[1]The C64 Community Loading... This site is best viewed in a modern browser with JavaScript enabled. USB memory stick not detected denisAMIGA Hi, I used different memory stick USB, FAT32 formatted. I added in root of the stick, a d64 file that i renamed THEC64-drive8.d64. Did what manual said to load a game: LOAD "$", 8 then return then LIST then return. Nothing Then i tried LOAD"*",8,1 then return, then RUN then return. It said there are no files. I had a C64 in 1981 until 1992 (then i bought AMIGA500), so i know well this machine. Is there something wrong with the memory stick ? I used LEXAR 32GB FAT32, LEXAR 8Gb FAT32, Sanddisk 1GB FAT32, i'm lost ! I saw tutorial on youtube, it looks so easy, but nothing with me [2]:( -------------------------------------------------------------------------- synchromesh [3]denisAMIGA I added in root of the stick, a d64 file that i renamed THEC64-drive8.d64. I notice you have a . at the end of .d64 That's just a full stop right ... Not actually part of the name your using ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pietro [4]denisAMIGA s [5]denisAMIGA Same thing is happening to me! I am very disappointed! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- gafmcc [6]denisAMIGA I've had exactly the same problem I used a Mac to format. I'll try windows and see if it makes any difference -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killamarshian Try it in the other port, that worked for me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA [7]Killamarshian nope, did it. didn't worked at all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parcival Also make sure that your file extensions are turned on in Windows and that the file ends with the correct .d64 extension and hasn't got something else on the very end instead. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jumpmanjr Is your AC-Adapter providing enough power? It should be 1000mAh or higher. If it is lower your USB stick doesn't receive enough power. Also make sure the stick is plugged in when in the carrousel before going to Basic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA Hi, Thank you for helping me. For sure, the AC power is good enough (i tried several stand alone AC from iPhone, iPad, GOOGLE NEXUS PLAYER, even by powering it from my IMAC), the memory stick is plugged before i enter into basic. Definitely the USB is correctly connected since i can see the LED power ON from the stick that is correctly powered. Yep, the file is .D64 and not other extension. Yep, i tried to connect it from both of the USB connector. I'm totally lost with this issue [8]:( -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goclastninja Me too..very disappointed I cant add games -------------------------------------------------------------------------- synchromesh Stupid question but you have tried the obvious right ... A different stick ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goclastninja Yeah tried a shit load including micro usb no joy with anything -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goclastninja Have tried 4 I had and 3 new ones I got all different brands and shit some were micro usb,no joy with anything,great little unit think its awesome hope all these problems get sorted... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- mrgg-c64 I had very similar problem (tried both USB ports, even tried FAT instead of FAT32, double checked AC adapter, etc. ) and for me a different USB stick finally worked. Looking forward to the update though when loading a d64 file should get easier. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- synchromesh Ok next question ... what are you using to format it ... If its looking and then returning with a not found then alarm bells are ringing .. It feels like something else is going on rather than a faulty unit which does seem unlikely ... really strange -------------------------------------------------------------------------- synchromesh [9]synchromesh Ok next question ... what are you using to format it ... If its looking and then returning with a not found then alarm bells are ringing .. It feels like something else is going on rather than a faulty unit which does seem unlikely ... really strange This is why I asked what some are using to format .. It makes a huge difference .. Great that you got it sorted as I wasn't convinced it was a mini fault [10]:) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parcival Just tried a variety of sticks to see if I could replicate your issues. All sticks seem to work that I have tried. 256MB Verbatim (bound up with sellotape for the last 7 years) 2GB MicroSD card in one of those little teeny little black/red Sandisk adapters- 4GB Sandisk 32GB USB3 Corsair Voyager All formatted FAT32. Perhaps some units are just picky with sticks, if so they have made a slight change to the hardware on the first run off the line. What does your sticker say on the bottom of your unit? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA [11]synchromesh Hi, of course, the dot at the end is only to end my sentence. So the name i used was THEC64-drive8.d64 nothing else. Still not working. Only got no files found. Yes i have tried different stick, even my photocamera's flash card CF with usb reader. nothing. All formated FAT32. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parcival [12]@synchromesh Yep, it's just a full stop [13];)...... . . . . . The filename will be THEC64-drive8.d64 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouzy [14]denisAMIGA Hi DenisAMIGA this may be a silly question but are you including the .d64 in the title name as u do not need to add this extension and that will explain why the C64 mini isn't seeing your file. Sorry if this is obvious but if u have tried 4 usb drives then it cannot be that all of them don't work so need to rule out the above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA [15]Ouzy Hi Ouzy, thanks for the help, really appreciate. Sure, the name is THEC64-drive8.d64 and not THEC64-drive8.d64.d64 So the files is listed on my memory stick that way: THEC64-drive8.d64 (d.64) is part of the extension and not listed as part of the file's name. If mark the option HIDE THE EXTENSION on my system, then files showed as THEC64-drive8 Does it makes sens ? btw, just wondering which firmware you have ? I have only 1.01.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouzy [16]denisAMIGA My firmware is 1.00 . I am stumped as to why your usb is not being read then. If it's formatted as fat32 and u put the usb stick in prior to switching the C64 mini on. The file is named as THEC64-drive8 and the file extension is d64 it should work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- AB85 I've been having the same issue. It will probably be down to power supply. I haven't tested mine yet with a 1A power supply as I don't have one to test. All three of my USB sticks displayed the read only message. This should have come with a power supply included. It's not like the NES or SNES mini as they don't require external electronics like a keyboard, hub or usb. Once I test my theory I'll let everyone know. It currently is not user friendly to play your own games so hopefully a firmware fix can sort this. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [17]Next Page » References Visible links 1. https://community.thec64.com/ 3. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 4. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 5. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 6. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 7. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/2 9. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/12 11. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/14 12. https://community.thec64.com/u/synchromesh 14. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/16 15. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/17 16. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/18 17. https://community.thec64.com/d/176?page=2&id=176-usb-memory-stick-not-detected [1]The C64 Community Loading... This site is best viewed in a modern browser with JavaScript enabled. USB memory stick not detected Parcival The people on here that are having USB issues - are you all on firmware 1.01? I and [2]@Ouzy are on 1.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA Hi everybody, thank you for your help. I found where the problem was. since i don't have a PC at home but only mac and imac, i thought maybe the FAT32 format wasn't good. So i boot my IMAC to WINDOWS7, then i formatted my memory stick as FAT32 again. THEN, IT ALL WORKED ! [3]:) So i guess something was wrong with the FAT32 format from IMAC, that went good from WINDOWS. I'M so happy to play again with COMMANDO. Only the joystick is not really good. Especially, when i want to keep it stable on the table when i play, there is always a finger who touch a button [4]:( -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pietro [5]denisAMIGA f [6]denisAMIGA I did the same thing: full FAT32 format with windows but yet It is not working!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- synchromesh [7]synchromesh Ok next question ... what are you using to format it ... If its looking and then returning with a not found then alarm bells are ringing .. It feels like something else is going on rather than a faulty unit which does seem unlikely ... really strange This is why I asked what some are using to format .. It makes a huge difference .. Great that you got it sorted as I wasn't convinced it was a mini fault [8]:) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pietro [9]synchromesh Yet It did not work for me when I formatted my stick FAT32 on windows! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- oldskool I have had the exact same problem, except I have formatted to FAT32 in Windows. In terms of power 5vs 1amp via an apple USB charger. You have already covered the correct re-naming of the file and extension. This end I have tried 3 differing USB sticks with no success. Sometimes it has found a file name, but in the file name there has been a load of spaces as part of the name after THEC64. I have a 3amp power supply turning up today or tomorrow and will see if that makes any difference. That said my mini will have to be replaced anyway, no matter what as one of my USB ports is not working at all - I have been forced into using a powered USB hub in order to use both the joystick and the USB drive. The only question for me has been am I replacing my mini for a correctly fully functioning mini - or am I returning the device altogether. I thought it better to try and get to the bottom of things first re power supply and possible to wait and see if new firmware arrives in the first week. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KenS So far I get either: 1.) 0 "READONLY " 01 2A 664 Blocks Free 2.) 