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ROM Loading Freezing


SainT

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I’ve had one report of ROM loading freezing on the JagGD, if you have this issue please report it here.

 

I’m not sure if this is bad cart connection, memory card issue or specific to the particular console.

 

I can fix this, but it has implications for CD support for people with this issue!

Edited by SainT
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I just got my JagSD cart today an I'm very excited however it is not working for me. When I tried to load any .jag ROMS it would get stuck at the loading ROM screen. I had to shut off my Jag and when I power it back on it just says loading Reading directory and does nothing. I have tried multiple .jag ROMS and they all get stuck at the loading ROM screen. I tried 2 different brands of microsd. I was able to upgrade to the latest firmware.

 

I have since tried a 3rd SD card that is 8GB. I got a stub error now and then whenever I tried to bootup the JagSD it sits at Reading directory.

 

I tried a 4th SDcard and it's still not working, it's a 16GB Kingston. I tried .ROM/.BIN demo files and the Bad Apple SD demo and it's getting stuck at loading ROM.  I would have to power it off.

Edited by kublai
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Aha! Ok, this I *think* is due to a dirty cartridge slot or possible issues with the Jaguar itself if you’ve tried multiple memory cards without change. The interrupt pin is not usually used on the Jaguar (only used by the CD add-on), and what you are seeing is a symptom of interrupts not firing correctly.

 

Another thing you can try, which will test the cartridge address and data bus, is to press 7 and 9 together on the game menu. This will result in a ‘memory error’ if there are any issues there.

 

If you can try cleaning the cartridge port / removing and reinserting the cartridge a few times and seeing if you get any different results.

 

I can work around this and will be providing an update shortly which will work regardless of the interrupt pin working, however this needs to be working for CD emulation. My guess is your Jaguar won’t work with a JagCD plugged in, if my theory is right.

Edited by SainT
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42 minutes ago, SainT said:

Aha! Ok, this I *think* is due to a dirty cartridge slot or possible issues with the Jaguar itself if you’ve tried multiple SD’s without change. The interrupt pin is not usually used on the Jaguar (only used by the CD add-on), and what you are seeing is a symptom of interrupts not firing correctly.

 

Another thing you can try, which will test the cartridge address and data bus, is to press 7 and 9 together on the game menu. This will result in a ‘memory error’ if there are any issues there.

 

If you can try cleaning the cartridge port / removing and reinserting the cartridge a few times and seeing if you get any different results.

 

I can work around this and will be providing an update shortly which will work regardless of the interrupt pin working, however this needs to be working for CD emulation. My guess is your Jaguar won’t work with a JagCD plugged in, if my theory is right.

I pressed the 7 and 9 buttons together at the game menu and it did the memory test and it went through without any errors. I have cleaned the slot already and reseated many times.

I have a few carts that I am able to play without any issues.

Edited by kublai
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12 hours ago, kublai said:

I pressed the 7 and 9 buttons together at the game menu and it did the memory test and it went through without any errors. I have cleaned the slot already and reseated many times.

I have a few carts that I am able to play without any issues.

 

No problem, thanks for the update. I'll be releasing a work-around for this issue early next week!

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A further update on this issue. It looks likely that its a memory card socket issue rather than a problem with memory card or console, cart being returned for replacement and investigation! I'll post concrete information when I have it.

Edited by SainT
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  • 7 months later...
  • 11 months later...
8 hours ago, ModusTrollens85 said:

I am having the same issue.  The memory test went through with no problems.  The ROMs work on emulator, it just has the "Loading ROM..." screen with no progress.

There was an old issue with early revision GPU's which caused this, but as you have a new cart and new firmware, this should not be relevant.

 

Given you can see and select ROM's, you would think the memory card is ok, but it's worth trying a different one.

 

The ROM loading is also the first place the interrupts from the cart will be used, so it's possible there is a bad connection on this pin, or that there is actually a fault on the cartridge.

 

So things to try...

 

Different memory card

Cleaning the cart edge / socket

 

If you still have no luck, it's possible the cart is not working correctly.

 

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3 hours ago, ModusTrollens85 said:

I hadn't used the Jaguar in a while and it looks like I have a bent pin inside the cartridge connector.  I'll order a new one and replace it and hopefully it will be good to go!  Thanks for your help!

Ah, that's interesting. Which pin? Can you send a pic? Very curious if it's one of the pins not used by anything but the JagGD... :)

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1 hour ago, ModusTrollens85 said:

I bent the pin back for a temporary fix and the Jag GD works perfectly!  Thanks for your help!

 

Wow, what are the chances!

