RetroZone NES PowerPak User manual

Vers 1.2

OBJECT OF THE CART
Thank you for selecting the NES PowerPak. This game requires a compact flash
card and a Nintendo NES system.
Please read this instruction booklet to ensure proper handling of your new game, and then save the booklet
for future reference and eBay sales.
Play your NES games with just one cart! Just copy your games onto one compact flash card,
insert into the PowerPak, and play! Use Game Genie codes, load and save battery RAM, and
transfer everything between your computer.
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Introduction
1) This is a high precision cart. It should not be stored in places that are very hot or cold. Never hit or
drop it. Never get it wet. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, never take apart.
1. Precautions
3) PowerPak contacts can be cleaned with rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. Be careful cleaning the case as
some solvents or rubbing alcohol can destroy it.
2) Avoid touching the connectors, do not get them wet or dirty. Doing so may stop the cart from working
correctly.
4) Read the instruction booklet thoroughly.

Format the CF cart with either FAT16 or FAT32 formats only. No other formats are supported.
MacOS has problems formatting FAT32 cards. The CF card should be formatted witha system like WinXP
the first time.
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2. Formatting your Compact Flash (CF) card
Download the latest POWERPAK directory file from the website
Decompress then copy the whole directory intact to the root directory of the CF card. Do not modify or move
any files in the POWERPAK directory.
Check the website for updates occasionally. All updates have version numbers.
To update just remove the previous POWERPAK directory and replace with the new one.
3. Setting up the POWERPAK directory
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You can put .nes files anywhere on the CF card. The root directory should be kept more empty for faster
loading. You may want to set up directories for each letter or by game type so you can locate them faster.
You may also want to create one directory to hold .sav files so they are all in one place for easier transfer to
your computer.
The PowerPak will NOT create new save files. You will want to put some empty save files onto the CF card.
These are available from the website: www.retrousb.com
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4. Copying your games and saves
Keep the root directory more empty. Do not put hundreds of games there, use directories for sorting.
Remove the invisible files created by systems like MacOS X.
A high speed card will slightly increase loading speeds.
5. Optimizing the CF card

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5. Connecting the PowerPak to the
Insert the CF card,. It will only
fit one way, do not force it.
Flip down the ejector.
Insert PowerPak into the NES.
Do not insert or remove CF card
when the NES is turned on.
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Nintendo Entertainment System
To remove the card, flip the
ejector straight up.
Press down on ejector, the
CF card pops up.

Next you get to choose your game. Only .nes files are displayed. This may change with future updates.
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8. Choosing a game
scroll faster
scroll select game or directory
Plug in the PowerPak and turn on the NES. If there are no errors with your card the first screen will show the
PowerPak ROM and card software versions. The card version number can be used to look for updates on
the website: www.retrousb.com
Press any button to continue.
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6. Starting the PowerPak
Plug in the PowerPak and turn on the NES. The PowerPak includes the Ciclone multi region lock out chip.
If your system is blinking but shows video try pressing the reset button. This will tell the Ciclone to try the next
region. When the correct region is found it will be saved so this process should only be needed once. If you
have hit reset 8 times and it is still blinking your 72 pin connector inside the NES may need to be cleaned or
replaced. Blowing on the cart will add condensation that will damage the cart.
7. Using the Ciclone

Choose a battery file to load. A listing of .sav
files will be shown to choose from.
Put the cursor on the Game Genie Codes line
and press A to preload codes from a .TXT file.
Put one code per line in the file, up to 5 codes.
Anything after a space in the line is ignored so
you can include code information.
Set Game Genie codes. Use A and B button
to cycle back and forth through the letters.
Start all codes on the left side. If a code is
short, leave the last characters as
underscores "_".
Start game will begin the game loading
process.
Future updates may add more game options.
9. Setting game options
When you start the game it has to be loaded from the CF card into the PowerPak memory. When the
program code is loading the screen will say "Loading Game..." This should take 1-7 seconds depending on
game size. If there is graphics data it will be loaded next, also taking 1-7 seconds. The screen will be blank
during this time. The game will start once all loading is done. If the game does not start within 30 seconds
check the website for the compatibility and bug list
10. Game loading
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To save games stored in Battery RAM, hold the reset
button on the console for 2-3 seconds to go back to the
PowerPak menus. Choose "Yes" to save the RAM.
Then choose the .SAV file you want to OVERWRITE with
new data. The PowerPak will not create new .sav files,
only update existing ones. You can get empty save files
from the website:
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11. Saving Battery RAM
1) Unsupported Games
Check the website for the current compatibility and known bugs list:
2) Error Messages
No Card Found - no CF card is plugged in. If your card is inserted try testing inside a computer.
Bad Format - The CF card must be in FAT16 or FAT32 only.
Card Busy - The card is busy doing something. Try holding down the A button on controller 1 and hitting
reset. Let go of the A button and the card should load. Otherwise something may be wrong with your
card, contact support.
Card Read or Write Error - Your card may be locked or something is wrong with the card, contact support.
12. Troubleshooting
www.retrousb.com

Starting with Mappers version 1.2, NSF playing is now supported. The .NSF files will be listed in the game
select screen. Choose one and it will be loaded and the first track will start playing.
Left/Right - select a track
Up/Down - hold for fast forward and slow motion
Start - restart the current track
Select - reset the PowerPak to select another NSF or game
These controls may change with future versions of the NSF player.
13. NSF music files
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14. FDS Games
Starting with Mappers version 1.2, Famicom Disk System game playing is now supported. The .FDS files will
be listed in the game select screen. Choose one and it will be loaded along with the FDS BIOS.
You must put the altered FDS BIOS on the CF card:
1) Get the FDS BIOS, this is copyrighted and we do not provide it
2) Download the FDSBIOS.IPS patch from www.retrousb.com
3) Apply the IPS patch to the BIOS
4) Name the patched BIOS to FDSBIOS.BIN and put it in the POWERPAK directory
in the root of your CF card
If your FDS game says File Not Found, then the FDSBIOS.BIN file is likely named wrong or in the wrong
place. If your FDS game gets a Disk Set Err, then you have likely not done the patch correctly.
Your FDS games must have the FDS header, also called the FWNES header. Raw FDS files will not work.
Files with incorrect headers such as disk sides or incorrect file sizes (not 65500 bytes per side) may not load
correctly. Only games that use the BIOS will run. Some 3rd party games had their own disk reading and
writing routines which will not work. Games with multiple disks are not yet supported.
Hold and release the reset button on the console to save the FDS disk back to the CF card. If the game has
not tried to save to the FDS disk then this option will not appear. Choosing the .FDS file you originally loaded
will make sure the correct disk size is saved.