04140: gradius4: [possible] NVRAM write issue

ID	Category [?]	Severity [?]	Reproducibility	Date Submitted	Last Update
04140	Core	Minor	Always	Dec 14, 2010, 02:12	Dec 14, 2010, 05:01

Tester	NekoEd	View Status	Public	Platform	SDLMAME
Assigned To		Resolution	Invalid report	OS	Linux
Status [?]	Closed			Driver	konami/hornet.cpp
Version	0.140u2	Fixed in Version		Build	Normal
		Fixed in Git Commit		Github Pull Request #

Summary	04140: gradius4: [possible] NVRAM write issue
Description	The game will not write it's NVRAM out from scratch unless you go into the sound/game/coin options and select "SAVE & EXIT" from there, despite claiming to save when you set the "TIME DIFFERENCE". I do not know if this exists in the original so I have flagged it as possible.
Steps To Reproduce	Wipe the NVRAM and boot the game. It will complain "RTC CHECKSUM ERROR!" and demand you press the test switch. Do it, set the time difference (does not matter what to) and the time (again, doesn't matter) then select and enter "GAME MODE". Upon starting the game again, you will receive the "RTC CHECKSUM ERROR!" because the NVRAM was never written out (the gradius4.nv file does not even exist; it was never created.)
Additional Information
Github Commit

Flags	Possible
Regression Version
Affected Sets / Systems	gradius4

Attached Files

No.06915 Tafoid Administrator Dec 14, 2010, 04:18	The .NV file, by design, is only written to disk when you exit MAME. Regardless of what changes come about during the use of the game, the changes only become "saved" when MAME is shut down. That said, I was not able to repeat your RTS Checksum Error provided I set the time, entered game mode, then exited and restarted MAME fresh. I'll leave this open in case someone else can duplicate, but I don't see the issue.
No.06916 NekoEd Senior Tester Dec 14, 2010, 04:24	Ah. It only gives the RTC CHECKSUM ERROR if you start it with no NVRAM. I was not aware that the .nv is only written when MAME exits, and specifically, when it exits CLEANLY, which during my testing of the MASKROM CHECK crash, it never did. This report is invalid, sorry. Feel free to close it.

No.06915

Tafoid

Administrator

Dec 14, 2010, 04:18

The .NV file, by design, is only written to disk when you exit MAME.
Regardless of what changes come about during the use of the game, the changes only become "saved" when MAME is shut down.

That said, I was not able to repeat your RTS Checksum Error provided I set the time, entered game mode, then exited and restarted MAME fresh.

I'll leave this open in case someone else can duplicate, but I don't see the issue.

No.06916

NekoEd

Senior Tester

Dec 14, 2010, 04:24

Ah. It only gives the RTC CHECKSUM ERROR if you start it with no NVRAM. I was not aware that the .nv is only written when MAME exits, and specifically, when it exits CLEANLY, which during my testing of the MASKROM CHECK crash, it never did.

This report is invalid, sorry. Feel free to close it.