat file which dumps the save files and delete existing ones. A second .bat could be used to clear the .sav files and reupload the backuped ones. But the main question is do you really need so many .sav files?


----------



## ArugulaZ (Apr 11, 2018)

Hekel: Glad you're around. Was wondering what the progress is on Retro Shield, and when/where it will be available. Thanks.


----------



## tguk611 (Apr 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey There,
> 
> Well i didnt noticed any issues so far but this belongs to the reason i didnt played long with the Original Dashboard. This problem will definitly be solved with the retroshield upgrade. But about youre question. Its definitly possible to backup youre savegames. I can create a .bat file which dumps the save files and delete existing ones. A second .bat could be used to clear the .sav files and reupload the backuped ones. But the main question is do you really need so many .sav files?


If you can use the .sav files with other emulators I would also like a .bat that could dump them as well. I don't know why atgames didn't give a way to delete the save states but then again one look at the dashboard navigation and it becomes clear.

Also I was messing around with the main_noalpha.xml to change the menu names but I noticed that I could only change the name if it matches the exact number of characters so "Sonic Games" has to be 11 characters and I was wondering if there is a way to change this so I can go past the character count.


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## Hekel (Apr 11, 2018)

tguk611 said:


> If you can use the .sav files with other emulators I would also like a .bat that could dump them as well. I don't know why atgames didn't give a way to delete the save states but then again one look at the dashboard navigation and it becomes clear.
> 
> Also I was messing around with the main_noalpha.xml to change the menu names but I noticed that I could only change the name if it matches the exact number of characters so "Sonic Games" has to be 11 characters and I was wondering if there is a way to change this so I can go past the character count.



Well the main reason you have to use the same size of characters is cause youre hex editing the existing data. If you like to completly change the names and other stuff you would need to decompile the files. ATGames didnt made a great job in the dashboard.. its very bugy and unstable. We better not start to talk about the emulator itself xD... im pretty busy at moment cause im cleaning out my old stuff that is staying around.. but if i find the time i create a .bat for you.


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## Nils (Apr 11, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Hey There,
> 
> Well i didnt noticed any issues so far but this belongs to the reason i didnt played long with the Original Dashboard. This problem will definitly be solved with the retroshield upgrade. But about youre question. Its definitly possible to backup youre savegames. I can create a .bat file which dumps the save files and delete existing ones. A second .bat could be used to clear the .sav files and reupload the backuped ones. But the main question is do you really need so many .sav files?



Thanky for your quick reply, Hekel.

Since I've bought this console, I played so many games on it and really value my save game data, because it cost me so much time and effort to get to certain places in the games.
So I really would love to backup my save game data. :-)

Can you please tell me the exact commands, that I have to type in in ADB in order to copy or backup my save game data?
And then delete and restore it, just like you have explained before?

I have already pulled some data from the console using the command "adb pull /system" but still I couldn't find any save game data in any of the folders. :-(
It should be located in the "atgames" folder, I guess, but it isn't...

I'm also looking forward to the retroshield upgrade!


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## HollywoodGravy (Apr 12, 2018)

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can assist me. I have been adding many games to the system and editing the ini file accordingly. All works well, except the last two pages are inaccessible, the console freezes briefly and then goes back up to favourites. If though I go into the game description and go through them individually the games are accessible and playable. It doesn't matter how many games I add its always the last two pages that don't work. Anyone know why this might be?


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## Hekel (Apr 12, 2018)

HollywoodGravy said:


> Hi, I was wondering if anyone can assist me. I have been adding many games to the system and editing the ini file accordingly. All works well, except the last two pages are inaccessible, the console freezes briefly and then goes back up to favourites. If though I go into the game description and go through them individually the games are accessible and playable. It doesn't matter how many games I add its always the last two pages that don't work. Anyone know why this might be?



If you use the original dashboard its cause of cache overflow. Its not possible to fix this without rewrite the code. Youre better using the custom dashboard.

Regards


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## Beetch18 (Apr 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> If you use the original dashboard its cause of cache overflow. Its not possible to fix this without rewrite the code. Youre better using the custom dashboard.
> 
> Regards



I am not very technical at all and Hekel is probably correct it relates to a cache overflow.


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## Hekel (Apr 12, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> I am not very technical at all and Hekel is probably correct it relates to a cache overflow.  However, i too have had the same issue with the last two pages of games not being available.  A user by the name of supurman602 over on you tube posted the tip if you delete the entire "Games" folder from the flashback and recopy and paste it from your computer to the flashback this should correct the issue and all pages will be available.  This has worked for me.  Sometimes it takes multiple deletes (sometimes more than 5) from the flashback and adding back of the "Games" folder to the flashback but in the end it has always worked and once it works and all pages are available i don't have any further issues other than the occasional game freeze.


Well this trick might work if you dont have too many games added.. i added a PAL Fullset of roms to the Original Dashboard and there is still a limitation to the pages. You can not reach all pages no matter if you scroll from left to right or right to left. Even some game names in a special order is able to break the dashboard... as i sad its very bugy.. and cause of this i ported retroshield.

Regards


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## tguk611 (Apr 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well the main reason you have to use the same size of characters is cause youre hex editing the existing data. If you like to completly change the names and other stuff you would need to decompile the files. ATGames didnt made a great job in the dashboard.. its very bugy and unstable. We better not start to talk about the emulator itself xD... im pretty busy at moment cause im cleaning out my old stuff that is staying around.. but if i find the time i create a .bat for you.


Thanks so much yeah I'm able to manipulate it with spaces as long as the characters meet the original character number but being able to add more would be great but I understand you have a lot on your plate.



HollywoodGravy said:


> Hi, I was wondering if anyone can assist me. I have been adding many games to the system and editing the ini file accordingly. All works well, except the last two pages are inaccessible, the console freezes briefly and then goes back up to favourites. If though I go into the game description and go through them individually the games are accessible and playable. It doesn't matter how many games I add its always the last two pages that don't work. Anyone know why this might be?


So I've messed around with the .ini a lot and I've noticed a few things first make sure there is a character after "description=" if there is a line break or a space like "description=  The..."  because all your added games after that game might not show up and delete pages, so that might be the cause, I have 80/80/40/40 games on my system and they all work fine.

Also I've had just random issues where I've had to insert line breaks in certain spaces for games which I can then remove after it's working again but these we're a pain because I had to narrow down the problem game and find out where to inset the line break.


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## Beetch18 (Apr 12, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well this trick might work if you dont have too many games added.. i added a PAL Fullset of roms to the Original Dashboard and there is still a limitation to the pages. You can not reach all pages no matter if you scroll from left to right or right to left. Even some game names in a special order is able to break the dashboard... as i sad its very bugy.. and cause of this i ported retroshield.
> 
> Regards


Thanks Hekel, you are probably right.


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## HollywoodGravy (Apr 13, 2018)

Thanks for all your replies. I thought the gap may be an issue in the description so I have eliminated all of those. Now to try 5 times. If all else fails then I will look into installing retroarch.


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## hossbags2 (Apr 13, 2018)

Hi Hekel...how close are you with releasing retroshield....Will it remove preinstall games. Also will it support 32x games and large games like Pier Solar.


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## Hekel (Apr 13, 2018)

hossbags2 said:


> Hi Hekel...how close are you with releasing retroshield....Will it remove preinstall games. Also will it support 32x games and large games like Pier Solar.



Hey, please read the full topic in future, this would answer all of your questions. But Ok.. All kind of games will work (roms and cartridges, Homebrew and Original Games). You can Boot them from internal NAND / USB-Stick or USB HDD. Yes 32X Cartridges will work but you need an adapter to put it into youre console as they will not fit into the cartridge Slot. The preinstalled stock games will remain but the covers will be replaced with ones that haves better resolution. Regards


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## Nils (Apr 13, 2018)

Do y'all have the same issue that after adding new games, the console doesn't read cartridges anymore? This buggy software starts getting on my nerves. I need to find a way to reset everything to default. Can someone please upload an image of the default settings of the software (non-obb)?


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## Beetch18 (Apr 14, 2018)

Nils said:


> Do y'all have the same issue that after adding new games, the console doesn't read cartridges anymore? This buggy software starts getting on my nerves. I need to find a way to reset everything to default. Can someone please upload an image of the default settings of the software (non-obb)?


Have had no issues with the cartridge slot.


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## Nils (Apr 14, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> I added 145 games by following the ETA prime video on YouTube. Have had no issues with the cartridge slot. It works just fine for me after adding the games. Sorry I can't be of much help. Not sure why you may be experiencing problems.



Interesting. Unfortunately this didn't work for me. Maybe it is due to different versions and regions. :-\ The ETA prime tutorial seems to work, but I've experienced failure of reading cartridges and this issue still isn't solved after restoring the original all-games.ini and deleting the Games folder. I'm so done with this...

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I'm really looking forward to Retro Shield programing a new firmware with a new dashboard that works stable. 

Following major bugs need to be fixed:

1. Sometimes games freeze during gameplay, so the console needs to be powered off and on again.
2. The ingame menue pops up from time to time during gameplay even if not touching the menue button at all.
3. It seems like there's a limit to saving games. After reaching that limit, further game slots can't be used anymore.
4. Failure of reading cartridges after adding games to the console.


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## Hekel (Apr 14, 2018)

Nils said:


> Interesting. Unfortunately this didn't work for me. Maybe it is due to different versions and regions. :-\ The ETA prime tutorial seems to work, but I've experienced failure of reading cartridges and this issue still isn't solved after restoring the original all-games.ini and deleting the Games folder. I'm so done with this...
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...



Well i never had problems with the Cartridge Slot. Might a silly question but you know that you have to reboot the console each time you put a new cartridge in? I have all versions of the console here and i can tell you theyre identical beside of small revision changes.. i spend alot time in compare them. RetroShield for Sure does not have this bugs! The main core works perfect. And there is a near 100% support of: Master System / SG100 / Game Gear / Mega Drive / 32X / Mega CD. But still i cant name any Release date yet.. i dont wanna release a beta. Hope you can still wait for it cause i can tell you its worth.


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## Nils (Apr 14, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well i never had problems with the Cartridge Slot. Might a silly question but you know that you have to reboot the console each time you put a new cartridge in? I have all versions of the console here and i can tell you theyre identical beside of small revision changes.. i spend alot time in compare them. RetroShield for Sure does not have this bugs! The main core works perfect. And there is a near 100% support of: Master System / SG100 / Game Gear / Mega Drive / 32X / Mega CD. But still i cant name any Release date yet.. i dont wanna release a beta. Hope you can still wait for it cause i can tell you its worth.



Of course I know you have to restart the console each time after putting in a new cartridge... The problem with this console is that after putting new games on it and restarting it over and over again, the system just doesn't recognize any cartridges anymore. It just doesn't load the rom from the cartridge at startup like it used to and the cartridge option in the menue can't be selected even though there's a cartridge inside that worked before perfectly.

I'll just wait for RetroShield to be released. Take your time, as long as it'll be stable.  Until then I just throw the console in the corner and waste no more time on this piece of ****!


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## HollywoodGravy (Apr 15, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Well this trick might work if you dont have too many games added.. i added a PAL Fullset of roms to the Original Dashboard and there is still a limitation to the pages. You can not reach all pages no matter if you scroll from left to right or right to left. Even some game names in a special order is able to break the dashboard... as i sad its very bugy.. and cause of this i ported retroshield.
> 
> Regards



Hi, how did you get Jimmy White to run? Mine states that it will only run on pal megadrives. I have no idea how to set it to pal. (It is a UK version machine)


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## asper (Apr 15, 2018)

The game is in this list so it has some kind of region check. If original atgames emulator gives you that error you need another emulator to run the cartridge.


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## ArugulaZ (Apr 16, 2018)

Jimmy "Superfly" Snooker, you say?

Uh, anyway. I've got a mini USB to USB adapter coming in the mail. Assuming I ordered the right thing and there are no other major crap-ups, I'm gonna try to connect a mouse to this thing. I've got MD.emu on this and I'm hoping I can force it as the default emulator... I can't seem to select it with the joypad.


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## tguk611 (Apr 16, 2018)

Nils said:


> Thanky for your quick reply, Hekel.
> 
> Since I've bought this console, I played so many games on it and really value my save game data, because it cost me so much time and effort to get to certain places in the games.
> So I really would love to backup my save game data. :-)
> ...



I found .sav files but they're not in the /system directory they we're in /sdcard if you run adb and change the directory to /sdcard and run type "ls" it will list all the files and folders and you'll see .sav files but unfortunately they are the ram saves and not save states so even if you delete the .sav files your save states will still be there. I also tried running the pulled .savs in other emulators but they would not work so they might be encrypted I only tried a few though. I know this probably won't help your problem but I figured it might help you if you want to try looking yourself, you can also something like adb file explorer to browse the directories easier I was only really interested in saving my the .savs for use in other emulators but I'll give another shot at looking for the save states.

EDIT: I found the sms and gg saves they're located in data/data/com.atgames.sms/files the save state is in .sta and there is a .png as well, I deleted the first save slot for phantasy star and the rest still seemed to work but do this at your own risk

the genesis save states are located in data/data/com.atgames.genesis/files and also use the same extension .sta.


