Atari Flashback 9 FIRMWARE for adding games to SD card

[laz455]

Well, after joining the bandwagon , I bought the new flashback 9 about $45 plus tax

updated the firmware and uploaded the game files all worked as planned.

 

I did notice on the games files were a lot of filler games, so i just picked the most known ones or so.

I did have to delete the spaces from the title names, they did show in order for the most part.

I condsed to about 120 extra games only used 1mb total !!, I deleted the .img file no longer needed after update.

so I really didn't want to wasted 4 gbs , I found and old 128MB SD card from a old camera and used it worked just fine, now to find some old SD cards

 

overall everything worked out as expected no major surprises

At $45 this is a great option than Retron, even though i like the Retron look but not for $70 will wait till the hype goes down if it hasn't already

I already have a few original consoles w/games

 

Final thoughts

Can the SD preview be changed to something else, like it was done in Stella for Retron system. box art would be really cool.

any other ROM sets that's been condensed with homebrews / arcade versions etc.

 

Thanks to all who made this happen and all of us to use.

[darkyoda]

Anyone know if the firmware posted here or the one you can download from their site is any different/better ?

 

Says it was added 12/14/18 v 20121214

[rodreb]

Hello. Do you know if this firmware update will work with the composite video model?

[Bill Loguidice]

Hello. Do you know if this firmware update will work with the composite video model?

 

No. That doesn't run Stella.

[TrekkiELO]

 

Hello. Do you know if this firmware update will work with the composite video model?

 

No. That doesn't run Stella.

 

Two questions about the composite model from Family Dollar and Menards...

 

Do the AtGames paddles from 2012-2017 and original Atari ones work with it?

 

Also, so how does one format the SD card slot for firmware then?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Edited December 24, 2018 by TrekkiELO

[+MrBlackCat]

Just a quick post to note that I bought several SanDisk SDHC 8GB cards and they worked without issue. If someone doesn't have any of the less common 2GB or less cards, these are fairly expensive and readily available, but large enough to use with some other devices should you wish to.

I won't post a link here in public, but I got these from eBay for a touch over $5 each including shipping. That was the least expensive I found. They work in all of my AtGames devices in their out of the package format.

I am posting this because I suspect there are cards which are not compatible for reasons other than formatting, so at least if you are able to get these, there will be a good chance the card itself works. If you have issues with these cards, it is most likely a formatting issue and not a physical card issue.

 

Good luck! : )

 

MrBlackCat

[KevinMos3]

If someone doesn't have any of the less common 2GB or less cards, these are fairly expensive and readily available, but large enough to use with some other devices should you wish to... I got these from eBay for a touch over $5 each including shipping. That was the least expensive I found...

For anyone in the US, GameStop has them for $0.99 for 1GB and 2GB cards, and $1.99 for 4GB cards. If youre a pro member or elite pro, take 10% or 20% off that respectively. If you dont have a store near you, you could still buy them from their website, last I checked.

 

I bought several (all a local store had), thinking Id have a few extra, then realized I have more things I can use them in than I thought (FB 2018 models, FB portables, Harmonies, and everdrives), so I went to another local store for more. Now all my consoles and everdrives have their own SD cards... umm, just thought of a couple more consoles that could use a card, like the retro-bit generations.

 

I am posting this because I suspect there are cards which are not compatible for reasons other than formatting... If you have issues with these cards, it is most likely a formatting issue and not a physical card issue...

Very true. Although certain brands do sometimes have issues with certain hardware, Ive used cards larger than what hardware was specd at in the past by formatting the card to the specified size and not had any problems. This did not include SDHC cards with SD only equipment, of course. However, if the equipment merely has a size limit it can read/write to, but can read SDHC, then formatting a card to size should work fine. Sometimes, the listed size restriction (like with many phones/tablets, 3DS etc.) is really only saying itll read fat32 and not exfat, so theyll often work with cards of any size (128GB, 256GB etc.) as long as its formatted fat32. For FB portables that say 8GB max, Ive used larger cards by limiting the formatted size to 8GB.

[atarifan88]

Apparently there is a new firmware update released on 12/27/18. Has anyone tried it and if so, what does it change or fix?

[Shannon]

So being this uses a slightly older version of Stella.. which DPC games work on it and which do not?

[rvacs]

On my Atari Flashback Gold 9 - Sorry - is there a way to change the ROM image to show screenshot or box art at this point?

 

I have also ordered a Retron 77 to do a comparison between the two..

Edited December 29, 2018 by rvacs

[Mr SQL]

So being this uses a slightly older version of Stella.. which DPC games work on it and which do not?

