Famicom disk System Error 27

[rbudrick]

I see...oh well. I will just have to try the belt change & recalibration. That other stuff is too much of a project for me right now. Perhaps on a long weekend... Thanks for the help.

One long weekend, coming up!

I'll vouch for the jfgoods FDS fix. I used that same page about a month ago to bring my drive back from the dead: belt replacement, drive recalibration, etc. Works like new. Changing the belt was the difficult part - recalibrating the drive was a cinch. Just be sure you have a VERY small L-end wrench handy!

Do you mean an Allen wrench? I've just never heard them called that before, but I guess they are usually kind of L shaped!

Funn you mention the calibration was easy...it's usually a real bitch or most people. Chances are, you don't have to adjust the motor, though, just the screw under the disk setting. And remember...use tiny turns...like 1/8-1/4 revolutions tops. Trial and error.

-Rob

[sukoshi]

Funn you mention the calibration was easy...it's usually a real bitch or most people. Chances are, you don't have to adjust the motor, though, just the screw under the disk setting. And remember...use tiny turns...like 1/8-1/4 revolutions tops. Trial and error.

-Rob

Incredibly right.

Does anyone know a good tutorial related to drive calibration?

[rbudrick]

A good one? No, not really. It's on my list of 1000 other things to do, but I never got around to it. I wanted to wait until I had more info, like using the Bung disk Copy Master, which can help facilitate this. You need a copy unit like the Turbo Game Doctor 6 or something to work the disk, but I wanted to be thorough when I finally wrote it. It's just a pain in the ass, plain and simple.

If you drive doesn't work, you can build the FDSLoadr cables and you can load game directly to the ram adapter and play them on real hardware. No FDS drive required!!!

-Rob

[sukoshi]

If you drive doesn't work, you can build the FDSLoadr cables and you can load game directly to the ram adapter and play them on real hardware. No FDS drive required!!!

-Rob

Thanks a lot.

In fact the main reason for me not to already have built a cable is that i'm an OsX user, and nobody made a port for OsX yet

[rbudrick]

Thanks a lot.

In fact the main reason for me not to already have built a cable is that i'm an OsX user, and nobody made a port for OsX yet

Yeah, that's pretty much not going to happen. However, if you have one of the new Intel Macs, you can install a parallel card and run Windows.

-Rob

[sukoshi]

Yeah, that's pretty much not going to happen. However, if you have one of the new Intel Macs, you can install a parallel card and run Windows.

-Rob

do you think a USB To Parallel adapter would work?

[kralleman]

http://simplynes.emucamp.com/copytool.html

The links at simplynes are dead. Is the guide hosted at any other site?

[rbudrick]

do you think a USB To Parallel adapter would work?

Not a chance, nope. Those are basically intended only for printers and are driven by a software driver that are often quite flaky.

The links at simplynes are dead. Is the guide hosted at any other site?

Well, Memblers had it on bittorent or something for a while, but the files are too big, so I doubt those even work anymore. SimplyNES moved to a new ISP and said a few days ago that he'd have them up within a few days. I hope he gets them up soon because a couple other people were asking me about them.

-Rob

[kralleman]

Ok thanks! I'll keep trying the simplynes website then. Seems I bought a FDS that was already modded to be able to write to disks. Of course the seller didn't know anything about the unit he sold. In the same lot I got a boxed Turbo Game Doctor 6m and a couple of bootleg disks. I'm thinking, maybe I should try to get the FDSLoadr-project a shot.


This is the write-protection MOD right? Dunno why I didn't take any pics on the other side of the board. Hope these will be enough to determine the mod, as my FDS is now put together and I really should hit the bed.

[rbudrick]

Ok thanks! I'll keep trying the simplynes website then. Seems I bought a FDS that was already modded to be able to write to disks. Of course the seller didn't know anything about the unit he sold. In the same lot I got a boxed Turbo Game Doctor 6m and a couple of bootleg disks. I'm thinking, maybe I should try to get the FDSLoadr-project a shot.

Dude, that's ...simply awesome. You are very lucky indeed!

The funny thing is, I just got a TGD6+ *today* in the mail after years of searching. GREAT score, man.

Now, tell me about those bootleg disks and whether I should dump them or not.

This is the write-protection MOD right? Dunno why I didn't take any pics on the other side of the board. Hope these will be enough to determine the mod, as my FDS is now put together and I really should hit the bed.

Yes, I recognize the wire solder points. It is without doubt the write mod, not that it could be anything else. No need to take pics of the other side of the board, but I would like clearer pics of the chip with the wires coming off it, and any other added circuitry.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

SimplyNES links are fixed.

Thanks, SimplyNES!

-Rob

[kralleman]

Thanks for notifying me.. The docs looks great. I'll try to get back to you when I've tried the disks and taken some more pics of the chip..

