Should I un-mod this CPS-III, for Darksoft to work?

[brandon.arnold]

Hi all. I noticed a couple of mods were done on my CPS3 board, and wonder if anyone can shed light on them.

1. A couple of pins from the DL-2929 custom IC are wired in parallel to a resistor, terminating onto pins of the IC labeled 12F (HA16103FPJ). (see image)
2. PIN 1-14 on CN5 is jumped over to R73, on the solder side. (see image)

I purchased this CPS3 to use with Darksoft Ultra SIMMs. Upon boot, the region selector comes up as expected. But when I select any region, nothing happens, and the system no longer responds to inputs until I cycle power.

I should add that I am using a modded UltraBIOS cart, and having opened it up, I see it is a real CAPCOM cart. So I am assuming it is the Custom SH2 BIOS.

Can anyone say whether these mods are interfering with Darksoft? Any idea what they are for?

 

[ShootTheCore]

Those wire bodges are very common for CPS3 boards and not likely to be your problem-leave them alone for now.

If the UltraBIOS freezes after selecting the region then it’s because the game data on the UltraSIMMs doesn’t match the cart. Since your cart is a Capcom cart with the Custom CPU, the SIMMs need to be flashed with Custom (not Standard) game code to match that cart.

 

[Derick2k]

I should add that I am using a modded UltraBIOS cart, and having opened it up, I see it is a real CAPCOM cart. So I am assuming it is the Custom SH2 BIOS.

No necessarily, you could upload a pic of the SH2 on the cart and we can verify its correct. I have seen plenty of real capcom cps3 carts with both custom sh2s as original and those that have been modified with standard ones.

 

[brandon.arnold]

First off, thanks to everyone for the help!

Those wire bodges are very common for CPS3 boards and not likely to be your problem-leave them alone for now.

If the UltraBIOS freezes after selecting the region then it’s because the game data on the UltraSIMMs doesn’t match the cart. Since your cart is a Capcom cart with the Custom CPU, the SIMMs need to be flashed with Custom (not Standard) game code to match that cart.

Good to know.

No necessarily, you could upload a pic of the SH2 on the cart and we can verify its correct. I have seen plenty of real capcom cps3 carts with both custom sh2s as original and those that have been modified with standard ones.

Got it. I attached a couple of pictures of the cartridge. What do you think?

 

[Derick2k]

Got it. I attached a couple of pictures of the cartridge. What do you think?

Custom verified

Like @ShootTheCore said, make sure simms are properly flashed with custom game code. Did you program the simms yourself? Was the cart verified working? Etc...I would verify things with your sources or get members here to help with programming/flashing stuff and test things out.

 

[brandon.arnold]

Custom verified

Like @ShootTheCore said, make sure simms are properly flashed with custom game code. Did you program the simms yourself? Was the cart verified working? Etc...I would verify things with your sources or get members here to help with programming/flashing stuff and test things out.

Thank you for verifying!

Nothing is verified working by me. I purchased the CPS3 board from a different person from whom I purchased the Darksoft Ultra SIMMs. The latter insists that the SIMMs were programmed to match the cart, and that they were tested working.

That said, I see the region selection screen when I start the CPS3. This tells me that the cart is probably programmed with the BIOS I want.

I just tried programming SIMMs 1 and 2 with the PROMAN programmer. The U9 bank of SIMM 1 and both U9 and U10 of SIMM 2 passed all the validation. Unfortunately, I could do nothing to get the U10 bank of SIMM 1 to pass verification, there are ~1000 bytes that aren't matching. Having programmed these SIMMs, the system does not boot still, when I have dips set to 000 or 001. Maybe if I keep programming all the SIMMs, but it takes MUCH LONGER than the 3 minutes according to the PDF document.

 

[ShootTheCore]

UltraSIMMS 3-6 are identical for both the Standard and Custom CPU carts - only SIMMs 1 and 2 are different.

I suggest erasing both banks on both SIMMs 1 and 2 and reflashing them fresh. Make sure you’re using the Custom files since your cart does indeed have the Custom CPU. Also make sure that all of the SIMMs are installed in the correct slots.

 

[brandon.arnold]

UltraSIMMS 3-6 are identical for both the Standard and Custom CPU carts - only SIMMs 1 and 2 are different.

I suggest erasing both banks on both SIMMs 1 and 2 and reflashing them fresh. Make sure you’re using the Custom files since your cart does indeed have the Custom CPU. Also make sure that all of the SIMMs are installed in the correct slots.

Thanks for explaining that. Damn. I can now confirm I flashed those 4 .bins to the U9 and U10 banks of SIMMs 1 and 2. Like I said, U10 on SIMM1 does not pass validation. Everything else passes fine, and I can do only validation all other banks and it passes successfully.

Having done this, I see the same results as when I started. The region select screen shows up and allows me to select a region, but freezes when I select one. This is tested for several settings of the dip switches.

All I can think now is to troubleshoot the BIOS cartridge.

 

[ShootTheCore]

Typically if the CPS3 boots and gets as far as the region select menu then the cart is fine-I still think your culprit is something else.

If U10 on SIMM1 isn’t passing validation then erase, reprogram and verify again. If it still doesn’t pass after 2 or 3 attempts then you may have a faulty UltraSIMM. @Mitsurugi-w would then be the guy to talk to about servicing it.

You could also try swapping SIMMS 1 and 2 around and erasing, reprogramming, and verifying both banks on each SIMM to the other SIMM than it was before.

