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3DO Blaster usage

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First post, by blahjedi

Posted on 
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Newbie

Hey all. So I've got myself a near-working 3DO Blaster setup here. Have the card, CR-563 CD-ROM, a suitable ISA video card + VGA Feature Cable. Also as an aside, discovered that the pass-through definitely does *not* work with AGP cards, so I've dropped back to using a Trident 8900C-something for the moment - which works at least from a display perspective.

Current status is that the 3DO Player will detect the card happily, but only gives me a black screen (an improvement from the magenta one I was getting with an AGP card). If I drop one of my 3DO Games into the CD-ROM, it'll spin up and do nothing else. I also don't get the 3DO Blaster logo appear in the Player either.

Those who have used these before: What should I expect to see with a working setup? Will it automatically display a 3DO Blaster splash screen when the Player is opened? Does the coin battery on the card have any impact on if it works or not?

Thanks!

Reply 1 of 2, by Taijigamer

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Hi,

I don't own a 3DO blaster myself but it is high on my wish list. How did you acquire one, they are like hen's teeth? Here's a link to the user guide if you haven't already got a copy

https://ia801708.us.archive.org/15/items/3DO_ … echnologies.pdf

It mentions checking the VESA cable connection, CD-ROM and installation drivers. Does your CD-ROM/Graphics card play normal PC games?

Check your coin battery for voltage using a DMM, i think its a CR2032 which are 3V. Not sure if it will have any affect on the basic function but its good to have a fresh battery.

Good luck.

Reply 2 of 2, by Jo22

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Hi, only know the 3DO cards by name, never used one before.
However, I have seen a youtube video about it quite some time ago. 😀
Interestingly, there is a 3DO software shown that runs on Windows 3.1..
If the PC is running Win9x, maybe that is the issue ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2CzI3qoci8

Edit: Just noticed the PC is running 3.1x. Some ideas: Make sure the usual updates are installed.
Such as WinG-SDK, DCI-capable video driver, Win32s, Video for Windows, QuickTime, etc.
Also make sure the ISA bus is running at the right speed (my, I can not believe it is an ISA card!)
And check the shadow memory and 15-16MB hole settings (and disable/change EMM386 configuration).
Maybe the card is using some memory regions for the framebuffer.
Sorry, that is all. As I said, I never had/used such a 3DO card. 😅

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

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