0 "THEC64 " 01 2A 664 Blocks Free Tried different USB sticks, formatted one stick on another computer. Even tried a new Sandisk SDHC card. Tried different .d64 games and a programming language. I think things will be smoother with the upcoming flash updates. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- oldskool [10]KenS This is exactly what I am getting too. I've banged my head into a wall re - file extensions, but the files are d.64 and I have even converted the files to something else and with directory manager converted them back to d.64 and nothing. I have formatted 3 differing USBs to FAT32 - I have changed the allocation size, I have re-formated to default etc everything. It could be something simply - but just not seeing it. Maybe not seeing the wood for the trees here, but there's only so much you can do lol. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA [11]KenS Hi, Since i got my own problem with FAT32 when i started this post (with exact same issue that you are facing), i found out that two FAT32 format exist. Only head table is changing : FAT32 with GUID option and FAT32 with MBR option. Maybe this is the issue ? Anyway, my problem was: FAT32 formatted by OS-X wasn't good, FAT32 formatted with WINDOWS worked for me with the same memory stick which makes thinking that the stick is not the issue. but the format. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goclastninja Thats all im getting too very annoying have stopped using it until this is sorted out through firmware -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SimonPlumbe I tried a couple of different sticks as well and found the one that worked was a 4gb MicroSD card in a USB adaptor but I've been told that a lot of other people have had the same hit/miss results with USB sticks too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- AB85 I purchased a SanDisk cruzer blade from Tesco. It works great. My other 3 not at all. I'm guessing it's a formatting issue. What do people use to format their usb? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killamarshian I use a Cruzer 64Gb stick partitioned to 30Mb and then formatted to FAT32. exFAT does not work. I had to partition the drive as you cannot format as FAT32 above 32Gb. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goclastninja Im just using the standard windows 10 format thing when ye right click the mouse it has fat32 option as a default,is this the wrong format tool to use -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killamarshian [12]Goclastninja That is what I have used and it is fine. I have Windows 10 Pro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goclastninja Just bought another new one to try its a toshiba 16gb usb3.0 a white coloured one doesn't work either -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pietro [13]denisAMIGA s [14]denisAMIGA Same thing is happening to me! I am very disappointed! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moz333 I have an old crappy 10 year old 512mb usb stick, no problems at all...Might be obvious, but i found if you insert the usb with the power on it wont find the files on the disk. Power off and on then try, no problems. Bought a scan disk 16gb today same story... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- oldskool Fourth USB stick worked. Process identical - most of my games now running. Bar the odd flakey file I'm finally sorted. IK+ Manic Miner Football Manager Rainbow Islands Rodland Emlyn Hughes International Soccer 4th and Inches Sport of Kings Running four games off of save states and one off the USB. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- kriss197 I had the same issue and have now got it working I typed into my search bar (windows10) file extensions and ticked the box saying show hidden files or folders. Put the d64 image on the usb stick and it now said eg. Buggyboy.d64, so I only deleted the name buggy boy and overtyped THEC64-drive8 and left .d64 where it was already typed for me. My c64 found the usb stick and the Buggy boy file. loaded it up and got it to work. Hope this helps you as I spent 2 days racking my brains about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- oldskool .d64 twice would have been your issue - the instructions were not so clear - but you would never have had that problem if you had the hidden file extensions unchecked in windows. That's frustrating as lol. I just couldn't get USBs to work, still can't, I have three that don't work and one that does. Readonly etc etc. Anyway such a relief to be able to play the games that really hit home for us. Given the lifespan of the C64 and the number of games released, there is no definitive best of list, it's too wide, depends on where (US or Europe) and when (years) each of us was collecting. So relieved/happy to play some old favourites and on a TV, rather than a cpu. I have a retropie for the TV, but the emulation isn't as a good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [15]« Previous Page [16]Next Page » References Visible links 1. https://community.thec64.com/ 2. https://community.thec64.com/u/Ouzy 5. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/22 6. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/22 7. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/12 9. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/23 10. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/25 11. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/25 12. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/31 13. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 14. