If you plan on using the MEGA DISK read this first!!!!
Maximise the window for the file to format properly
I wrote this file because when I bought a second hand Mega Disk for $5 I had no idea how to use it properly. After many hours searching the net I came accross the original utils, and of course using WINXP most of it didn't work. With some trial and error and a few other utils I've maganed to get good functionality. The aim of this file is to help people to use their Mega Disk if they don't know how. Even if you think you know all the tricks for this copier it might be worth skiming through the index incase there is something here you don't know about.
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CONTENTS
1. PREFACE.
2. USING A MEGA DISK ON A MEGADRIVE/GENISES II.
3. LOADING GAMES WITH THE MEGA DISK.
3a. LOADING GAMES FROM FLOPPY DISK.
3b. LOADING GAMES FROM CARTRIDGE.
4. PREREQUISITES AND NEEDED INFORMATION.
4a. PREREQUISITES FOR COPING GAMES.
4b. USING A BOOT DISK FOR THE UTILITIES.
4c. MOVING FILES.
4d. OPENING A COMMAND PROMPT.
4e. FILE NAME ABBREVIATIONS IN DOS.
4f. THE DIRECTORY COMMAND.
5. FORMATTING DISKS.
5a. FIXING MS-DOS COMPATIBILITY OF FORMATTING DISKS.
5b. FORMATTING DISKS FOR COPING CARTRIDGES AND ROMS TO ONE OR TWO DISKS.
5c. FORMATTING LARGER CAPACITY DISKS FOR USE WITH MULTIPLE GAMES PER DISK.
6. COPING GAMES.
6a. COPING FROM CARTRIDGE.
6b. COPING DOWNLOADED/STORED MEGADRIVE/GENISES GAMES TO DISK FROM A PC WITH THE MEGA
DISKS OWN FORMAT.
6c. COPING SINGLE OR MULTIPLE DOWNLOADED/STORED MEGADRIVE/GENISES GAMES TO A SINGLE
DISK FROM A PC USING 1.44 OR 1.6MB FORMATTED DISKS.
6d. COPING DOWNLOADED MASTER SYSTEM ROMS TO DISK FROM A PC.
6e. COPING A GAME FROM FLOPPY DISK TO A COMPUTER.
7. CONVERTING ROMS FOR USE WITH THE MEGA DISK.
7a. USING SUPCONV.EXE FOR CONVERTING TO .SMD FORMAT.
7b. USING SEGATOOL.EXE TO CONVERT REGIONS OF ROMS.
8. NOTES FOR SUPER DISK USERS.
THE MEGADISK FOLDER MUST BE AT THE ROOT OF A DRIVE FOR THESE INSTRUCTION TO BE CORRECT SEE "HOW TO INSTALL.TXT" IN THE DOWNLOADED .ZIP FILE TO DO THIS.
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1. PREFACE
.................................................................................................................................
The MEGA DISK is designed to backup/copy MEGA DRIVE/GENISES games. The MEGA DISK sits on top
of the MEGA DRIVE/GENISES and needs no external power supply. It was designed for the first MEGA
DRIVE/GENISES, but will work with a MEGA DRIVE/GENISES II. When connected to the system it
enables games to be copied to specially formatted 3.5" floppy disks (see part 5. FORMATTING DISKS)
and and played from 3.5" floppy disk without the original cartridge. It is now possible to copy
downloaded SEGA MEGA DRIVE/GENISES AND MASTER SYSTEM ROMs to a disk that can be
played on the MEGA DISK (see part 6. COPING GAMES). Unlike other copiers the Mega disk does not
use a link cable, instead it uses a PC to format disks to be used directly with the copier.
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2. USING A MEGA DISK ON A MEGADRIVE/GENISES II
.................................................................................................................................
To use a MEGA DISK on a MEGA DRIVE II you will need a pencil eraser or piece of rubber with
dimensions of approximately 9mm thick (most important), 20mm wide and 40mm long. A tool is also
needed to use the "POWER" and "RESET" buttons, a cover from an empty PCI slot cover off a PC works
well. To use a PCI slot cover curl the tabbed end(opposite end to where they normally screw in) with
a set of needle nose pliers. the tip should point in the opposite direction it normally would and the
curl should have a diameter of approximately 4mm.
