CPS-3 CD-ROM drive issues

[FreedomGundam]

So I just managed to put together a CPS-3 setup.
The entire thing I believe was a 2nd Impact setup, but I swapped the cart and added a SIMM from a 3rd Strike set.
I then got the cart modded with the standard SH2 by Mitsurugi-W.

I only got my SCSI CD-ROM and my SCSI cable yesterday, so I was only able to hook up everything to see if everything worked.

Problem I'm having is that the startup screen keeps telling me that the CD-ROM is not connected properly.
It's definitely getting power as the disc is spinning, and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the SCSI cable or the connectors.

My CD-ROM drive is an Apple-branded 24x Matsushita (Panasonic) CR-508-C (picture of label)

The back looks like this:

I have a jumper on the following, which I believe is the norm for CPS3:
- Parity
- ID 1
- Term / Power
The drive came with a fourth jumper that was originally on ID 0, but I took that out.
I've tried a handful of different jumper positions with no luck...

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Tyranix95]

http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/CPS3

 

[ReplicaX]

Your settings are correct. Have you tried another SCSI Cable? SCSI and IDE cables are known to go bad with age.

 

[kuze]

Are you running it through a supergun? You might not have enough power getting to the CD drive, even if it spins up and seems to be powered right. When I played my cps3 setup through supergun, I had to feed the CD drive directly from my atx PSU rather than through the mobo. Had the same error you described.

 

[FreedomGundam]

http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/CPS3

Been following the Arcade Otaku wiki for all my arcade stuff, but thanks for the reminder either way.

Your settings are correct. Have you tried another SCSI Cable? SCSI and IDE cables are known to go bad with age.

I unfortunately don't have another SCSI cable; it's getting progressively harder to source these things locally. I had to resort to eBay for the drive and cable...

Are you running it through a supergun? You might not have enough power getting to the CD drive, even if it spins up and seems to be powered right. When I played my cps3 setup through supergun, I had to feed the CD drive directly from my atx PSU rather than through the mobo. Had the same error you described.

I am running a Supergun on this, so I'm hoping that's the case. Fortunately, I have an ATX PSU sitting right next to my setup from my Naomi testing, so I'll give that a shot when I get home later.

 

[Tyranix95]

You sure the CR-508 works?

 

[FreedomGundam]

You sure the CR-508 works?

That was what popped into my head first.

I bought the thing refurbished from a high-feedback seller who was very good on communication (though that can mean absolutely nothing in some cases), so I'm presuming the thing works fine.
Unfortunately, I have no means to check it myself since I don't have any SCSI cards, SCSI adaptors, or SCSI-based computers easily accessible around me.

There is a possibility that the drive itself is dead, but I'll try Kuze's suggestion about the power supply first (since it's so simple) before I try to find a way to test the drive itself.

 

[ReplicaX]

Some folks through the years have found some drives that are completely working, just the CPS3 hardware doesn't accept it, even with the jumpers correct. Arcade Otaku had a list of verified working models, but it was only a few last I checked.

Yeah, definitely try Kuze's PSU suggestion and let us know the outcome.

 

[Tyranix95]

My OEM CPS3 drive is a CR-504.

 

[ReplicaX]

My OEM CPS3 drive is a CR-504.

All OEM CPS3 drives I've encountered are Panasonic CR-504s. I have 2 dead ones laying around.

 

[FreedomGundam]

Well whaddaya know. Kuze was totally spot-on.
I plugged the a separate ATX PSU to the CR-508-C, and everything appears to be detected.

Kuze: you da MAN. If I could send you cookies over the internet, I'd be doing it now. Thanks!

On the flipside, I'm running into another problem now that the drive can be seen by the CPS3 board:
Loading games from the Darksoft rewrite menu seem to hang. The percentage, the time and the fade-in background just freezes after a random point.
- SF3 3S B froze once at 54%, and once at 80%, and another at 8%
- SF3 3S A froze at 10%
- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure from at 0%
- Warzard froze at 21%
- SF3 NG loaded once just fine, and another time froze at 75%

At this point, I'm actually leaning towards that the drive itself is wacked, considering the games are loading to different amounts each try.
Plus, whenever the loading freezes, the drive starts making the "moving-lens" sounds in a very repeating pattern.