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## ArugulaZ (Apr 18, 2018)

The mini USB to female USB adapter fits, but won't recognize input devices. I would power the port, but I have had less than zero luck doing any soldering lately. Frustrating as all hell. Can anyone confirm whether or not input devices like joysticks and mouses will work with a properly powered Genesis Flashback HD USB port?

EDIT: Yes, the mini USB port IS compatible with other input devices, so long as it's powered. I couldn't solder together a solution so I just connected the Flashback to an adapter, then the adapter to a USB hub, then the hub to my computer. It's not elegant, but it works. I was able to use a mouse to select MD.emu as my preferred emulator in Sega Generations; something I wasn't able to do without one. As for my soldering quandry, I think I'm going to need more light in the house and better equipment.


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## Nils (Apr 18, 2018)

I have tried to plug this old school 9 pin joystick to the Sega Flashback HD console.
Unfortunately, it was'n recognized. Nothing happened. Didn't work at all.


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## ArugulaZ (Apr 18, 2018)

My understanding is that the Flashback HD won't work with three button controllers; only the six button controller designed for the Sega Genesis. It follows that Atari joysticks wouldn't work either. It's a picky beast... maybe not as picky as the Super Retrocade, but picky.


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## tguk611 (Apr 18, 2018)

I made some .bats to dump,remove, and upload the genesis and gg/sms save states. I tested them and they worked but like always use at your own risk, I have the 2GB non-obb version so I don't know if the folders are structured the same for the different versions. Also this is for the save states only, the ram saves are located on the internal sd card and I couldn't find a way to pull just the .savs, you can pull the entire directory but it will also contain the folder for all the roms you added as well but both the genesis and gg/sms ram saves get stored there in .sav format.  I wasn't able to get the .savs or the the save states to work on md.emu but I'm going to try a couple retroarch emulators tonight.

I don't know how much use this will be for people but it will allow you to back up your save states. Also I was able to interchange the save states for roms loaded on the console and cartridge loaded games by renaming them, I only tried this with Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 so this might not work for all games especially if the rom is a revision. There are .png files for each save state which makes finding the cartridge loaded save states easier since they are basically just numbers for example my streets of rage 2 save state was "rom-9409.sta.0"

Also on a side note I would really like to be able to add button combinations in the game descriptions like "A+B" or "Down+A", unfortunately atgames only included a handful like "Up+C", "Dpad+B" which we're used for the included games. I saw the included button combinations in a couple of the .smali files but was wondering if it's possible to add more by editing these files.


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## Beetch18 (Apr 20, 2018)

tguk611 said:


> I made some .bats to dump,remove, and upload the genesis and gg/sms save states. I tested them and they worked but like always use at your own risk, I have the 2GB non-obb version so I don't know if the folders are structured the same for the different versions. Also this is for the save states only, the ram saves are located on the internal sd card and I couldn't find a way to pull just the .savs, you can pull the entire directory but it will also contain the folder for all the roms you added as well but both the genesis and gg/sms ram saves get stored there in .sav format.  I wasn't able to get the .savs or the the save states to work on md.emu but I'm going to try a couple retroarch emulators tonight.
> 
> I don't know how much use this will be for people but it will allow you to back up your save states. Also I was able to interchange the save states for roms loaded on the console and cartridge loaded games by renaming them, I only tried this with Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 so this might not work for all games especially if the rom is a revision. There are .png files for each save state which makes finding the cartridge loaded save states easier since they are basically just numbers for example my streets of rage 2 save state was "rom-9409.sta.0"
> 
> Also on a side note I would really like to be able to add button combinations in the game descriptions like "A+B" or "Down+A", unfortunately atgames only included a handful like "Up+C", "Dpad+B" which we're used for the included games. I saw the included button combinations in a couple of the .smali files but was wondering if it's possible to add more by editing these files.



Can you use this tool to "delete" all the used save states from the system? In other words once running the tool you would have 10 free (blank)  save states to use for each game again. Thank you.


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## tguk611 (Apr 20, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> Can you use this tool to "delete" all the used save states from the system? In other words once running the tool you would have 10 free (blank)  save states to use for each game again. Thank you.


Yes it will delete all the saved states for the system and make all 10 blank for all genesis games or all game gear/master system games depending on which .bat you use, if you only want to delete certain saved states first use the remover bat then place all the ones you want in the upload folder and use the uploader bat. Also I have the 2gb non-obb version so I'd run just the dumper .bat first to make sure your pulling the right files, the actual save states are .sta0-9 as well as .pngs for each saved state there shouldn't be any other type of files in the dump folder.


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## Beetch18 (Apr 21, 2018)

tguk611 said:


> Yes it will delete all the saved states for the system and make all 10 blank for all genesis games or all game gear/master system games depending on which .bat you use, if you only want to delete certain saved states first use the remover bat then place all the ones you want in the upload folder and use the uploader bat. Also I have the 2gb non-obb version so I'd run just the dumper .bat first to make sure your pulling the right files, the actual save states are .sta0-9 as well as .pngs for each saved state there shouldn't be any other type of files in the dump folder.


Awesome. Thanks so much! Next stupid question, how do I use them? Where do I run them from? Also, what is the difference between he dumper and remover? The dumper pulls the files and also leaves them on the system and the remover removes them from the system completely?


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## tguk611 (Apr 21, 2018)

Beetch18 said:


> Awesome. Thanks so much! Next stupid question, how do I use them? Where do I run them from? Also, what is the difference between he dumper and remover? The dumper pulls the files and also leaves them on the system and the remover removes them from the system completely?


You can run them from anywhere you extract the zip to and to use all you have to do is click on the .bat file you want to use and make sure the console shown under "list of devices attached" then just follow the instructions; the dumper and uploader need only one key press while the remover needs 2 one to dump the files and another to actually remove them. And yes the dumper will dump the save states for your genesis games or game gear/master system games depending on which .bat you use and the remover will dump the games and remove them from the system entirely.


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## ArugulaZ (May 5, 2018)

Any news on Retro Shield, or any hacks for this system? Come on guys  I'm dyin' over here!


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## DarthDub (May 5, 2018)

I wonder if the new revision that was shown off by Sega will be an improvement? I sure hope so.


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## hossbags2 (May 14, 2018)

How far are you with this project. Hope it soon


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## Nils (May 17, 2018)

Thank you *tguk611* for all the useful information! 

And c'mon guys... stop asking *Hekel* every few days about RetroShield. I'm sure he's working on it and I sure want it as bad as you but of course it takes time to make it perfect. Nobody wants a buggy beta version, right?


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## Nitr0genkitty (May 22, 2018)

Good day everyone! I'm looking to keep everything stock on my flashback (the atgames launcher, without having to choose the rom through retroarch) except switch out atgame's emulator with retroarch's in hopes of eliminating atgame's freezing issues. Does anyone have any thoughts on the most straight forward way to do this?

Yous have done fantastic work!


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## Hekel (May 22, 2018)

Nitr0genkitty said:


> Good day everyone! I'm looking to keep everything stock on my flashback (the atgames launcher, without having to choose the rom through retroarch) except switch out atgame's emulator with retroarch's in hopes of eliminating atgame's freezing issues. Does anyone have any thoughts on the most straight forward way to do this?
> 
> Yous have done fantastic work!


Currently were not able to replace the emulator from the [email protected] launcher, and its not really something that i would recomend as its a very buggy dashboard / frontend.


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## Nitr0genkitty (May 22, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Currently were not able to replace the emulator from the [email protected] launcher, and its not really something that i would recomend as its a very buggy dashboard / frontend.



Hmm Thank you for quick reply. I'll wait for retroshield!


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## tguk611 (May 22, 2018)

I don't know how much this will help anyone but I forgot to post that you CAN use your sega flashback sram saves on retroarch, md.emu(android), or the retron 5/retrofreak but you kinda have to jump through hoops(interleave/uninterleave and truncate/pad the files) but I'll list ways to do this. These are for Genesis SRAM saves only. 

I'll be using 010 editor in these steps so you'll need to download it to follow along.

So to get a Flashback HD save converted to use with retroarch take your .sav file and open it in 010 Editor.
1.Now we need to make a file the same size as our .sav filled with all "FF"'s in the hex editor, so if we have an 8kb .sav we need to make an 8kb file and fill it with all "FF"'s, I would save this file if you plan on converting multiple saves.
2.Now we need to interleave the files together so click on "scripts" then "binary" then "interleave" and choose the file with all the "FF"'s FIRST then choose your .sav file next. You should get a prompt asking for the size of each element, just leave it as 1 and click ok. If the scripts aren't preinstalled click on "scripts" then "repository" and install them.
3. Just save the file the name of your rom but make sure the extension is .srm and NOT .sav. You can now use it with retroarch.

To go from Flashback HD to MD.emu just do the steps above but you'll need to pad the file to 64kb. You can either pad this youself or you can you use the .bat I've created and attached below. To use the .bat just place the .srm file in the "Trunch.exe" folder and click the "to MD.emu(64KB).bat", this will pad the file and change the extension to the correct one if it wasn't.

To go from Flashback HD to retron 5/retroarch just do the steps to get a retroarch .srm file and use the retron 5 save converter(just google it).


Now to use your retroarch sram save to use on Sega Flashback HD you'll need to uninterleave the file, thankfully the 010 editor has a script that automates this
1.First open your retroarch .srm in the 010 editor then click "scripts" then "binary" then "uninterleave". If the scripts aren't preinstalled click on "scripts" then "repository" and install them
2.You'll need to name 2 files, name the first one whatever you want as you won't be needing it, name the second file the name of your rom and give it a ".sav" extension this will be the file you need to put back onto your Sega Flashback. You should get a prompt asking for the size of each element, just leave it as 1 and click ok. Now you can put the .sav file back on your Flashback HD.

To go from MD.emu to Flashback HD you need follow the steps above and uninterleave the file. Since all the saves in MD.emu are 64kb you'll still have a 32kb save file I'm pretty sure you need to truncate the file but I'm not positive since I did this awhile ago. Anyway I've added a .bat file to make this easier which will take any file down to 8kb and add the correct extension if it wasn't added. Just take your 32kb uninterleaved .srm file and place it in the "trunc.exe" folder and click the "to Flashback HD(8KB).bat". I'm pretty sure most Flashback srm saves are 8kb so it should work with most saves.

To go from retron 5/retrofreak to Sega Flashback you first need to take the .sav and use the retron 5 save converter(google it) to get a retroarch style .srm save. Now just use the steps above to uninterleave the retroarch .srm to get a Sega Flashback .sav.


I'm not sure how many people can use this info since it's not that easy to convert the saves but it's a good way to transfer a retroarch sram save to a cartridge since the Flashback HD does have a cartridge slot. I'm not great at writing tutorials so if anyone has any questions or needs clarification on something just let me know.

Also you don't need to do anything to Master System or Game Gear to use with other emulators except for changing the extension or using the retron 5 converter to use with a retron 5/retrofreak.


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## hossbags2 (Jun 11, 2018)

Any progress on retro shield


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## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 17, 2018)

hello, citizens of the gbatemp!
i got locked out of my old account a few months ago due to getting locked out of my old outlook account. I hope it is ok by the admins that i made a new account. I was just wondering if some of the old timers that were working on this are still around. I managed to due some neat extra tricks with this device and i was wondering if @asper and @Hekel had discovered anything new on their end as well.


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## fixingmytoys (Jun 18, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> hello, citizens of the gbatemp!
> i got locked out of my old account a few months ago due to getting locked out of my old outlook account. I hope it is ok by the admins that i made a new account. I was just wondering if some of the old timers that were working on this are still around. I managed to due some neat extra tricks with this device and i was wondering if @asper and @Hekel had discovered anything new on their end as well.


have you emailed a admin. i pretty sure they can help , they helped me with my account and welcome back


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## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 18, 2018)

fixingmytoys said:


> have you emailed a admin. i pretty sure they can help , they helped me with my account and welcome back


The problem is that i cannot PM anybody until i have 10 posts so that may take a little bit. Still i hope they do not mind that i made an alternate one to access the site again.
thank you saying hi as well


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## fixingmytoys (Jun 18, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> The problem is that i cannot PM anybody until i have 10 posts so that may take a little bit. Still i hope they do not mind that i made an alternate one to access the site again.
> thank you saying hi as well


well from my count that's now 2 posts lol 
have you tried messaging them on the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GBAtemp/


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## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 19, 2018)

I rather keep my privacy. I will contact them once i reach my 10 posts here.


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## ArugulaZ (Jun 19, 2018)

Just to refresh my memory, which exploits did you make for the Genesis Flashback? I've got mine running the hack with the two anime girls on it (and to be honest, I'd like to change that theme). Someone else supplied me with a version of MD.emu, and it's definitely better than the default.

I also did the USB power hack. Man, those are some TINY soldering points. Starts to feel like microsurgery, you know? However, it's nice to be able to plug in whatever controllers I like. I'd like to do the same for my Atari Flashback, but I'm gonna need a spare USB female connector first.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jun 19, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> I rather keep my privacy. I will contact them once i reach my 10 posts here.


