Action Replay MAX Evo just wont read the codelist. need some help please.

[velrin]

these are the procedures ive followed -

uk pal machine. chipped to play american imports.
uk pal version of ar max. ar max loads perfectly.
installed 2.2 of codelist manager
downloaded all latest lists, and imported from armax cd
generated favorites from pal list.
exported the code list to the ar max evo usb stick. (resulting codelist is size is approx 3meg)
deleted everything related to ar max, using the max memory tool, from my memory cards in my ps2
max memory reports the codelist on the usb drive as being ver 2472

nothing from the codelist appears in ar max, basic or expert modes.

games such as final fantasy 12, odin sphere, shadow hearts from the new world etc. etc. etc. are missing. (yes they are in the favourites and selected)

i tried copying the ar max codelist, using max memory, to the second memory card (first one doesnt have enough room). it copied ok.. but when i view it in the max memory tool, the graphical spinning icon is corrupted (textures are leaking out and it ends up just being a blob of colour rather than being what looks to be a star/asterisk shape) and in the normal ps2 browser i have 3meg of corrupted data. (probably because the ps2 doesnt normally know what the ar max data is)
even so.. with it on the 2nd memory card action replay max still doesnt use it... resulting in an old code list missing everything thats new and good.

i will add... that action replay max also doesnt load the official downloaded (using maxdrive) codelist either.

its like my ar max cd is completely ignoring everything and just sticking with whats on the cd.


edit - other info.
tried creating my own ar max cd with eu_codelist. cant get the disk to boot as nowhere can i find mode 1 to mode 2 converter ( one link doesnt exist, and the other is german and seemingly doesnt exist there either!) (yes console is chipped to play american imports)
and trying to follow the instructions, omitting that mode conversion, results in an unbootable/wasted cd-r)
so creating my own custom disk is out. i can only use the original i have.

[Miral]

If you have the older version of ARMAX that still has the Basic mode (and non-integrated MAX Memory), then it's not the EVO edition; you have to follow the non-EVO instructions and copy the list to your memory card using the MAX Memory CD.  Leaving it on the USB drive isn't good enough -- only the versions with integrated MAX Memory can find it there.

The codelist showing as corrupted data in the standard browser is normal.  It should show up as something like "AR MAX Codelist vXXXX" when you look at it in MAX Memory though.

I'm also not sure if ARMAX checks the second memory card slot for the codelist.  You might need to put it onto MC1.

Also: why is your codelist 3MB?  That's pretty much the entire PAL codelist.  Part of the point of the favourites is to choose only those games you're planning to play soon, so that the codelist size is reduced and you can fit more saves onto the card.  (My own codelist usually runs to about 100KB.)

Finally: while I can't confirm this from personal experience (I don't have a modded console), my understanding is that the PAL ARMAX will only load PAL games from the codelist (even if you generate a combined codelist in MCM).  To use ARMAX with NTSC games you will need the NTSC version of ARMAX as well.

[velrin]

not sure which version of armax ive got other than it being evo and having the usb drive with it and having max memory integrated.
integrated as in it being on the menu next to the Expert mode button.
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.

the codelist only shows as AR MAX codelist v2472 when i view it from the usb drive. if i copy it to the memory card then it only gets displayed as AR MAX Settings @ approx 3.4meg or so.

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.
does the size of it matter in terms of it working properly?

it is the PAL/EU codelist that im using. settings is set to PAL so i guess the generated codelist is PAL??

[Miral]

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.