Pocket Linker and getting it to work

[DragonmasterDan]

I found a Pocket Linker for NGPC in the wild. The flash cart works, and I've found an app called Pocket Send to send files. The linker itself appears to light up. But I'm having difficulty getting the application (PocketSend) to recognize the linker.

By any chance does anyone here have experience with it?

Also: If I manage to get it to work. Any homebrew recommendations?

[Flavor]

What Operating System are you on? Did you install DLPortIO (mentioned at http://www.personal.triticom.com/~erm/NGPC/ )?

The parallel port linker is a thorn in the side of just about anyone that owns them. There is a new USB linker being developed that ought to work with your flash cart, but it's not ready quite yet.

Oh, and when you get it all working, I'd suggest grabbing the "PD Multipac 12-12-01" that's on the same page as PocketSend. It has a whole bunch of homebrew to try all in one package.

[DragonmasterDan]

What Operating System are you on? Did you install DLPortIO (mentioned at http://www.personal.triticom.com/~erm/NGPC/ )?

The parallel port linker is a thorn in the side of just about anyone that owns them. There is a new USB linker being developed that ought to work with your flash cart, but it's not ready quite yet.

Oh, and when you get it all working, I'd suggest grabbing the "PD Multipac 12-12-01" that's on the same page as PocketSend. It has a whole bunch of homebrew to try all in one package.

Yes, I installed DLPortIO. I tried it on Windows XP. I kept getting Pocket Linker Failed to Initialize or something similar. I've thought about trying it on a different PC.

Added in edit: With the AAA Batteries installed the pocket linker does light up and appears to work. I may also try a different parallel port cable.

[fenikso]

A new linker that worked from usb would be awesome. Would it come with a flash cart or would you be required to 'sac' an NGPC game?

[Flavor]

A new linker that worked from usb would be awesome. Would it come with a flash cart or would you be required to 'sac' an NGPC game?

All I can say to that is that there's no good way to make an official cart writable. It is possible that you'd need an official cart case, though.

From what I hear, I would expect there to be a USB Pocket Linker available sometime soon. It could be used with existing carts.

[DragonmasterDan]

Tried a second XP PC to no avail. All that's left to try is the parallel cable.

[Flavor]

Tried a second XP PC to no avail. All that's left to try is the parallel cable.

I can't really troubleshoot much, as I no longer have that Bung parallel port linker (I sold mine years ago).

One thing you could check is to make sure your parallel port is set up like you think. In your XP device manager, find the parallel port (or maybe printer port). It should have settings like Port and IRQ. Those settings need to match in your PocketSend.

You might be able to change some of that in your computer's BIOS, too.

Another thing to try is to log in as an administrator. I'd assume you have admin privileges on your XP, but maybe not.

Again, the parallel port thing has always been a problem. If you have an old Win98 machine anywhere, it might be worth trying that.