Firmware Releases for the Ultimate Cartridges and Ultimate 64
This is a list of released firmwares for the 1541 Ultimate, 1541 Ultimate Plus, Ultimate II and Ultimate II+ cartridges by Gideon.
Release 3.4 (2019-04-21)
Ultimate-II Plus:
Download
Release Notes
1541Ultimate-II:
Download
Release Notes
Release 3.4 (2019-03-03)
Ultimate-II Plus:
Download
Release Notes
- Added rudimentary support for USB Floppy disks (not completely done yet; as removal of floppy is not yet detected)
- USB problems with low/full speed devices fixed; no more bus hang-ups in these cases. (No full HID support just yet..)
- Improved 1541 compatibility; weak bit areas and floppy speed zones are now properly supported.
- Various improvements ‘under the hood’
1541Ultimate-II:
Download
Release Notes
- The USB2LAN problem is now fixed. This bug took me over 50 hours to find and fix.
- Improved 1541 compatibility; weak bit areas and floppy speed zones are now properly supported.
- All other under the hood fixes that were done for U2+ and U64 that apply for U2 are backported to the U2 as well.
Release 3.3
Download
Ultimate-II Plus only:
- V3.3.u2p (Facebook page)
- V3.3.u2p (local)
- SHA-256: a152c5207146fff71657ba1edbb4245fbcc6cbb55a7bdc3c50dcf828d4877039
Gideon:
This is just a snapshot. No release notes etc… Many people were asking me to release this update, so here it is.
U2 is still unstable with USB2LAN and needs investigation.
Changes
- NEW: Audio Mixer
- NEW: External Audio In
Release 3.2a
This is the official 3.2a firmware for the U2+. U2 is not stable yet.
Download:
Changes in this release:
- Improved DHCP
- SIDFX support in SID player
- FC3 and FC3+ Support improved
- Saving to TAP files repaired
- Many Ultimate 64 related changes
Release 3.2
Download:
Changes in this release:
- Completely rewritten SID player, by Wilfred Bos
- Enhanced version of FC3, by Daniël Mantione
- Added Tape Index function, as suggested by Tom Roger Skauen
- Added UCI interface to access the network (TCP/IP and UDP/IP) through Ultimate Command Interface (documentation pending)
- Many additions and bug fixes by Henning and Markus, including Home Directory, REU load on startup, EasyFlash write support (manual save), and more.
- Some enhancements in FTP server
- Additional bug-fixes.
Release 3.1a
Download
Ultimate-II
Ultimate-II+
Installation instructions:
- Copy unzipped file to USB stick
- Put the USB stick in the U2 or U2+
For the 1541 Ultimate-II:
Navigate to the unzipped file ‘update_audio_495.u2u’ or ‘update_dual_drive_495.u2u’ and select Run Update
For the Ultimate-II+:
Navigate to the update_495.u2p file, and select Run Update
.
Changes in this release:
- Small bug fixes
- USB fixes:
- No more blocking timeouts, that may hang indefinitely
- Fix for a bug accessing USB2LAN adapters
- U2 audio output fixed; as it was harsh and ugly.
Release 3.1
Downloads:
r474 | gideonz | 2017-03-21 01:11:49 +0100 (di, 21 mrt 2017) | 1 line
USB fixes:
- support for sticks that do not reliably reply to the ‘inquiry’ command
- Byte alignment issue fixed when writing. This caused corrupted G64s to be written sometimes
- Support for composite devices added
- Added support for USB keyboards, to navigate the Ultimate browser menu
Incorporated patches from Markus & Henning, including, but not limited to:
- Audio squeal fix, speaker volume addition
- Ultimate DOS V1.1 with added commands
- Added Home Directory support
- Added support for GeoRAM
IEC fixes:
- IEC now operates properly on the bus, when it is alone (disabled 1541 drives)
- IEC filename fixes; saving a file to IEC adds the right extension and also removes the extension when loading directory
- IEC should now work with JiffyDOS (not yet supporting the JiffyDOS protocol)
- UltiCopy is working again!
Other small fixes:
- Small fix in TCP support (TCP hangup on retransmission)
- Save disk twice bug fixed
- Fixed load errors on tape adapter cable with some USB 3.0 cables
- Keyboard
racekeys
fixed
- Reduced Link Up time for the Ethernet port
- Ultimax mode ROMs now allow video data in ROM
Release 3.0e
Downloads:
No release notes available
Release 3.0c
Downloads:
- 3.0c_424.u2p (Facbook group)
- 3.0c_424.u2p (local)
- SHA256: ec6b496a3988f57391f7798a7575cc435059309c37ebbda09ba05a317407b970
Ultimate-II+ fixes: 3.0c rev 423
- Fixed speaker disable
- Fixed G64 loading
- Fixed IEC for use with JiffyDOS and single byte fetches
- Increased output volume on codec output
- Auto audio / REU select for MOD player (yet to do for SID player)
Release 3.0 beta 7
Downloads:
Installation instructions:
- In order to update from 2.x: place the update.bin into the root of your SD card.
- If you already have 3.x installed, select the update.u2u file from the browser menu. You can have the updater either on SD card or on a USB device.
