EDN8 OS v20-BETA. Large update incoming

[keeper7]

I've been having the OS Init freeze issue trying ever v20 OS.  If I just change it back to v16, it loads proper and runs proper.  I've tried all the suggestions in multiple threads on how to fix it.  I even used two brand new SD cards to no avail.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I think that mentioned crashes relaterd to io problems. It looks like incorectly readed data from sd card. Unfortunately i cant reproduce this problem on my hardware, so it will not be fixed in v20. Users with io errors will be forced to stay at v16, at least for now

[F34R]

I've been having the OS Init freeze issue trying ever v20 OS.  If I just change it back to v16, it loads proper and runs proper.  I've tried all the suggestions in multiple threads on how to fix it.  I even used two brand new SD cards to no avail.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I think that mentioned crashes relaterd to io problems. It looks like incorectly readed data from sd card. Unfortunately i cant reproduce this problem on my hardware, so it will not be fixed in v20. Users with io errors will be forced to stay at v16, at least for now

IO problems from the cart itself?  Like a hardware problem?
If I use the NT Mini, with rc7, it's working just fine.  If I use the original NES, its only working on v16.

[Koh1Fds]

Is it know what version of os are the best for AV Famicom if i don't care about fds sound? 

[flex]

I've been having the OS Init freeze issue trying ever v20 OS.  If I just change it back to v16, it loads proper and runs proper.  I've tried all the suggestions in multiple threads on how to fix it.  I even used two brand new SD cards to no avail.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I think that mentioned crashes relaterd to io problems. It looks like incorectly readed data from sd card. Unfortunately i cant reproduce this problem on my hardware, so it will not be fixed in v20. Users with io errors will be forced to stay at v16, at least for now

IO problems from the cart itself?  Like a hardware problem?
If I use the NT Mini, with rc7, it's working just fine.  If I use the original NES, its only working on v16.

I have the exact same issue on 2 systems. My PAL NES refuses to work with anything other than v16 (gets stuck on OS Init...) and my AV Famicom works but keeps showing IO errors etc, again no issues with v16, only issues on v20 on both systems. i've tested different SD cards etc and it is always same result .

Clearly an issue with the v20 code where something has to have been changed in regards to the file system handling due to it working perfectly with v16.

I know.i am not the only.one experiencing this issue and would happily.donate a system with the issue to get this resolved .

Not that I am moaning or have any right to demand anything but it has all gone very quiet from Krikzz. I can't see how this can ever move beyond beta / RC and get a proper release without this being addressed.

[Sarge]

Does anyone know which revision started seeing the random freezing in Konami games?  I'm considering reverting, although I kinda hate to.

[Koh1Fds]

I got random crash in "Donkey Kong Jr. no Sansuu Asobi" (game without mapper) on Rev 07, but i'm not sure if it's caused by Rev 07.

[NOBODY]

Does anyone know which revision started seeing the random freezing in Konami games?  I'm considering reverting, although I kinda hate to.

If you think there is a problem with the rev.7. Please try others revisions and let us know. It does make sense to do something to help the improvement.

[Sarge]

Does anyone know which revision started seeing the random freezing in Konami games?  I'm considering reverting, although I kinda hate to.

If you think there is a problem with the rev.7. Please try others revisions and let us know. It does make sense to do something to help the improvement.

It was a simple question for those that have been dealing with it for some time, since others have reported as such.  Don't know why you have to immediately jump to name-calling.  I'm sure I'll get around to testing when I get a chance.  I've done so in the past, including some issues other users have brought up.  In the meantime, I'd certainly appreciate it if you didn't just jump to the worst conclusions about a valid question.

(And for the record, for other folks here that care, I did finish Jackal with save-states disabled.  Whether that was sheer luck, or whether save-states being enabled are the problem, I don't know, due to what appears to be a non-deterministic bug.  So another question, for those of you experiencing issues:  did you have save-states enabled or not?)

EDIT:  Adding some feedback for Ultima: Quest of the Avatar.  The name screen tends to do some funky stuff.  It seems variable on exactly how it manifests, but on RC6, this is one of the states I got.  Didn't matter if I started from cold boot or not.  Also, no save-states enabled.  ROM is from Smokemonster set.



EDIT 2:  For a bit, thought swapping the SD card worked for RC6, but it turns out, as in the past, the update didn't "take".  Can't just do the "folder rename and copy new EDFC" song and dance.  After doing a format on the new card, copying ROMs, and putting RC6 on there, same behavior as the other card.  I did a format each time, dropping firmware versions, and it appears that RC4 is the one that works fine for Ultima IV.  I'm currently reformatting the other card to give it a test there as well.  It's just taking longer because I have a lot of ROMs on there. 

EDIT 3:  Yep, reformat and install of RC4 on the original card is working well.  RC5 and RC6 exhibited the same behavior as the picture above.

