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Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:42 pm
by johnnym
Does the MiSTer support ROM’s that are compressed in ZIP format or do these need to be un-zipped? I’ve got a few ROM sets on my PC that I’ve used for various emulators, just want to know before moving them over to the ssd card on the MiSTer. I understand it does support CHD’s but not sure about this.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 7:34 pm
by ARCADEAGES
.zip is supported for ROMs. Don't think you can zip CD images though.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:22 pm
by johnnym
Thanks, that will save me a load of space. For the CHD’s I meant these are already compressed
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:27 pm
by fraggore@sky.com
You can by coverting them to CHD files.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:41 am
by aberu
I think almost all cores that use smaller roms (not big CD ISO's) support zips, where you can just go to them like a folder.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 5:56 am
by breiztiger
But some core like amstrad cpc doesn’t like zip for speed reason
Try batman demo zipped and you see what i say
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 10:36 am
by kathleen
In addition to this, to my recollection it is not possible to save anything if a ZIP rom is used. For instance, saving high scores with the Minimig or Mistery cores.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:00 am
by zorrobandito
The usual caveat regarding write frequency applies though, right? That is, zipped roms are harder on your SD card.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:42 am
by bazza_12
https://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=38152
interesting thread, in response to the question, 'Does unzipping games uses the SD card?' Sorg says no..
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:56 pm
by aberu
It uses it, but it's just reads. Reads won't wear down a MicroSD card, only writes. The unzipped roms I believe are not cached to storage, they are cached to system memory (I think this is why chd/bin for cd games are not supported, since that would require a lot of memory that might not be available).
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 4:24 am
by bazza_12
aberu wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:56 pm
(I think this is why chd/bin for cd games are not supported, since that would require a lot of memory that might not be available).
so how does the a0486/megacd support chd/bin?.. is that dependent on system memory or sdcard available space?
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:28 pm
by aberu
bazza_12 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 4:24 am
aberu wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:56 pm
(I think this is why chd/bin for cd games are not supported, since that would require a lot of memory that might not be available).
so how does the a0486/megacd support chd/bin?.. is that dependent on system memory or sdcard available space?
The ao486 core supports CHD/BIN's being zipped?
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:52 pm
by bazza_12
aberu wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:28 pm
bazza_12 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 4:24 am
aberu wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:56 pm
(I think this is why chd/bin for cd games are not supported, since that would require a lot of memory that might not be available).
so how does the a0486/megacd support chd/bin?.. is that dependent on system memory or sdcard available space?
The ao486 core supports CHD/BIN's being zipped?
ahh sorry i misunderstood.. i didn't realise you meant zipped chds.. my mistake.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 12:03 pm
by pbsk8
in my no-intro folders, I have .zip. rar and .7z
all of them are supported in cores like nes, snes e genesis?
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 10:46 pm
by Bumtree
pbsk8 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 08, 2022 12:03 pm
in my no-intro folders, I have .zip. rar and .7z
all of them are supported in cores like nes, snes e genesis?
I haven't confirmed this but I'm sure it's ONLY regular .zip compression which is supported at this time.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 12:06 pm
by rhester72
Bumtree wrote: ↑Thu Dec 08, 2022 10:46 pm
I haven't confirmed this but I'm sure it's ONLY regular .zip compression which is supported at this time.
Correct.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 3:40 pm
by tturktime
Zipped ROMs (bin/cue) on the Saturn core make the games work extremely slow with many slowdowns and moments where game freezes (but comes back after a while). Perhaps when CHD is supported that core will handle better compressed images.
Re: Zipped ROM’s With MiSTer
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 8:30 pm
by rhester72
Yeah, you really can't compress random-access media like CD-ROM with traditional linear compression like ZIP. CHD works because each block is compressed separately and distinctly with a LUT for truly random access.