Place the eraser just in front of the power light between the writing "16-BIT" and "MEGA DRIVE II",
the eraser should be sitting just above the controller ports. Insert the MEGA DISK like a game
cartridge. Use the PCI slot cover to turn the power on and off.
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3. LOADING GAMES WITH THE MEGA DISK
.................................................................................................................................
3a. LOADING FROM FLOPPY DISK
.................................................................................................................................
To load a game from a floppy disk turn the whole system on WITHOUT any floppy disks or cartridges
inserted. When "INSERT DISK" appears on screen insert the disk you want to play. If their are
multiple games on the disk you will need to select one of the games with the D-PAD and press "B". If
their is only one game it will load automatically. If the disk contains part of a game it will start
loading automatically or produce a "wrong disk" error (though it often won't produce this error, if you
can't load a pair of disks try them in the other order) . If the game is split onto two disks when
prompted remove disk 1, insert disk 2 and press "B".
NOTE 1: Loading can sometimes fail turn the system off and try again.
NOTE 2: Although loading is possible with a game in the floppy disk drive before turning on the
system it is not advisable as more errors occur.
.................................................................................................................................
3b. LOADING GAMES FROM CARTRIDGE
.................................................................................................................................
To use cartridge games without removing the MEGA DISK insert a game cartridge into the cartridge
slot on top of the MEGA DISK and turn the system ON, be sure not to press any of the buttons on the
control pad until the game has loaded. Due to the wide cartridge slot the MEGA DISK can act like a
pass through adapter for foreign games. The label of the game should face the OPPOSITE direction to
the hinge of the cartridge slot dust cover.
NOTE 1: The MEGA DISK cannot be used with SEGA MASTER SYSTEM game cartridges, even with a
power base converter, but can play some MASTER SYSTEM roms if the procedure in part 6d is
followed.
NOTE 2: If being used as a passthrough adaptor for foreign games any region checking cartridge will
still fail to load (the same goes for roms on disks).
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4. PREREQUISITES AND NEEDED INFORMATION
.................................................................................................................................
4a. PREREQUISITES FOR COPING GAMES
.................................................................................................................................
To use the following information you will need a MEGA DISK game copier and a MEGA DRIVE/GENISES
1 or 2, empty IBM formatted floppy disks, a WINDOWS or DOS computer with at least 1 floppy disk
drive (USB floppy probably won't do) , a copy of the MEGA DISK utilities and a game cartridge or a
downloaded ROM file in either .SMD, .MG2, .SMS or .BIN format.
Depending on what OS you use your floppy drive may need to be bootable and a boot disk with
appropriate MS-DOS compatible DOS (If required) and ntfs4dos(if needed) may be required.
If you have a computer with a NTFS file system, like WINDOWS 2000 or most XP computers you will
need a NTFS4DOS boot disk or other boot disk with support for NTFS in DOS that uses a DOS version
that is compatible with the utilities, FREEDOS is compatible with the utilities. The disk image I have
provided has NTFS4DOS on it.
Depending on what features you intend to use and what operating system you have your
requirements may vary for example:
Transfer 1-5 roms already in .smd format totalling less than ~1.4 meg in size onto a 1.44mb disk:
DOS-WIN95/98/ME/NT/2K/XP/ No utilities needed. See part 6c.
Transfer 1-5 roms already in .smd format totalling less than ~1.6 meg in size onto a 1.44mb HD disk:
Bootable Floppy Drive + Boot disk with DOS that can read source file system & compatible with
utilities + FDFORMAT OR DOS OS + FDFORMAT. See part 6b.
Convert Roms from .BIN to .SMD.
Supconv OR other utility + appropriate OS. See part 7a.
Convert Roms from .SMS to .SMD.
ts-ggmd utility. See part 6d.
Format disks to be used by the Mega Disk for coping cartridges.