[kralleman]

Okay so here's the deal. I have a working Twin FC which I bought this summer, but afaik the belt haven't been replaced recently. I also have a non-working FDS where the belt most likely hasn't been replaced either (though it looks and feels okay), this is the one I bought together with the TGD6+. All I get is:

"ERROR 22" (Disk header block reecognition #$01 isn't read and cant be ignored.)

from the FDS. I have ordered two new drive-belts from Japan, and I'm waiting for them to arrive.
AND I have five bootleg disks which I can't get to work. Not even with the otherwise working Twin FC. I'm guessing these bootleg disks does not have the same durability and quality as the Nintendo original disks, but it would be a real shame if I couldn't get them to work, especially since a sticker saying "CopyMaster Side A & B" has fallen of one of the disks (dunno which disk it came from)! Boy I want this one..

The error message I get when I try them on the Twin FC is number 22 (same as above), could it by any chance be that the Twin FC need to be more accurately calibrated to be able to read the bootleg disks (in other words, are the bootleg disks more sensitive?) or are the data on the disks gone forever?

[kralleman]

EDIT: I was almost sure I had read that about the sensitive pirates somewhere... Eh.. Re-read this very thread now and noticed that many answers could be find here within.. Sorry for that..

[rbudrick]

Yes,pirate disks are generally of lesser quality (and inconsistent quality) than Nintendo.

However, some pirate disks, like Copy Master will not load without a copier. They are programs designed to work in use with them, and the TGD6+ is probably the best one for it.

Your best bet is to try a disk you know works, if that's possible.

-Rob

[kralleman]

Yea the Twin works fine with other games, the FDS doesn't.

Of course the TGD6+ isn't as easy to hook up with the Twin, right? Well then I'm back to square one.. Need to fix the FDS, and to do that, it seems I need the new drive-belt I'm waiting for from Japan. I'll try some new things tomorrow..

[rbudrick]

Yea the Twin works fine with other games, the FDS doesn't.

Of course the TGD6+ isn't as easy to hook up with the Twin, right? Well then I'm back to square one.. Need to fix the FDS, and to do that, it seems I need the new drive-belt I'm waiting for from Japan. I'll try some new things tomorrow..

Well, I don't remember quite how the cart port is configured on the Twin, but I'm not sure how a TGD6 wouldn't fit. Use a 9 volt negative tip plug, btw.

-Rob

[kralleman]

A small update...
I got the drivebelts I ordered from Japan, and I have now replaced the belt inside the FDS, recalibrated the header and adjusted the motor speed. I also gave the FDS a quite thourough cleaning. At first it would only read official Nintendo disks, but after some more calibrating I got it to work with two (out of five) of the pirated disks. These turned out to be Kid Icarus and Arumana No Kiseki (Miracle of Arumana). These worked without the use of the TGD6+.
Actually none of the disks I have work when the TGD6+ is connected. Neither official Nintendo disks nor bootlegged disks. I don't get any FDS-error, the FDS gets past that and loads the FDS-copyright screen. But after that all I get is a black screen. Any thoughts? I noticed there was an uncovered eprom inside the TGD, maybe it's dead? Thoughts anyone?

Anyhow... The FDS works now, the TGD6+ doesn't. And I still want to know what's on the last three disks..

Pics:


I took these pics while replacing the drive belt, and I guess I concentrated too much on the belt because I forgot to take any clear overview pics of what wire goes where.
I have to get back to the system soon since one of the blue wires in pic 3 fell loose due to bad soldering when I was putting it away yesterday. I don't know when I'll have the time to fix this and to take more pics though..

[rbudrick]

http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?i...img4003yh0.jpg

What's the black thing the TGD is sitting on?

I got the drivebelts I ordered from Japan, and I have now replaced the belt inside the FDS, recalibrated the header and adjusted the motor speed.

You actually had to adjust the motor speed? Hmmm. That's mostly a preference than anything, from what I understand. Copy Master helps do this...it helps set the maximum speed you drive will allow while still reading disks properly.

Actually none of the disks I have work when the TGD6+ is connected. Neither official Nintendo disks nor bootlegged disks. I don't get any FDS-error, the FDS gets past that and loads the FDS-copyright screen. But after that all I get is a black screen. Any thoughts? I noticed there was an uncovered eprom inside the TGD, maybe it's dead? Thoughts anyone?

I've seen the copyright then black screen anomaly before, but not with a TGD6...I dunno, try hitting reset? You probably did that, though. So not even the Nintendo disks worked? All I can say is try using FDSLoadr to load an image directly to the RAM adapter. If it still doesn't work, your dive may still need some finer tuning. It is extraordinarily unlikely the EEPROM has gone bad.

As for the last 3 disks, they might just be crap.

However, here's a little trick...sometimes pirate disks, and especially pirate programs refuse to work on anything but new or like-new drives. If you drive seems to be loading most things fine, sometimes a little extra pressure on the felt thingy on a spring above the drive tray helps the head read the disk surface better. Unever pressure like a finger is a no-no, though. I've heard rumors some folks fastening a dime or two, or even a quarter there to give it a bit more pressure. Pirate programs can be extremely fickle to load. I don't know if this is due to the crappy disks they are always on, or some kind of sensitive coding methods used. I've often wanted to test this by writing a pirate program to a Nintendo brand disk.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Hmmm, looks like the SimplyNES links are down again.

-Rob