GDMENU Card Manager

[fraggle200]

When you click on Preload does it work?

with no 01 folder. nothing happens. its almost like preload doesn't work.

if I have the 01 and 02 folders on the SD card, they're already loaded when I start the card manager. if I hit preload, I get the progress bar flash across the screen. try and load in another game and when saving changes it fails again.

I'm on Win 10 64bit, in case that makes any difference.



Just tried version 1.3.0, 1.3.1, 1.3.2 and they all worked. Only seems to be 1.3.3 that I get the issue on. Once 1.3.3 deletes folder 01, I can also go back into 1.3.0 and it'll reinstate the folder, as you had intended the functionality to be.

Not sure what's changed in the most recent version but my system doesn't like it.

[sonik]

When you add a new game (a game that's not already on the card) and hit preload, it loads?
Your OS is 64 bits. Did you download the 64 bits version of the app?
The game you are trying to add is uncompressed or compressed? (zip, rar, 7z)

[fraggle200]

When you add a new game (a game that's not already on the card) and hit preload, it loads?
Your OS is 64 bits. Did you download the 64 bits version of the app?
The game you are trying to add is uncompressed or compressed? (zip, rar, 7z)

Not sure I know what you mean by adding a new game. do you mean to add it directly to the SD card via copy/paste into the root and have the folder named 02/03/04 etc. If so then this will show up as soon as I boot 1.3.3. no need to hit preload. If i hit preload after that I see the progress bar flash up for a split second but everything else is the same, failure when adding a game via the + button and saving.

64bit version is the one I'm using.

games are compressed (rar, zip and 7z, just in case 1 type was the issue) but I've tested with uncompressed as well, same results. Failure on 1.3.3 and working on prev versions.

[Spec]

Hi. Just want to say this is a fantastic app. I have a few questions though:

1. Can I just replace the .gdi files of GDMenu with .cdi version of GDMenu within the 'menu_gdi' folder and it'll still work or does it have to be that specific .GDI which it came with?

2. How can I add custom themes to my GDMenu? I tried to add the same theme I'm using for the original GDMenu using SD Card Maker and it works fine by replacing the 1ST_READ.BIN. But again, when I applied the 1ST_READ.BIN in your app to replace the theme, it gives me a black screen when I boot it up on the Dreamcast.
- I read somewhere that it has to do with something being scrambled and that something needs to be unscrambled for it to work. Do you know what I need to unscramble and how do I unscramble whatever file(s) that need to be unscrambled so I can apply the theme to make it work with your GDMenu Card Manager?

Thank you.

NOTE: This is the theme I'm trying to apply:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comm ... cleancast/

Also, I hope this can be resolved so we can make our own themes using this:
https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/vi ... 3&start=80

[sonik]

Not sure I know what you mean by adding a new game. do you mean to add it directly to the SD card via copy/paste into the root and have the folder named 02/03/04 etc.

Add one game by using the app. By clicking on the "+" button or by drag and drop it. It will appear on the game list.
Then click on Preload.

[sonik]

Hi. Just want to say this is a fantastic app. I have a few questions though:

1. Can I just replace the .gdi files of GDMenu with .cdi version of GDMenu within the 'menu_gdi' folder and it'll still work or does it have to be that specific .GDI which it came with?

2. How can I add custom themes to my GDMenu? I tried to add the same theme I'm using for the original GDMenu using SD Card Maker and it works fine by replacing the 1ST_READ.BIN. But again, when I applied the 1ST_READ.BIN in your app to replace the theme, it gives me a black screen when I boot it up on the Dreamcast.
- I read somewhere that it has to do with something being scrambled and that something needs to be unscrambled for it to work. Do you know what I need to unscramble and how do I unscramble whatever file(s) that need to be unscrambled so I can apply the theme to make it work with your GDMenu Card Manager?

Thank you.

NOTE: This is the theme I'm trying to apply:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comm ... cleancast/

Also, I hope this can be resolved so we can make our own themes using this:
https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/vi ... 3&start=80

Hi!
No it will not work with menu in CDI version.
The app will create the menu in GDI format by using the files on the folder. But I think the binary must be unscrambled.

[Spec]

ok, thanks for your reply.

Which binary are you referring to that needs to be unscrambled? And how would I go about doing this? I think after this is done the custom menu will work after the 1ST_READ.BIN is replaced.

Thanks.

[sonik]

The 1ST_READ.BIN.
There's been more than a decade since I had to scramble/descramble a dreamcast file. Sorry but I nave no idea where to get the program do to this.
Marcus Comstedt have a source code to do this.
Try to find an executable to do this. People who make dreamcast homebrews in CDI format might have this program.
If you don't find I can try to compile this code and make an executable.

Edit:
Look at @RazorX's reply. The Theme manager already does an unscrambled binary! Just get the file NEW-THEME.BIN and copy it over my program's menu_data folder and rename it to 1ST_READ.BIN

[Spec]

Thank you for letting me know. I just saw your edit so I'm glad RazorX's program has this feature as well.

I also found another program that also just solved my problem. It's called binary checker. It basically allows you to Unscramble and Scramble any .BIN file on the fly. Now my Menu is working on the dreamcast.

I got the Binary Checker here:
https://sizious.com/download/dreamcast/#binary-checker

So just to be clear for anyone else who's reading this and has been having the same issue. All you got to do is unscramble the 1ST_READ.BIN for GDMenu Card Manager to use your skin. Where SD Card Maker v1.10 uses a scrambled 1ST_READ.BIN. And Binary checker can help you check and convert it to whichever you need or you can use RazorX's GDMenu Theme Manager that also does the same.

Thanks again for your replies and for this amazing update of the original SD Card Maker that is now even better known as GDMenu Card Manager.

[derisom]

I know this post is a little old but I need some help. So if this has been discussed elsewhere, please direct me to it.

So the problem is this: I recently bought and SanDisk 400gb SD card and loaded up 300 or so games on it. It seemed to work normally; the games are all in numbered folders, as expected and the first folder does contain the gdmenu.cdi. And extracting the gdmenu.cdi does reveal an accurate list file within the CDI. However, when I insert the sd card into my Dreamcast, the Gdemu ignores all of my name changes and has a good 2-3 minute load time.

One video I watched suggested to add about 50 games at a time, I tried that and for the first 100 or so games, the Gdemu read my custom file names and there was no loading time at all.

Logic would suggest a certain game file may be to blame, so I reverted the card back to that original 100 or so games and now it won't read the game list file and load times are lengthy.

I need help. What am I missing?