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 15. https://community.thec64.com/d/176?page=1&id=176-usb-memory-stick-not-detected 16. https://community.thec64.com/d/176?page=3&id=176-usb-memory-stick-not-detected [1]The C64 Community Loading... This site is best viewed in a modern browser with JavaScript enabled. USB memory stick not detected mf9 I found making sure the USB stick was inserted prior to powering on the console worked best for me, else the USB drive was not detected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- gafmcc [2]denisAMIGA I've had exactly the same problem I used a Mac to format. I'll try windows and see if it makes any difference -------------------------------------------------------------------------- denisAMIGA [3]KenS Hi, Since i got my own problem with FAT32 when i started this post (with exact same issue that you are facing), i found out that two FAT32 format exist. Only head table is changing : FAT32 with GUID option and FAT32 with MBR option. Maybe this is the issue ? Anyway, my problem was: FAT32 formatted by OS-X wasn't good, FAT32 formatted with WINDOWS worked for me with the same memory stick which makes thinking that the stick is not the issue. but the format. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RetroBiker On a Mac, in Disk Utility, select the memory stick device (not the volume on the device) and click on "Erase" and then select "MS-DOS FAT" as the format and "Master Boot Record" as the scheme and you should be fine. That's what I use and have had no problems. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- nohxthegreat [4]RetroBiker I confirm it works, have now a few 8go usb keys in fat 32 with the disk utility on my powermac, all worked fine on the mini. Just have one file .d64 per unit and boot with basic (load"*",8 then run), no problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SirGeldi There is a Windows tool called SD Card Formatter. It is the tool you use to format SD cards for the rasberry wich needs FAT32 to boot. If you use it on a stick or SD Card not bigger than 32 GB it works. [5]https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ EDIT : There is also a Mac version dind't try it because i have no Apple in house exept an old Apple IIe. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archon I have tried three different pen drives without success. A sony memory stick PRO duo with 2 GB which i used for a PSP before works fine ( using the reader for the stick as well ). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mojek Guys. Just received my mini and I'm facing similar issue - USB stick is not recognized (neither with .d64 file nor firmware upgrade "theC64-1_0_6.bin" ) I'm using 2A/5V charger, formatted 2 different sticks using Windows 7 command line format. connecting USB before powering on to both ports. I have firmware version: 1.0.1 and would like to upgrade to 1.0.6, any other suggestions? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce Can't say for sure why. A person in the Facebook discussion group mentioned a possible reason might be due to the default cluster size that the microsoft format tool chooses when formatting: [6]https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/140365/default-cluster-size-for-ntfs-fat-and-exfat Their default cluster size (aka "allocation unit") seems to vary depending on the size of the device. I'm wondering if you'll have any luck if you try some different values for this allocation unit (cluster size) field when you format. Please let us know here. I'm using a small-ish USB stick about 128MB in size, so my default cluster size will probably be significantly smaller than a usb stick having gigabytes worth of data. So perhaps a smaller cluster size might work? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- synchromesh So far its been human error rather than a dodgy unit .. Is it actually searching ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- AndyF Others have said usb 3 work for them. Worth checking to see what yours is -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KenS Mojek, I never could get any of USB sticks to work (see my post above). I took my original USB stick (PNY 16GB.) that I purchased to use with the mini, download theC64-1_0_6.bin and it installed using the stick (strange). Since then the PNY stick has worked with the TheC64 mini. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce [7]KenS Aah, interesting experience, thanks for sharing that... It's making me wonder, could the problem relate to file fragmentation on the USB stick perhaps... I.e., something that de-fragmentation could fix? I got lucky with my first USB stick, but now I think I should find USB sticks that don't work so that I can test out some of these theories on cluster-size and fragmentation myself... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MIK After trying a few older ones which didn't work I tried a SanDisk Ultra Flair USB3 16 GB - Silver and it works fine. It does however get warm after a while being aluminum on the out side... I have it on the end of a 6inch usb extension lead so to save wear on the ports of the machine. Look about as I picked one up for £10 PC World Example: [8]https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/data-storage/usb-flash-drives/sandisk-ultra-flair-usb-3-0-memory-stick-16-gb-silver-black-10142340-pdt.