Saturn USB DataLink

[gameofyou]

If anyone on this board is interested in creating homebrew apps/games for the Saturn, I make a device which may be helpful. You can check it out here:
www.GamingEnterprisesInc.com

[mick_aka]

Hi there gameofyou, and welcome to the board, I may be emailing you about one of theese again very soon

[marc]

Looks cool, PC only though......

[ajmetz]

Parallels? Boot Camp?

Or are you PowerPC?

^_^ I've two G4s.
Luckily, I've also a PC laptop,which means I can bring the laptop to the console, and plug it in to backup saves, instead of having to cart my console upstairs. ^_^

[superdeadite]

Nice piece of tech. Have to pickup one of these someday.

[Dr Greenrinse]

Would it be possible to create a device that could backup saves of the official memory cartridge? I have a lot of saves on there that id like to hang on to if possible.

[gameofyou]

drgreenrinse said:

Would it be possible to create a device that could backup saves of the official memory cartridge? I have a lot of saves on there that id like to hang on to if possible.

As long as each gamesave is small enough to fit in the Saturn's battery-backed ram, you could backup the saves. You would have to transfer the files from your memory cartridge to the Saturn. Then remove the memory cartridge, insert a ARP cartridge, and transfer the data.

If the individual save-file is too large to fit in the Saturn's internal memory, then that file would not be able to be backed up, using the DataLink device.

I hope that helps.

[gameofyou]

Hey all,

After many years, I have revisited the DataLink design. I now can offer a Bluetooth version.

This Bluetooth DataLink connects to an ARP cartridge in the same way as the USB DataLink. But the advantage is that there are no cables required. This might be more convenient for some users. The Bluetooth transfer speed is similar to the USB model (actually the Bluetooth is a bit faster).

If anyone wants further information, I have added some information on my webpage:
www.gamingenterprisesinc.com/DataLink/

[mick_aka]

Great news! thanks for posting

[NeoGeoNinja]

I don't mind saying gameofyou... this is amazing. Thanks for continuing to contribute to the Saturn community and Saturn gamers out there

[martiniii]

Hey, pretty crazy that gameofyou should post here now... I just two days ago was trying out the Saturn USB device with my new laptop. Bit of an adventure, you see, since the laptop uses Windows 7, and the Saturn USB device predates that particular operating system.

Turns out it indeed works with Windows 7, though for some reason when I receive game saves the files are locked and invisible. The only way I can get at them is to use the "send gamesave" feature, right click on the file name, and send it to a different folder. Very strange, as a look under "Properties" shows that these aren't even hidden files. But at least it works!

[gameofyou]

Dec 30, 2014 2:55:05 GMT martiniii said:

Hey, pretty crazy that gameofyou should post here now... I just two days ago was trying out the Saturn USB device with my new laptop. Bit of an adventure, you see, since the laptop uses Windows 7, and the Saturn USB device predates that particular operating system.

Turns out it indeed works with Windows 7, though for some reason when I receive game saves the files are locked and invisible. The only way I can get at them is to use the "send gamesave" feature, right click on the file name, and send it to a different folder. Very strange, as a look under "Properties" shows that these aren't even hidden files. But at least it works!

Hello Martiniii,

This can happen with Windows 7 because of Permissions Settings. Take a look at the Win7 notes on my webpage:
www.gamingenterprisesinc.com/DataLink/SoftwareUpdates.html

Hopefully, that will help you out.

[martiniii]

Dec 31, 2014 2:34:50 GMT gameofyou said:

Dec 30, 2014 2:55:05 GMT martiniii said:

Hey, pretty crazy that gameofyou should post here now... I just two days ago was trying out the Saturn USB device with my new laptop. Bit of an adventure, you see, since the laptop uses Windows 7, and the Saturn USB device predates that particular operating system.

Turns out it indeed works with Windows 7, though for some reason when I receive game saves the files are locked and invisible. The only way I can get at them is to use the "send gamesave" feature, right click on the file name, and send it to a different folder. Very strange, as a look under "Properties" shows that these aren't even hidden files. But at least it works!

Hello Martiniii,

This can happen with Windows 7 because of Permissions Settings. Take a look at the Win7 notes on my webpage:
www.gamingenterprisesinc.com/DataLink/SoftwareUpdates.html

Hopefully, that will help you out.

Hey, sorry for the late reply, but it was only just yesterday that I again had occasion to use the DataLink. Unfortunately, following the website's directions didn't seem to change anything for me. I double-checked that the permissions settings were saved to "allow", but the files are still invisible until I move them to a different folder.