basic mode is where you just stick the disk in and it auto-recognises the game and puts the cheats up on screen... isnt it? its got that functionality aswell.
Ah. No, earlier versions had a different mode (can't remember what it was actually called; think it might have actually been "quick mode") that presented the codes differently, as a bunch of icons and sliders. It was pretty useless though, which is probably why they took it out again.
If you do have the EVO edition then you should just be able to leave the codelist.bin file on the root of your MAX drive. As long as you delete all ActionReplayMaxSettings files from both memory cards and leave the MAX drive in the whole time, it ought to work.
Hmm... there's one other possibility. In some of the latest versions, codes can also be stored in MaxSettings\arsettings.dat. You could try deleting this file off your USB stick and see if that makes it load properly. (If you have manually added codes to your ARMAX with the drive in, then you can import the file into MCM first to avoid losing them, if they're not already part of the standard list. Same with the ActionReplayMaxSettings files, if you've added codes without the USB drive in.)
i know the codelist is large, but i tbh i couldnt be bothered scrolling through the entire list ticking off which ones i did and didnt want. lol lazy me.
It goes a bit faster when you realise that you can type-to-search the list, although sometimes the game names aren't quite what you were expecting and it might take a couple of tries to find the one you're after.
does the size of it matter in terms of it working properly?
It shouldn't (after all, the official codelist is that big and people who don't use MCM have to load the whole thing). Although the MCM codelist will be larger than the official list, if you've selected all games, as it'll splice in the ones from the CD as well. It might be worthwhile trying it with just a few games and see if that works any better. You can always add more later if it works
Anyway, long story short, the procedure for getting the MCM'd codelist to work is exactly the same as getting the official codelist to work, so if you're not having any luck with the official one then I'm not surprised you're having trouble with the MCM one. Have a look on the CodeJunkies site for the FAQ and instructions for importing the codelist, and if you're still having trouble, you could try contacting Datel support directly.