Cassette loading problem - "Error - No data found"
Trevor
99 4A I got my brother for Christmas, but when I go to load the game
I'm getting the message: Error - No data found. I put the cartridge
in, get to the main menu screen, select cassette, then it says to
rewind tape and hit enter. After doing so, it says press play and hit
enter. After doing that, the cassette starts to play and after 10
seconds or so it gives me the error message. If I turn up the volume
on the cassette player(a TI cassette player/recorder) I can hear some
weird noises that almost sound like a dial-up modem. I've tried ten
times or so and it gives the same error every time. I also tried the
other side of the tape but continue to get the same error. I have
only the white and red plugs connected to the tape recorder, black
plug disconnected. Any ideas how to get this thing to load the game?
Thanks!
Trevor
winston19842005
865f8774-2371-43cf...@o9g2000vbj.googlegroups.com, "Trevor"
<trev...@gmail.com> wrote:
The error message means the TI cannot hear it. If you get "Error detected in
data" it would mean it was too loud (causing distortion) or there was a
drop-out spot on the tape - which you should be able to hear.
If it is a TI cassette player, there are markings on the knobs - and you
should set the knobs (both volume and tone) to the markings so that they are
on the outside edge. Also, I hope you are hearing the tones through your TV
set or monitor, you should not hear them from the player - otherwise check
your connections. The red lead is not important at this stage, that is for
record. Black goes into the remote lead, not really necessary, but it could
help.
I usually play the cassette until I hear the leading tone, stop it (or pause
it), then instruct it to load from cassette, all the way to the "Press Play
then enter", hit enter here, then unpause or press play.
Trevor
wrote:
> On 12/21/09 1:41 PM, in article
I've tried again and again, adjusted tone and volume settings many
times(and tried at least 10 times with the tone and volume set per
your instructions). Every time it's giving me the same error. I'm
definitely not hearing the noise from the tape player, it's coming
through the tv speakers. I've tried it with just the white wire
plugged in the recorder, and with the white and red-no change. I tried
2 different cords from the tape to the TI(one came with the tape
recorder, other with the computer), I've tried eliminating any
interference that may be screwing with the signal. Still nothing!
I'm pretty sure it's not the tape, as the tape is new. Is there a
possibility the jack where I plug the tape recorder(back of console,
next to power plug) to the TI is bad? I'll keep playing around with
it in the meantime. Any other ideas?
Thanks for your help!
Trevor
winston...@yahoo.com
I suppose there is a chance, but the fact that you are hearing it
through the tv speaker is a good sign. But this is a "pass-through"
the sound chip, and if your TMS9901 chip is bad, then the TI may not
"hear" it.
Have you tried saving a small program to another cassette tape (using
the red plug) and then having it check it? This is an option when
saving to CS1.
Also try it at full blast. You should get "Error reading data" instead
of "No Data Found". Do you have another player? Turn the tone knob all
the way up. Play with these controls without it connected and make
sure it gets loud and the tone control changes the pitch.
Trevor
I actually got it to work on another non-TI cassette player! I
noticed when i put a music cassette in my non-TI casette player it
played fine, but when i put it in the TI cassette player, it had a
loud buzzing sound that drowned out the music. I figured that might
be the reason the program wasn't getting through. So I tried my non-
TI cassette deck with the volume up, and after a number of
unsuccessful attempts, I actually got it to work! I guess my next
question then is: can I fix the TI cassette player to work properly?
Any ideas what would have caused the problem with the cassette
player? I bought it 'new', it really looks as though it had never
been used. I tried cleaning the head with a q-tip and isopropyl
alcohol, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Thanks for all
your help, there aren't many places I can find info on this stuff.
Trevor
winston...@yahoo.com
Can't help with the cassette player... I had a TI cassette player that
I used for only a year, brand new, before it stopped working - and
another new in box where all the keys froze after just a couple of
uses.
I bought a new player from Walmart a couple years ago, and they still
had them a couple months ago. You don't need a TI brand, it wasn't
special, just a re-badged GE Data recorder. Which the one I had (GE)
had a light on it to correspond to the sound. You might see a little
plug on the top of yours where the LED should've been. That is what
mine had.
Glad to know it worked. Enjoy that game, it is terrific. And Merry
Christmas or Happy Holidays, take your pick!
Trevor
Thanks for the info, I'll look into one of the recorders you
mentioned. I still have one last problem though, this one specific to
Tunnels of Doom. I figure I could start another thread, but I thought
I'd ask you first. I can get the game to start now, and it will begin
a game of Pennies and Prizes. I can't get it to play Quest for the
King though. Is one game on one side of the tape, and the other game
on the other side? I just can't seem to figure it out. Thanks for
all your help, and have a Merry Christmas!
Trevor
winston...@yahoo.com
You said this was original - the cassette lists the games, and they
are in order on the tape.
I think Quest for the King was 2nd. And both are on both sides...
Trevor
in the middle for Quest for the King? I'll have to try that when I
get home! Thanks!