Mega disk Utilities (2hd.bat ect) + Local/compatible copy of debug.exe. See part 5b.
Transfer 1 x 2mb rom to 2 floppy disks
Mega disk Utilities (2hd.bat ect) + Local/compatible copy of debug.exe + Boot disk for NT systems.
See part 5.
NOTE 1: I have included a Boot disk image (98SE & NTFS4DOS) and a utility to put them onto disks, if
the utility doesn't work you may need to find a utility to put the images onto disks. With this disk
you will need to type "ntsf4dos.exe" and type "yes" (the whole word) after passing the "a:\>" prompt
for ntfs partions to be usable.
NOTE 1: Actual needs may vary.
.................................................................................................................................
4b. USING A BOOT DISK FOR THE UTILITIES
.................................................................................................................................
Later in this document you will need to use a boot disk to perform certain tasks. You can either use
your own boot disk or the one I have included with the files, you will need to find a way to the a:\>
prompt if you are using your own disk. Where asked to use your boot disk to get into DOS do the
following when dealing with the boot disk I have included.
Firstly you will need to get into DOS, to do this Insert your boot disk and restart your computer, and
do the following if using the image I have provided:
Wait for the disk to fully load (about 30s), options like "start computer with CD-rom support" will
appear on screen select "Start computer without CD-rom Support" and hit ENTER, soon an A:> prompt
will appear. Now if your hard disk is formatted with NTFS type "ntfs4dos.exe" and then type "yes" (the whole word). Remove the boot disk from the disk drive and move onto the next step.
WARNING:
Depending on how many partions or cd drives (if using CD-ROM support) one, some or all of you
drives may be assigned to a different drive letter than normal with the boot image I have provided,
especially NTFS partions. FAT partions will be assigned a letter at boot and NTFS partions will be
assigned a letter by NTFS4DOS (If you initiate NTFS4DOS), and a drive letter will be reserved for the
boot disks own utilities (format, scandisk ect.). So in short all of you drive letters will be screwed up
(unless you have one or 2 FAT partions and are not using CD-ROM support).
NOTE 1: If you get a warning about a disk being in the drive when trying to restart remove the disk
and from now on shut down the computer insert the disk and turn the computer back on.
NOTE 2: Earlier versions of windows/dos are able to perform some of these tasks without a boot
disk either from a command prompt within windows or by restarting in MS-DOS.
NOTE 3: Other appropriate boot disks will work (you will need to find a way to get to the A:>
prompt), if you need to format disks without replacing DEBUG.EXE you will need a disk that is
compatible with that version of DEBUG.EXE
NOTE 4: If you want to access your cd drive and are using a 98SE boot disk, choose "Start Computer
with CD-ROM support" at the boot menu.
NOTE 5: If you are not sure if your hard disk is formatted NTFS or FAT and you are using the boot disk I provided type "ntfs4dos.exe" and if you are greeted with a colo(u)rful licence agreement you have at least one ntfs partion.
.................................................................................................................................
4c. MOVING FILES
.................................................................................................................................
Some of the below instructions require files to be moved, to do this RIGHT-CLICK on the file to be
moved choose either CUT or COPY depending on weather you want a copy of the file to remain in the
original position. Go to the folder where the file is to be moved to, RIGHT-CLICK and choose PASTE
and the file will appear. Alternatively you can use the copy command e.g. "copy
c:\megadisk\readme~1.txt c:"
.................................................................................................................................
4d. OPENING A COMMAND PROMPT
.................................................................................................................................
To use some of the information in this document you will need to open a command prompt within
windows. How to do this will depend on what version of WINDOWS you use try clicking START, then
clicking RUN and typing "COMMAND" or "CMD"(without quotation marks)
If this doesn't work see your computers help file or search the Internet.
.................................................................................................................................
4e. FILE NAME ABBREVIATIONS IN DOS
.................................................................................................................................
Whilst in DOS all file and folder names longer than 8 characters, not including the file extension, are
abbreviated to the first 6 characters (removing any spaces) followed by "~1" followed by the file
extension e.g. "mega drive game.smd" will be abbreviated to "megadr~1.smd". The game will work
with the copier no matter what you name it.
