Atari 65XE flash solutions

[AlecRob]

So I picked up an Atari 65XE, and I'm having difficulty figuring out what the best aftermarket solutions for flash drives is. I've had prior experience with using the Everdrives on Genesis and similar consoles, but the Atari computers seem to be a little more convoluted. What solutions do you guys recommend? Does the compact flash cartridge support all Cart 400/800/XE game roms? also i've seen those SIO2SD drives... What file types do those support? I'm trying to set this up to be able to play the widest variety of games possible.

Another thing, I've noticed A8 roms come in a few different file types. Can someone run me through each type of file and what they are?

 

i've seen .CAS, .XEX, .BIN, .ATR... I'm not sure whats what here..

 

 

 

Also, are there memory upgrades available for the 65XE? Do any games support the expanded memory of the 130XE?

Edited February 6, 2017 by AlecRob

[+tf_hh]

Hi,

 

please first read all the good and compact informations in the "Newbies" thread. You will find all answer to your questions above there.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/176545-topic-for-newbies/

 

BR Jurgen

[MrFish]

For starters, there's a misnomer proliferating around the internet that stems from a major difference between (most) consoles and computers. Consoles generally only used cartridges during the 8-bit era (the Famicom being one exception, although technically being a console/computer hybrid by the nature of its design). Cartridge dumps are called ROM's because the cartridges they come from use a type of Read Only Memory. So technically, ROM's are ONLY dumps of cartridges, when speaking about games and other software. But it's become commonplace for all game files to be referred to as ROM's by the gaming community. CAR and BIN are two other Atari 8-bit file types which are also ROM's.

ATR's are images made from floppy disks; they aren't dumped from memory chips and they aren't read only. So they really shouldn't be referred to as ROM's even though they may seem to behave like ROM's from a simplified perspective when it comes to loading them. The disk images themselves have data on them which directly relates to the files that were on the original disks they were imaged from. ATR's can also be written to; the files represented can be changed, or new files can be created or deleted from them. There are actually several other disk image file types used with the Atari 8-bit computers too. ATX is one such type, which I won't go into explaining here -- you can find that and other image file types explained in the Atari 8-bit FAQ.

XEX files are binary load files or executables. They are synonymous with the software files that were typically loaded from real floppy disks, and can be found on disk images (although typically not using an XEX file extension), of course, if you dig around their contents, and are basically the equivalent of EXE's that you find on Windows and other PC operating systems. XEX's are the same as EXE's, COM's, OBJ's -- and probably a few others that don't come to mind now -- used on the Atari 8-bit computers.

CAS files are images made from data cassettes/tapes. They're similar, to a certain extent, to ATR's in that most of their data relates to files that were on the original cassettes. They can also be written to, similar to an ATR.

So a lot of the "convolution" you speak of relates to the differences between these file types and what's required to load each of them. There is no one device that loads them all. To simplify things, though, most of the "true" ROM's (CAR and BIN included here) have been converted to XEX files. And most CAS games have also been converted to XEX. So to get the best coverage on a single type of flash device, you'll want one that can load XEX's and the ATR's. The best devices for this are the SIO2SD and SDrive type. The only caveat here is that some XEX's that are conversions of larger capacity ROM's/catridges require extended memory to run. This is quite a minority of files, but then they can also be some of the better and more advanced games, which you'll eventually want to run.

[AlecRob]

...hmmmm so would going with the compact flash cartridge AND the SIO2SD allow for the best compatibility?

 

 

The other thing I'm confused about is RAM expansion. Do I need the rarer and more expensive 130XE to run all the software?

Edited February 6, 2017 by AlecRob

[Matej]

UnoCart

SICCart

Atarimax Cart

UltimateCart

Edited February 6, 2017 by Matej

[MrFish]

Why not buy one and see where it gets you first? Use it for a while, and it will give you time to find out more about the other solutions and how they differ from the one you're using.

 

Another great option to consider is an SIO2PC device. This will connect your Atari to your PC and allow you to leach files off of it -- mainly with XEX, ATR, and CAS support.

 

My other high recommendation goes to either the Ultimate Cart or The!Cart device. These let you play straight up ROM's (meant in the strictest sense here) of all types and sizes. This means you can play all the later games, which otherwise require extra RAM in order to run the XEX conversions of the games, on a standard 64K machine. The Ultimate Cart will also give XEX support and The!Cart will also give XEX and ATR support.

 

A 130XE will get you most, but not all. There are some games requiring 192K, 256K, or 320K. With some of the 320K games there is also the issue of needing a machine that supports PAL. PAL support, in general, is needed for a fair number of European games too -- both modern and vintage games.