All good , up to 3 now by my count lol


----------



## ALEXONE (Jun 19, 2018)

ArugulaZ said:


> Just to refresh my memory, which exploits did you make for the Genesis Flashback? I've got mine running the hack with the two anime girls on it (and to be honest, I'd like to change that theme). Someone else supplied me with a version of MD.emu, and it's definitely better than the default.
> 
> I also did the USB power hack. Man, those are some TINY soldering points. Starts to feel like microsurgery, you know? However, it's nice to be able to plug in whatever controllers I like. I'd like to do the same for my Atari Flashback, but I'm gonna need a spare USB female connector first.


Hi, could you share that MD.emu via PM, cause default emulator meh...)


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 20, 2018)

ArugulaZ said:


> Just to refresh my memory, which exploits did you make for the Genesis Flashback? I've got mine running the hack with the two anime girls on it (and to be honest, I'd like to change that theme). Someone else supplied me with a version of MD.emu, and it's definitely better than the default.
> 
> I also did the USB power hack. Man, those are some TINY soldering points. Starts to feel like microsurgery, you know? However, it's nice to be able to plug in whatever controllers I like. I'd like to do the same for my Atari Flashback, but I'm gonna need a spare USB female connector first.


i did not write any exploit. i simply made the homebrew app that you are speaking of. also you can easily change the theme on that version of the dash to whatever you want. it was a feature of the dash. if you read the information on mdfbrew you can see the instructions on how to do so.




ALEXONE said:


> Hi, could you share that MD.emu via PM, cause default emulator meh...)


you can get a free version from the author of the emulators site. type "MD.EMU on google, the website is called explusalpha. if you go to his development section you can find a version of md.emu that may be of use to you.

P.S. the current version of the dashboard:


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jun 20, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> i did not write any exploit. i simply made the homebrew app that you are speaking of. also you can easily change the theme on that version of the dash to whatever you want. it was a feature of the dash. if you read the information on mdfbrew you can see the instructions on how to do so.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



umm am i seeing this right ?? SEAG CD and NESS now umm why you NO tell me grrrrr lol and how do i get it again


----------



## ArugulaZ (Jun 20, 2018)

Still not big on the background, but yeah, me wanty!

Also, I'm going to try to get the 2600 emulator from the Atari Flashback 8 working on this thing too, if it's possible. The Atari Flashback never worked properly for me; I'm hoping that since this is the same hardware, I would be able to force it to work on the Genesis Flashback. We'll see.

EDIT: Oh, wait! Okay, I see how you're supposed to change themes... just drop some appropriately sized PNG files into a folder on the system. I'll look into that. Also... when are you going to have this new version of the dash available? Your site still shows a January 16 2018 release as the latest.


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 20, 2018)

the dashboard changes background showing various games every few seconds.
it also supports pc engine (well super cd-rom games like dracula x and sapphire) as well.
this version though is not as simple as running a bat file and its A LOT more involved.
as for releases... I am not sure. All of the gui elements used to make it are borrowed from parts of the internet and i really dont want to go and ask lots of people for their blessing. I originally wanted someone good at photoshop to help me design a gui (as i suck at it). We will see how things turn out although it also seems that enthusiasm for this has died down a lot too.


----------



## ArugulaZ (Jun 20, 2018)

Even if development stops on this frontend, I'm pretty satisfied. I added MD.emu to handle Genesis games, and it does a better job with them than the default emulator. Maybe I'll add in RetroArch later, since MD.emu doesn't support Game Gear games. (Is there a RetroArch build just for the Genesis Flashback, by the way?) 

Whether or not that happens, the system is much better now than it was out of the box. I strongly recommend the USB power mod by the way... the solder points are small but it'll let you plug in your own controllers, along with flash drives if you'd like to use them.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jun 21, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> the dashboard changes background showing various games every few seconds.
> it also supports pc engine (well super cd-rom games like dracula x and sapphire) as well.
> this version though is not as simple as running a bat file and its A LOT more involved.
> as for releases... I am not sure. All of the gui elements used to make it are borrowed from parts of the internet and i really dont want to go and ask lots of people for their blessing. I originally wanted someone good at photoshop to help me design a gui (as i suck at it). We will see how things turn out although it also seems that enthusiasm for this has died down a lot too.



I don’t mine if not a bat file I don’t mind going in the back door , all so I can ask my 10 year old he knows photoshop inside out if can do it for you


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 22, 2018)

Progress log for tonight.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jun 22, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> Progress log for tonight.


looking very good very very good i want it


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 28, 2018)

another update for tonight. skin is being changed thanks to @Ulmez. Awesome work.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jun 28, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> another update for tonight. skin is being changed thanks to @Ulmez. Awesome work.


I like very much, hanging out use it


----------



## asper (Jun 29, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> hello, citizens of the gbatemp!
> i got locked out of my old account a few months ago due to getting locked out of my old outlook account. I hope it is ok by the admins that i made a new account. I was just wondering if some of the old timers that were working on this are still around. I managed to due some neat extra tricks with this device and i was wondering if @asper and @Hekel had discovered anything new on their end as well.


AS i told you privately nothing from me man, I am sorry


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jul 15, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> We will see how things turn out although it also seems that enthusiasm for this has died down a lot too.



I don't think it's that enthusiasm has died down, but rather the slowed progress of the mods.  We've not heard of any progress on RetroShield, or on Generations in months (until recently).  I keep checking the thread for updates, but since there are no updates, there hasn't been much to post about.  I haven't used my Flashback HD in months because I got so sick of the poor emulation and there hasn't been a solution for replacing the emulator made public.  Only talk about it, but not something ppl who aren't Android coders can really do.

I'm still looking forward to releases, but losing hope.  It's my guess that this is a shared feeling.


----------



## DarthDub (Jul 15, 2018)

Makes me wonder if the "new" Genesis/MegaDrive mini will be a new revision.


----------



## Excalibur007 (Jul 15, 2018)

DarthDub said:


> Makes me wonder if the "new" Genesis/MegaDrive mini will be a new revision.



It's my understanding that the 2018 Atari and Genesis Flashback HD units will be using "more popular emulators", although I've not heard confirmation on what they'll be.  I suspect it may be Stella for Atari, but I have no idea what it will be for Genesis.  If this ends up being the case, it sounds like there is a lot to look forward to with the 2018 models.  
However, I still really want to get my 2017 model playing properly.  It's a nice little unit; I love being able to play carts and the wireless was done well, but the game emulation is just too frustrating to bear with after a while.  I'm still very interested in getting it modded with a more stable interface and better emulation.


----------



## YONKE (Jul 16, 2018)

Excalibur007 said:


> It's my understanding that the 2018 Atari and Genesis Flashback HD units will be using "more popular emulators", although I've not heard confirmation on what they'll be.  I suspect it may be Stella for Atari, but I have no idea what it will be for Genesis.  If this ends up being the case, it sounds like there is a lot to look forward to with the 2018 models.
> However, I still really want to get my 2017 model playing properly.  It's a nice little unit; I love being able to play carts and the wireless was done well, but the game emulation is just too frustrating to bear with after a while.  I'm still very interested in getting it modded with a more stable interface and better emulation.




Same here , a check at least 2 times a week to see if there been an update or a release.  Enthusiasm is high and really hope someday my sega genesis HD have a better emulation with the help of the community.


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Jul 29, 2018)

anybody would like to help me test?
needs to know to backup and restore their console in case they hate it.
needs to have done the usb mod
understands they are VOIDING their warranty.
knows how to troubleshoot for themselves, i am usually quite busy, and they must have read this thread entirely.
understands that they are testing, i am not responsible for any damage, lost cats, dogs etc.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Jul 29, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> anybody would like to help me test?
> needs to know to backup and restore their console in case they hate it.
> needs to have done the usb mod
> understands they are VOIDING their warranty.
> ...




hey i am in lol all ready made a backup done the usb mod as you know


----------



## MicroNut99 (Sep 20, 2018)

Hello,
I have been able to restore my bricked Flashback.
Not only that I have been able to convert between an OBB and a Non-OBB system.
I believe the process is not for the faint of heart but is dead simple and an easy choice when the system is
Locked in a Loader Device Loop with No Video.

Add all Partition lines to the AndroidTool and Flash the Uboot.img last.

0x00006000 baseparamer  Output\baseparamer.img
0x00006800 resource  Output\resource.img
0x00002000 uboot Output\uboot.img

The IMG files hosted on MDBREW are Non-OBB system and will convert a dead system to a Non-OBB device.
The reverse works just as well with a full OBB device image backup. 

After flashing the Uboot parition, last, the system should exit the Loader Device almost immediately and boot to the dash.
The PC will recognize the NAND flash and the Android tool will go into ADB Device mode.

Here is a pic of the AndroidTool 239 with all partitions loaded (that cannot post because I'm noob here.)
h t t p s://i.imgur. com/lf69ELv.png


----------



## MicroNut99 (Sep 21, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> anybody would like to help me test?
> needs to know to backup and restore their console in case they hate it.
> needs to have done the usb mod
> understands they are VOIDING their warranty.
> ...


I can test at any time. I have 2GB system that can be OBB or Non-OBB. 
That probably does not make a difference but If can find a away to run Sega CD from OTG then count me in!


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Sep 21, 2018)

MicroNut99 it has been released. yes it can play sega CD. 
go read here for more information:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/generat...-the-flashback-hd-new-version-release.513559/


----------



## MicroNut99 (Sep 22, 2018)

Hekel said:


> I just reflashed to asper cfw. Everything worked well and the message OK was written in the tool. Then i rebootet my console since then im stuck.



Hekel,
I know this is an old post however I'm very curious because I know a bit about the RockChip and it does not sound like all 15 partitions have been restored to this device.

RockChips are very hard to break.
There is nothing wrong or dangerous with using Lower Format and re-flashing ALL of those partitions proper.
If the devices is restarted after a Lower Level format is performed it will still boot into the Loader.

As long as the Loader is there, the NAND will recover the Data in those pre-defined Partitions that have been backed up in advance.
No reason to use MASK Device to replace the Loader because at that point the entire ROM image must be replaced and while that is possible it cannot be done with the specific RK3036 loader that was used build the original ROM image at the factory. The physical NAND can break down or be damaged and the software Loader corrupted and or lost but that is extreme.

I'm serious when I say if you include ALL 15 you'll have a very good chance at recovering any RockChip Device.
No Video and Loader Device Only. Fixed.

*Not only that the method will absolutely convert an OBB device to a non-OBB device if you use the repo on mdfbrew.
The reverse can be done just as easily with a complete copy of OBB device images.*

I have done this several times and if the NAND was going to fail it would in different ways.
If the Loader Device Loader is there and you have all 15 partitions then your chance of recovery is very high.
Follow the directions on mdfbrew and add the last 3 partitions line by line by right clicking.

Add all Partition lines to the AndroidTool and Flash the Uboot.img last.
0x00006000 baseparamer Output\baseparamer.img
0x00006800 resource Output\resource.img
0x00002000 uboot Output\uboot.img

No Video and Stuck in Loader Device mode. Fixed.
To be clear I could not restore the console fully using the method as described on mdfbrew but I plan to gracefully update it as wiki's allow.

I also learned that the NAND can be put into MASKLOADER mode by shorting pins 7,8 and 9 and then applying power to the console.
This will allow a new loader+bin for a newly signed ROM but that is way down the road.

The NAND changes the way it is mounted in Windows between the two img sets.
MTP Device for Non-OBB and RK2039 NAND for OBB devices.

If you want to know how to use ADT v2.39 without using 2 different consoles please let me know.

Again immediately after flashing UBoot.img the console will immediately start ADB Mode.
See an image of the fully loaded ADT recovery console.
Remove the spaces to view the image.
https://image.ibb.co/cmBzzz/recovery.png


----------



## MicroNut99 (Sep 24, 2018)

I have been lurking for long time and have been inspired by Everyone.
WD_Gaster's Generations Media Player got me really interested in something else... an MP3 Player!  

Here is my "dev-switch mod" and Audio Extractor. (Instructable incoming)

The dev-usb mod uses a DPDT on-on / on-off slide switch.
The part is a Philmore electronics no. 30-9164  and looks like this.
It effectively turns Sense and Positive Data on/off.
Ground Data is shared between states.
Power to OTG is separate and is provided by the Power Switch.
In this configuration there is no chance of short or data loss.
The Switch, if it were here labeled here, would be "Game and ADB."

The Audio extractor is powered over the HDMI cable.
As a bonus the Audio extractor will power the Genesis, however its not wired for power here...
I'm just not ready to drill, carve another hole and mount a USB power adapter just yet.

Can I please haz MP3 Player now


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Sep 24, 2018)

that is impressive. talk about turning a toy into something with badass audio options.
as for further mods. I would like my next efforts to be focused on the 2018 version when it comes out.
it apparently runs on retroarch. if its ram has been bumped to 512mb (one can dream) would be incredible for homebrew.
as for the mp3 player i had it shelved since people didnt seem to care. ill try digging it up and see if i can find it for you. its nothing too impressive though.


----------



## MicroNut99 (Sep 24, 2018)

Thank you!

have to love ATGames tho... haha... 
https://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-an-ATGAMES-Portable-Sega-Genesis-Into-a-Wirel/


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Sep 24, 2018)

that is also impressive. you should have hopped on to this thread a few months back XD


----------



## mattytrog (Sep 26, 2018)

RK3036 eh? I had a PIPO tablet running one of those in 2012.

Just need to dig out rktool now


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 2, 2018)

Firmware fun....
I knew there had to be an ATGames test screen in there somewhere.
Have not been able to find the correct key combo again but there is one.