Folders/directories have an almost identical system for abbreviated names, the first 6 characters
(not including spaces) followed by ~1. A folder called "Mega disk utilities" would be abbreviated to
"megadi~1" and "megadiskutilities" would be also called megadi~1 unless they were both contained in
the same directory\folder or root of the drive. In this case one of them would be called "megadi~2".
The same would also be true for files; this situation arises so infrequently that it is normally of no
concern.
.................................................................................................................................
4f. THE DIRECTORY COMMAND
.................................................................................................................................
The directory command can come in most useful when you forget a file name or want to check the
drive assigned to a letter is the one you think it is (you will of course need to know what files and/or
folders on on it to do this).
When at the command prompt type "dir" to see what is in the directory the command prompt is
showing.
for example X:\megadisk>"dir "
01/12/2007 11:19 PM <DIR> .
01/12/2007 11:19 PM <DIR> ..
06/01/2008 02:36 PM <DIR> Standard
06/01/2008 02:49 PM <DIR> Boot
06/01/2008 02:55 PM <DIR> Custom
0 File(s) 0 bytes
5 Dir(s) 36,434,673,664 bytes free
To get the preceding result from where ever you are on the command prompt type dir then the whole
path. e.g. c:\windows>"dir x:\megadisk"
There are a few useful switches for this command, I find the most useful is /p. This pauses after
each full page and waits for a keystroke before showing the next page, instead of all scrolling past in
a few seconds. This would look like x:\megadisk>"dir /p" or c:\windows>"dir /p x:\megadisk".
______________________________________________________________________________________
5. FORMATTING DISKS
.................................................................................................................................
5a. FIXING MS-DOS COMPATIBILITY OF FORMATTING DISKS
.................................................................................................................................
If you try to format disks for the MEGA DISK using one of the batch files provided and you get the
following error "Ogiltig MS-DOS-version" or "incorrect Ms-dos version" then do the following to rectify
the problem.
Go to the "UTILS" folder (X:\MEGADISK\UTILS) and rename "DEBUG.EXE" to "DEBUG2.EXE" (without
quotation marks). Now use the search utility within windows and search for "DEBUG.EXE" (without
quotation marks). If a copy of "DEBUG.EXE" that is not from the MEGA DISK utilities but from
windows appears COPY it and PASTE it into the "UTILS" folder (X:\MEGADISK\UTILS). If you don't find
one that isn't from the utilities then download one from the Internet being sure it is compatible with
your version of Windows of DOS and being careful of virus threats ect.
This should fix the problem. If you get the same "Ogiltig MS-DOS-version" error then you are either
using windows in Swedish (Not that this won't work in Swedish windows; Ogiltig means incorrect in
Swedish) or you have copied the "DEBUG.EXE" from the utilities, try another search.
You should now be able to format the disks from the command prompt within windows (even
winxp!). If this doesn't fix the problem then delete the version of "DEBUG.EXE" you copied into the
"UTILS" folder, rename "DEBUG2.EXE" back to "DEBUG.EXE" (without quotation marks) and format the
disks from the command prompt from a boot disk instead.
NOTE 1: If you do this procedure with WINDOWS XP you can't format disks from a XP DOS BOOT DISK,
why? The version of DOS on these floppies is from WINDOWS ME, thus is the incorrect version of DOS
for XP'S own debug.exe, you will still be able to use IMC.EXE from the xp boot disk and format disks
from a command prompt within windows.
NOTE 2: Changing the version of DEBUG.EXE will change the versions of dos you can format disks
with.
.................................................................................................................................
5b. FORMATTING DISKS FOR COPING CARTRIDGES AND ROMS TO ONE OR TWO DISKS
.................................................................................................................................
Mega Disk's own format; for use when coping games from cartridge, using 1 game per disk(not the
only way) or a larger game on 2 disks. You must use this format when using the Mega Disk to copy
cartridges and games that require 2 disks. It is also recommended for when only one game is to be
copied to the disk as it is faster and more reliable. All disks that are to be formatted this way
(modified IBM) need to be empty and IBM formatted before starting, you can do this by using the
format command (be careful if inexperienced) or from within windows.