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MIK [9]MIK After trying a few older ones which didn't work I tried a SanDisk Ultra Flair USB3 16 GB - Silver and it works fine. It does however get warm after a while being aluminum on the out side... I have it on the end of a 6inch usb extension lead so to save wear on the ports of the machine. Look about as I picked one up for £10 PC World Example: [10]https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/data-storage/usb-flash-drives/sandisk-ultra-flair-usb-3-0-memory-stick-16-gb-silver-black-10142340-pdt.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce A handy thread, just had a re-read of it all to try see if there were things worth investigating if I ever get my hands on a non-working USB stick. Things I'd like to try: * Someone mentioned they made a 30MB partition on their stick and that worked. Could that be a factor? * There's been mention of the possibility of FAT32 having several flavours (MBR, GUID), that seems like its worth exploring. * I recall that for single partitioned drives, having an MBR is optional, as it is used to describe a list of paritions, typically on a multi-partitioned drive. But since there only is one partition on a typical USB stick, the MBR is optional. I recall having some past experiences of noticing that the formatting tool of some OS (or OS versions?) would always add the MBR, and others wouldn't. So if your USB stick didn't have an MBR and you used a partitioning tool to create a partition, that would definitely add an MBR. So anyway, this MBR theory is a possibility, will investigate it when I get a chance. Oh, I also saw a post from David Addiman on the FB group site saying his windows 10 formatter was forcing him to only format the stick to exfat, so he had to download some 3rd party formatter tool to assure it was formatted to FAT32. That experience seems to differ from posts in this thread though where I think a few of you had success with the win10 formatter tool. Anyway, I'll try take a look at that too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce [11]nohxthegreat Thanks for the input. Just wondering, do you have any insights to the prior fail experiences you had? Does the mac formatter tool's default settings for FAT32 default to GUID instead of MBR? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- nohxthegreat No default seems to be MBR on my tool.Hope you'll find a solution! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce [12]nohxthegreat Thx for confirming :-) Not to worry, I have working USBs, so I'm actually doing the reverse here. Looking for a troublesome USB stick and wanting to investigate the prob in more detail :-) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- spannernick1 Its True Drive Emulation,please try this.. Load AlleyKat first then going into Basic and type the Load Command Load"*",8,1 and then press save state menu button the far right button and save it then press return and see if it read from your USB Stick. You need to turn off True Drive Emulation first to use than USB Stick.True Drive Emulation don't work with all USB Sticks,When ever you need to read from that USB Stick, Load the save state first,than all you need to do is press RETURN to load the game and then type RUN.If this doesn't work then TheC64 Mini don't like the USB Stick your using. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce I've been assessing a failing USB stick in further detail (versus my working USB stick). It appears that the reason it was failing was that even though it was formatted as FAT32, it was formatted as an un-partitioned drive. I.e., it did not have an MBR (Master Boot Record). After formatting the drive with an MBR, the USB stick then worked. For those that want all my technical investigation notes, find them here: [13]https://gurce.net/c64mini_files/c64%20mini%20-%20USB%20stick%20FAT32%20investigations.pdf The notes also outline how Mac OSX users can assure that they format with FAT32 + MBR. I haven't assessed how the Windows10 formatting tool behaves as yet, but for Windows users having trouble, some users have suggested 3rd party formatting/partitioning tools that might be worth a try. I've listed a few of them on this wiki page: [14]https://gurce.net/c64mini/doku.php?id=usb_memory_stick_problems#alternative_ways_to_format_to_fat32_on_windows_10 I'll try to give them a go at some stage myself too, to assess their performance, but if any of you get to try them, drop me a note here to say how you fared (i.e., "I tried X and it worked/didn't work. My system is Mac/Windows/etc.") -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [15]« Previous Page [16]Next Page » References Visible links 1. https://community.thec64.com/ 2. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/1 3. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/25 4. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/44 5. https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ 6. https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/140365/default-cluster-size-for-ntfs-fat-and-exfat 7. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/51 8. https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/data-storage/usb-flash-drives/sandisk-ultra-flair-usb-3-0-memory-stick-16-gb-silver-black-10142340-pdt.html 9. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/53 10. https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/data-storage/usb-flash-drives/sandisk-ultra-flair-usb-3-0-memory-stick-16-gb-silver-black-10142340-pdt.html 11. