3DO USB Host Controller FAQ
- What 3DO consoles does this work on?
- The USB Host Controller is compatible with the Panasonic FZ-1 (tray loader, solderless), Panasonic FZ-10 (top loader, requires strong soldering skills), and Goldstar 101 (solderless)
- What USB devices does this work with?
- Any USB device that is formatted in FAT32 is compatible. Windows is able to format up to 32GB storage in FAT32, larger storage and powered hard drives require special software that is readily available online. I believe compatibility is any USB device in FAT32 format. This device reads at USB 2.0 speeds and therefore it is recommended all storage be 2.0 as well, but 3.0 devices may be compatible.
- How do I set up the USB storage?
- In the root of the device, drop the menu bios file and that will load a menu on your 3DO upon powering up. You can then create folders for your games and organization as well as including the NVRAM folder that Mnemo provides for backing up/organizing your save files. Once a game is loaded, pushing the “open/close” button on the console will revert back to the menu bios.
- What file types should we use for games?
- The only compatible file type is ISO (.iso). Most archived and online backups will be in another format (like bin/cue or img/cue/ccd) and must be converted to ISO. Use WinISO to convert these files (select the .cue file for conversion) to .iso. The games will function identical to the disc.
- If you have game discs you’d like to rip (recommended method of acquiring games), use ImgBurn to rip your discs to .iso format. If it’s multiple discs, rip each as an individual ISO file and label them as disc number (ie: include “disc 1”, “disc 2”, etc. in the name).
- How should I name these files?
- The included BIOS menu file is compatible with long file names, but it’s recommended you keep the names relatively short to discern them. I usually use a naming convention of “<game name> (<region>) (<disc number if multiple disc game>)”. You can also create folders and sub folders to better organize your files.
- How do I switch discs with multi-disc games?
- In most cases, you do it the same way you normally would. When prompted, press the “open/close” button to go back to the menu and select the next disc you need to load. It should load like normal. This worked for several multi-disc games like Night Trap.
- The only known exception, D, will sometimes freeze when you try to load the second disc. A save file is created when you complete disc 1 in this game, so powering off the console and then selecting disc 2 should load the game like normal. This method does not work with most other multi-disc games that do not create a save file like this.
Gaming History 101 