If you are not careful the following can damage disks in the drive not intended for the copier.
Their are now two ways to do this, follow the information below or use one of the two batch files I
have written (using the original 2hd & 2dd.bat). To use these batch files first you will need to select
the correct file for you 9XMDOS.bat or NTMDOS.bat, if it isn't already obvious 9XMDOS.bat is for
DOS/WIN95/98/ME and NTMDOS.bat for WINNT?/2000/XP/VISTA?. Simply double click the right one
for you and follow the prompts. A compatible copy of debug.exe needs to be in the same
folder/directory as the batch file. If NTMDOS.bat doesn't work for you try 9XMDOS.bat with a copy of
choice.com in the same directory. If 9XMDOS.bat isn't working on windows 9X rename CHOICE.com in
the utils folder to choice2.com. If these batch files still don't work for you then you will have to
follow the procedure below.
The following procedure may need 2hd.bat and 2dd.bat to be edited depending on what drive you
want to use to format the disks with, see 2xxedit.txt in the docs.zip file. The files is currently set to
use drive a: and give no option to use drive b:.
First open a command prompt or boot in to DOS with your boot disk and get to the A:> prompt or
whatever prompt you get to start with.
Now you need to choose what kind of disk you have to format 2HD or 2DD, if you know it to be a 2DD
disk then replace "ttt" below with "2DD" (without quotation marks). If you know the kind of disk as a
2HD floppy disk then replace "ttt" below with "2HD" (without quotation marks). If you Don't know
what kind it is then it's probably a 2HD (very common), so replace "ttt" with "2HD" (without quotation
marks).
Now you need to choose what kind of MEGADISK-DOS you want to use, MEGADISK-DOS 4.9b or
MEGADISK-DOS 5.5c. MEGADISK-DOS 4.9b is used for a single game on either 1 or 2 disks. MEGA-DOS
5.5c is used for multiple games on 1 disk. To use MEGADISK-DOS 4.9b replace "ddddd" below with
"MD49B" (without quotation marks). To use MEGADISK-DOS 5.5c replace "ddddd" below with "MD55"
(without quotation marks).
Type in the following where "X" is replaced with the drive letter the utilities are on, ttt is replaced
with the disk type, ddddd is replaced with the desired DOS version and <enter> means to press
enter:
chdir X:\megadisk\utils <ENTER>
X: <ENTER>
ttt ddddd <ENTER>
It will now format the disk for use with the MEGA DISK
Wait for the "X:\MEGADISK\UTILS>" prompt to re-appear and the disk is ready to have a game copied
to it. It will only take approximately 30 seconds for this to happen.
NOTE 1: As of this point of time I am unaware of how to use MEGADISK-DOS 5.5c to it's fullest
capabilities, I have only used it like MEGADISK-DOS 4.9b.
NOTE 2: It is best not to use a external floppy disk drive as it may not be readable from DOS.
.................................................................................................................................
5c. FORMATTING LARGER CAPACITY DISKS FOR USE WITH MULTIPLE GAMES PER DISK
.................................................................................................................................
Formatting a larger capacity disk will enable more games per disk (a maximum of 12 megabits
and/or 5 games). It is possible to format larger disks with some software like FDFORMAT it can
format 1.6mb and 1.7mb disks, along with many others. The format that is most useful for the MEGA
DISK is the 1.6mb format. Unfortunately FDFORMAT in old software that doesn't work in windows so
unless you are using bona fide DOS you will need to use a bootdisk to use FDFORMAT.
To format 1.6mb do the following:
Start your computer using your dos boot disk of choice and get to the a:\> prompt. Insert the disk
you want to format 1.6mb and type the following where "X" is the letter of your hard drive and "Y" is your floppy disk:
CHDIR X:\MEGADISK\UTILS <ENTER>
X: <ENTER>
FDFORMAT Y: F16 <ENTER>
Now at the prompt hit <ENTER>.
