classics wrote:
The Atarimax USB Cartridge Programmer and Maxflash Studio Software are now available!
A few days ago I received my Atarimax USB cartridge. It was ordered a few weeks ago by my good friend Dennis R. We are both from the Netherlands.
I have problems using it. My main goal is to dump Atari cartridge software for preservation purposes. I have installed the software, the latest version of this website, and got some error messages by Windows 11. It states that the memory integrity must be disabled to use the drivers of the USB cartridge. This setting is present in the Core Isolation screen. I have turned the memory integratity off and the Maxflash software seems to work. But...
When I first tried to dump a cartridge I got a message that the firmware of the USB cartridge must be updated. I think it is very weird that this message showed that the firmware present on the USB cartridge had todays date and it needed a firmware update with the date of tomorrow. But I still updated the USB cartridge with the automatic option.
After the update I was able to dump 1 cartridge (8k Atari 8-bit) successfully, but after that 1 dump no other dumps can be made. When I try to dump another cartridge the Maxflash software is connecting and disconnecting the USB cartridge multiple times (looks like a loop). Every second the connection is made and is immedeatly lost again. This loop does not stop until I disconnect the USB cable myself and shut down the Maxflash software. When I reconnect the USB cable and restart the Maxflash software the connection is stable again, but goes back to the connect/disconnect loop when I give any command to the USB cartridge, like displaying the current firmware or dump another cartridge. So it is impossible to use the USB cartridge.
I have installed the software on another Windows 11 laptop and got the same results. I also installed the software on a Windows 10 laptop. I got no error messages of memory integrity (I think that this protection is not present in Windows 10) but I had exactly the same connecting/disconnecting issues.
I also tried another male/male USB cable on all 3 systems and got the same connect/disconnect loop.
Weirdly enough, I checked the logs, but the USB connection is not dropped by Windows. During the connect/disconnect loop Windows is not losing connection to the USB cartridge, it is just the Maxflash software that thinks that the connection is lost.
Yesterday I met my friend Dennis during an Atari meeting and he brought his USB cartridge which he received a few months ago and I connected it with one of my laptops. When I tried dumping an Atari 8-bit cartridge the Maxflash software also stated that the firmware of his cartridge needed an update. The same message with the strange "today" and "tomorrow" dates. After the firmware update his USB cartridge did exactly the same: connecting and disconnecting continuously.
So 3 laptops (2 Windows 11 and 1 Windows 10), 2 USB cables and two brand new USB cartridges and I can not get them to work.
Please help!
Kind regards,
Fred Meijer
atarimuseum.nl