 

[brandon.arnold]

Typically if the CPS3 boots and gets as far as the region select menu then the cart is fine-I still think your culprit is something else.

If U10 on SIMM1 isn’t passing validation then erase, reprogram and verify again. If it still doesn’t pass after 2 or 3 attempts then you may have a faulty UltraSIMM. @Mitsurugi-w would then be the guy to talk to about servicing it.

You could also try swapping SIMMS 1 and 2 around and erasing, reprogramming, and verifying both banks on each SIMM to the other SIMM than it was before.

Thank you! All right. I will try these things out and circle back. And perhaps get in touch with @Mitsurugi-w (we have been in touch twice in the past month for other purchases).

 

[brandon.arnold]

Just an update, I have found that a few SIMMs do not successfully program (so far, SIMM 5 and bank 2 on SIMM 1). So I have reached out to @Mitsurugi-w and the seller. If I understand the seller correctly he is also in touch with @Darksoft or someone who can help me out. We shall see.

 

[Darksoft]

You could also try swapping SIMMS 1 and 2 around and erasing, reprogramming, and verifying both banks on each SIMM to the other SIMM than it was before.

I was just gonna say that swapp SIMM1 and 2 and see if it gets further.

I have found that a few SIMMs do not successfully program (so far, SIMM 5 and bank 2 on SIMM 1).

That is now weird. Are you sure that you have the latest version of software and Firmware on your PROMAN? Please update. Latest I think it's 063. I've updated this post. You can get them from here: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...mms-8-times-the-size-of-a-regular-simm.15229/
Make sure that you read the instructions both for programming the simms and for the operation of the Proman (they are in Chinese and I believe that also in English).

I have reached out to @Mitsurugi-w and the seller. If I understand the seller correctly he is also in touch with @Darksoft or someone who can help me out. We shall see.

Let's leave @Mitsurugi-w aside for now. I know he's in the US, but from what I can see, if it's not a firmware issue, you'll have to send me the Simms and I'll have to verify them and replace some flash memories. Try please swapping simm 1 and 2 and also try writting something different to simm5, like i.e. the content of simm 6 or simm 4, but do that after you've succesfully updated your programmer. If none of this works, send me a PM and we'll sort it out, we only want happy endings here

 

[ShootTheCore]

I can also try reprogramming his UltraSIMMs with my ProMan and verifying them with my CPS3 if he’s willing to mail them to me.

 

[Darksoft]

I can also try reprogramming his UltraSIMMs with my ProMan and verifying them with my CPS3 if he’s willing to mail them to me.

Awesome as usual. Thanks @ShootTheCore

 

[brandon.arnold]

Hey all. First of all, thanks to everyone for their help and feedback. I made good progress, but unfortunately (as you can see in the video) the system still freezes upon selecting the region.

I successfully programmed all SIMMs and got them to pass the validation step. As @ShootTheCore suggested, I needed to swap SIMMs 1 and 2, because the SIMM 1 flash simply would not take the SIMM 1 image in its U10 bank. And as @Darksoft suggested, I also probably had better results when I updated ProMan firmware to match the programming software.

I will say, the process is very slow, taking around 45 minutes for any SIMM programming cycle. That's why I'm responding ~7 hours later. Seeing as how the Darksoft documentation and marketing material stated it was closer to 3 minutes, this did not meet my expectations, and I'm really curious why it took so long. And in the case of flashing U10 on SIMM 2, I actually had to do it 2 times--I am very glad I tried it a second time. The first time, it got exactly the same error message as I was getting on SIMM 1.

Having done all this, I am confident the SIMMs are flashed, and validating, with the latest images. The image pack I downloaded curiously had two options for SIMM5 (`SIMM5_Final_MakatoFIX.bin` and `SIMM5_Final_reTHIRD.bin`); I chose the first one.

cc: @Darksoft @ShootTheCore

 

[Derick2k]

Something is still wrong, it should not take 45mins to program a simm. Post pics of the programming settings, etc... you are using. At this point, if you are willing, send your setup to @ShootTheCore so he can try it and see if he gets different results.

 

[brandon.arnold]

Something is still wrong, it should not take 45mins to program a simm. Post pics of the programming settings, etc... you are using. At this point, if you are willing, send your setup to @ShootTheCore so he can try it and see if he gets different results.

I am happy to send my CPS3, UltraSIMMs, and TI86_PLUS. I agree it shouldn’t take as long as it does. But it consistently gives a successful validation, now, when I compare all SIMMs to the images.

The settings are straightforward. Snapshot attached. This is the ProMan NOR063_Beta_D program. Additionally, I flashed the ProMan (in firmware upgrade mode) with the HS063_BetaD.enc firmware, which was successful.

 

[ShootTheCore]

Sorry this has been such a headache for you. Send me a PM if you'd like me to take a look at your setup. I wouldn't need the TI86_PLUS - just the CPS3 mainboard, UltraSIMMs and security cart.

 

[brandon.arnold]

Sorry this has been such a headache for you. Send me a PM if you'd like me to take a look at your setup. I wouldn't need the TI86_PLUS - just the CPS3 mainboard, UltraSIMMs and security cart.

Thanks for your help! I am totally open to that. I will add you to a thread with Darksoft.

Here is a checksum I just did on all SIMMs with my CPS3.

 

[Darksoft]

45 min is too long. For which simms does this happen? Can you post a picture of the TL86_PLUS/PROMAN with the adapter and the simm plugged ? I want to see if everything looks OK.

the fact that now freezes, makes me wonder again. Did you use the custom SH2 files for SIMM1 and SIMM2?