----------



## duwen (Oct 2, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> I would like my next efforts to be focused on the 2018 version when it comes out.
> it apparently runs on retroarch.


...except Sega have apparently taken the project in-house, as they were (rightly) concerned about what a poor job AT-Games had done with the previous devices.


----------



## asper (Oct 3, 2018)

MicroNut99 said:


> Firmware fun....
> I knew there had to be an ATGames test screen in there somewhere.
> Have not been able to find the correct key combo again but there is one.
> 
> ...


Can you tell us how you reached those screens ?


----------



## asper (Oct 3, 2018)

duwen said:


> ...except Sega have apparently taken the project in-house, as they were (rightly) concerned about what a poor job AT-Games had done with the previous devices.


Hi man, thanks for the info; can you post the original news stating that please ?


----------



## duwen (Oct 3, 2018)

asper said:


> Hi man, thanks for the info; can you post the original news stating that please ?


I can't find a definitive source, but there were a number of youtuber's running with the story a week or so ago... here's one from ReRez (Spawn Wave and ReviewTechUSA also featured the story);


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 3, 2018)

asper said:


> Can you tell us how you reached those screens ?


I have a hardware method for glitching the controllers on startup with no instrumentation and as a result I don't have the combo.


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 15, 2018)

This person has the Legends Flashback and this is an un-boxing and review.
Too bad the guy does not go into much detail about the sdcard slot.
Atgames Legends Flashback Review 50 Arcade & Console Games


----------



## Yoshimashin (Oct 17, 2018)

I am having trouble finding the instructions for the USB mod. Mind quoting it or summing it up for easy access?


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 17, 2018)

Yoshimashin said:


> I am having trouble finding the instructions for the USB mod. Mind quoting it or summing it up for easy access?


This sends power to the USB port so the console can access an external USB drive.
https://www.mdfbrew.org/tutorials:1-wire-hardmod


----------



## Yoshimashin (Oct 17, 2018)

MicroNut99 said:


> This sends power to the USB port so the console can access an external USB drive.
> https://www.mdfbrew.org/tutorials:1-wire-hardmod



Thanks a bunch! Looks like an easy job.


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Oct 19, 2018)

@MicroNut99

have fun.

i dug up the mediaplayer source. I compiled it into an apk for you.

make a folder named mp3 on the sd card parition. 

havent tested the code in ages but should work with no issues.

https://1fichier.com/?cncgrent9wlvzm15pk8z

if anybody is interested. I am porting the launcher and the media player to the super retrocade.


----------



## fixingmytoys (Oct 19, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> @MicroNut99
> 
> have fun.
> 
> ...



Oh this sound good I am interested


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 19, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> @MicroNut99
> 
> have fun.
> 
> ...


Thank you!


----------



## MicroNut99 (Nov 13, 2018)

*The Flashback HD Arcade is open.*

Not getting what you want out of your Flashback HD?
Here is some information that can make it a little better.

*What do I need?*
A one wire power mod and an OTG cable to get the most out of this, however it is not needed.
There is limited internal space on the 2GB models and the mod is needed to expand storage space.

All of these apps have free versions approved for personal use and some are open sourced by license.
AutoStart Light here
Xplore file manager here
The Generations keyboard: Vendor_0001_Product_0001.kl

*How do I make this happen?*

*1.* Using ADB push the Generations keyboard to the console and reboot.

```
adb devices
Echo Installing keycodes
adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
adb push Vendor_0001_Product_0001.kl /system/usr/keylayout/Vendor_0001_Product_0001.kl
adb shell mount -o ro,remount,ro /system
pause
adb reboot
```


*2.* Then install Xplore and Autostart.
Start Xplore from ADB:

```
adb shell monkey -p com.lonelycatgames.Xplore -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1
```


*3.* Start and configure Autostart using Xplore to launch Xplore on first boot.

*Or* just download the custom install package: here
AutoStart will hang until the Rk3039 or MTP Device shows up in windows.
If the console is in OTG mode then AutoStart will launch Xplore everytime, on time.
AutoStart is rock sold.... you can chain load more than one app if you want.

*So what works?*
These 3 apps work from good to great on this console.
They also work just as well using the *Generations* dashboard.

*1. Final Burn Alpha* for Android by Cpasjuste
aFBA v1.6 here.
Works out of the box. Setup is easy but will require a reinstall if the setup is performed wrong.
If a rom does not run in FBA then should work using these other two options.

*2. MAME4Droid* aka MAME4All by: seleuconicator
MAME4Droid v1.5.1 here
Plays most roms on its list. It needs a custom gamepad pushed to console.
Having trouble?
*a. *Use this keyevent after installing to open the applications settings

```
adb shell input keyevent 82
```
*b.* Try creating 2 "roms" directories instead of just one at the storage location in advance for instance:
/mnt/usb_storage/USB_DISK0/udisk0/MAME4all/roms/*roms
I dont mean edit the preferance.xml. Just create two roms folders on the USB drive or internal SD.*

*3. Capcom System 2* emulator by Cpasjuste
CPS2 v1.3 here.
Plays most roms on its list. It needs a custom gamepad pushed to console.

Custom install packages here:
MAME4Droid controller preferences
CPS emulator controller preferences

*Hints and tips:*
Be careful with internal rom storage. The NAND can be overwritten and you will lose read/write access and will need to reflash the NAND from backup.
The controller prefs are the biggest hurdle for MAME and CPS. Push twice and reboot the console.
When pushing external prefs if the files and folders are not in the expected place then they are reset.
Xplore file manager is great for managing apps and it has a media player built in.
Starting and uninstalling an application is very easy with Xplore.
Go into Configuration at the top right and turn on the Dark theme for an alternate view or adjust the dpi and resolution.
There is only one guest user on this console so if an app has any preferences that can be exported they can be found here for instance: /data/data/fr.mydedibox.cps2emu/shared_prefs/
MAME4Droid requires a custom preference pushed for external access because there is no way to browse to the external drive. It also has the most troublesome custom gamepad setup but the best I could find is part of the custom preference.
CPS is a CPS2 system emulator. It requires a custom preference controller for the Gamepad to work correctly.
Both game pads maybe needed to exit the cabinet switches.

*aFBA just works out of the box.
Setting up the controls:*
Start a game.
Press B to open the control bar.
Open the Joystick.
Go to Physical Controls and setup all buttons up,down,left,right, a,b,c,x,y,z, start, menu, rewind.
Turn the Virtual controller off. Do this last or control over the emu will be lost and you'll need to reinstall. Now use the Rewind button to open the control bar in-game to save, adjust the graphics or exit the emu. Previews for all can be downloaded externally. There is no cheat function and it says that is compatible with too many roms.
*Press the "B" button on the "..." in the upper right hand corner of the screen to start browsing the file system.*

It is best to limit what games work to a short list for each emulator.
Unfortunately there are no 2 player game options for any of the emulators listed.

ihmo ATGames built a solid piece of hardware but failed to create decent software to run it.
and there is a lot more in the works but I cannot talk about it yet.

Please Back-up your console before attempting any of this.

Enjoy!

BIG THANK YOU goes out to: jkgamer, ASPER, HEKEL and WDGaster!
Without your work and the Generations KL all of this fails.


PS
Yes you can have it all.


----------



## Hekel (Nov 15, 2018)

Great to see theres still a lot of progress on the Flashback console! Good work :-), and thanks for share! You just spelt my name Wrong xD. Keep it on! Regards


----------



## MicroNut99 (Nov 15, 2018)

Hekel said:


> Great to see theres still a lot of progress on the Flashback console! Good work :-), and thanks for share! You just spelt my name Wrong xD. Keep it on! Regards


I have spelled it wrong twice now... 
And I walk in your foot steps.
Thank you!


----------



## MicroNut99 (Nov 15, 2018)

............


----------



## Mal9762 (Nov 17, 2018)

Newbie here. I recently purchased a Sega Genesis Flashback and want to add some games for it. I've been looking at some tutorials and it's a little bit confusing with all the tools and stuff scattered across the thread. Is there some sort of wiki or post that compiles all the tools and tutorials in one place? I'm trying to decide between playing it safe and using the default built-in emulator or use a different emulator/frontend like retroarch.

Also another question, if I go through the basic tutorial of adding games, I know there's a 17 game limit before the system starts becoming unstable and there are some workarounds. Would removing the "Bonus Games"(aka the homebrew junk), and replacing them with legit Genesis titles be a good idea?


----------



## rrifonas (Nov 17, 2018)

Mal9762 said:


> Newbie here. I recently purchased a Sega Genesis Flashback and want to add some games for it. I've been looking at some tutorials and it's a little bit confusing with all the tools and stuff scattered across the thread. Is there some sort of wiki or post that compiles all the tools and tutorials in one place? I'm trying to decide between playing it safe and using the default built-in emulator or use a different emulator/frontend like retroarch.
> 
> Also another question, if I go through the basic tutorial of adding games, I know there's a 17 game limit before the system starts becoming unstable and there are some workarounds. Would removing the "Bonus Games"(aka the homebrew junk), and replacing them with legit Genesis titles be a good idea?



First of all, confirm if your Genesis Flashback HD is the 2017 or 2018 version. 2018 version has a SD Card slow and it's not possible to add new games yet.
Now, assuming you have the 2017 version, I recommend you to read all this thread (I know, there is a lot of stuff here) and check if your Flashback HD is the "obb version" or the "non-obb version".
If you have the non-obb version, you can review instructions in 2 different places:
https://www.mdfbrew.org/
https://www.instructables.com/id/Adding-Games-to-Atgames-Genesis-Flashback-HD/

If you follow the instructions in the second link and you don't have all-games.ini under /system/atgames, you likely have the obb version. If that's your case, take a look at this topic/thread: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266499-new-genesis-flashback/page-13#entry3895318

You can edit the all-games.ini (backup yours before start changing it) and remove the 'bonus games' if you want. And the limit is way beyond 17 games, I think the limit is 17 pages! And it looks like the US launcher - Genesis Flashback HD - is more stable than the European version.

Start playing with the default emulator and if you feel confident/comfortable, you can take a look at the "Generations Dashboard" and the .emu emulators. RetroArch is just too complex to work with (for now).

Once again, I recommend you the read this thread and backup your device before adding games. While the process in the non-obb version is not too complex you can still brick the console.


----------



## Mal9762 (Nov 17, 2018)

Thanks for the links. I also have another quick question: are the box art pics needed and if so is there someone with pre-made box art pics. I mean, I can do it myself(but it will take a while), but I want to see if I could save some time.

Edit: Found out the answer myself by mistake. I forgot to rename some files .bin.png and it just shows a blank white box. Otherwise the games play.

Either way, thanks a bundle to everyone in the thread.


----------



## rrifonas (Nov 17, 2018)

Mal9762 said:


> Thanks for the links. I also have another quick question: are the box art pics needed and if so is there someone with pre-made box art pics. I mean, I can do it myself(but it will take a while), but I want to see if I could save some time.
> 
> Edit: Found out the answer myself by mistake. I forgot to rename some files .bin.png and it just shows a blank white box. Otherwise the games play.
> 
> Either way, thanks a bundle to everyone in the thread.


You don't need to add box art. If you don't add it, you will have a generic atgames 'box art'.


----------



## Mal9762 (Nov 18, 2018)

I want to add a few things that I've learned from this experience:

1. If you get a blank screen after the AtGames logo, It may not be completely bricked and it probably means that your all-games.ini file got corrupted somehow.

2. Keep a backup of the original all-games.ini file(no brainer)

3. Make a backup of your modified all-games.ini file

I learned this the hard way when trying to copy the files back onto the hard drive to avoid having to redo the boxarts and noticed it wouldn't copy back the all-games.ini file. Thankfully I still had the original all-games.ini file in my adb folder.


----------



## rrifonas (Nov 18, 2018)

Mal9762 said:


> I want to add a few things that I've learned from this experience:
> 
> 1. If you get a blank screen after the AtGames logo, It may not be completely bricked and it probably means that your all-games.ini file got corrupted somehow.
> 
> ...



That's it... with a backup in hand his thing is almost unbrickable. The program with the .ini file is that we are doing changes with the launcher running and trying to read the file.


----------



## esali (Nov 29, 2018)

Hello,

can someone send me the Sega Flashback loader.bin or say where ic can find the loader I have already tried with google but find nothing 
I have low formated my sega :/

thanks


----------



## rrifonas (Nov 30, 2018)

esali said:


> Hello,
> 
> can someone send me the Sega Flashback loader.bin or say where ic can find the loader I have already tried with google but find nothing
> I have low formated my sega :/
> ...


Take a look at this topic in mdfbrew.org, I think it has what you need: https://www.mdfbrew.org/tutorials:backup_original_partitions


----------



## Menzo1986 (Dec 2, 2018)

does anyone have a gamelist of the 2018 genesis/mega drive flashback version with sd card slot.
i cant find it anywhere.
im just wondering if it still has some homebrew or gamegear games on it or only genesis/mega drive this time.


----------



## rrifonas (Dec 2, 2018)

Menzo1986 said:


> does anyone have a gamelist of the 2018 genesis/mega drive flashback version with sd card slot.
> i cant find it anywhere.
> im just wondering if it still has some homebrew or gamegear games on it or only genesis/mega drive this time.



https://fccid.io/2AMTQ3680SEGA18/Users-Manual/User-manual-3952641

Game Gear, Master System and "bonus" games are still there.