- If you want to go back to 2.6; run the ‘revert.u2u’ file from the browser menu.
Changes in this release:
r297 | gideonz | 2016-04-15 21:27:25 +0200 (Fri, 15 Apr 2016)
- Prepared for release 3.0b7
- Processor flag error fixed.
- Some 6502 opcode testing done. Fixed ADC in decimal mode.
Some fixes:
- ISSUE 189: Mount disk is now performed when C64/drive is not frozen
- ISSUE 191: Loading a file from within T64 (and D64) could fail at times due to special chars. Fixed
- ISSUE 193: Tape grab to TAP file fixed (at least that the option to run it will work)
- ISSUE 204: TCP slowdown fixed; bug in USB driver
- ISSUE 207: Typo fixed that caused
Save to disk
to fail with a 0 byte file
- OTHER: SID file with faulty header now no longer causes Flash corruption
- OTHER: Tape play / record functions updated
r276 | soci | 2016-01-17 07:35:38 +0100 (Sun, 17 Jan 2016)
- Fix wrong DDRA readback (typo)
- The TASM-RR cartridge is not REU compatible
- Fix for PB6/7 keyboard freeze bug
Release 3.0 beta 5
Download:
Installation instructions:
- In order to update from 2.x: place the update.bin into the root of your SD card.
- If you already have 3.x installed, select the update.u2u file from the browser menu. You can have the updater either on SD card or on a USB device.
- If you want to go back to 2.6; run the ‘revert.u2u’ file from the browser menu.
Changes in this release:
Major:
- BUGFIX: Processor’s Data Cache stored result of IO read, causing wrong values to be read from the cache
Minor:
- C64 Keyboard scan made a bit slower (not tested)
- Fixed configuration drop down
- Fixed clock settingsa
- Mount disk made first option in D64 file type
- Updated Final 3 cart.
Release 3.0b4
Download:
Changes in this release:
- The FPGA platform has gotten an upgrade. There is now a faster RISC processor on board (~10 times faster), and I have re-written the USB host controller, which has become ~50 times faster. The external memory of the FPGA also runs faster, and delivers now also approx. 7 times more bandwidth. With this faster platform, it has become possible to run a multithreaded OS.
- There is now support for USB2LAN adapters, and 3.0beta4 runs two services: a (raw-)telnet (VT100) server that brings up the menu, and an FTP daemon for basic file transfer.
- There is now support for reading the directories of D71 and D81 files in the browser.
- There is a ‘CD’ command in the software IEC, and other improvements have been made to the soft IEC driver.
- There is now a copy command in the file browser, that works with C=C/C=V (or CTRL-C / CTRL-V). It is not that fast, but for small files it works. You can also copy files from inside a D64/T64 to another location in the file system. The other way around is still under development, but will soon be possible as well.
UltiCopy is disabled for now, because it still needs to be ported to the multi-threaded operating system.
Release notes 2.6k
Downloads:
Audio, single drive
Dual drive, no audio
Changes in this release:
- Support new Flash chip, in order to support board revision D.
- Removed non-functional double entry of USB module in configuration screen.
If you like to switch between audio and dual drive version, please make sure that you select Force All
in the updater, otherwise the FPGA image won’t be replaced and nothing will change.
Release notes 2.6h
Downloads
Changes in this release:
Version 2.6h contains some small fixes on top of 2.6d.
This build is a DUAL DRIVE version with NO SID emulation.
- Timing fixed for C64C
- Newer version of built-in MOD player
- Bug fixes regarding USB stick removal
- Enhancements under the hood for networking support. Network support will be enabled later, is not part of this version!
1541U-II Update 2.6d
Download:
Version 2.6d contains some small fixes on top of 2.6c.
Release notes 2.6d:
- Ultimax mode forced now correctly implemented (solves issue with freeze and DMA load)* Programmable cartrige emulation timing* Some drive emulation enhancements
- FIXED: Ultimax mode forced now correctly implemented (solves issue with freeze and DMA load)
- FIXED: Updater now works on C128… (not all C128 issues are fixed)
- ADDED: Programmable cartrige emulation timing
- IMPROVED: Some drive emulation enhancements
Release notes 2.6c:
- This version does include SID, but is just single-drive. It does include the Ultimate Audio module. Different builds may become available upon request.
- FIXED: USB stick present on boot time caused the Ultimate-II to crash when loading a file from SD at initialisation time (kernal rom / drive rom)
- FIXED: Starting a program with RUN sometimes caused the ultimate to become unresponsive when freezing afterwards.
- FIXED: Now reads USB sticks with FAT16 format, but without partition table.
- See for additional information the release notes of firmware V2.6
1541U-II Update 2.6
Download:
Version 2.6 includes some new features:
- Disk Copier from real drives to .D64 images
- Command Interface
- Ultimate-II DOS V1.0 (command target)
- Kernal replacement function
… and some important fixes, including:
- TAP file recorder failed miserably on high latency write devices. Rewritten; should work better now.
- Drive data timing has improved. Timing is now dependent on the data track itself, not on the speed setting of the VIA. This fixes some protected titles in G64 format.
