BIOS Freezing After Update On Mega CD

[Farsil]

Hello,

My issue is similar to the one posted some months ago, because I can get to the "space" screen and then the core freezes. If I try to reload the backup RAM, it displays the disc check message, and then it gets stuck on the loading screen forever. This happened after I updated my version from 20230224 to anything newer.

The older core works perfectly fine.

The only other thing that has changed is my SD card, I am using a Samsung EVO Plus 256GB. If that card causes issues, this is the only core that creates that kind of problem, because everything else works perfectly.

Did anyone else have the same issue?

Here is how I arranged my files, for reference:

293471622-118425f7-21c6-4835-90d6-4e898c2a743b.png (74.3 KiB) Viewed 2406 times

[PistolsAtDawn]

SD cards, especially Samsung's, are often counterfeit. Did you get yours through Amazon? They mix their own stock in with their marketplace sellers' stock - which isn't verified. That's how people will sometimes randomly get a fake.

Amazon used to have a specific Samsung Evo Select model that was only made for and sold by Amazon. Those would always be safe, but not the rest.

[gorilladaddy]

Howdy,

I'm new here but I have had a MiSTer about two years now, that I built myself. It is a dual-RAM 256mb set-up. I think I may have a solution for you.

My Sega CD core worked flawlessly up until a couple of weeks ago. It then started to crash almost immediately upon loading the initial BIOS screen(before a game was loaded). It would continue to crash repeatedly, over and over, usually after a few seconds. If it did load a game, the game would inevitably crash back to the BIOS screen and continue to repeatedly crash.

At first I thought it was the recent 12/4/23 update, but I can confirm that was not the cause. I tried several older builds(that had worked flawlessly in the past) and the behavior was the same. I use bin/cue images currently. I tried rearranging directories, chd images, placing the BIOS in the game folder, reinstalling the core completely along with deleting the core's config files, and nothing helped.

I finally opened up my MiSTer to test my SDRAM. I removed both modules and moved switch #4 to single RAM configuration. I then booted up the core with a single module and voila!, the cores worked just fine and booted a bin/cue image without issue. I tried this with the other RAM module and again, no issue. I switched around the original placement of the modules when I put it back together. Tested again, no issue.

I ran the official RAM tester core for a bit to see if any issues were detected with either module, and they were both stable with no errors at 146mHz after 10 minutes. The only thing I can think of is that there may have been a static charge causing the issue that was dissipated when I removed the modules. There have been numerous power outages in my area lately due to winter storms, so maybe it was a ghost in the machine.

Conclusion: My Sega CD core is rock solid again. If my MiSTer exhibits odd, crashy behavior in the future, I will consider replacing my memory modules. The current modules came from Ali Express, but appear to be legit v 2.9 with sorgelig's name on them. This is an issue with your unit and not something sorgelig can fix. I hope this helps somebody.

[FPGA64]

Howdy,

I'm new here but I have had a MiSTer about two years now, that I built myself. It is a dual-RAM 256mb set-up. I think I may have a solution for you.

My Sega CD core worked flawlessly up until a couple of weeks ago. It then started to crash almost immediately upon loading the initial BIOS screen(before a game was loaded). It would continue to crash repeatedly, over and over, usually after a few seconds. If it did load a game, the game would inevitably crash back to the BIOS screen and continue to repeatedly crash.

At first I thought it was the recent 12/4/23 update, but I can confirm that was not the cause. I tried several older builds(that had worked flawlessly in the past) and the behavior was the same. I use bin/cue images currently. I tried rearranging directories, chd images, placing the BIOS in the game folder, reinstalling the core completely along with deleting the core's config files, and nothing helped.

I finally opened up my MiSTer to test my SDRAM. I removed both modules and moved switch #4 to single RAM configuration. I then booted up the core with a single module and voila!, the cores worked just fine and booted a bin/cue image without issue. I tried this with the other RAM module and again, no issue. I switched around the original placement of the modules when I put it back together. Tested again, no issue.

I ran the official RAM tester core for a bit to see if any issues were detected with either module, and they were both stable with no errors at 146mHz after 10 minutes. The only thing I can think of is that there may have been a static charge causing the issue that was dissipated when I removed the modules. There have been numerous power outages in my area lately due to winter storms, so maybe it was a ghost in the machine.

Conclusion: My Sega CD core is rock solid again. If my MiSTer exhibits odd, crashy behavior in the future, I will consider replacing my memory modules. The current modules came from Ali Express, but appear to be legit v 2.9 with sorgelig's name on them. This is an issue with your unit and not something sorgelig can fix. I hope this helps somebody.

Sorgs name is on the PCB design files. It does not mean its approved or of any quality. Especially when found on an ALi Express site. It just shows they downloaded the open source design.