mathewbeall
Enlightened
Right - frankly, the S256 is a one game piece of hardware - just TC4 - while it may boot a few (literally just 2 or 3) the sound is too fast, etc.
Matt
Matt
IDE DVD-ROMs for the 246/256 that do and don't work
- Thread starter Dreygor
- Start date
mathewbeall
Enlightened
I ordered one of these also - to drop into my p3/1ghz, win98 system - will be nice to have an easy way to keep/catalog all ISO images and swap easily.The campaign is live! (Crowdfunding pledge, estimated to ship Aug 16, 2026)
https://www.crowdsupply.com/polpotronics/picoide#products
there's also
https://shop.rabbitholecomputing.com/products/zuluide-v2-compact
and our ide simulator that's always out of stock now has a IDE Simulator V3 FOR HALF PRICE in stock ?
https://shop.tattiebogle.net/product/prod_SbZaqTUGA8JHxa
WHAATT
l_oliveira
Grand Master
Tekken 5
I picked up a Tekken 4 Rev C, and the Toshiba SD-M1502 eventually died.
Got a lot of 3 DVD ROM/CD-RW drives from FBM (for in total $10):
Toshiba SD-M1802 - boots Tekken 4, but does not read DVD-Rs. Does not spin down on idle.
Pioneer DVR-110DBK - reads DVD-Rs, spins down on idle. Crackling sound on some runs of the Tekken 4 intro.
NEC ND1100A - reads DVD-Rs, works perfectly for Tekken 4 (no spin down on idle).
Got a lot of 3 DVD ROM/CD-RW drives from FBM (for in total $10):
Toshiba SD-M1802 - boots Tekken 4, but does not read DVD-Rs. Does not spin down on idle.
Pioneer DVR-110DBK - reads DVD-Rs, spins down on idle. Crackling sound on some runs of the Tekken 4 intro.
NEC ND1100A - reads DVD-Rs, works perfectly for Tekken 4 (no spin down on idle).
I picked up this DVD-ROM on this recommendation, however when connected to my 246 it never initialized. When no data cable is connected it will eject the tray normally. When connected to the data cable, the LED illuminates, but doesnt respond to button presses.
Attachments
Does the board work in the first place? At cold reset, the IDE reset line is held low, and several drives will stay in reset not responding (the Toshiba as well e.g.), exactly like you describe. Only at a later boot stage from the memory card, the FPGA that controls the IDE is initialized and de-asserts the IDE reset signal.
Some drives seem to trigger on the signal edge, some on the level.
Some drives seem to trigger on the signal edge, some on the level.
It "works" but T4 will eventually crash using the LG DVD-ROM I have now, so I'm huting for a replacement.
Yeah, this LG one also doesn't respond for a while while the IDE able is attached. But the NEC never comes to life.
Edit: tried it out on a second 246 system. I think the first one is a "C" and the second is an "A." Same behavior. So either I have a defective drive, I've hooked something up incorrectly (but correctly when using my previous drive), or there is some variable we're missing.
Yeah, this LG one also doesn't respond for a while while the IDE able is attached. But the NEC never comes to life.
Edit: tried it out on a second 246 system. I think the first one is a "C" and the second is an "A." Same behavior. So either I have a defective drive, I've hooked something up incorrectly (but correctly when using my previous drive), or there is some variable we're missing.
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On this drive, the only variable is the master/slave selection.
I think a typical incompatibility scenario manifests as an issue of booting the disc/unsupported ATAPI commands, rather than locking out the drive bay.
I'm about to call it quits. Picked up a Lite-On DH-16D2P, mentioned earlier as compatible with T4. No joy on my System 246c. Initially the drive spools up like it's going to read the DVD, then just shuts down and never reengages.
Edit: I've been using a genuine ver.C dongle in all this testing. I recently picked up a BitFun dongle. Setting it to emulate ver.D the drive does load the game as far as "TEKKEN4 WILL BEGIN MOMENTARILY PLEASE WAIT" and then hangs. So... progress?
Edit2: using a genuine DVD and the BitFun set to ver.D I was able to get it to boot once! Using the burned DVD and BitFun set to ver.D, no go. Burned DVD and genuine ver.C, no go. I guess that's some information at least.
Edit: I've been using a genuine ver.C dongle in all this testing. I recently picked up a BitFun dongle. Setting it to emulate ver.D the drive does load the game as far as "TEKKEN4 WILL BEGIN MOMENTARILY PLEASE WAIT" and then hangs. So... progress?
Edit2: using a genuine DVD and the BitFun set to ver.D I was able to get it to boot once! Using the burned DVD and BitFun set to ver.D, no go. Burned DVD and genuine ver.C, no go. I guess that's some information at least.
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Sound like the laser is weak.
If that was the case, wouldn't the genuine disc work regardless of the dongle version?
Side note: anyone want to trade a ver.D for a ver.C dongle?
Bad disk?
I have a feeling it's a combination of dongle version AND finding a compatible DVD-ROM. As I've only been using ver.C dongles up to this point, I may have already discounted what could have been a workable drive, simply because of a version mismatch.
I really hate this game right now.
I really hate this game right now.
Franco23444
Champion
Apparently the Ver.D of the game updated the dvd driver which expands the compatibility, not sure if anyone has tried switching that driver to see if it also works with Ver.A-C.
@andymage apparently has according to this post:
You can try to repair the optical drive.
Tekken 4 is only easy to read discs in the dongle last version D; other Early versions A、B、C are all on a difficult level and are very picky about the optical drive model and reading ability.Therefore, you need to replace this file inside the dongle.
This file is an...
Mrhide
Legendary
LAST CALL FOR PICOIDE CROWD FUNDING (https://www.crowdsupply.com/polpotronics/picoide)
$300,644 raised of $35,000 goal 858% Funded!
Funding ends in *9 HOURS* on Mar 05, 2026 at 03:59 PM PST.
$300,644 raised of $35,000 goal 858% Funded!
Funding ends in *9 HOURS* on Mar 05, 2026 at 03:59 PM PST.