Trevor
winston19842005
7d79a86c-7e5c-435c...@t19g2000vbc.googlegroups.com, "Trevor"
<trev...@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes, when you get done loading the first one, just leave it playing until
you hear the leader tone for the second one (with the remote/black lead out)
- that should be Quest for the King.
If you have a tape counter, reset it at the beginning of the tape and make
note of the counter position for the second file.
Trevor
King. One last question: can I copy the tape to make a backup?
Thanks a million!
Trevor
winston19842005
1bac2b49-c841-4033...@t19g2000vbc.googlegroups.com, "Trevor"
<trev...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Excellent, your advice worked! The game will now play Quest for the
> King. One last question: can I copy the tape to make a backup?
>
Yes, you can either dub it, or use the module to SAVE it back to cassette.
To do the latter, save it right after you load it and it will save it at the
same point as the original. Or you can modify all the quest characters and
save a new default set. This function also lets you save your quest at any
point so you can pick it up later.
Remember, FCTN-7 (AID) is your friend, tells you all the keys in the game
if you misplace the manual for any reason.
jt august
<e4b7c50d-684c-4ffe...@o28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,
"winston...@yahoo.com" <winston...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Can't help with the cassette player... I had a TI cassette player that
> I used for only a year, brand new, before it stopped working - and
> another new in box where all the keys froze after just a couple of
> uses.
I used to sell these back in the day at a plce called Video Concepts.
We ran into many issues with cassette players. A big part of the issue
was the EQ of the sound, and most cheap decks had no treble-bass
control, but those that did, the user had to find the right setting.
Also, back then, most high quality players tended to not work, and the
cheap decks did better.
As to vintage decks, even unused they may have problems now due age.
Dried, aged solder joints. Fractures just do to jostling when being
moved. These could be issue back in the day, so 30 years later .....
jt
jt august
<1bac2b49-c841-4033...@t19g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>,
Trevor <trev...@gmail.com> wrote:
I would recommend also making a back-up into your computer as a .wav or
.aiff file, uncompressed. From there, you could experiment with high
sample rate mp3's and .m4p/.aac's, but the compression might not retain
sufficient data.
I recall reports of success with putting TI cassette load games on CD
(reports from the late 90's early 2K, when home CD/Rs were still new).
jt
jt august
winston19842005 <bjjl...@NOSPAMbellsouth.net> wrote:
> On 12/22/09 5:10 PM, in article
> 1bac2b49-c841-4033...@t19g2000vbc.googlegroups.com, "Trevor"
> <trev...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Excellent, your advice worked! The game will now play Quest for the
> > King. One last question: can I copy the tape to make a backup?
> >
>
> Yes, you can either dub it, or use the module to SAVE it back to cassette.
>
> To do the latter, save it right after you load it and it will save it at the
> same point as the original. Or you can modify all the quest characters and
> save a new default set. This function also lets you save your quest at any
> point so you can pick it up later.
>
Nope. Save game only saves game play parameters. Not the whole
dungeon. To resume a game, you load the dungeon first, then the saved
game. The latter is about 10 seconds of data.
jt
winston19842005
starsabre-DABE0...@aries.ka.weretis.net, "jt august"
<star...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
You are thinking of the Adventure module. TOD saves the entire game,
everything, in one file.
That is why in the early days programmers came out with converters for the
Adventure module cassette databases, but TOD users just resaved their games
to disk.
jt august
winston19842005 <bjjl...@NOSPAMbellsouth.net> wrote:
> >
> > Nope. Save game only saves game play parameters. Not the whole
> > dungeon. To resume a game, you load the dungeon first, then the saved
> > game. The latter is about 10 seconds of data.
> >
>
> You are thinking of the Adventure module. TOD saves the entire game,
> everything, in one file.
>
> That is why in the early days programmers came out with converters for the
> Adventure module cassette databases, but TOD users just resaved their games
> to disk.
OK, I have to admit fog in the memory, because I don't remember it that
way, but it has been 25+ years. I was never a TOD fan, my brother was
though. I did enjoy the SA AI adventures.
jt
winston19842005
starsabre-EEBFA...@aries.ka.weretis.net, "jt august"
<star...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
I liked TOD better, as I could win at those. The Scott Adams' games were
pretty difficult to me, even today. Never solved a single one. Adventureland
was my favorite.
I've written a few TOD games using the TOD Editor from John Behnke, and 1
for the Adventure module using the Adventure editor from TexComp.
And did you ever see the graphical adventure Scott wrote for the TI? Top 1/3
of the screen was in bitmap mode, with the text below it. Had options to
print out to a printer as you played - I remember hacking the TE-2 module so
it would not reset the computer (for Wycove Forth) and putting that in and
specifying "SPEECH" for the printer and having it read it to me...
Trevor
onto my computer and made both Pennies and Prizes & Quest for the King
into .wav files. I put it onto cd for backup, and I tried putting it
on my mp3 player. Sure enough I was able to load the game using my
mp3 player plugged into the white(headphone) jack! I'm going to do
that for now, and keep my eyes peeled for a cassette deck with a mic
jack for saving games. Thanks for all your help!
Trevor