CPS3 memory questions...

[penrhos]

Picked up a SF3 3rd strike cart (to get multi-bios'd) and 3*64M + 3*128M simms cheap from YHJ and the damn things work, the voltage on the battery in the cart looks good but I had a job and a half getting the simms to flash.
It would constantly crash with error 24 and a load of Japanese text and I'd have to power it off for a couple of minutes before it would recognise the CD-rom and re-start the flash. it would always get to 20-30% through the flash.

I assumed it was a memory error so took it all out, cleaned the edge connectors and simm sockets with contact cleaner and put them back in (probably in a different order but still 2*64 & 4 *12 and it now works...

So I have some questions:-

1) Is there any way on a standard PCB/Cart to perform a memory test on the simms (remember all my menus are in Japanese)?
2) I also have a SF3:NG PCB if I fill the empty slots with a spare 64M & 128M simm will I have to re-flash SF3:NG or will it ignore the extra simms?
3) If I swap the 32M for a 128M will it insist on flashing the entire game or will it just reprogram the simm I've swapped out?

Now what do I do - I wanted a dead cart so I could get the Darksoft bios so I could re-flash my dead all in 1 SF2 Hyper Ann' I can't bring myself to kill a good SF3-3rd cart or a good SF3:NG cart.

Damn you honest YHJ sellers with your "untested - junk treatment" meaning its untested and will probably work...

 

[penrhos]

OK - so I've been doing some experimentation....One of my 128M simms is dodgy, which was causing the flash to fail, so I've answered my own questions.

1) Yes - its menu option 8, but it only tests the simms the flashed game supports and skips the rest so for SF3:NG it skips slots 1,6,7.
2) If you put extra simms in empty slots your game doesn't use, it ignores them completely.
3) If you swap a smaller simm for a bigger one you have to re-flash the whole game (which takes around 40 minutes).
4) You have to put 64M simms in slots 1 & 2.

I'm, now stuck with working security carts for : JoJo, SF3 NG, SF3 2nd & SF3 3rd - all bought untested "junk treatment" from Japan.

the only dead cart I have I bodged getting the old bios off and lifted some tracks - not sure it's fixable...

 

[Mitsurugi-w]

It would take a little work but it is fixable. What revision cart is it?

 

[penrhos]

It's a SF3:NG cart and has a big "C" sticker on it.

I suppose another option is to find someone with a dead cart and do a trade for one of my live ones.

SF3:NG and SF3:2nd impact are my least favourite games out of the four.

I'm considering changing the batteries in all four, so if I cock one up that'll become the donor cart....