Some games work perfect, some games just a black screen (WARNING! N8 Clones)

[kddgeuua]

I have the NES version of the N8. Games either work without any problem or don't work at all and just give me a black screen. I have tried different hardware (PAL NES, NTSC NES, Famicom with pin adapter), SD cards, OSs, ROM sets and power adapters. I still get the same results, the same games work/don't work. I have opened the cartridge and can't see anything suspicious.

Examples of games that work: Mega Man 1, 2, 4 and 6, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros 2J.

Examples of games that don't work: Mega Man 3 and 5, Zelda 2, Super Mario Bros. 1-3, Punch-Out.

I think it's really weird that Mega Man 3 and 5 don't work when 2, 4 and 6 does, when they all use the same mapper?

Any suggestions? I'm really desperate for a solution 

[KRIKzz]

Let me guess, did you bought cheap chinese clone via aliexpress, right? Those semi-working clone is not fully functional. Only 10-20% of games work with this brick. I not sure if it is your case, but all who bought those clone have exactly same problems. Last days i receive lot of feedbacks from thrifty users who bought N8 via aliexpress, a lot of them thinks that it is original N8.
Would be good if you will show the photo of your cartridge (pcb and shell).

[kddgeuua]

I bought it locally (Sweden) for a little over $100 in swedish currency. The guy I bought it from refuses to give me back my money, so I'm pretty much screwed? It looks and feels legit, even on the inside. I can post some pictures if that will help you.

[KRIKzz]

Clone looks very similar to original N8, but have minor differences. Please make the photo of pcb and shell.

[kddgeuua]

http://i.imgur.com/cGR931c.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/lhtysg0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1awhGn5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/FndLnaW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/xwHJBsC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/eQHGZZg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XIcNsnR.jpg

[KRIKzz]

This is clone, unfortunately. This thing can play only few games and will never take any updates

1) Custom shell with logo


2) Four holes instead of two under SD slot


3) Another type of SD slot



Here is how looks original N8 (Possible without USB slot and USB IC, in case if non usb version)

[Paulweeze]

Damn that sucks! Wish the best for ya dude (btw, order from retrogate next time  ).

[butfluffy]

that n8 clone sounds like a stinker but yeah with these crappy chinese knockoffs of n8 and that crappy ed64 clone are to be avoided at all costs.
 good advice to arder from retrogate from paulweeze. myself i purchase my everdrives from retrotowers.co.uk a uk online store that i know i trust and i'm going to get a genuine krikzz product. i know there are other trusted online stores such as stoneagegamer so if you cant purchase from retrogate for whatever reason then purchase from a trusted store.
 it's a shame that you didn't get the proper product for your money, i would be gutted and pissed off
 

[subord99]

Fortunately , I didn't buy this crap from aliexpress and lastly I got it from retrogate.

Here is the link of  my post, thanks to krikzz, or else I will be getting conned.

http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=1723.0

[tokumaru]

I think it's really weird that Mega Man 3 and 5 don't work when 2, 4 and 6 does, when they all use the same mapper?

Mega Man 1 is UNROM, 2 is MMC1 and the rest are MMC3. The difference between the ones that work and the ones that don't is in the type of memory used as the CHR chip: the ones that work are CHR-RAM, the ones that don't are CHR-ROM. This is true for all of your examples, not only the Mega Man ones.

You see, NES carts have at least 2 memory chips inside: one for the program, which is always ROM (PRG-ROM) and one for the tiles that are used to draw backgrounds and sprites, which can be either ROM (CHR-ROM) or RAM (CHR-RAM). For some reason, your clone Everdrive can't handle CHR-ROM games.

If I had to guess, I'd say this was to save money on parts. In 99% of the carts that use it, the CHR-RAM is only 8KB big, while CHR-ROM often goes up to 256KB or even 512KB (which is the limit for both the Everdrive N8 and the PowerPak). Maybe the Chinese just went "hey, lets get rid of a huge chunk of the NES library and greatly reduce the amount of CHR memory!", which is a weird decision, since there are way more CHR-ROM games than CHR-RAM ones.

It's scary to know that there are such fake products out there, and that they are so similar to the real thing. Krikzz, you should put a big warning on your website to let people know about this, since the pirates still write your URL in their carts. Then if the person decides to check your website before purchasing, they might realize they're looking at a fake product if you teach them how to spot one.

EDIT: kddgeuua, if you want to get an idea of what might work on your cart, take a look at these lists:
NES games that use CHR-ROM
NES games that use CHR-RAM
(there might be a tiny overlap, since there are a couple of games that have both CHR-ROM and CHR-RAM)

[subord99]

 Recently, they clone the FC version too.

[Paulweeze]

Fortunately , I didn't buy this crap from aliexpress and lastly I got it from retrogate.

Here is the link of  my post, thanks to krikzz, or else I will be getting conned.

http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=1723.0

Yea be careful because they are selliing the same crap on ebay as well (calling it the everdrive chinese version). Normally I wouldnt care but they are adverting it as if it had all of the features that the everdrive has (when we know it can only play like 10% of the game library). Thinking about flagging their item as counterfeit if they plan to trick customers like that.

[sleepy-m]

Unfortunately I bought an "Everdrive-N8" from Aliexpress too, from a store called
"Group of rising international electronics", thinking it was an original legit Krikzz cart
since that's how it was misleadingly advertised or made to look like.
It even had a link to download the OS from krikzz.com

Sure enough, once I tried the new OS update from v9.1, many games that at first were
playable no longer worked (TMNT) , even when deleting the update and reverting back to v9.1.   
 
I didn't know I unknowingly had bought a pirate counterfeit cart until I made the update
and began reading the forums.

I let the seller know I wanted a refund but the seller wanted to send me a new "updated" cart,
I said no, let him/her know it was not cool ripping people off, made a complaint with Aliexpress
and reported the purchase as a fake product to my bank. 
Hopefully once I finish with the bank paperwork I'll be able to get my money back.

In the mean time I bought a legit Everdrive-N8 cart from Stone Age Gamer for about $115 USD
(shipping included) , it arrived within 3 days to my home, it came with a free sticker label and
a 10% off next purchase coupon.   I'm very happy with my new LEGIT cart.

I thought the lower price for the cart from China ($85 USD) was due to wage differences between
countries, Not because it was a fake.

AVOID BUYING FROM -ANY- ALIEXPRESS SELLER.  Those selling there only sell FAKES!.