I kinda wish Capcom would've moved away from the CD-ROM and onto something like CF cards late in the short lifespan of CPS3 (kinda like what Sega eventually did with the Naomi and the GD-ROM).

 

[skate323k137]

Interesting... definitely worth trying another SCSI cable before another drive. You never know...

FWIW I've noticed it seems to take a lot of voltage to flash the simms. Even with a cab style happ PSU powering my CPS3, I can hold a volt meter on it and actually watch the 12v fluctuate just a little bit when the SIMMS are being written. Perhaps probe your power levels at the drive during the flashing process, see if they're dropping?

Also if at all possible I'd think you'd want to power the drive and mobo from the same PSU if you can find a suitable one with enough amperage... things could theoretically get funky if the 5v levels were different at the board and drive. I don't know for a fact that that could cause any problems though, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[channelmaniac]

I have 2 working SCSI drives here as spares for sale if you need one.

Double check your jumpers. Looks like they are wrong.

012 are the binary positions

0 1 2
-----
0 0 0 = 0
1 0 0 = 1
0 1 0 = 2
1 1 0 = 3
0 0 1 = 4
1 0 1 = 5
0 1 1 = 6
1 1 1 = 7 (invalid for a drive as your controller is usually 7 on a SCSI bus)

Put the jumper on ID 0 to make it device # 1 on the SCSI chain.

RJ

 

[FreedomGundam]

Funny, my setup hasn't changed since Thursday, but I just went back to try to boot it up, and suddenly the drive can't be seen entirely by the CPS3 board. No matter what I try. Despite the fact that none of the components have moved since the last time it booted up, suddenly, it's not working anymore. I've unplugged and replugged all the wiring, and tried the different jumpers. So I'm at a complete loss at this point on how it was semi-working before, and now it's completely not working.

Anyhow, I managed to find a local gamer/collector whom I've sold stuff to before, and he has an extra SCSI drive for me. So I'll try that first then.
So either the cable or the drive is screwed, but at least I have another drive that I'll pick up on Sunday to test with.

 

[FreedomGundam]

Ok, CPS3 has got to be the most FINICKY system ever.

So I get my "new" drive from the other local collector; it's a Panasonic CR-505, and the jumpers are already in-place.
Since my disc was in my old drive, I decided to boot it up as-is to see what happens. The drive surprisingly connects and reads.
I try to write 3rd Strike, but I get an error near the end saying that it couldn't erase/write the game. Do all the SIMMs need to be of the same brand? I originally got the board as a 2nd Impact board with only 5 SIMMs (Fujitsu-branded, as determined by the Darksoft menu), but the seller sent me an extra 128MB SIMM afterwards for slot 6 that's Intel-branded.

Anyhow, I swap from my CR-508 to the newly-acquired CD-505.
The drive detects and reads fine, and I load up Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (since it uses only the first 5 SIMMs). The system erase, writes, and reboots, and Jojo is completely playable.

I play for a bit, but turn off the system around 5pm yesterday.
I leave the house and get back around 11pm, I turn on the CPS3 setup after NOTHING has PHYSICALLY moved, and the system claims the drive is not connected properly and can't be read. I tried several times the next morning without any success either.

Gonna get myself a new SCSI cable in the next day or two and hopefully that'll solve things...

 

[WilalvesBR]

If it loaded JJBA and passed the SIMM TEST on all five chips than you might have a faulty simm on slot 6 (not required by that game but required to boot the Super Bios).


Try to access the Super Bios menu and erase only SIMM 6 to check if it's working.

 

[ReplicaX]

Or swap it with a slot that you verified is working from loading JoJo's. Can verify if the Intel is good and also if it's original slot is good.