Beginner's questions

[MB03+Team]

Greetings to all MB03+ fans!

please note newcomers´ frequently asked questions we have received so far.

Thank you for all the questions and observations that help us improve a documentation for our beloved MB03+.

Your TeamMB03+

When a digital-video cable is connected (between the MB03+ and a TV/monitor), one LED on the MB03+ lights up dimly, even though the ZX Spectrum is not switched on. Is that alright?

Yes.

My hyper-super-modern USB mouse does not work with the MB03+, why?

Whether a mouse is modern or not, it must be able to work via the PS/2 protocol. A list of tested functional mice is given in a appendix to the Quick start manual. USB mice with the PS/2 protocol are still on sale.

On the MB03´s initial screen, I see various peripherals turned on, even though I turned them off in the Setup. What am I doing wrong?

You're not doing anything wrong. After the start, the MB03+ lists all detected implemented peripherals. You can see whether you have turned them on (or not) on the Setup screen.

In the esxDOS, a SD/CF card does not work, it does not load or... the system does not respond to DOS commands.

Unlike most older DOSes for the ZX Spectrum computer, the esxDOS system not only consists of a ROM, but also uses a special (system) files from the SYS and BIN directories (see README in the esxDOS archive), which are unique for each version of esxDOS.

If you want to add, to your esxdos card, an archive of programs, downloaded from Internet, for example from here or here, do not overwrite SYS and BIN directories when copying files to your old card. The up-to-date content of SD and CF cards supplied with the MB03+, with a functional esxDOS system, can be downloaded from the homesite.

I got lost in all versions of DOSes and ROMs (firmwares) and I can't start my MB03+ on or flash a new system.

Use rescue mode, see the manual on page 18.

In the Setup, I don't see one peripheral that is being written about...

Make sure you have the latest system software (FIRMWARE) and the corresponding FPGA content (CORE) installed in your MB03+. The Setup is a part of FIRMWARE. You can flash the firmware directly on the MB03+, using the easy-to-use ReFlasher program (written by our ZX Spectrum professional, z00m). You don't always have to re-flash the whole firmware, you can only replace some 16K ROMs or some systems for the DivIDE.

You must flash the CORE via the USB cable from the PC (see instructions on page 16 of the manual). Attention! Before each CORE-Update, you have to to flash at least two current basic files, BIOS and BOOT, from the latest FIRMWARE.

Although I have the latest version of CORE and firmware installed in the MB03+, I do not hear any sound from a PC monitor/LCD/LED TV connected via a digtal-video cable. However, a sound through a stereo audio cable works normally. (?)

In the Setup, check the Digital Video Output option where a basic DVI output should be turned off. DVI means a video without audio. By default, the MB03+ always uses a HDMI-like protocol, which in Setup means that DVI = 0 (DVI should have a zero value).

A tiny MicroSD card is hardly to be manipulated and pushed into the MB03+.

Unfortunately, there is no room left for a large SD slot on edges of the MB03+. Look for an extension cable with a covered slot, sold on eBay, starting with a length of 10 cm, such as a Micro SD Card Extension Cable.