Repeat for each disk.
NOTE: I Don't think there is any point trying to use these disks with the Mega Disks own format
because a 2mb game will still need to be put onto two disks and 1.5mb games are rare and can also
be put onto these disks as is. If you insist on trying this you will probably have to load fdread.exe
from the utils folder you have to load it each session.
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6. COPING GAMES
.................................................................................................................................
6a. COPING FROM CARTRIDGE
.................................................................................................................................
To copy from a cartridge first insert the game to be copied and a disk formatted with the Mega Disk's
own format into the MEGA DISK while the MEGA DRIVE/GENISES is switched off. Turn the MEGA
DRIVE/GENISES on whilst holding down both the "START" and "C" buttons on control pad 1
simultaneously and the game will start coping. If the game requires a second floppy disk "INSERT
DISK 2" will appear on screen, remove the first disk and insert a second (MEGA DISK formatted) disk,
then press the "B" button to resume saving. When the Mega Disk has finished saving the light on the
floppy disk drive will turn off after the Size in Mega Bits (left) has been reached on the right. You
will need to turn the system off, remove the cartridge and disk, turn the system back on and insert
the disk to test it.
NOTE 1: If a game is too large for the system memory then saving will fail. The largest game the
MEGADISK can save is 16Megabits or 2Megabytes. While saving the size of the game will be shown
on-screen in megabits, the game cartridge is referred to on screen as "CARD". If the size of the "card" is larger than the size of "RAM" then saving will fail. Some MEGA DISK'S have only 8 Megabits, thus can only copy smaller games.
NOTE 2: You must use the Mega Disks own format for games over 1.6mb in size.
NOTE 3: If you want to re-use a disk that has been formatted with the Mega Disk's own format and
had a game copied to it simply use it like empty MEGA DISK formatted disk and the existing game
will be over-written. Any other disk will need to be reformatted.
.................................................................................................................................
6b. COPING DOWNLOADED/STORED MEGADRIVE/GENISES GAMES TO DISK FROM A PC WITH THE MEGA
DISKS OWN FORMAT
.................................................................................................................................
Their are 2 distinct ways to copy rom files to floppy disk that are playable with the Mega Disk. Below
is the first, using the Mega Disks own format(modified IBM). This allows a 2mb game to be split onto
two disks or a smaller game onto one disk.
Move the file from where it's located to the "GAMES" folder (X:\MEGADISK\GAMES where "X" is the
name of the chosen drive) used when setup. The game file should end in .smd , if it is a .bin or other
type of file see part 7 to convert it to a .smd file. Take note of, write down or use the directory
command "dir" to find the name of the game files to be copied to disk as they will be needed in DOS.
If you are using windows nt (NT/2K/XP/VISTA ect.) to start coping the file restart the computer into
DOS using your boot disk and get to the A:> prompt as detailed in part 4b. (you will need to use the
boot disk because windows NT does not allow direct access to hardware and stalls IMC.exe). If you
are using DOS or Windows 9X (95/98/ME) go to the command prompt.
Type the following, replacing "X" with the name of your the hard drive, replacing "Y" with the name
of your floppy disk drive (normally A:) replacing ffff.fff with the name of the file to be copied to disk
and where <ENTER> means to press ENTER.
CHDIR X:\MEGADISK\UTILS <ENTER>
X: <ENTER>
IMC X:\MEGADISK\GAMES\ffff.fff Y: <ENTER>
If you are prompted for a second disk remove the first disk, insert a second (formatted) disk and
press a key.
If all has went well then the disk/disks should play on the MEGA DISK.
NOTE 1: If a game is too large for the MEGADISK system memory then loading will fail. The largest
game the MEGADISK can load is 16Megabits or 2Megabytes (a little over 2000kb about 2050kb). Some
copiers only have 8 Megabits. To check the size of a rom in megabits see part 7a.
NOTE 2: It is best not to use a external floppy disk drive as it may not be readable from DOS.
.................................................................................................................................
