This is not one of the files I see in Explorer when I plug the Retrode in. How do I dump it?This game requries a firmware file for the DSP1B chip.
Filename: dsp1b.rom
Size: 8192 bytes
Would you like to select it now?
Dumping the DSP1B firmware
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- jeffythedragonslayer
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:29 pm
Dumping the DSP1B firmware
I want to reverse engineer Super Mario Kart. I have dumped the ROM with a Retrode and imported it into Mesen-S. Then, I get this message:
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
You can't, as far as we know. The existing DSP firmwares were dumped by decapping.
- jeffythedragonslayer
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:29 pm
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
I guess the reason is that those chips have no command that will get them to write all their firmware out, since that is not something the console would ever need to do. It sounds like I need to learn more about decapping; while I think this particular chip has been dumped, is there a TODO list of other chips anywhere? (The PPUs are the big ones I know).
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
As far as I know, the only chips in the NES and SNES world that both have a ROM somewhere inside and haven't yet been dumped are the various prerecorded speech chips for the Famicom. One of them has been decapped by Sean Riddle: http://www.seanriddle.com/m50805.html but requires staining to extract the remaining bits; the others are all based on NEC's µPD7755/56.
Someone else may know to the contrary...
Someone else may know to the contrary...
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
Decapping requires special lab equipment I think and isn't cheap nor is it easy to do and can easily fail. It also destroys the chip so it is a sacrificial for knowledge, kinda like throwing an eye into Mimer's well.
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
It's certainly easier to decap something if you don't care about it working afterwards, but getting working decaps isn't all that much harder.
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
Oh I see, but you do destroy the packaging so I guess the chip's life may be compromised as naked.
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Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
AFAIK proper decapping involves separating the layers as they may be hard to distinguish otherwise.
My current setup:
Super Famicom ("2/1/3" SNS-CPU-GPM-02) → SCART → OSSC → StarTech USB3HDCAP → AmaRecTV 3.10
Super Famicom ("2/1/3" SNS-CPU-GPM-02) → SCART → OSSC → StarTech USB3HDCAP → AmaRecTV 3.10
- jeffythedragonslayer
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:29 pm
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
For the sake of anyone else wanting to RE Super Mario Kart:
https://github.com/Yoshifanatic1/Super- ... isassembly
https://github.com/Yoshifanatic1/Super- ... isassembly
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
Thanks for sharing your work. A disassembly is always nice to have when you want to check something out.
- jeffythedragonslayer
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:29 pm
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
Oh, Yoshifanatic1 isn't me. I just hadn't noticed this repo before
Re: Dumping the DSP1B firmware
Oh OK thanks anyway.