 

The bent pin was EINT0. This is only used by the JagCD and the JagGD cart. Assuming it wasn't shorting with the pin the other side games would have worked just fine, but the JagGD would (as you saw!) fail to be able to transfer large chunks of data via interrupt, and the first place this is used is loading ROMs.

 

Good catch! ?

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Just picked up my Jaguar GameDrive ordered through the AA store. Firmware is current (according to the webpage).

 

The only other Jaguar cart I have is Cybermorph, which sits tight in the cart slot and loads/plays fine on every try.

 

The JGD however is not a tight fit in the cart slot, I can move it back and forth without using force. I need to, as the JGD does not always boot at Power on (the system does power on, but there is no output to the screen). If I move it slightly I can successfully start the JGD. When it boots, the memory test (2+7) runs without a hitch and I can browse the contents of my SD card (the marquees show as well).

 

Now the bad part: No matter which ROM I try (Bad Apple GD, the Reboot game pack ROMS, or some official releases' .jag/.rom files), the ROM loads to a full bar, but then the system just freezes at that point, until I power cycle it.

 

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2 hours ago, SenorRossie said:

Just picked up my Jaguar GameDrive ordered through the AA store. Firmware is current (according to the webpage).

 

The only other Jaguar cart I have is Cybermorph, which sits tight in the cart slot and loads/plays fine on every try.

 

The JGD however is not a tight fit in the cart slot, I can move it back and forth without using force. I need to, as the JGD does not always boot at Power on (the system does power on, but there is no output to the screen). If I move it slightly I can successfully start the JGD. When it boots, the memory test (2+7) runs without a hitch and I can browse the contents of my SD card (the marquees show as well).

 

Now the bad part: No matter which ROM I try (Bad Apple GD, the Reboot game pack ROMS, or some official releases' .jag/.rom files), the ROM loads to a full bar, but then the system just freezes at that point, until I power cycle it.

 


Sounds like a dirty cartridge edge / slot if any wiggling is required. The cart edge itself is identical in width, etc, as any other cart, so there is no inherent issue there. The physical cartridge shell is different however, so ‘wiggleability’ will vary.

 

Be aware the JagGD uses pins on the cartridge port which no other cartridge does, so even if a normal game cartridge runs fine it doesn’t mean everything is perfect with the cartridge slot.


Freezing after loading is a little odd, though. It should be trying to perform a reboot at this point. And, again, this is another pin on the cartridge port no other cartridge will use — the reset line.

 

So to me this is sounding like a connection issue on the cartridge port in some way, involving the reset line and others.

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3 minutes ago, SainT said:

Freezing after loading is a little odd, though. It should be trying to perform a reboot at this point. And, again, this is another pin on the cartridge port no other cartridge will use — the reset line.

 

So to me this is sounding like a connection issue on the cartridge port in some way, involving the reset line and others.

Thanks for the quick reply. I kind of figured this would be the case. I did a visual inspection of the cart slot, but didn't notice anything wrong with it. I'll try cleaning the cart slot first.

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1 hour ago, SainT said:

Freezing after loading is a little odd, though. It should be trying to perform a reboot at this point. And, again, this is another pin on the cartridge port no other cartridge will use — the reset line.

I cleaned the cartridge connector and carefully bend the pins to make sure they contact the cart edge. Both carts (Cybermorph and the JagGD) now boot directly after insertion.

The load then freeze issue remains:

BadApple.thumb.png.3c0b8392e95d9b52cb317f7ed221162e.png

 

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The good news is that I tested the JGD in a different console and there it works fine.

 

7 hours ago, neo_rg said:

Can you check the continuity between these 2 points. Bottom pad next to the mod1 printing. And the 19 pin on the bottom row. Counting left from the keyway.

There is continuity between these two points. So I guess the bad new is that I need to fix my console. Any european sellers of that cartridge slot?

 

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13 hours ago, SenorRossie said:

The good news is that I tested the JGD in a different console and there it works fine.

 

There is continuity between these two points. So I guess the bad new is that I need to fix my console. Any european sellers of that cartridge slot?

 

 

Ok, that's a good start! :)

 

If there is continuity between the pin and that via, it's probably not the socket.

 

Insert a cartridge and test the continuity between the pad on the cartridge and the via and work backward from there. You'll probably find the connection to reset is broken somewhere along the line.

 

The reset signal is generated by R77, R78, D2 and C42 giving a delayed reset on startup. It then goes through U9 (74HC14) to clean up the signal. There is TP16 which will give you an inverted version of the signal and then TP13 which should give the final reset output with a logic probe.

 

Test the continuity from the cartridge pad to R78/D2/pin 13 of U9 then work your way through the reset circuit.

 

 

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