Suddenly Black Screen / TOS Does Not Load?

[retroplace]

Hello everybody,

yesterday, I played around with the Atari ST core. I downloaded some TOS versions, put them into the games/Atari ST folder (in a sub folder called ROMs), modified the settings and – voila – worked like a charm in color and monochrome.

I saved the settings and did something else.

When I switched back to the Atari ST core, it did not boot any longer (the Atari itself, I mean – the core loaded). The settings were still there, but a black screen was all I get, no matter which TOS version I now tried or which screen mode. I can not get it back to work.

Has anybody had a similar glitch?

I am using a checkmate retro monitor. Could it be that the TOS boots, but suddenly the monitor can not cope with the video signal?

Bonus question: Is there the file for an empty bootable HDD available? All messages I found seem to be outdated.

Best,

Armin

[akeley]

Check these threads:
https://www.misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=7543
https://www.misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=8621

tl;dr: try to delete the .cfg file, maybe update MiSTer too

[retroplace]

I think I found a fix for this. Here is what I do:

My startup settings (when the core loads) are: TOS 1.04 (DE). When I see a black screen (or a complete white screen that never changes), all I do is temporaily set the rom version to TOS 1.0 (DE) which – so far – always led to getting a picture. Once that's achieved, I swap back to TOS 1.04 and – voila – the picture is back and will stay that way until the time you change the core. When you go back to the Atari ST core it might show the black (or white) screen at which point you need to load TOS 1.0 again and then switch to the TOS version you want.

I have tested this approach with cold reset/reset and power off/on and it always has worked wonderfully.

Hope that helps,

Armin

PS: I will post this in the threads mentioned above, too!