6c. COPING SINGLE OR MULTIPLE DOWNLOADED/STORED MEGADRIVE/GENISES GAMES TO A SINGLE
DISK FROM A PC USING 1.44 OR 1.6MB FORMATTED DISKS.
.................................................................................................................................
This method is very simple to put into practice, simply copy roms, in the .SMD format, onto IBM
formatted disks. You simply use the copy command, the send to option or drag & drop them onto the
floppy disk. You can put a maximum of 5 games on a single disk providing they will fit. Their are 2
disk options you have available with this method 1.44mb or 1.6mb disks.
Even if you put 6 games onto one of these disks you will be greeted with five at the load menu. You
can put both Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis roms onto the same disk as long as they are all
in the .SMD format. I suggest using only 8 characters for the file name before the extension as short
dos file names will show up on screen (and it seems to slow things down a bit). The good news is you
can have three more characters to play with because the Mega Disk itself (unlike IMC.EXE) isn't picky
about file extensions (Though the file itself still needs to be in the SMD interleaved format), for
example say you had a game called ineed11ctrs.smd and you copied it to a disk you would be greeted
with ineed11~1smd from the Mega Disk. If you renamed the file ineed11c.trs or ineed11ctrs you will
be greeted with ineed11ctrs.
If you have any trouble coping to the 1.6mb disk type the following before you start, replacing X with your Hard drive with the utils on it:
X:\MEGADISK\UTILS\FDREAD
Now that the resedent driver is loaded(not needed by most versions of windows) it should work. You will need to do this before every session.
NOTE 1: If the ROM file is an archive e.g. .zip then it will need to be extracted before entering DOS or being copied onto a disk (if you want it to work).
.................................................................................................................................
6d. COPING DOWNLOADED MASTER SYSTEM ROMS TO DISK FROM A PC
.................................................................................................................................
Coping a downloaded MASTER SYSTEM game to disk is exactly the same as the procedure(s) above
except the file first must be converted for the disk to be playable. This procedure can be done from a
dos window within windows or from the command prompt of the boot disk; if you plan on using the
boot disk move the file within windows first.
The downloaded file should be in either in a .sms or .bin format, I have tried this with a .sms file
successfully but will probably work the same with a .bin file as I have read the .sms format is
basically raw binary (.bin) anyway.
Move the .SMS file into X:\MEGADISK\ROMCON (the "ROMCON" folder). Now open a DOS window within
WINDOWS or start from the command prompt in the boot disk. Now type what follows at the prompt
where "X" is the appropriate drive letter, ffffff.sms is the original file name, ffffff.smd is the name
of the output file (it needs to end in .smd) and <ENTER> means to press enter:
CHDIR X:\MEGADISK\ROMCON <ENTER>
X: <ENTER>
ts-ggmd.com ffffff.sms ffffff.smd <ENTER>
This will leave you with a copy of the MASTER SYSTEM game in X:\MEGADISK\ROMCON (The "ROMCON"
folder) that will be in .smd format. Move this copy to X:\MEGADISK\GAMES (the "GAMES" folder) and
start the process out lined in part 6b or 6c. to copy the game to a disk that the MEGA DISK should be
able to play.
NOTE 1: This should also work with some GAME GEAR games because it is what the program was
intended to do, the procedure is the same except .sms is replaced with .gg.
NOTE 2: IF the ROM file is an archive e.g. .zip then it will need to be extracted before entering DOS
or converting.
NOTE 3: If the rom is a .BIN file you will probably need to rename it to .SMS for ts-gmd.com to accept
it.
Note 4: Some sms roms will copy and seem to load but simply not work, this is true for all games that take advantage of the SMS backwards compatibility for SG-1000/2000/3000 video modes and of course sg-xxxx roms. Roms that use this mode won't work on a Mega Drive/Genesis because it does not have the required video mode, often they load, the music starts playing and they sound affects seem to respond to the control pad but it's no fun with a black screen! Also some games rely on certain bank switching chips and hardware specific features (possibly bugs). That being said a majority of games work.