[James-F]

Ultima: Quest of the Avatar works fine on my AV Famicom with RC6, I can't reproduce the problem Sarge.



Testing Jackal now, with savestates.
edit: Two levels with no freezing so far.

[Sarge]

Curious.  I wonder if, again, it's somehow holding on to an older mapper implementation.  I had to do the whole "reformat" song and dance to get it to actually take the update, but I think it finally did take hold.  I definitely know RC6 was barfing out on Ultima, so I just have to wonder if it's something with my NES revision.  I'm using a front-loader NES, with the only mod being the resistor for expansion audio.

Also, I have to wonder if it's something to do with this, given that I can produce it after RC4:

rc4/rc5:
1. FDS audio changes.
rc4 same as rc5, but but with minor changes in bus controller. rc4 mostly for Koh1Fds, check if something changes for your case

Could just be something is finicky, either with my system or the cart.  I know other folks are having SD card issues as well, but I haven't actually run into those myself outside of the usual upgrade issues.

As far as Jackal is concerned, I didn't actually end up getting the crash until the very last stage.  It just froze, and the music was stuck on the note it last played.  However, I blasted through it again, and had no issues clearing it this time.

[James-F]

Finished Jackal with plenty of savestates, no freezing that I've noticed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


EDIT:
Ultima: Quest of the Avatar works fine on my older Rev.F Original Famicom, which is older than all US NES (Re.G or H).

Sarge, what is your Bios and Cpld version of the N8 (Device Info screen)?

[Sarge]

Interesting.  Wonder what's causing the issue on my end and NewRisingSun?  I definitely just did the whole spare memory card thing again, and get the same results every single time.  RC4 is beautiful, RC6 not so much.  To be fair, RC6 had been working well for most everything else.  Has to be some weird edge case, or maybe something gets initialized differently on an AV Famicom.  I just don't know enough about the inner workings of the NES to hazard a guess.  I'll probably try one of my spare systems tomorrow and see if there's any difference.

(Also, I've clearly played through Jackal too many times.  If I keep this up, it's going to be my next "Contra" game where I feel like I need to make a no-death run!)

EDIT:  BIOS ver. 5, CPLD ver. 2.

Who needs sleep, anyway?  Pulled out two older systems, both of which need to be recapped at this point.    Despite the video issues with both of them, one exhibited the same behavior, and my old childhood system worked perfectly with RC6.  Could be a sign something else is about to crap out on the one I'm using, or it could be something is just getting slightly out of spec with age.  Or maybe it's a motherboard variant causing the problem.  So it would seem the issue is hardware related, but whatever the changes are with RC4, they work to alleviate the symptoms.

[Sarge]

Apologies for the double post, but I figured I'd do so to keep this separate from the previous discussion.  I decided to give the rebalanced Ultima: Exodus a shot, and noted some random lines that occasionally appear on screen in a flickering manner on the EDN8.  I also tested the original ROM, and my original cart.  The original cart doesn't display this behavior.  I would assume this is tied to some of the other small quirks in the MMC1 implementation that I've seen reported.  (Or it could be my system, as seen last night, so has anyone else seen this behavior?)

Anyway, just so KRIKzz knows, I'm not complaining!  I figure reports like this are helpful, though, when he rolls back around to working on the OS.

EDIT:  OS v16 doesn't display this behavior.  Guessing it's the MMC1 fix mentioned in the release notes.

[NewRisingSun]

My device info: OS ver: 20, BIOS ver: 5, Cpld ver: 2
Console: Sharp Twin Famicom AN-505BK. Works beautifully with everything else, including previous Everdrive N8 OS versions. I'm not replacing it.

[PalAndreew]

My device info: OS ver: 20, BIOS ver: 5, Cpld ver: 2
Console: Sharp Twin Famicom AN-505BK. Works beautifully with everything else, including previous Everdrive N8 OS versions. I'm not replacing it.

I, too, all play delightfully: with any version of the OS (even RC7), all the games that were listed above are stable and excellently played, until the very finish.

But I must note: I had 4.85 volts in one oldest family(1984,CPU-07) , and occasionally there were failures , either artifacts on the N8 menu, or a hang ...

the tester showed the picture: when starting the cartridge - sometimes the voltage dropped to 4.4 volts for a split second ... the tester does not have more than 4 fps, therefore the detection is almost accidental.

 very important it is to know how powerful the power is, the tension.

At the moment, I am learning new toy Av-famicom ... in the power as much as 5.05 volts ... when "reset" is pressed - only a black background appears, there are no artifacts, squares, symbols, numbers on the background. but it can be - "H" cpu revision, or nature of the motherboard.

After long readings of this article on the forum, and at all: I can say timidly and uncertainly: A good and stable game: this is a lottery ... Or a commonplace user error.