Edited February 6, 2017 by MrFish

[AlecRob]

Too many options... Is it necessary or possible o upgrade the 65XE to have more RAM?

 

The only thing I don't like about SIO2PC is that you have to have a PC next to your Atari at all times... I have a laptop but it's just a bit inconvenient...

 

So there's no everdrive-like solution to play all the games...

 

I'm thinking I need the SIO2SD and some kind of cartridge device for the cart slot. The question is which cart do I need and which ones are actually still available... I was under the impression that the ultimate cart and the!cart were no longer in production.

[gozar]

Too many options... Is it necessary or possible o upgrade the 65XE to have more RAM?

 

The only thing I don't like about SIO2PC is that you have to have a PC next to your Atari at all times... I have a laptop but it's just a bit inconvenient...

 

So there's no everdrive-like solution to play all the games...

 

I'm thinking I need the SIO2SD and some kind of cartridge device for the cart slot. The question is which cart do I need and which ones are actually still available... I was under the impression that the ultimate cart and the!cart were no longer in production.

 

 

The problem is that while there are a lot of games released on cartridge, there are also a lot released on disk. An SIO device will let you play a lot of games, but then there will be a few that won't play without more memory.

 

But, just getting started? An SIO2USB-PC or an SIO2SD will allow you to play almost everything with 64K. And then keep an eye out for someone to make another batch of Uno or Ultimate carts.

 

An SIO2USB-PC can be built for under $5, and RespeQT is free. I have an old IBM Thinkpad running XP that I use with mine, and the laptop is in clamshell mode. I use Remote Desktop to change settings. Why? With the laptop closed it takes up a lot less space.

[AlecRob]

The problem is that while there are a lot of games released on cartridge, there are also a lot released on disk. An SIO device will let you play a lot of games, but then there will be a few that won't play without more memory.

 

 

looks to me there aren't many games that use extra RAM, anyway. I saw a list and it seemed to be mostly utility software/productivity/demoscene stuff I don't care about...

[+Roydea6]

games 128k++.zip

 

Just a few of the 128k+ games Some of the older better ones.

 

 

[AlecRob]

games 128k++.zip

 

Just a few of the 128k+ games Some of the older better ones.

 

 

Oh shit i didnt see those. Space Harrier? mario bros? maybe it was foolish of me to get a computer that cant be expanded to play those games because those are two of the main ones i wanted to play. dammit!

 

Thanks now i regret my uneducated purchase.

 

depressing.

Edited February 10, 2017 by AlecRob

[+Roydea6]

The 65XE can be upgraded to 320k. In fact all of the XE/XL line of Atari's can be upgraded with some memory.

[gozar]

Oh shit i didnt see those. Space Harrier? mario bros? maybe it was foolish of me to get a computer that cant be expanded to play those games because those are two of the main ones i wanted to play. dammit!

 

Thanks now i regret my uneducated purchase.

 

depressing.

Those two only require more memory if you don't have a flash cart.

 

An 8Mb Atarimax cart will do Space Harrier. For Mario Bros you can find the original cart or try to get an Ultimate/Uno cart.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[electrotrains]

Those two only require more memory if you don't have a flash cart.

 

An 8Mb Atarimax cart will do Space Harrier. For Mario Bros you can find the original cart or try to get an Ultimate/Uno cart.

 

 

 

UltimateCart will run anything in 8Mb Atarimax cart format. Including Space Harrier on standard 64k machine.

The UnoCart only supports up to 1Mb Atarimax format, since it has less RAM.

 

Robin

[AlecRob]

too bad Mario bros cartridge costs so much more than the 7800 version or almost any other version.

 

 

Mario bros won't run on the compact flash card?

 

The 65XE can be upgraded to 320k. In fact all of the XE/XL line of Atari's can be upgraded with some memory.

Hmm who do I have to ask for modding services?

Edited February 10, 2017 by AlecRob

[AtariGeezer]

too bad Mario bros cartridge costs so much more than the 7800 version or almost any other version.

The Mario Bros cart's price has gone nuts over the past few months. The last one I bought 5 years ago was only $30...

[AlecRob]

Those two only require more memory if you don't have a flash cart.

 

An 8Mb Atarimax cart will do Space Harrier. For Mario Bros you can find the original cart or try to get an Ultimate/Uno cart.

Wait haven't I seen Mario bros running on an XEGS in YouTube videos? (see classic game room) That's the same as a 65XE afaik.