VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Got my first C64 from a friend, decided to go directly for an SD drive instead of trying to track down magnetic media, and bought one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/READY-TO-USE-FULL-SET-Commodore-64-128-1541-Disk-Drive-Emulation-SD2IEC-LCD/172065086962?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 In the description it says full set ready to use, witch my wishfull thinking beleived to mean it was fully loaded with all the game files it was ofcourse, not. The only thing on the SD card is a file called EMPTY. i put one file for PACMAN on the card, plugged everything up and typed LOAD, then it told me to press play on the tape, witch i do not have. I am obviously a total noob, spend most of my 8 bit computer time on an 800XL. help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 The SD2IEC appears as a floppy drive, which means you need to use a device number. Try LOAD"$",8 followed by LIST to see the contents. It is possible the SD2IEC is set up as device 9 or 10 though, which you will find out if you get ?DEVICE NOT PRESENT or other error message. If that happens, try LOAD"$",9 and so on. To actually load the program, try LOAD"PACMAN",8 and RUN. You might also be interested in the FB file browser which simplifies file handling: http://www.vic20.it/cbmfilebrowser/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) Did you follow the link in the listing you bought from to get the files you need? I'm not sure what those are, but maybe one of them is a catalog type program. My SD2IEC came pre-loaded with one. Your C64 is acting normally; the command you want to type is LOAD "*",8,1 (edit, sorry, was typing my response at the same time as carlsson, you could do his suggestion too) That tells it where and what to load (the first thing it finds on the drive at that location). Then you need to type RUN That should at least get you into Pac-Man if that's all you have on the card. It sounds like you got a tiny bit ripped off with that particular SD2IEC, but it still should work fine once you get a bunch of ROMs. Edited July 9, 2017 by spacecadet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Did your SD2IEC come with or without a power supply? The listing says the power supply is both included and excluded. As the seller is based in the UK, did he in that case also offer 5V power supplies for the US? I don't know about the LCD display, but a standard SD2IEC device doesn't draw more power than it can be powered from e.g. the cassette or user port, using a carefully wired up plug instead of using an extra power supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 The SD2IEC appears as a floppy drive, which means you need to use a device number. Try LOAD"$",8 followed by LIST to see the contents. It is possible the SD2IEC is set up as device 9 or 10 though, which you will find out if you get ?DEVICE NOT PRESENT or other error message. If that happens, try LOAD"$",9 and so on. To actually load the program, try LOAD"PACMAN",8 and RUN. You might also be interested in the FB file browser which simplifies file handling: http://www.vic20.it/cbmfilebrowser/ alright, so i did that and got to list, but the several files that show in the list have odd symbols that i cannot find on the commodore key board. example _-lype.d64 instead of R-type.d64 as it appears on my PC. Is it possible to just select it from the list, or do i have to type out the title? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Did you follow the link in the listing you bought from to get the files you need? I'm not sure what those are, but maybe one of them is a catalog type program. My SD2IEC came pre-loaded with one. Your C64 is acting normally; the command you want to type is LOAD "*",8,1 (edit, sorry, was typing my response at the same time as carlsson, you could do his suggestion too) That tells it where and what to load (the first thing it finds on the drive at that location). Then you need to type RUN That should at least get you into Pac-Man if that's all you have on the card. It sounds like you got a tiny bit ripped off with that particular SD2IEC, but it still should work fine once you get a bunch of ROMs. Yeah, and he isnt responding to emails, and he sent me the wrong AC plug. stuck working out with what i have though. there is a link for files, is it as simple as just downloading them all and stuffing them on the card in no particular order? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 The odd symbols are due to file names using capital letters, which are translated to graphic symbols on the C64. In theory you could move the cursor up with Shift + Crsr Down, type LOAD"" followed by DEL, move the cursor with Crsr Right to the end of the file name, type "" followed by DEL and ,8 and remove rest of the line. However it is easier if you rename the files on the PC to only use lower case, or download the FB file browser that will do all this for you. Too bad about the wrong power supply, I suspected this. Did you use a travel adapter or wielded your own 5V power supply in the mean time? The files located on OneDrive are just a small subset: * 24 demos * 84 issues of the Commodore Free diskmag * 95 + 4 + 92 cracktros * 3 empty disk images (D64, D71, D81) * 542 + 345 game previews * SD2IEC firmware * Instructions how to install the device Basically that should be files that are cleared for public distribution, but no full games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) Yeah, and he isnt responding to emails, and he sent me the wrong AC plug. stuck working out with what i have though. there is a link for files, is it as simple as just downloading them all and stuffing them on the card in no particular order? It probably depends. Others here would definitely know more about the C64 generally than I do, but I will say that my SD2IEC came pre-loaded both with a catalog program and a bunch of roms and while IIRC they're in alphabetical folders (otherwise it'd probably be impossible to scroll through them), stuff's otherwise just dumped on there. Somehow the C64 knows to load the directory program when I type LOAD "*",8,1. Edit: I'd at least look at those instructions at the OneDrive link. Edited July 9, 2017 by spacecadet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Okay, so i found the download that Carlsson linked to above, it included a whole bunch of files, do i just need CBM-filebrowser.D64 and a few roms on the SD card, then type LOAD"*",8,1 and it will run the directory program, and then just select a file to load from there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Yes, or you could navigate to the folder "programs" and extract the two files fb and fb64 to be put on the root folder of your SD card. That way you don't have to mount a D64 image just to load the file browser, just LOAD"FB",8 and RUN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Surprised nobody has mentioned a fastloader yet. Epyx FastLoad, JiffyDOS or a cartridge like Mach 5 (which I have on eBay right now). These things make loading goofy file names a snap, plus they load much faster! They're DOS wedges with function key macros, so no clumsy and repetitive syntax to type in. Must have for the C64 IMO. Here's a link to my Mach 5 cart if interested. http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/302378678377? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Thanks so much guys, actually got a few games to load. Now to figure out all these buttons.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Surprised nobody has mentioned a fastloader yet. Epyx FastLoad, JiffyDOS or a cartridge like Mach 5 (which I have on eBay right now). These things make loading goofy file names a snap, plus they load much faster! They're DOS wedges with function key macros, so no clumsy and repetitive syntax to type in. Must have for the C64 IMO. Here's a link to my Mach 5 cart if interested. http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/302378678377? Tell me more of these devices, exactly what would they do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Tell me more of these devices, exactly what would they do? YouTube to the rescue! https://m.youtube.com/results?q=commodore%2064%20fast%20load&sm=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 YouTube to the rescue! https://m.youtube.com/results?q=commodore%2064%20fast%20load&sm=3 So it doesn't require any extra prompts, it just makes files load faster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicViper Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Also, while i've got your attention, what do i do with games that where on double sided discs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Surprised nobody has mentioned a fastloader yet. Epyx FastLoad, JiffyDOS or a cartridge like Mach 5 (which I have on eBay right now). These things make loading goofy file names a snap, plus they load much faster! They're DOS wedges with function key macros, so no clumsy and repetitive syntax to type in. Must have for the C64 IMO. Here's a link to my Mach 5 cart if interested. http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/302378678377? Exactly what he said. You NEED a fastload cart (the Epyx or Epyx Reloaded carts are perfect) for this. When I first used the SD2IEC without one I was really let down by the speed. After adding one I could not believe the difference. It was (to me) not really even usable without one. Then I upgraded to the Ultimate II Plus and never touched SD2IEC again 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 So it doesn't require any extra prompts, it just makes files load faster? Yep... instead of typing load,8,1 blah blah blah and editing the line, simply move your cursor to the file, press a function key and hit return. That's the beauty of these fast loaders. Well, that and the speed difference in loading. After being away from the C64 for about 3 decades, forgot how clunky, clumsy, unintuitive and doggone slooooooooooooow dos handling is. I too find these FastLoad wedges to be an indispensable tool and wouldn't dream of using the C64 without one today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 As for games spanning more than one disk, supposedly you can create text files that work as disk swap lists, and then push one of the buttons on the SD2IEC to select the next disk in the list. I've not really had the need to do this in the past ~10 years so I can't describe the process in detail but there should be documentation about the SD2IEC that explains how the process works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 I spent awhile with SD2IEC, and it was far too confusing for me. Not only that, but it simply didn't run enough games or types of games, such as large roms or cassettes, or ran them too slowly. I threw my hands up, and spent the $ for the Ultimate 1541. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800fan Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 ^^ smart choice. SD2IEC is a cheap way to handle disk image and run some program on a real Commodore computer but many games uses custom fastloader software and expects you are using a real 1541 disk drive. SD2IEC does not fully emulate 1541 at all and will cause most games to crash or hang. A solution would be to use a disk copy software and copy from disk image to real disk, then run off real disk but that takes space, relies on finding discontinued and out of production DD floppy disks (1.2MB disks will not work, many people have tried and failed), and also expects you have a working 1541, which can be high maintenance project. Ultimate 1541 and UK both are real 1541 emulated and runs games off SD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerG Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Is the Ultimate 1541 easier to setup and use than the SD2IEC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 ^^ smart choice. SD2IEC is a cheap way to handle disk image and run some program on a real Commodore computer but many games uses custom fastloader software and expects you are using a real 1541 disk drive. SD2IEC does not fully emulate 1541 at all and will cause most games to crash or hang. That has not been my experience at all. Granted, I have thousands of games on my SD card and have not tried them all, but none of the games I've played so far has crashed or failed to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 That has not been my experience at all. Granted, I have thousands of games on my SD card and have not tried them all, but none of the games I've played so far has crashed or failed to run. Same here. Only problems I've experienced are when trying to run PAL programs, but that's to be expected. Besides them, really have yet to run across much that didn't work with the SD2IEC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I suppose people who only download disk images of original games will have more trouble than those obtaining single-filed versions. Then again most original disk images probably are in G64 or Six-Pack format to preserve intented R/W errors and other forms of copy protections, which at least the SD2IEC don't support anyway. Perhaps the 1541 Ultimate handles G64, I never checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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