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/55 12. https://community.thec64.com/d/176/57 13. https://gurce.net/c64mini_files/c64%20mini%20-%20USB%20stick%20FAT32%20investigations.pdf 14. https://gurce.net/c64mini/doku.php?id=usb_memory_stick_problems#alternative_ways_to_format_to_fat32_on_windows_10 15. https://community.thec64.com/d/176?page=2&id=176-usb-memory-stick-not-detected 16. https://community.thec64.com/d/176?page=4&id=176-usb-memory-stick-not-detected [1]The C64 Community Loading... This site is best viewed in a modern browser with JavaScript enabled. USB memory stick not detected Jimbo The best way i found to get a usb stick to work is to format it with an app called "SDFormatter" first. Then to create a single FAT32 partition (MBR) use the app "ApplePi-Baker" and use the prep for NOOBS Recipe. Just be careful that its your usb stick you you are prepping. If you do it right you should end up with a usb stick called Raspberry which you can rename. I now have successfully got all my old 128mb sticks to work on my mini using this method. This was all done on my Mac Pro. Believe me i tried everything but came up with this method after many hours of trying others. Thought i would share this and hope it helps others with the same problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce Cheers [2]@Jimbo just wanted to confirm, is the formatter tool you used this one? [3]https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ A windows user made mention making good use of this, so if it's the same tool you're using, good to hear it also working for Mac users too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce Does the Windows 10 format tool fail to add an MBR? Yes, it appears to be that way. I've investigated my troublesome USB stick with the Windows 10 formatting tool. The detailed notes are here: * [4]https://gurce.net/c64mini_files/c64%20mini%20-%20USB%20stick%20FAT32%20investigations%20-%20Windows10.pdf My quick conclusion is: * If your USB stick didn't have an MBR prior to you formatting it, then the windows formatting tool won't add an MBR * So if you're using windows 10, don't use the in-built formatting tool, try one of the suggested 3rd party formatting tools instead that others have had success with. So far, two people have mentioned success with the "SD Formatter" tool (one for Windows, one for Mac), so this might be the safest bet for now. [5]https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ For those hell-bent on doing it via the in-built windows tools, I did find a path, but it was finicky: * Windows does have a “Disk Management” GUI tool for partitioning, but it doesn't permit you do delete volumes on removable devices such as USB sticks (you will need to do this in order to use that tool to do the “Create Simple Volume” action on unallocated USB disk space in order for an MBR to appear) * So you can use a command-line tool called “diskpart” (run as admin) and delete the USB stick's volume, but be super-careful you're deleting the correct volume! (Wouldn't want to trash your hard-drive! [6]:)) * After deleting your USB stick's volume, you can return to the “Disk Management” GUI tool and you will see your USB stick's drive space is now “unallocated”. * You can then right-click it and “Create Simple Volume” (which can create a new FAT32 volume + MBR). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jimbo Yes i believe it is ... i installed it a while back. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce Ok, I've just tested this "SD Card Formatter" tool for Mac with my troublesome USB stick and can confirm that it has added the MBR, and it works fine with the c64 mini now. It's a fairly straightforward GUI, pick your disk, confirm its capacity, and click "Format". In return, you'll definitely get FAT32+MBR: [7]SD Card Formatter So this tool could prove to be a reasonable 3rd party formatting tool to point people to when they are repeatedly having problems with their USB sticks, just to rule out the MBR issue, as we've had successful reports on both Mac and Windows for the same tool now. I can try the Windows version tomorrow, for extra re-assurance. I think Nick also mentioned he had success with a "MiniTool Partition Wizard". I can give this a try tomorrow too, to give some extra assurance on this tool too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gurce Thought I'd better re-post in this thread too, due to the relevance: For anyone still struggling with any troublesome USB sticks, I've added step-by-step walkthroughs (with screenshots) of how to format your USB sticks as FAT32+MBR. I've provided 3 walkthroughs: 1) Using a 3rd party formatting tool (easiest - recommended) 2) The Mac OSX way (a bit fiddly) 3) The Windows 10 way (even more fiddly) I've placed the walkthroughs on the wiki here: [8]https://gurce.net/c64mini/doku.php?id=correctly_formatting_your_usb_sticks If any USB problems still persist after this, give me a ping, I'll be curious to know. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [9]« Previous Page References Visible links 1. https://community.thec64.com/ 2. https://community.thec64.com/u/Jimbo 3. https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ 4. https://gurce.net/c64mini_files/c64%20mini%20-%20USB%20stick%20FAT32%20investigations%20-%20Windows10.pdf 5. https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ 8. https://gurce.net/c64mini/doku.php?id=correctly_formatting_your_usb_sticks 9. https://community.thec64.com/d/176?page=3&id=176-usb-memory-stick-not-detected