Flashing your Master System ROMs with a Playstation
original article at: https://schnappy.xyz/?master_system_cartmod
Contents
- Flashing your Master System ROMs with a Playstation
- Eh ?
- Required materials:
- Creating a Unirom Memory Card for the Playstation
- Modifying a Cheat Cartridge
- Flash the rom
- Sources and references
Eh ?
Using a cheat cartridge modified to accommodate DIP-32 type integrated circuits thanks to a tulip orZIF socket , one can use a Playstation equipped with a parallel port and a serial port, running the Unirom software, connected to a computer running the Nops software, to flash memory modules of type AM29F0or SST39SF0 in variants of 10, 20 or 40 (128 to 512KB).
A Master System cartmod can then be used to run a freshly flashed ROM.
Required materials:
- A PlayStation equipped with a parallel port (SCPH-1000 to 7502)
- A Playstation cheat cartridge like Game Hunter Lite/CD
- AUSB/Serial cable for the Playstation
- A memory card with Unirom installed
- Flash memory modules type AM29F0or SST39SF0 from 128 to 512 KB (1 to 4 Mb)
- A Master System cartridge modified to accommodate modern memory modules.
1. Creating a Unirom Memory Card for the Playstation
The software that allows you to flash memory modules on the Playstation side is called Unirom. This software can be run from a CD (on a PSX equipped with a modchip or thanks to theCD swap trick ), from an AR-type cheat cartridge or from a FreePSXboot memory card.
Since we will regularly change the memory modules of the cheat cartridge, and the CD boot is a bit long, the easiest way is to create a memory card to boot under Unirom.
To do this, simply boot Unirom from the CD for the first time, with a memory card in the left port of the PSX, then select the "Install->" option, then "Install FreePSXboot to Memcard", then "Auto Install".
Once the installation is complete, you need to boot the PSX without CD, then open the memory card management menu to launch Unirom.
2. Modifying a Cheat Cartridge
"Game Hunter" type cheat cartridges (and maybe other models) with a transparent shell have the advantage of having a printed circuit allowing the adaptation of several types of modules (DIP, TSOP and PLCC).
Here, we can clearly see the holes allowing the insertion of a DIP32, and the TSOP format module already in place (a 1Mb/128KB AT29C010):
All you have to do is unsolder the memory module on the cartridge with solder braid, being careful not to damage the traces (not like me :P), then install a tulip or ZIF support to be able to easily change the module later.
3. Flash the rom
- Boot Unirom on the PSX, with the cheat cartridge equipped with an empty flash module.
- Connect the PSX to the computer via the USB/Serial cable
- On the computer equipped with the Nops software, launch a command of the type:
nops /fast /rom ROM.SMS /dev/ttyUSBxAdapt "ROM.SMS" and "/dev/ttyUSBx" according to your configuration and the name of your MS rom.
A message appears:
Hey hey hey hey! This doesn't look like a ROM. Maybe an .exe?
Are you sure you want to flash this?This is normal, we do not flash a rom for Playstation action replay but a Master System rom!
Nops asks you to validate the operation by pressing the 'y' key.
Once the memory module is flashed, mount it in your cartmod, and you're good to go!
Sources and references
PSX:
- https://github.com/JonathanDotCel/unirom8_bootdisc_and_firmware_for_ps1
- https://github.com/JonathanDotCel/NOTPSXSerial
- https://github.com/brad-lin/FreePSXBoot
- https://wiki.arthus.net/?fabriquer_son_cable_usb_serie_pour_playstation
Cartmod MS:
