Z64 Bios Modifications

SHOW / HIDE

Z64 HW2 ACCESS TIMES

Disk access comparison chart (load and save times for TUROK2 (256MBits) in seconds, free size in MBits)
Drive	Load(s)	Save(s)	free(MB)
IBM DADA24860	27	36	16375(C partition only)
ORB	27	51	16282
Zip250/250	68	58	1909
Zip250/100	66	276	766
Zip100	54	57	766

ORB specific diskhandling with the current software

The Z doesn't boot without disk, or disk inserted too late.
Use the ORB-Tools to partition & format the disk (FAT16)
After a diskchange, the Z64 must be rebooted. Diskchange notification is not functional.
But with 2 Gig you won't change disks that often anymore.
Sleepmode, starts after fixed idle-time, and is not controlled by the Z64.exe bios.
However the wakeup works fine with all read/write requests.
Inside the drive, the ORB Disk is fragile.
Don't move or transport the drive with a disk inserted ( The same as for ZIP disks).
My disk is nearly full and all files can be accessed from Z64 and from a Windows PC
Check the Internet for reports about ORB disks. I can not say how reliable the daily use of ORB disks is. My main Z64 setup is with a harddisk.
Don't forget the BACKUP for all the save-game data.
To avoid overheating, you should keep the N64 expansion-pak cover open.
This is not only true for Z64 with ORB drives, but for all N64 users.

updated: 2.Feb.2000
milo@apexmail.com