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6e: COPING A GAME FROM FLOPPY DISK TO A COMPUTER
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To copy a game from a floppy disk formatted with the Mega Disks own Format to the computer
follow all of the steps in part 6b except insert the game to be copied instead of a disk to be copied
to and replace the last line as follows:
replace this--> IMC X:\MEGADISK\GAMES\ffff.fff Y: <enter>
with this ----> IMC Y: X:\MEGADISK\GAMES\ffff.fff <enter>
or
If the disk is a 1.44 or 1.6mb not formatted for the Mega Disk you can simply copy the games off the
disk. If you are having trouble reading the disks restart using a bootdisk and do type following:
chdir X:\MEGADISK\UTILS <ENTER>
x: <ENTER>
FDREAD <ENTER>
COPY Y:\*.* X:\MEGADISK\GAMES <ENTER>
If your games aren't in your games folder your disk may be in another format or corrupt.
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7. CONVERTING ROMS FOR USE WITH THE MEGA DISK.
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7a. USING SUPCONV.EXE FOR CONVERTING TO .SMD FORMAT.
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SUPCONV.EXE is a utility to convert between file types. To use SUPCONV.EXE move the rom to be
converted into another format to X:\MEGADISK\ROMCON (the "ROMCON" folder). Open a command
prompt within windows or use your boot disk to get the A:> prompt. Following are the conversion
options.
Mode options:
ms - convert .mgd2 to .smd
mb - convert .mgd2 to .bin
sm - convert .smd to .mgd2
sb - convert .smd to .bin
bs - convert .bin to .smd
bm - convert .bin to mgd2
After entering a command prompt type the following where mm is the mode option, ssssss.sss is the
file to be converted, dddddd.ddd is the file it will be converted to, "X" is the appropriate drive letter
and <ENTER> means to press enter:
CHDIR X:\MEGADISK\ROMCON <ENTER>
X: <ENTER>
supconv mm ssssss.sss dddddd.ddd <ENTER>
NOTE 1: file extensions (everything after the "." in the file name must be included.
Supconv.exe can also gather information about a game which includes the size of the game in
Megabits, to do this move the file to the "ROMCON" folder open a command prompt and type the
following where "X" is the drive the utilities are on, ssssss.sss is the file name and <ENTER> means
to press enter:
CHDIR X:\MEGADISK\ROMCON <ENTER>
X: <ENTER>
supconv ssssss.sss <ENTER>
NOTE 2: SUPCONV can't gather information or convert MASTER SYSTEM roms even after using
ts-ggmd.com.
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7b. USING SEGATOOL.EXE TO CONVERT REGIONS OF ROMS.
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SEGATOOL.EXE is useful to remove zone protections from roms (If the rom is locked out of the zone
the MEGA DRIVE/GENISES is from this protection stills works even if played from a floppy disk on the
MEGA DISK). To use SEGATOOL.EXE double click it (it will be in the "MEGADISK" folder if you followed
the instructions..
If the MEGA DRIVE is PAL then use the "fix for EUR" option and then select the appropriate file to fix.
Otherwise select fix for JAP for Japanese MEGA DRIVE'S or fix for USA for a GENISES. If the fix fails
you will need a fresh copy of the rom that the segatool hasn't tried to fix before.
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8. NOTES FOR SUPER DISK USERS
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I don't own this system so I can't verify anthing to do with it. Though it seems that many of the procedures are the same as the Mega Disk. A couple of things to note are:
1.Where this help files calls for imc.exe you would use isc.exe.
2.Where this help file calls for .smd format you will probably use the super magicoms format(I think)
3. Nes roms almost certainly will NOT work on the superdisk (because to the best of my knowlege the SFC/SNES isn't compatible with them)
4. You will need to find your own rom convertors
5. See the super bank document in the docs folder for information on how to super bank. (I converted it to pdf to save size and confusion caused by the format and the moden filter on wordpad).
6. I included super bank 20 disk formatting option. This is what I think needs to be done though I am unsure of this.
7. Use 9xmdos.bat, ntmdos.bat, 2hd.bat or 2dd.bat to format disks for the super disk to copy games to and superbank to(I think) substitute sd49b or bank20 as appropiate.
