GameShark and Caetla ... a lots of questions

Hello ,

I'd like to buy a GameShark and flash it with caetla to try my homebrews instead to waste a milion of cds for testing :-0

I really don't know anything about caetla and GS ! And I've a lots of questions :redface:

1) What GS version I need to flash it with caetla ?
2) How can I flash caetla rom in the GS ?
3) Can I save the original GS rom ?
4) Can I do these things in Windows 7 32bit ?

Thank very very very much for any reply

EDIT: Also I don't have a parallel port , so I need a device with COM port !

 

1-dont remember, x-flash cd has a compatibly/eeprom size checker
2-x-flash cd
3-yes
4-yes, only need to be able to burn cd's bar question3 which you will need a comms link/freewing for anyway

 

uhm I'm a bit confused ...
How can I upload my ps-exe to the psx ?
I think that I've to connect the GS with caetla to my COM port ... is this right ?

EDIT: I can't find this X-flash cd anywhere
EDIT2: For a Comms link/port you intend an COM/RS232 port ?

 

My reply is based on information I've been gathering recently from many (and mostly old) sources. I plan on trying it myself, but honestly haven't had much spare time lately...

1-You should go with a GameShark Pro (that would be 3.0, 3.1 or 3.2) which you can directly connect to you PC. Older GameSharks (a.k.a. non-Pro) require a PC Comms Link Card, which is nearly impossible to get (the only one I've seen recently is being sold in eBay for USD 135)
2-If you have a Parallel port in your PC, or use a Parallel to USB cable, you can follow the instructions in the caetla package. If I remember correctly you just have to run a command.
3-You can, using a similar command (again, refer to the caetla documentation); however I'd say it's pretty much useless, since you can find all three GS ROMs (3.0, 3.1 and 3.2) very easily on the internet.
4-You may, but I'd say no. Windows 7 does not allow direct access to the hardware, which means trying many different methods which may or may not work. You are better of using Windows 95, 98, or even DOS.

As an alternative, you can buy a Sharklink cable, which connects from the Serial port in the PlayStation to a Serial port in your computer; however you won't be able to use Caetla. You'd have to use the Net Yaroze software or similar.

If I have some more time later, I'll provide additional details on my answer; feel free to ask.

 

uhm ok thank you !
BTW I've realized that the port in the back of the GameShark is a COM 25 pin port ... so I think that I'm able to use the built in COM port of my computer using an adaptor like :
DE9 -> BD25

is this possible ?

 

DB9 and DB25 serial are compatible. You just need the correct cable.

 

I figured out that both Pro and Standard versions of GS have the SAME COMM port on the back (25 pins serial port).
So I think that with a DB9->BD25 adapter (that costa about 2€ in my country) I can flash the GS with caetla ...

What correct cable ? I think that a normal BD25 pins serial cable would work

Thank you very much !

 

Be careful, it's not a serial port. Just because you find a cable that fits doesn't mean you'll get it to work.

The easiest way to hook up to a PC for now is an xplorer/xploder. These have parallel ports that are compatible with PC parallel ports. You just need a fully wired 25 pin D male to female cable (a serial cable probably won't have enough pins wired ).

The action replays may look the same, but most (if not all) require an ISA card in your PC & plugging it in to your PC's parallel port will not work & could cause damage to either/both your PC and the action replay.

 

Exactly, that's why I mentioned going with a GameShark Pro, which has a regular Parallel port, like Xplorer. The ISA card is what I mentioned as PC Comms Link card, for which there was also a PCI version released later on.

Also, I don't have much technical knowledge when it comes to physical ports, but as far as I know the port on the back of the GameShark Pro is a Parallel port (DB25) vs Serial Port (DB9). IIRC, the name implies one transfers multiple "streams" of data at a time (Parallel) while the other transfers just one (Serial). I know there are adapters out there, and I assume they'd work, but I don't think it's ok to call DB25 a Serial Port; though please correct me if I'm wrong.

The link to the GameShark 2.4 ROM in this website:
http://xianaix.net/museum.htm
has a note that says the zip file includes a CD image that you can burn to a CD in order to backup the ROM from your cartridge. Not sure if it works with all CameShark versions or just this particular one.
There's also every GS ROM (non-Pro) and Caetla in that same webpage.

Finally, you may want to take a look here:
http://xianaix.net/filez.htm
It has several useful utilities, including the EX-O-Ray ROM Re-flash CD and X-Flash which help repair damaged GS ROMs.

Here's a picture of what the PC Comms Link card looks like:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Connect-Seg...3526?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item27bcb1cd16

 

ok , I' more confused now :/
are you REALLY sure that DB25 is a parallel port and non a 25pins Serial port ?

I can buy a gameshark pro ... but , are you sure that I can find a Caetla rom for the eeprom of the GS PRO ?

 

Well, I still use an old printer that connects to the parallel port on my computer using a 25-pins cable, which was always referred to as DB25. Again, I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to physical ports, so I can't say for sure; hopefully someone else can shed some light on ports and the differences.

The Caetla rom found in the first link I provided in my previous post can be flashed to either regular GameShark or GameShark Pro. I haven't tried it myself, but trust me I've been reading way too many forums, mailing lists and the likes lately looking for different PS information and have found many people using caetla in both GameShark flavors (regular and Pro).

 

Thank you very much pool7 , your help is very appreciated

Ok so , I'll buy a GameShark pro this afternoon !
I need more help:
The GS PRO port in the back , is a db25 parallel , right ?
But my pc , doesn't have a parallel slot ...
Can a use a parallel -> usb adapter to do this work ?

 

There is DB25 parallel and DB25 serial (not very common these days, but we are talking about old tech)

That is why I was very careful to mention DB25 serial is compatible with DB9 serial

 

Ok , but what cable I've to use to connect GS Pro to my PC ? :/

EPIC EDIT :

So I'm assuming that is a standard Parallel cable

 

Yup, parallel it is
Regarding your question: a parallel to USB cable should work as long as the chipset in it support EPP and/or ECP (not sure if it needs one or both of these protocols). However, I'm not sure if you'll be able to make this setup work in anything other than DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98/98SE, Windows Me.
You may want to try with DOSbox in newer Operating Systems, but it may still not work; as I mentioned before, Windows NT family (Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7) do not allow direct access to hardware, which is needed by the software you want to use (ie. caetla tools, yaroze, etc).

 

I've bought the gameshark :thumbsup:

Now I'm looking for this cable

I think that I'll install Win 98 in a partition of my hd ...
do you know if I can use a VM instead ?

 

That's probably going to be the hardest part...
Windows 9x may or may not work correctly on new hardware, and you're unlikely to find compatible drivers for recent hardware.
On the other hand, I've read some people were able to accomplish this using a VM as you say; however it's also unlikely you'll get everything working (i.e. IIRC only VMWare supports Windows 98 in it's add-ons, but I'm not sure everything works).

Whatever option you choose, please let us know if it works

 

Sure And I already know that I'll come out crazy to make it working eheheheh
I live in Europe , and the gameshark that I bought on ebay comes from USA , so I think that I have to wait 1 ore 2 weeks !

Btw when I'll receive my GS , I'll update you about any progress

 

Dont think you can use these devices with a USB Parallel bridge, they often dont allow any communication other than printing.

The software is also written to talk to a port at a specific hardware address (0x378 etc.) and the USB devices dont emulate that.

 

In that case an alternative would be a PCI card that has a Parallel port. These are generally cheap, but again, make sure they support ECP/EPP and also make sure they come with drivers for Win9x.