DARKSOFT Darksoft's MultiMVS Latest Firmware, Menu and Instructions

[archimage]

this is arcade, when it comes to pcb voltage matters and it's specific for each hardware, hence the multimeter.

the mvs multi isn't a toy, that just works alone, not for the moment, it's an evolutive hardware, with 100% free support from very active members, sorry if you encounter issues but it's part of the deal, all issues we reported so far have been 99% solved, and better we'll probably have some good surprises in the next updates.

You seem to refer to the original cartridges, sure they probably work better, they have only one purpose, they are not multi, and they have been released a while ago with a complete knowledge of every part of the snk hardware.

I understand the frustration but sometimes some hardware is out of scope of the devs and it needs some reporting like yours and some deep troubleshooting, it could be something in your hardware or some incompatibility not seen before, remember, the multi is new and everything has been done for easy updates/fixes.

If you are patient you won't regret the expense because behind this there's a very competent team whose all past products are now at top stage.

EDIT : if you have new bios check you have put the chip at the right position and do a nvram clear without a cartridge go the test grid, then A A A start

 

[jmandmc]

this is arcade, when it comes to pcb voltage matters and it's specific for each hardware, hence the multimeter.

the mvs multi isn't a toy, that just works alone, not for the moment, it's an evolutive hardware, with 100% free support from very active members, sorry if you encounter issues but it's part of the deal, all issues we reported so far have been 99% solved, and better we'll probably have some good surprises in the next updates.

You seem to refer to the original cartridges, sure they probably work better, they have only one purpose, they are not multi, and they have been released a while ago with a complete knowledge of every part of the snk hardware.

I understand the frustration but sometimes some hardware is out of scope of the devs and it needs some reporting like yours and some deep troubleshooting, it could be something in your hardware or some incompatibility not seen before, remember, the multi is new and everything has been done for easy updates/fixes.

If you are patient you won't regret the expense because behind this there's a very competent team whose all past products are now at top stage.

I get where you're coming from - just that the MVS cart itself seems the simplest of hardware from DS's lineup. I wasn't expecting to have such problems from a cart in original MVS cabinet hardware.

I'm looking at this as a casual arcade consumer. I'll fully admit that I'm not an avid arcade hobbyist that tinkers around with the components - at least not to the level that is expected at this point to troubleshoot this hardware deeply. I've attempted to troubleshoot over the past two days, and everyone has been helpful...just that I'm not certain what additional troubleshooting options I'll have. If the multimeter confirms power is fine and I'm using the original bios with it and still glitch resets, then I'll have to ask what my options - as a consumer buying a product - are.

 

[archimage]

most of us are casual gamers don't get me wrong... it's just arcade believe me read the manuals, even on the original hardware manuals they tell you to check voltages...

your hardware is not the most common one, it's a power hungry 4 slots large pcb also known for it's fragility, not the simplest one imho, if anything is wrong inside it can be invisible on some games and just break the balance on others, it could be anything from a bent pin, bad ic, a broken trace, aging component...

they will 100% fix your problem, but it also depends on how you are able to communicate information and how patient and understanding you are, you are doing the right steps to eliminate some causes that could be from your hardware before replacing, and at the same time you are learning, believe me at the end you just have better comprehension of your hardware and all your problems solved in the way you feel the most comfortable with.

They will never ask you to do something out of your will and knowledge that's the way they deal with problems, and atm I don't recall any unhappy buyer. because they solved everything or they are working on it.

 

[jmandmc]

most of us are casual gamers don't get me wrong... it's just arcade believe me read the manuals, even on the original hardware manuals they tell you to check voltages...

your hardware is not the most common one, it's a power hungry 4 slots large pcb also known for it's fragility, not the simplest one imho, if anything is wrong inside it can be invisible on some games and just break the balance on others, it could be anything from a bent pin, bad ic, a broken trace, aging component...

they will 100% fix your problem, but it also depends on how you are able to communicate information and how patient and understanding you are, you are doing the right steps to eliminate some causes that could be from your hardware before replacing, and at the same time you are learning, believe me at the end you just have better comprehension of your hardware and all your problems solved in the way you feel the most comfortable with.

They will never ask you to do something out of your will and knowledge that's the way they deal with problems, and atm I don't recall any unhappy buyer. because they solved everything or they are working on it.

I'll do my best to give benefit of the doubt. Indeed I'm learning - for now my question to folks here is about bios and orientation. Must the bios chip be oriented a specific way to work correctly - to remove that glitchy mess I saw on startup? I'm going to flip it around, but again not sure whether that is a problem or something else as I put the two MVS boards back together.

 

[archimage]

never flip it around, there is a hole on the socket and one on the chip that refers to the sense it must be fit. If reverted bad current can do damage, so be careful.

You see the hole on the left border ? it has to be in the same direction as a hole in the socket.

 

[Apocalypse]

you see the hole on the left border ? it has to be in the same direction as a hole in the socket.

I believe this is called a notch.

 

[archimage]

you see the hole on the left border ? it has to be in the same direction as a hole in the socket.

I believe this is called a notch.

yeah I thought so and wasn't sure of my vocabulary thanks !

 

[jmandmc]

never flip it around, there is a hole on the socket and one on the chip that refers to the sense it must be fit. If reverted bad current can do damage, so be careful.