----------



## kublai (Dec 18, 2018)

Are any firmware out for the 2018 version to enable the SDcard slot to add additional games?


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Dec 19, 2018)

kublai said:


> Are any firmware out for the 2018 version to enable the SDcard slot to add additional games?


https://gbatemp.net/threads/custom-firmware-for-sega-flashback-2018.523590/#post-8436870


see the link above.


----------



## kublai (Dec 19, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> https://gbatemp.net/threads/custom-firmware-for-sega-flashback-2018.523590/#post-8436870
> 
> 
> see the link above.


Thanks very much for pointing me to this.


----------



## ChaosWeeb (Dec 22, 2018)

Guys I need help.
I have the ADB drivers installed, but when I plug my Flashback HD (2017 model) into my computer, it wont show up. I have tried multiple Micro A cables. It could just be all my cables but I dont know


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Dec 22, 2018)

you need the rockchip drivers installed as well.


----------



## ChaosWeeb (Dec 23, 2018)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> you need the rockchip drivers installed as well.


Dont worry I fixed it myself, got games running on it now :b


----------



## Yoshimashin (Dec 29, 2018)

Suddenly, I only get USB Device Malfunctioning notifications on Windows when I plug in the unit. It was mounting as an external drive up until now.

Possibly related, but the red wire on the top of the board leads to the bottom of the PCB, but it isn't connected to anything. Does this need to be soldered to something?

--EDIT--

I reworked the wire mod, I may have bridged pins 4 and 5. Pulled off the access solder and I seem to be back in business.


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Dec 29, 2018)

careful. with that you can permanently damage the bus by crossing those pins.


----------



## Yoshimashin (Dec 30, 2018)

It's all good. Reads the USB drive fine.


----------



## Kleyon (Jan 5, 2019)

Hi everyone! First thanks to all of you for your work on this Megadrive Flashback HD!

I have modified the bootanimation, using the recent SEGA logo you posted here, ok this one work fine.

Then I saw post from @asper (if I remember correctly) announcing that he successfully added sound to bootanimation. So I tried this myself.

I downloaded on Youtube the recent SEGA logo with sound an just extract audio to be OGG (128kbps) and placed it to /system/media/audio. But that didn't worked. After some research, seems like it is needed to point to audio file under desc.txt from bootanimation.zip.... so I did it!

Now sound is playing but not on every boot and when sound is played, its start too early and so the voice tell SEGA before SEGA logo is displayed.

Now my questions:
- Why bootsound isn't playing at all boot?!
- What must be the correct sampling rate (128kbps is too much?)?
- Can we delay audio on desc.txt like images for bootanimation can be delayed?

Last quetion: @Hekel no way to have a hand on your RetroShield v1.0? Seriously this is the alternative launcher we are looking for (cause still have covers for games). I really hope you still working on it, we like it a lot!

PS: I have to add that I don't use symlink anymore for all-games.ini, just updating it directly on /system/atgames/. And to conclude, fun fact, Megadrive Flashback HD we have here was kind of secure against creating a Games folder on SD!!!! Everytime I tried to create a folder and named it Games it was automatically back to New Folder.... So I just created a Game folder!


----------



## asper (Jan 5, 2019)

Kleyon said:


> Hi everyone! First thanks to all of you for your work on this Megadrive Flashback HD!
> 
> I have modified the bootanimation, using the recent SEGA logo you posted here, ok this one work fine.
> 
> ...


The audio problem is probably dued to low memory, I was not able to fix it.

The folder problem is dued to the fact that you should NOT create SD:\Games folder using ADB shell because, for some reason, windows will not show it but the folder is there so if you try to re-create it it simply cannot use the same name for a folder. I suggest you to create SD folder under windows only and not using ADB; to solve the problem remove the Games folder form ADB and re-create it from windows.


----------



## Kleyon (Jan 5, 2019)

So I suppose we can just forget about bootsound ^^ Anyway thanks for explanation.

Concerning Games folder I assume you're right, cause first time I connected Flashback to PC, I just followed a tutorial doing all ADB commands. Anyway now system has been restored, there's no symlink like I said, folder (Game) has been created under Windows and now it's only about path under all-games.ini. So Game or Games doesn't matter, but thanks again for your explanation.


----------



## portaro (Feb 2, 2019)

Hello my first post here in the forum so thanks for receive me.

Recently I buy this same megadrive and today I start to try add games in it, but my operating system is Lubuntu Linux 14, there are a strange problem that I pass all my afternoon tried to solve →
When I plug the console on my pc it isnt recognize I pass lsusb command and first I dont obtain the id vendor in my case he appear in blanck after that I update my usbids via → sudo update-usbids.
Then the lsusb command identify the device on port →
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 2207:0011 Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Company SmartTab

Now the problem is the device isnt recognized by adb devices command and I already try move a section file to add the identification on /etc/udev/ with the vendor and the id product line like that →
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2207", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0011", MODE="0666" GROUP="androiddev", SYMLINK+="android%n"

But still dont recognize on adb devices command.

Any other user with the same experience on Linux systems?

The console model number is → FB 3680
Thanks a lot!


----------



## portaro (Feb 2, 2019)

How excuse me I already found the solution →
We need take place to start connction on the path ~ ./android with code vendor without <>
- Like that 0x2207 , this is my error because I think that we need the <> on init and end of the code.
Now the console is identified by adb devices → 
V5NQX36ZJH    device

Maybe I can add some roms now, thanks for your help.


----------



## portaro (Feb 3, 2019)

portaro said:


> How excuse me I already found the solution →
> We need take place to start connction on the path ~ ./android with code vendor without <>
> - Like that 0x2207 , this is my error because I think that we need the <> on init and end of the code.
> Now the console is identified by adb devices →
> ...




Step By step to custom games on the Genesis Flashback 2017 with a GNU/Linux system on iterface connection PC.

First of all follow the tutorial on Instructables tutorial  to the custom process of add Roms and backup your system.

In GNU/Linux computers and if you any problem of detection you need take attention on - see if your console is detected in the adb tool. Find the vendor ID, finally edit your ~./android/adb_usb.ini file.

First see if your device is detected with the description of vendor →
$ lsusb
Bus 005 Device 003: ID 2207:0011 Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Company SmartTab

If in your case the result of command is →
Bus 005 Device 003: ID 2207:0011

You need to update your usbids with command →
$ update-usbids

Now you can try on terminal the command →
$ adb devices

If the command dont return any listed, you need to do the edition of path config on your ~./android/adb_usb.ini →
Oen this file or create one and put the information of the vendor with the value 0 before. 
For example I see with lsusb that my devicee have the Vendor - 2207 and the Product - 0011, I only need the Vendor ID.
So my text on the file is →
0x2207

Now I need to stop the adb tool with kill service with command→
$ adb kill-server

Start once again →
$ adb start-server

And finally list device →
$ adb devices

After that my device is listed by →
V5NQX36ZJH device

Now You can start following the steps of the tutorial on top to add, edit gams to your device, is very important to take special attention on the file → all-games.ini - this is he real reason that you need connect the device via adb tools.

I hope that this help users that have the same problem that I have on Linux Kernel.

Thanks.


----------



## Batdan81 (Feb 13, 2019)

Exume me , when I took the second  step (2 - INSTALL CUSTOM FIRMWARE - README) the console rebout , bat remain in download mode........ And i try to recovery the firmware but , i noticed i don't have RK3188lLoader.bin.......I check in your STOCK FIRMWARE but the is not.....and I noticed that when i try to recovery recovery user.bin freeze at 82% (both mine and your). Can you hel me?


----------



## asper (Feb 17, 2019)

Batdan81 said:


> Exume me , when I took the second  step (2 - INSTALL CUSTOM FIRMWARE - README) the console rebout , bat remain in download mode........ And i try to recovery the firmware but , i noticed i don't have RK3188lLoader.bin.......I check in your STOCK FIRMWARE but the is not.....and I noticed that when i try to recovery recovery user.bin freeze at 82% (both mine and your). Can you hel me?


Something went wrong during the flashing process and if re-flashing freezes at some point (and always the same point) I suspect a NAND failure, in that case you are one of the (rare) very unlucky guys who have a defective console NAND chip (so this is not a mod fault). I think there is no way to recover your console, I am sorry.

About the loader "missing" file: it cannot be dumped (read the 1st Readme file) but it can be found with google (as stated in the 1st Readme) anyway if the console boots in download mode it is not a loader problem.

Or Maybe You have a 2gb console and not a 4gb one...


----------



## Jamieasy (Feb 18, 2019)

This thread is an absolute mess , trying to do hack on 2017 , the instructions are long and drawn out . nothing is formatted correctly , its like trying to read Mongolian , is there a better version of all the infomation stored here , thats easily readable?. or atleast more coherent , i dont even know how yall managed to do this and i am a computer major lol

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

reading the whole thread did nothing but confuse me

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

is there coherent youtube version of this or somthing that not sprawled out across 3 hard to reead text documents?!?! its a bit much

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

im just going to assume this thread is dead , and yall gave up


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## rrifonas (Feb 18, 2019)

Maybe you can explain what you are trying to do, and what did not work, as this thread have several topics.

This device does not have a '1-click solution' as the Nintendo Classic devices, most of the stuff here need some knowledge in Linux, Android and ADB (they are not 'user friendly), and the most important message is: BACKUP YOUR DEVICE BEFORE STARTING, as the device will become 'unusable' (soft-brick) if some of the changes are improperly done. The process to recover is documented and I think nobody will help you to recover if anything goes wrong.

Some items discussed in this thread:
1) If you want to only add games and keep the built-in emulators, you will need to figure out if your device is the 'obb' or the 'non-obb' model. As a computer major it should be easy for you to figure out which model is yours reading the instructions below:
a. non-obb version: https://www.instructables.com/id/Adding-Games-to-Atgames-Genesis-Flashback-HD/ and there are several videos in youtube covering this process
b. obb version: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266499-new-genesis-flashback/page-13#entry3895318
2) One-wire mod, and backup methods: They were available at mdfbrew.org but the site is down. The content is still available here, but you will need to accept the certificate error to continue
3) If you want to replace the built-in emulator, search in this forum for the Generations Launcher
4) There is a lot of discussion about RetroShield, but it was never released
5) RetroArch: the posts in the first 2 or 3 pages have a lot of useful information


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Feb 19, 2019)

yes, as rrifonas said, it be much easier for you to specify what you are trying to achieve? replace games, get a custom dashboard with emulators running? or just plain retroarch? once you have decided that maybe you can be helped. nobody gave up. people more or less achieved all they wanted/could with the 2017 model.


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## Zaphod77 (Feb 22, 2019)

He wants "Hacking a Flashback HD 2017 for Dummies" guide.


----------



## Batdan81 (Feb 23, 2019)

WD_GASTER2 said:


> yes, as rrifonas said, it be much easier for you to specify what you are trying to achieve? replace games, get a custom dashboard with emulators running? or just plain retroarch? once you have decided that maybe you can be helped. nobody gave up. people more or less achieved all they wanted/could with the 2017 model.


Excuse me, I did not receive the email notifications and I did not check ......
I will try to be as accurate as possible ...
have the console of 2017 with 4GB ..... First I had fun adding games with adb and it worked great......
then I installed the fantastic Sega Generation interface ...
Then seeing on youtube people who made us run even 32x games and MCD I convinced myself to try to install RetroArch,but when i try to install custom firmware with RetroArch ,the installation is freeze.And then when i try to recovery user.bin freeze at 82% that's all.........
Anyway after this experience I found that the best emulator is THE ORIGINAL HARWARE!


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## rrifonas (Feb 24, 2019)

If I recall, this partition freezing to upload at a later point won't affect how the device works. The original partition is almost empty. Were you able to recover the device to a working state?


----------



## portaro (Mar 10, 2019)

I have a question - there are any method to use 4 gamepads in this console?


----------



## rrifonas (Mar 10, 2019)

I don't think so. Wireless and wired controllers have the same keymap, and the buttons are mapped as keyboard keys.


----------



## portaro (Mar 10, 2019)

rrifonas said:


> I don't think so. Wireless and wired controllers have the same keymap, and the buttons are mapped as keyboard keys.



Thanks for answer. Maybe its possible in future with some hack. Thanks.


----------



## 19rsn007 (Mar 11, 2019)

Hey people,

Might be a rude question, but does anyone care to share the stock system dump (in plain files)?
I want to look into it


----------



## fixingmytoys (Mar 11, 2019)

If you go back to the start of this threat you should fine then


----------



## 19rsn007 (Mar 12, 2019)

asper said:


> I extracted the full firmware partitions and installed some apk in my samsung androud device: some installs (with no special permissions needed) some not; the ones installed have no icon and cannot be run.
> 
> To extract the full firmware splitted in all the 15 "partitions" you need an (i suppose) official and free rockchip tool, just need to install adb drivers previously and then connect the usb mini cable, start the tool and switch to "usb mode" instead of default mtp (no need to install mtp drivers, just install the adb ones).
> 
> ...



Would you be willing to share those files with me?