 

There is a thread here for Flashback 9 patched ROM's:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/285423-atari-flashback-9-rom-patches/

 

games that don't work and are patchable may eventually all show up like they did with the Flashback Portable.

[TrekkiELO]

 

No. That doesn't run Stella.

 

Yeah, it runs AtGames' custom emulator as on the previous Flashback 8.

 

So I'll ask again, will the AtGames paddles from 2012-2017 and original Atari ones work with the 2018 Atari Flashback 9 composite video model?

Edited December 29, 2018 by TrekkiELO

[Bill Loguidice]

 

Yeah, it runs AtGames' custom emulator as on the previous Flashback 8.

 

So I'll ask again, will the AtGames paddles from 2012-2017 and original Atari ones work with the 2018 Atari Flashback 9 composite video model?

 

Yes, the original paddles work. There are no firmware updates for the composite model.

[TrekkiELO]

 

Yes, the original paddles work. There are no firmware updates for the composite model.

 

Thanks, I'd thought that might be the case!

 

So how do you format its SD card slot then?!

Edited December 29, 2018 by TrekkiELO

[Bill Loguidice]

 

Thanks, I'd thought that might be the case!

 

So how do you format its SD card slot then?!

 

I was under the impression it was active out of the box. If that's not the case, I'll have to ask the dev team how to enable it.

[Shannon]

 

There is a thread here for Flashback 9 patched ROM's:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/285423-atari-flashback-9-rom-patches/

 

games that don't work and are patchable may eventually all show up like they did with the Flashback Portable.

 

Thanks but those are not DPC games. I thought certain DPC games did not work because of the version of Stella used in the Flashback 9? And that the games in question where only supported by later versions of Stella.

[rodreb]

 

 

 

I was under the impression it was active out of the box. If that's not the case, I'll have to ask the dev team how to enable it.

Mine was enabled out of the box.

[atarifan88]

Not sure if any of these games are DPC, but regardless I was surprised they worked on the FB9 Gold:

 

Conquest of Mars

Donkey Kong VCS

Frantic

Pac-Man 8K

Scramble

Space Rocks

[Shannon]

Nice! I was able to get DK Arcade, Stay Frosty 2 and Space Rocks to work on the NES/SNES classic which uses and older version of Stella. I don't think Conquest of Mars and Donkey Kong VCS are DPC games.

[alex_79]

Not sure if any of these games are DPC...

I don't think Conquest of Mars and Donkey Kong VCS are DPC games.

 

Just run the rom in the PC version of Stella and press ALT-L to show that info:

[Shannon]

Schweet! Thanks!

[Ryno]

Hi All,

 

Sorry, newbie here and, read through this thread and am still trying to catch up a bit...I have an Atari Flashback 9 (110 games, composite). It has the SD option already enabled and I've been able to get some games (that I downloaded from another thread) working on an SD card in a 'GAME' folder. So I know the SD card reader works. However, when I go to update the firmware from ATGames for the FB9 (picture of the unit looks exactly the same as mine on the download page) but the firmware doesn't seem to load when put into the root of the same SD card? Have a I got right that this won't work because the emulator on the FB9 is an in-house emulator but the firmware is for 'Stella'? Thanks for any clarification that can be provided. I've found this site to be very useful thus far...Cheers...

[Atariboy]

Your Flashback 9 isn't updateable. It's essentially the same hardware and same emulator that AtGames was using since they started with the Atari Flashback 3, with a few enhancements like the ability to read roms off SD card. The firmware update is for the HD version of the Flashback 9, which is necessary to unlock the ability to load rom files via SD card.

[Ryno]

Your Flashback 9 isn't updateable. It's essentially the same hardware and same emulator that AtGames was using since they started with the Atari Flashback 3, with a few enhancements like the ability to read roms off SD card. The firmware update is for the HD version of the Flashback 9, which is necessary to unlock the ability to load rom files via SD card.

Thanks heaps Atariboy - most appreciated

[reecetw]

This is for Atari Flashback 9 and Atari Flashback 9 Gold (same file works on both)

 

1. Download this file atari_update.img.zip

 

2. Unzip it (will uncompress to 36MB file named atari_update.img)

Put it on an SD card, insert into console, power on.

 

3. Push LEFT on the joystick to start the update process

once it's done, bush RIGHT to skip the prompt

Reboot! The SD card option is now enabled.

 

To add ROMs, it's like how the Flashback Portable worked. Make a GAME folder in the root of your SD card. You may need to rename your ROMs and avoid any special characters. Both .bin and .a26 files should be recognized.

 

This thread has some relevant troubleshooting info, and you might even find some other downloads there.

 

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i cant get it to work.