You see the hole on the left border ? it has to be in the same direction as a hole in the socket.

I was able to set the bios board properly - it was hard to see the notch orientation under the socket, and I knew that the notch was representing orientation, but I didn't immediately recognize the PCB would indicate it on the board.

Once I reoriented it, the machine booted as normal. Now the next step is to try the multicart with this bios and original cart in the first slot.

Update: I got to the multicart this time with no problems. My games were in the assigned slots with AOF 2 being the first slot. I exited out the cart and got the Neo Geo screen, then AOF 1 which is in the first physical slot on my MVS. However, it skips right past the multicart selected game and runs the Neo Geo logo again.

It's here that I want to ask what format my game should be in, and file structure. Currently I have the games in the /games folder with individual folders for each game. Instructions specifically say:

Those games can be converted from MAME romset using ascript. We will not provide any info about roms or where to get them. You must ensureyourself that you are legally entitled to run anything that goes on that microSD.

That would be fine except, how am I supposed know what format the files are supposed to be on the SD card, and the file structure for the program to read properly read the files?

 

[archimage]

to eliminate doubt, clear nvram now, and do a clean install from the beginning if you have another sd card

 

[jmandmc]

to eliminate doubt, clear nvram now, and do a clean install from the beginning if you have another sd card

I'll do that, but are my files under games the right format?

 

[archimage]

Roll-up pack

get to this thread and download the folder structure

 

[jmandmc]

Roll-up pack

get to this thread and download the folder structure

Okay - so I think I made some progress.

At @archimages suggestion, I installed all files including the roll up pack to a all-new SD card. I first cleared NVRAM, and I then inserted the cart into the first slot of the MVS with original bios installed. I was able to add 3 games into the virtual slots and exit out.

With the DS cart in the first slot and old bios, I don't experience the glitched resets. I'm also able to navigate back to the menu and swap to the next game via controls. So far everything is functioning as it should

While I wish I didn't lose the Unibios, I gained the multicart so I'm looking forward to working with it.

I have two follow up questions:

1. When I originally had Unibios installed, the backup battery was removed. I read: "Please check that the battery is still working and has a regular value, otherwise settings won’tbe saved and can lead to unexpected behavior of the cart." Will that mean that the games in the current slots will get cleared out, and I have to add them each time?
2. Are there any cartridge covers that I can buy to cover the unused physical slots on my 4 slot machine?

 

[archimage]

glad you have your multi working correctly

for now to be honest we don't know if it's unibios or sd card related problem, but the good news is your multi is perfectly working, I would stick with the original bios as unibios don't serve any purpose for you now.

the games remain in the multi no matter what happens with your mvs battery, this one has to do with mvs setup settings

do you have the latest firmware version ? in case you don't, you can update it to latest with the first page in the thread.

 

[jmandmc]

glad you have your multi working correctly

for now to be honest we don't know if it's unibios or sd card related problem, but the good news is your multi is perfectly working, I would stick with the original bios as unibios don't serve any purpose for you now.

the games remain in the multi no matter what happens with your mvs battery, this one has to do with mvs setup settings

do you have the latest firmware version ? in case you don't, you can update it to latest with the first page in the thread.

Sounds good. I noticed that the DS Cart menu settings reset to default when I powered down, and then back up after 20 minutes or so. I'm assuming that the menu settings are saved via battery?

You mention that the unibios doesn't serve any purpose for me now. Does the DS multicart have the same cheat database or jukebox feature that unibios does, and I'm just not seeing it in the options?

I did download the latest firmware from the first page and added that to the SD card before booting up.

 

[archimage]

if you use cheats and jukebox you can give another try to the unibios after some extensive testing.

I don't know if the menu settings are related to the battery, can't answer for that.

 

[Mitsurugi-w]

Menu settings and game settings are saved with the battery. Installing a new battery will decrease the boot time of the multi cart as well. Without the battery it is having to rewrite the settings every time which takes a long time.

Hmm. Slot covers.....sounds like a job for a 3D printer.

 

[PascalP]

Nice you got it working!

 

[Locutus73]

You mention that the unibios doesn't serve any purpose for me now. Does the DS multicart have the same cheat database or jukebox feature that unibios does, and I'm just not seeing it in the options?

You need Unibios for those functions and for having all its functions with regular carts if you will continue to use them.
Anyway the most interesting aspect for now is that you tried several fixes at once so we don’t know which one solved your issues. Can you kindly try the Unibios again with the current setup so we’ll know if that was causing problems or not? Possibly with a fresh battery.
Thank you in advance.

Best regards.

Locutus73

 

[Darksoft]

Can you kindly try the Unibios again with the current setup so we’ll know if that was causing problems or not?

That's what I was about to say.

you tried several fixes at once so we don’t know which one solved your issues.

After seeing the structure of his microSD I'm pretty sure that the problem came from the files he used and Roll-up pack fixed it.

 

[archimage]

unibios should work yes, sdcard structure was freestyle I would say, but better finish some extensive playing original bios before reverting back, just to be sure there's no reason to replace hardware definitely, and to get a dose of happiness before going back to the troubleshooting process.

and also do the clear nvram + delete buff procedure + reflash the games, just to be sure it's fresh again after going back to unibios, it can be useless but it costs nothing and it's a no brainer procedure.