----------



## 19rsn007 (Mar 12, 2019)

fixingmytoys said:


> If you go back to the start of this threat you should fine then



The last post had a download link with tools but they didn't include an actual dump


----------



## asper (Mar 12, 2019)

19rsn007 said:


> The last post had a download link with tools but they didn't include an actual dump


You did not search well


----------



## fixingmytoys (Mar 12, 2019)

asper said:


> You did not search well


I was not looking lol


----------



## 19rsn007 (Mar 13, 2019)

Well the download contained .IMG files.
Now I need some way to extract them in linux


----------



## rrifonas (Mar 13, 2019)

I'm not sure about Linux, but you can open most of the partitions with 7zip.


----------



## portaro (Mar 16, 2019)

Hello friends I have a new question →

Sometimes my hacked Atgames freeze on game and I need to shutdown and power on to solve the problem, the problem dont appear all times that I use the console but sometime I dont have any Idea what can be the problem , in my case I have around 140 games on the console (with the default games of console) in the SDflash connection I have 2.6GB of free space.

Thanks a lot for your answers.


----------



## MicroNut99 (Mar 19, 2019)

asper said:


> Can you tell us how you reached those screens ?



Here is the command working for both controllers, in all its eye watering color.
Start this from adb
am start -n com.atgames.menu.hal/.TestActivity


----------



## Mauricelelapin (Mar 21, 2019)

Hello,
Thanx a lot for all this great work : You guys rock & kick ass 

I've read the whole thread : impressive !

Sega should really get in touch with you guys when they design their own mini console ...

I have both a 2017 and a 2018 european models : on the 2017 version I just added some games and I installed the custom firmware on the 2018 version.

I'm very please by the 2018 version with the custoo firmware and I'm thinking how to get the 2017 version as close as possible to the 2018 version 

For instance I'm wondering if, after doing the USB mod, instead of having an USB output on the case or an internal storage, it would be nice to hook up a USB to SD card reader and be able to store the roms on an SDcard, but the SD card would still be seen as a USB device 

Also I'm wondering if it's possible to use the 2018 custom firmware in the 2017 hardware ... Just because I like the default dashboard (with the use of the arrow keys instead of B & C of course) and I just want to change the default emulator for Genesis Plus GX.

Best regards & Happy Gaming !


----------



## rrifonas (Mar 22, 2019)

Mauricelelapin said:


> Hello,
> Thanx a lot for all this great work : You guys rock & kick ass
> 
> I've read the whole thread : impressive !
> ...


It's not possible to use anything from the 2018 version in the 2017 hardware. 
FB 2017 runs with Android 4.4.2, you can backup your device and try the Generations Dashboard, or Asper's firmware with RetroArch
FB 2018 runs some kind of Linux, running a custom emulator that loads libretro cores


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Mar 22, 2019)

@Mauricelelapin
see video above for a rough idea of what is possible with the 2017 model.


----------



## Mauricelelapin (Mar 22, 2019)

@WD_GASTER2 @rrifonas Thank you very much !


----------



## MicroNut99 (Mar 28, 2019)

Kleyon said:


> PS: I have to add that I don't use symlink anymore for all-games.ini, just updating it directly on /system/atgames/. And to conclude, fun fact, Megadrive Flashback HD we have here was kind of secure against creating a Games folder on SD!!!! Everytime I tried to create a folder and named it Games it was automatically back to New Folder.... So I just created a Game folder!



Hello,

*SDCard corruption, the all-games.ini and slow starting consoles.*
I also highly recommend running the all-games.ini from the /system/atgames/ folder because the console takes too long to load at boot and can cause the sd card to corrupt.

The console Reverting your new "Game" folder back to "New Folder," means that system is trying to write to the sdcard's Game or any folder that Does exist but only internally.
Its a really bad problem... particularity with the sdcard.
So, in fact, if you open adb you'll see the Game or whatever folder that you thought was missing.
The only way to fix it, that I know of, is to delete it from adb and then recreate yourself and or  hope the system recreates it  as it should.
Things get really bad when this happens to the all-games.ini file. The system is slow to boot and the sdcard will take forever or never mount in windows or linux.
Sometimes its easiest to just re-image after it black-screens like this forever...

So this has nothing to do with security at all... because there is none... or very little excluding system signed apps... anyway....
The problem has everything to do with the way Android mounts the sdcard externally to the rest of the system on boot.
Another fact is that us and eu systems have far more in common and really there is only One system with different rom sets and artwork.
OBB and Non-Obb are just methods for storing that data, nothing more...

Yes, you are best served by keeping the all-games.ini on the system partition.
Have not seen the Game folder locked out unless the all-games.ini had a problem, but there is always room for strange behavior on this system.
e.g. too many issues or unresolved problems in the all-games.ini..... and yet again, the system will take a long time to boot.

*Slow starting sdcard:*
A console that does not already have this script in the system/bin folder should probably use this
because it disables the sdcard media scanner and makes the sdcard start much faster.
Its a stock atgames script... nothing to do with me 
atgames_stopsrv - includes an easy installer.
tip of the iceberg and all that... I don't talk much but I am the built-in trouble shooter.

*Documentation:*
Anyone can get a complete copy of mdfbrew here: MDFBREW.ORG
This contains a link to the EU version of the firmware and everything that was cool on this once protected website.
If Anyone needs any help with images of any kind please let know.

*Emulators:*
aFBA, CPS1 and Mame4Droid
aFBA artwork

-Made for the Generations GUI keylayout so you will need Generations or AutoXplore
-aFBA works well without any need to push a configuration
-Mame4Droid is admittedly a pain to install because it requires pushed configurations that do not always copy correctly,
.... spend enough time with the console and you will know what I mean by overwriting files.
-CPS is a super fast version of aFBA that runs a smaller set of roms and requires another controller push like Mame4Droid.
Final Burn Alpha or aFBA  is really the gem here because Mame and CPS can be a pain to get working.
These are custom installer packages. The APK's have been stripped of unnecessary files to make them smaller for 2GB consoles.

*Alternate GUI:*
If you are interested in AutoXplore
Here is a package that will safely install it.

Please let me know if you have in questions by using PM.


----------



## JadeSapphira (Apr 16, 2019)

Hey guys, i need a little help, we just bought a ATgames sega mega drive flashback and after plugging everything and turning on the controllern, when i turn the console itself on im reeted with the atgames logo and then this screen.

EDIT: Neogaf wont let me post an image so i have to explain it: It's totally red with white capital letters displayed like this:

|FB3680_EY_002 REVISION-2018-07-05-03:33:04 (HOST)
|
|      U       RW  X  Y  Z      DDR CLK: 396000000
| L        R  MU                   CW0881: OK
|      D       ST   A  B  C     SD CARD:
|               MU                   CHANNEL:
|      U               X  Y  Z     CARTRIDGE:
| L        R
|      D      ST    A  B  C
|
|
|  Press D+A to Start SD Card Test.


 No buttons work except the menu button on the console which gives the second MU letters a green circle and does nothing, the circle doesnt go away either. Pressing D and A with a working controller doesnt do anything even though the controller has a blue led. I thought it was a problem with the sd card but there is none in there.

After reading the manual it told me to insert an sd card with update data in order to update it, thinking that might work. I go through the process, rename the file and plug the sd card into the machine but it still does nothing. Music is playing vut it's otherwise unresponsive.

Ive fiddled with the cartridged slot, dusted it, blowed into it but that does nothing.

Ive tried both controllers with different batteries vut they dont register on the red screen and rn im lost. Has anyone had this problem or knows how to fix it? Thank you in advance ><


----------



## MB79 (Apr 16, 2019)

Hi
Does your screen look like the one posted by @dcuk7 in other thread called 
 At games sega flashback 2018 edition is out in the wild page 11 (I really have to figure out how to link to another post)
If so follow his lead and take it back and get it replaced.
Cheers


----------



## dcuk7 (Apr 16, 2019)

That sounds exactly like my latest one. I tried almost everything to fix it (only thing I didn't try was doing a USB mod to the internals to flash it).

As @MB79 says, return it for another one. I just got my replacement now. All working well.


----------



## flame489 (Apr 20, 2019)

JadeSapphira said:


> Hey guys, i need a little help, we just bought a ATgames sega mega drive flashback and after plugging everything and turning on the controllern, when i turn the console itself on im reeted with the atgames logo and then this screen.
> 
> EDIT: Neogaf wont let me post an image so i have to explain it: It's totally red with white capital letters displayed like this:
> 
> ...



Hi everyone,

Did you tried with wired control pad?
To me it happened exactly the same, I sent an email to [email protected] and they were very quick in response, sent a small tutorial to try to solve otherwise return the console and exchange for another. What I remembered doing before they did what they said in the tutorial was trying to solve the problem with the wired control pad from the original Mega Drive original console, tried and solved it.
For some reason the console at boot time goes to the test screen and asks to execute the test steps through the buttons of the control but it seems that while it is in the test screen the wireless controllers do not work.
So if you have a wired control it will almost certainly work.

Hope this helps.


----------



## omarq8 (May 2, 2019)

*hello guys i have sega flashback version 2017 with usb on internal motherboard and i made a new ini file with new games i did all the tut but when i start my sega i got black screen and i did got back the original ini file and my sega worked again the motherboard name is V5NQX36ZJH so is there special tut for that kind of motherboard or i made the tut wrong and also the /system/atgames/ has gone how i can restored please help *


----------



## portaro (May 3, 2019)

omarq8 said:


> *hello guys i have sega flashback version 2017 with usb on internal motherboard and i made a new ini file with new games i did all the tut but when i start my sega i got black screen and i did got back the original ini file and my sega worked again the motherboard name is V5NQX36ZJH so is there special tut for that kind of motherboard or i made the tut wrong and also the /system/atgames/ has gone how i can restored please help *


On command line try this →

adb devices
adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
adb push */your/user*/all-games.ini /system/atgames/
adb shell mount -o ro,remount,ro /system
adb shell ls -al /system/atgames
adb devices
adb pull /system/atgames/all-games.ini
adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
adb shell mv /system/atgames/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.bak
adb shell ln -s /sdcard/Games/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini
adb shell mount -o ro,remount,ro /system

I also have your same problem in past and this commands works for me but I use Linux.

Then you need do the start steps to create new all-games.ini and put your games in the folder of /games →
"adb devices"

This command starts the adb daemon and verify the flashback is connected


"adb pull /system/atgames/all-games.ini"

This command copies the all-games.ini file you will need to modify to your computer.

"adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system "

This command is where the risk starts, it tells your flashback to allow modifications to the system folder.

"adb shell mv /system/atgames/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.bak"

This command creates a backup of the original all-games.ini to restore if needed later.

" adb shell ln -s /sdcard/Games/all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini"

This command creates a symlink from the original all-games.ini and points it to the NAND Flash for easy access.

" adb shell mount -o ro,remount,ro /system"

This command restores the original read only state to the system files.

Open NAND FLASH folder on the rk3036 device and create the folder "Games" (case is important here as well)

copy the all-games.ini file from your adb folder to the newly created "Games" folder


----------



## Nils (May 3, 2019)

Hi my people!

Now another year has passed since @Hekel mentioned / announced RetroShield. I wonder, if he has made any progress or had any success with the software.

Btw, I have somehow bricked my concole and it doesn't save or load saves properly anymore. I can play games though.
Since I have no backup, can someone please send me the original files and explain, how I can restore the original firmware?
This would be highly appreciated!!! (Hell, I already spent so much time on it in vain and I'm feeling so desperate right now...)

Alternatively, I'm readyto install another firmware, like RetroShield if there is anything out there, yet. Does anyone have any information on this?

And oh yeah, I have the 2017 verion of the console, so there is NO SD Card slot.

I'm REALLY looking forward to hear from you guys! :-)


----------



## omarq8 (May 4, 2019)

portaro said:


> On command line try this →
> 
> adb devices
> adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
> ...



thanks for help but i'm using windows 10 and also using power shell is that good or not? and i did your tut but the problem still exists i took a photo so tall me what is wrong and can u do video tut for how to fix it


----------



## MicroNut99 (May 5, 2019)

omarq8 said:


> *hello guys i have sega flashback version 2017 with usb on internal motherboard and i made a new ini file with new games i did all the tut but when i start my sega i got black screen and i did got back the original ini file and my sega worked again the motherboard name is V5NQX36ZJH so is there special tut for that kind of motherboard or i made the tut wrong and also the /system/atgames/ has gone how i can restored please help *


 Here is a copy of the original. Try to push this.
and power shell is ok... if you have problem just type cmd or powershell to swap between shells... most importantly run as administrator.
US
all-games.ini
https://pastebin.com/XpwH4XPH

```
adb devices
adb shell mount -o rw,remount /system
adb push all-games.ini /system/atgames/all-games.ini
pause
adb reboot
```


----------



## fixingmytoys (May 5, 2019)

MicroNut99 said:


> Here is a copy of the original. Try to push this.
> and power shell is ok... if you have problem just type cmd or powershell to swap between shells... most importantly run as administrator.
> US
> all-games.ini
> ...


 
Thanks for this might have a look, I want to “restore” mine back to stock to do the new mod on it "Notice Me Senpai Edition" yes not new new but i think it is the lastest for this unit unless i am wrong, yes i still have not gotten around to it , i can't find my nand back up which is the hold up


----------



## MicroNut99 (May 5, 2019)

fixingmytoys said:


> Thanks for this might have a look, I want to “restore” mine back to stock to do the new mod on it


 Happy to help. 
As far as the 2017 usb version, if there is anything you need then please let me know.


----------



## omarq8 (May 5, 2019)

MicroNut99 said:


> Here is a copy of the original. Try to push this.
> and power shell is ok... if you have problem just type cmd or powershell to swap between shells... most importantly run as administrator.
> US
> all-games.ini
> ...



thanks so much my friend for your help my sega now is back as i bought thanks so much i appreciate your help my god bless you


----------



## fixingmytoys (May 6, 2019)

okay been hunting and hunting i can not find my nand back up anyone have one i can use please, i have a AU but i dont care what version as long as i can restore it back to how it came out of he box , mine is a non obb unit 2gb please


----------



## portaro (May 6, 2019)

Nice you solve the problem in both tutorials (mine and MicroNut99) you repair the path of allgames.ini and create them, the both commands inependent of systems are similar.

Good.


----------



## MicroNut99 (May 6, 2019)

portaro said:


> Nice you solve the problem in both tutorials (mine and MicroNut99) you repair the path of allgames.ini and create them, the both commands inependent of systems are similar.
> Good.


The same.


----------



## masterzed (May 9, 2019)

its now posible to use an usb device to add more roms?


----------



## fixingmytoys (May 10, 2019)

hi guys, sorry to ask need some help getting ADB working on a new computer windows 10, i am having no luck


----------



## rrifonas (May 10, 2019)

I'm using this driver and ADB. See if it works for you. 
This package has also the rkdumper to backup your device, but you will need to use Android Tool to switch it to Loader mode.


----------



## fixingmytoys (May 11, 2019)

cool thank you, i am back in again


----------



## fixingmytoys (May 11, 2019)

okay can some one tell me what i am doing wrong please **** all don as admin****
PS C:\sega> cd Dump
PS C:\sega\Dump> adb devices
List of devices attached * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
V5NQX36ZJH device 
PS C:\sega\Dump> adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
PS C:\sega\Dump> adb push all-games.ini /system/atgames/ failed to copy 'all-games.ini' to '/system/atgames//all-games.ini': Read-only file system 
PS C:\sega\Dump>


----------



## rrifonas (May 11, 2019)

fixingmytoys said:


> okay can some one tell me what i am doing wrong please **** all don as admin****
> PS C:\sega> cd Dump
> PS C:\sega\Dump> adb devices
> List of devices attached * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
> ...


This is likely caused by the firmware you are using. If you are using one of test builds, ping me or MicroNut99 in private.


----------



## spanner (May 16, 2019)

I wanted to ask is it possible to play Mega CD games on this,just got one,a 2017 model..?

Another question..
Can you remove games so remove all the games that are not Mega Drive/Genesis games..??


----------



## MicroNut99 (May 16, 2019)

spanner said:


> I wanted to ask is it possible to play Mega CD games on this,just got one,a 2017 model..?
> 
> Another question..
> Can you remove games so remove all the games that are not Mega Drive/Genesis games..??


Cant play CD games without a mod.
SenPai/Generations can do it. You'll have to downlown explusalpha md.emu to play SegaCD and the others for more...
Read this thread from start, and or skip back a few pages and read the quick breakdown from rrifonas. Much is possible.

Yes. You can add and remove all gen games. The built in emu has poor compatibility.


----------



## fixingmytoys (May 17, 2019)

hi @asper or anyone else that might now, i know this is a old post, with this i run the bat and then it will SAVE the dump in /mnt/asec/ folder in .bin format and i can pull it out the next time i hook up the falshback to my pc?


asper said:


> EDIT:
> 
> Just tested a japanese cartridge and found it perfectly fits inside the cartridge slot even with my usb 90-angle is inside (look here see what I mean). The dump will go do /mnt/asec/ folder in .bin format (the name of the cartridge dump tested was rom-9370.bin and it perfectly matches the CRC of the same dump found on the web).
> 
> To automatically get the dumps put the extremely simple batch file I attached to this post in the same ADB.exe folder and doubleclcik on it.[/QUOTe


----------



## spanner (May 17, 2019)

How do you go about backing up the nand on the Flashback,you need Clockworkmod recovery to copy the whole nand don't you cos its Android and this don't have it so you can only copy parts of the system you are going to change and push it to your PC using adb..?


----------



## MicroNut99 (May 17, 2019)

spanner said:


> How do you go about backing up the nand on the Flashback,you need Clockworkmod recovery to copy the whole nand don't you cos its Android and this don't have it so you can only copy parts of the system you are going to change and push it to your PC using adb..?


No. Use RKDumper or Android Tool to create a backup. 
Use either one to determine the size of the nand. either 2 or 4GB

Here is copy of the info you are looking for.
MDFBREW.ORG.7z
https://mega.nz/#!Aho1CCaa!sundnuMumBV_ZoKQMULdtihWgs_il4eFWZPQKQN5LFU


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (May 17, 2019)

@spanner 
see my release thread for the generations dashboard after you read either the rrifonas post or if you re-read this very thread.

release here:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/generat...-the-flashback-hd-new-version-release.513559/


----------



## asper (May 28, 2019)

fixingmytoys said:


> hi @asper or anyone else that might now, i know this is a old post, with this i run the bat and then it will SAVE the dump in /mnt/asec/ folder in .bin format and i can pull it out the next time i hook up the falshback to my pc?


Yes You can copy it to your pc.


spanner said:


> How do you go about backing up the nand on the Flashback,you need Clockworkmod recovery to copy the whole nand don't you cos its Android and this don't have it so you can only copy parts of the system you are going to change and push it to your PC using adb..?


Flash Dump is Made with rockchip official tools.


----------



## WarlordLex (Jun 21, 2019)

asper said:


> Yes You can copy it to your pc.
> 
> Flash Dump is Made with rockchip official tools.



Asper I know this is an old thread but I need some help. I've diligently followed all of your instructions but I fear I am missing something. I've got the 2017 model here in Canada that I picked up from a Walmart last week. I've successfully added Retroarch to the system using the methods described here however there seems to be a problem ith the buttons on the 2nd player controller are not being detected by retroarch. Buttons B and C arent picked up by the system at all and atleast one of the directional buttons and for some reason the start button is C. Im not sure how to fix this as the buttons mentioned wont register when I try to map them. Im no good at coding. Can you help me? Or anyone here?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



WarlordLex said:


> Asper I know this is an old thread but I need some help. I've diligently followed all of your instructions but I fear I am missing something. I've got the 2017 model here in Canada that I picked up from a Walmart last week. I've successfully added Retroarch to the system using the methods described here however there seems to be a problem ith the buttons on the 2nd player controller are not being detected by retroarch. Buttons B and C arent picked up by the system at all and atleast one of the directional buttons and for some reason the start button is C. Im not sure how to fix this as the buttons mentioned wont register when I try to map them. Im no good at coding. Can you help me? Or anyone here?


The directional button that does not work on player 2 is D pad Right


----------



## asper (Jun 23, 2019)

@WarlordLex for a full explanation about the mega drive flashback buttons common problems (and solutions) please read here:
https://wabnig.cc/info:gamepad

and here:
https://wabnig.cc/tutorials:keys_layout


----------



## WarlordLex (Jun 24, 2019)

asper said:


> @WarlordLex for a full explanation about the mega drive flashback buttons common problems (and solutions) please read here:




Any chance you could also point me in the correct direction to change the Region of the Flashback now that I have Retroarch Installed? I would like the Genesis logo and Genesis covers back and not the Megadrive ones. I cant find a stock dump of the north american flashback  anywhere.

I tried and failed to create a kl file and adb push the file to the directory suggested. After making the file in notepad and saving it as a kl file. I adb pushed the file but the controller still behaves the same after rebooting. Maybe im doing it all wrong.


----------



## WarlordLex (Jun 26, 2019)

Update: Ive worked it all out. Managed to properly adb push the new controller config files provided by another member in this thread. After doing so the original front end no longer works with the controllers which is fine. My only gripe now is that i've lost all cover art using Retroarch. The system doesnt appear to have room for all 700 cover arts after uploading the games to the console nor do I know how to apply the covers to each individual game.


----------



## WD_GASTER2 (Jun 26, 2019)

yep. no cover art support.


----------



## DoctorMike (Dec 12, 2019)

Hi,
Having trouble with the optional last bit of backing up the NAND:
"2 -    OPTIONAL: Now to dump also the user partition you should do some math but this is not needed if the memory chip is the same as mine;
    if, at the end of the parameter.txt you have the following values:
[email protected](system),[email protected](user) it is like mine !
    it means that (user) partition starts at 0x001BA000 and the "-" before the @ mens it doesn't know how big is it ! If you have a 4GB chip the "count" value
    will be 0xD2C00000;    to see if it is a 4GB chip click the "ReadFlashInfo button and on "Flash Size" you should read: 4256MB; if so use the above value, if
    not you need to do some extra maths: using Windows Calculator set in Programmer's mode you need to add the 2 values of last partition (in our example 000C8000
    and 000F2000) and subtract them form the whole size (in hexadecimal value!) of your nand chip (ex.for a 2GB chip the total number of bytes will be 80000000,
    which, divided    by 512 makes 400000 so you need to    do: 400000 - (000C8000+000F2000) = 00400000 - 001BA000 = 246000. So for (user) partition "Start" will
    be:0x001BA000 while "Count" will be 0x00246000.
3 -    If you want to permanently add that value substitute, inside parameter.txt, the " - " in [email protected](user) with [email protected] or whathever the
    value is and save !"

 have the 4GB NAND 2017 sega megadrive, and the maths seems out. When using 0xD2C00000 (56Gigs in decimal!!!) the last user partition is clearly wrong. Trying to work out the right count for a 4GB chip, the 2GB example above is a bit confusing, as it says divide by 512, but mixes Hex and Decimal in the process. I think that this is right:

4GB = 1 0000 0000 (hex) = 4,294,967,296
Divide by 512 = 8,388,608 or 80 0000 (hex)
Subtract 1BA000 (the agreed start of this partition) = 64 6000 (hex), the required count.
This produces a file of just over 3GB, which seems right.

Can someone check my maths, please? And, maybe, consider changing the readme for this part?


----------



## MicroNut99 (Dec 12, 2019)

It does require some calc, here are the values.
2GB : [email protected](user)
4GB : [email protected](user)

However, that method isn't needed anymore to create the same backup.

*Download LINKS Repaired: 10/18/2022*

Here is a backup and recovery tool for the console: Genesis_FB_HD_2017_RKDumper_BackupTool.7z
Connect to the console using ADB and read the Instructions.

Put the console into Loader Mode and run the dumper.cmd (Might have to rt.click and RunAs Administrator)
Backup will be stored in the "Output" directory.  The unchecked Loader highlighted in green is not needed.
https://postimg.cc/0K0nLtbP






Make sure there are no spaces in the directory paths or the dumper wont run.
https://postimg.cc/Cz1ZnvwH





The example above shows a 2GB console: Partition "user" (0x00246000)
The easiest way to determine if you have a 2GB or 4GB console is to back it up first and then read the dumper output.

*Download LINKS Repaired: 10/18/2022
Tools and Stock Firmware:*

adb_driver - If ADB is already working then do not install this.

Flashback_HD_2017_BackupTool - Backup the current firmware

Genesis_Flashback_HD_2017_2G_Stock_Firmware - Most Common version in the US.

Genesis_Flashback_HD_2017_4G_Stock_Firmware

MegaDrive_Flashback_HD_2017_4G_Stock_Firmware

Backup of System partition games:
Genesis Flashback HD 2017
Megadrive Flashback HD 2017

*Notes:*
1. The Loader is not needed. Connect to the console using ADB and read the Instructions.
2. This firmware will convert an OBB console to a Non-OBB console. This makes it easier to add games.
3. The difference between Genesis and Megadrive firmware is the artwork for the games and the console gui.
4. If you've completely lost your firmware, the console wont boot and don't know what GB version console you have then its OK to use your best guess because it will not damage the console. IF this has happened to you Then contact me and I will help you get the console properly fixed.


----------



## I0601889 (Jun 1, 2020)

Hello !

When I connect "Atari flashback 8" to the PC via USB, the message "Unknown USB device" appears with an error.

I tried to install different drivers in Windows 7/10 (both 64-bit) with different usb cables, but it doesn't recognize the device and always detects it with the same error "Windows Devices".

What drivers did you use?

Can you share the correct drivers for Windows to recognize?

The intention is to connect through ADB to add games. I use adb (platform-tools_r30.0.1-windows)

Thank you very much for your help

Geman


----------



## skite2001 (Jan 16, 2021)

Hello guys. Does somebody got a Backup of the flsshback2017 'atgames' folder? Would be really nice and could help me to save a lot of time.


----------



## MrShizz (Feb 24, 2021)

skite2001 said:


> Hello guys. Does somebody got a Backup of the flsshback2017 'atgames' folder? Would be really nice and could help me to save a lot of time.


Did you manage to find this, I am also in need of it as it seems mine has vanished!!!


----------



## MicroNut99 (Mar 6, 2021)

Backup of System partition games:
Genesis Flashback HD 2017
Megadrive Flashback HD 2017


----------



## astuermer (Nov 30, 2021)

MicroNut99 said:


> However, that method isn't needed anymore to create the same backup...



Thanks! But if I start "dumper" as Admin, all I get is...


```
Found:  LOADER device (RK3036G 2207:301a) #8
        --- Firmware dumping ---

        Found LOADER Rockchip device
        First 0x0010 NAND blocks reading
        Command to read failed

        -- Rockchip device resetting --
        Found LOADER Rockchip device
        Command to reset failed
```

Any idea what to do?
It's a 2017 Mega Drive Flashback with Genesis/Mastersystem APKs dated "august 2017".
Got a firmware here with same APKs but "Genesis-111417.apk" and "MasterSystem-100917.apk".

*Update:* Never mind... got it working on another USB port!

If anybody is interested, here's a share on MEGA with the latest available 2017 firmware dated 11/15/2017.


----------



## astuermer (Nov 30, 2021)

Hmm... device only jumps to dead android with exclamation mark.
I can't switch to Fastboot mode with Android Tool now.

Any help? 

*Again Update: *Found the "manual bootloader button" 
Holy crap that device has a crappy design 

Firmware now installed to the latest official one. Sound not distorted anymore - for example in James Pond 2 Robocod.


----------



## MicroNut99 (Dec 1, 2021)

astuermer said:


> Hmm... device only jumps to dead android with exclamation mark.
> I can't switch to Fastboot mode with Android Tool now.
> 
> Any help?
> ...


You are correct about all.
The backup/recovery tool only works from folders without spaces.
As for those apk updates, those are rubbish.
About the image update, its been ages now but your comment regarding better sound is interesting.
I'm not sure if this is something that has been torn apart yet or not... the cobwebs are thick.
There is a high quality open source firmware replacement by WD_GASTER2 here: Generations Dashboard 4.0

And Thank you!
You've pointed out one of the most over looked firmware reset features of the *2017 ATGames Sega Genesis console*.
The built-in firmware reset button.
Its hard to brick the rock.


----------



## astuermer (Dec 4, 2021)

Hi

I configured my old 2017-model with 4GB NAND-memory according to my wishes with a customized animated "SEGA" boot animation made in Photoshop (based on the one from the Robocop cartridge) and customized the launcher-menu for Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Gear and the "special" Sonic Games menu 

  

Also some internal cable management and a back-mounted socket for USB is my backup/copy-solution so opening the case isn't necessary anymore... 



Also I linked the internal all-games.ini to the additional NAND-memory and stored my favorite games there - together with Photoshop-handmade game covers and some usual texts to show. The internal games are still in the internal memory, but not used. So going back to stock should be easy by removing the link and restoring the original all-games.ini.



Spoiler: List of my games-set



[Genesis / MegaDrive]

AddamsFamily.bin
AddamsFamilyValues.bin
AfterBurner2.bin
Alien3.bin
Animaniacs.bin
AnotherWorld.bin
Batman.bin
BatmanForever.bin
BatmanReturns.bin
BatmanRevengeJoker.bin
BattleSquadron.bin
CannonFodder.bin
CastlevaniaNewGeneration.bin
ChaosEngine.bin
ChaseHQ2.bin
ChuckRock1.bin
ChuckRock2.bin
DesertStrike.bin
DoomTroopers.bin
DukeNukem3D.bin
Dune2KampfUmArrakis.bin
F1WorldChampionship.bin
Flashback.bin
Ghostbusters.bin
Gods.bin
GoldenAxe1.bin
GoldenAxe2.bin
Hellfire.bin
IndianaJonesLastCrusade.bin
JamesPond1.bin
JamesPond2Robocod.bin
JamesPond3Starfish.bin
JimPower.bin
JudgeDredd.bin
JungleStrike.bin
KidChameleon.bin
LawnmowerMan.bin
LegendOfGalahad.bin
Lemmings1.bin
Lemmings2.bin
Lotus1TurboChallenge.bin
Lotus2.bin
MegaLoMania.bin
MegaSWIV.bin
MegaTurrican.bin
MickeyMania.bin
MickeyMouseIllusion.bin
MidnightResistance.bin
MrNutz.bin
OutRun.bin
PacMania.bin
PowerDrive.bin
RiskyWoods.bin
Ristar.bin
Sagaia.bin
SeaQuestDSV.bin
ShadowOfTheBeast1.bin
ShadowOfTheBeast2.bin
SimpsonsBartsNightmare.bin
SkeletonKrew.bin
SolDeace.bin
Sonic3DBlast.bin
SonicAndKnuckles.bin
SonicHedgehog1.bin
SonicHedgehog2.bin
SonicHedgehog3.bin
Splatterhouse2.bin
Splatterhouse3.bin
StarTrekDS9Crossroads.bin
StarTrekTNGEchoes.bin
SubTerrania.bin
SuperHangOn.bin
Syndicate.bin
Technocop.bin
TestDrive2.bin
ThunderForce2.bin
ThunderForce3.bin
ThunderForce4.bin
TopGear2.bin
Turrican.bin
Worms.bin
Xenon2.bin
ZeroTolerance.bin
ZeroToleranceBeyond.bin
Zool.bin

[Master System]

AfterBurner.sms
Beast.sms
BTTF2.sms
BTTF3.sms
GalaxyForce.sms
JamesPond2.sms
MarbleMadness.sms
RType.sms
Sonic1.sms
Sonic2.sms

[Game Gear]

Alien3.gg
BramStokersDracula.gg
ChuckRock1.gg
ChuckRock2.gg
JamesPond2.gg
JudgeDredd.gg
ReturnOfTheJedi.gg
Sonic1.gg
Sonic2.gg
SonicBlast.gg
SonicSpinball.gg
StarTrekTNGNexus.gg
StarWars.gg



*I want to share if someone still has the need to play some old classics.*

This is the latest official firmware from atGames for the Genesis/Mega Drive Flashback dated November 2017...
https://mega.nz/file/oRQwUDRY#LB3a9FKBtpUBMiiW0F2Q9mKCj9nFGVJz900TMYzFom8

This is my own one as described above - backupped with the Flashback Dumper-Tool posted by @MicroNut99 above. A great tool as I think 
https://mega.nz/file/kYRgRD6B#W9l1Erfp-3w8cprcNrzHBGKtq-835QjaObCg9ubEmfM

Use it as described above...
Of course if you just want to upgrade the official firmware, you need to use the tab "Upgrade Firmware" in the Flashback Dumper-Tool.

Have fun!


----------



## simon65 (Oct 11, 2022)

Hi ,i totally screwed up with a firmware update and lost all the "free" games that came with the ATGames megadrive UK version but the links above no longer there ,can someone please point me in the right direction so i can restore the free games ?
thanks


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 19, 2022)

simon65 said:


> Hi ,i totally screwed up with a firmware update and lost all the "free" games that came with the ATGames megadrive UK version but the links above no longer there ,can someone please point me in the right direction so i can restore the free games ?
> thanks


Using the reset button pictured up above will restore the games and reset the system to default.
Let me know if you need any more help.

*Download LINKS Repaired: 10/18/2022*


MicroNut99 said:


> It does require some calc, here are the values.
> 2GB : [email protected](user)
> 4GB : [email protected](user)
> 
> ...


----------



## MicroNut99 (Oct 25, 2022)

astuermer said:


> Thanks! But if I start "dumper" as Admin, all I get is...
> 
> 
> ```
> ...



*ATGames official Firmware Update for the Flashback 2017 HD. Dated *- 11/15/2017
https://mega.nz/file/DgB0GLSL#ndlyWh5lIPAx9VXwX64fWT6SmCa_Ixro2bRFxvOrZm8


*All uploads restored: 10/25/2022*

*Flashback 2017 HD System Update*

This is an official Update to the original system firmware and not a full backup or restore.
Same backup and recovery tool but the process is a little different.

Connect to the console with the tool and then click on the *Upgrade Firmware* tab.
1. Load the img
2. Upgrade the Flashback 2017 HD firmware.
https://i.postimg.cc/FFYWkDf4/Update4.jpg








MicroNut99 said:


> It does require some calc, here are the values.
> 2GB : [email protected](user)
> 4GB : [email protected](user)


Here are the calcs needed for the manual process.
However, that method isn't needed anymore to create the same backup or restore the console.

*Download LINKS Repaired: 10/18/2022

Backup-Recovery tool and system images.*
Here is a backup and recovery tool for the console: Genesis_FB_HD_2017_RKDumper_BackupTool.7z
Connect to the console using ADB and read the Instructions.

Put the console into Loader Mode and run the dumper.cmd (Might have to rt.click and RunAs Administrator)
Backup will be stored in the "Output" directory.
The unchecked Loader highlighted in green is not needed.
https://postimg.cc/0K0nLtbP






Make sure there are no spaces in the directory paths or the dumper won't run.
This is an example of the output:
https://postimg.cc/Cz1ZnvwH




The example above shows a 2GB console: Partition "user" (0x00246000)
The easiest way to determine if you have a 2GB or 4GB console is to back it up first and then read the dumper output.

*Download LINKS Repaired: 10/18/2022


Backup-Recovery tool and Stock Firmware:*

adb_driver - If ADB is already working then do not install this.

Flashback_HD_2017_BackupTool - Backup the current firmware

Genesis_Flashback_HD_2017_2G_Stock_Firmware - Most Common version in the US.

Genesis_Flashback_HD_2017_4G_Stock_Firmware

MegaDrive_Flashback_HD_2017_4G_Stock_Firmware

Backup of System partition games:
Genesis Flashback HD 2017
Megadrive Flashback HD 2017

*Notes:*
1. Connect to the console using ADB and read the Instructions.
2. This firmware will convert an OBB console to a Non-OBB console. This makes it easier to add games.
3. The difference between Genesis and Megadrive firmware is the artwork for the games and the console gui.
4. If you've completely lost your firmware, the console wont boot and don't know what GB version console you have then Try the firmware reset button and its OK to use your best guess because it will not damage the console.
Its ok PM me for help.

The backup/recovery tool only works from folders without spaces.
As for those apk updates, those are rubbish.
About the image update, its been ages now but your comment regarding better sound is interesting.
I'm not sure if this is something that has been torn apart yet or not... the cobwebs are thick.

There is a high quality open source firmware replacement by WD_GASTER2 here: Generations Dashboard 4.0


*The built in Firmware Reset button.*

And Thank you! @*astuermer*
You've pointed out one of the most over looked features of the *2017 ATGames Sega Genesis console*.

*The built-in firmware reset button.
Press and hold to reset the firmware or put the system into Loader mode.*
Its hard to brick the rock.
View attachment 287682


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## mortenkn (Dec 7, 2022)

Hi.
I'm just a casual gamer, and I'm ok with the Mega Drive HD which I bought in the middle of 2017. Is there any advantages to update my device with the latest official firmware from nov. 2017? What has changed/been improved?
Thanks!
Kind regards,
Morten


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## MicroNut99 (Dec 7, 2022)

mortenkn said:


> Hi.
> I'm just a casual gamer, and I'm ok with the Mega Drive HD which I bought in the middle of 2017. Is there any advantages to update my device with the latest official firmware from nov. 2017? What has changed/been improved?
> Thanks!
> Kind regards,
> Morten


Recommend that you stay where you are.
There might be some sound improvement otherwise there is no other significant change.


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## pasleau (Dec 17, 2022)

New update of alternative firmware for the 2017 version ??


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## MicroNut99 (Dec 17, 2022)

pasleau said:


> New update of alternative firmware for the 2017 version ??


The open source firmware replacement by WD_GASTER2: Generations Dashboard 4.0
There is no update. It stands where it is.


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## E-Gwen (Dec 20, 2022)

Hi,

You said :

"2. This firmware will convert an OBB console to a Non-OBB console. This makes it easier to add games."

Can you please show us the instructions to add games ?

Thanks.

Best regards.
E-Gwen.


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## MicroNut99 (Jan 2, 2023)

E-Gwen said:


> "2. This firmware will convert an OBB console to a Non-OBB console. This makes it easier to add games."
> Can you please show us the instructions to add games ?
> Thanks.
> Best regards.
> E-Gwen.


Connect the console using USB and access the file directory.
Find the all-games.ini and make a backup.
To add a game copy and paste the entire entry shown here and then edit it with the new game information.
Do not use spaces in the file name and caps are important.
Put the game in the proper directory.




You'll need to add an icon or you'll get a blank.
Use the exact same name and png picture file format as the new game.




Edit the example:


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## E-Gwen (Jan 3, 2023)

Thank you very much.

As you write, "This firmware will convert an OBB console to a Non-OBB console", what do you mean ?

I am interesting to know details.

I made some few researchs, but don't find anything.

See you.


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## MicroNut99 (Jan 3, 2023)

E-Gwen said:


> Thank you very much.
> 
> As you write, "This firmware will convert an OBB console to a Non-OBB console", what do you mean ?
> 
> I am interesting to know detais.


OBB is one large database file with the extention .obb that some consoles use to store games. All details regarding that process and much more can be learned by reading this thread from the beginning.


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## E-Gwen (Jan 3, 2023)

Thanks.

I found some informations page number 38 and number 39.

Just wanted to know what O.B.B was meaning, and what is the purpose.

Now I have an answer.

Happy new year 2023, full of Sega video games !


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