Release information:
- This version does not include SID, but it does include the Ultimate Audio module. Different builds may become available upon request.
- The internal copier is still in beta. It has been tested with some of my drives, but there might be drives out there that won’t work. Make sure you have an IEC link from the Ultimate to a real drive to use this function. (No need to have a link to the computer.) There is still no retry mechanism; sectors that failed to read correctly will not be re-read.
- The Kernal replacement function is critical when it comes to timing. Tested on two machines only. Might not work on C128.
Installation instructions:
- Unzip the downloaded file into the root of your SD card.
- Place the SD card in the 1541Ultimate II.
- Boot your Commodore machine
- Wait for instructions and remove SD after flashing. Suggestion: remove ‘update.bin’ from the root of the SD, using the PC or the delete command in the Ultimate.
Command Interface and Ultimate-II DOS
See the documentation of the Command Interface module for knowing how to use it!
See the documentation of the Ultimate-II DOS, to get to know what you can do with the Command Interface in this firmware release.
1541U-II Update 2.5 and 2.5+
Download:
Version 2.5 includes some new features:
- File viewer
- Selectable colors in user interface
Version 2.5 also includes some fixes for nasty memory allocation bugs that existed when using USB sticks. Removal of a USB device is now at least a lot safer. :-) Also, some file system bugs were fixed.
Installation instructions:
- Unzip the downloaded file into the root of your SD card.
- Place the SD card in the 1541Ultimate II.
- Boot your Commodore machine
- Wait for instructions and remove SD after flashing. Suggestion: remove ‘update.bin’ from the root of the SD, using the PC or the delete command in the Ultimate.
Ultimate Audio module
There is also a special version of 2.5; including a special 7-voice audio engine. This version, based on the same 2.5 with the bugfixes can be downloaded here:
See the documentation of the Ultimate Audio module for knowing how to use it!
Version 2.5+ is a special FPGA build; it only supports ONE floppy drive, in favour of extra audio functionality.
1541UI/II Update 2.4a / 2.4c
Downloads:
1541 Ultimate-I (Plus)
1541 Ultimate-II
Installation instructions:
For 1541U-I:
- Unzip the downloaded file into the root of your SD card.
- Place the SD card in the 1541Ultimate I/II.
- Boot your Commodore machine
For 1541U-II:
- Wait for instructions and remove SD after flashing.
Suggestion: remove ‘update.bin’ from the root of the SD, using the PC or the delete command in the Ultimate.
Version 2.4c includes the fixes that TLR made to the firmare, and adds the following features:
- CRT load (just by selecting the file, not on boot time);
- EasyFlash support (reading only, writing is not yet implemented and is under discussion);
- Flashing and running custom FPGAs (Ultimate-II only), especially for those who want to do FPGA development without JTAG cable. FPGA bitfile will be flashed into the spare area of the Flash memory device, and the FPGA is booted from there. So there is no risk of bricking your device. (Flashing needs to be done for every boot still, optimizations will follow.)
- For the rest, a lot of work has been done ‘under the hood’; especially in preparation of a native command interface to control the Ultimate from I/O space. But since this is not yet ready, it’s not included (=not enabled) in the 2.4 firmware.
Note: 2.4a and 2.4c are the same, except for the update program itself.
1541U Firmware V1.7 beta
Download:
Installation instructions:
- Make sure that in your current configuration, the
application to boot
is set to appl.bin
(the default).
- Unzip the zip file into the ROOT of an SD-card, of which you have made sure that the 1541 Ultimate can read it.
- Place the SD-card in the 1541U, and make sure the 1541U is correctly inserted in a C64/C128 expansion slot.
- Turn on the C-64 and watch the screen output.
- Turn off the C-64 when the update is finished.
In comparison to 1.6, the following has been changed:
- The freezer has been made more robust. (Needs more testing)
- Minor fixes in the IEC interface (but not yet satisfactory)
- SID player has been added
- Epyx Fastloader cartridge has been added
- Support for custom carts has been added (8K/16K, as well as existing carts)
- Support for (custom) Ocean and System3 cartridges added.
This is a BETA release.
Ultimate 64 Firmware
Release v1.18 / v3.4c (2019-04-21)
Download
- u64_118.zip (1541Ultimate.net)
- u64_118.zip (local)
- SHA-256: f6a239cdc0c609034c997f3cf72763537acc65ed837d9359bd2cb2990b80aadc
Release notes
- Based on the Ultimate-II+ firmware Version 3.4c
- NTSC mode has been fixed, from 262 lines to 263 lines per frame.
- SID autoconfig: If there is just one SID, give it the full address range.
- Speaker volume setting added for U64.
- Various fixes in the VIC sprite generator. This fixes many demos.
- Preparations added for Elite version of the U64 board
- Adjusted analog colors, thanks to Matt Barszcz
- Fixed sprite collision register timing.
- Fixed line 137 to 000 rollover. This fixes Lunatico three layer scroller
- Added LED controls for the two Case LEDs
- Fixed tape record to tap file
- Fixed various CIA issues. This fixed the Expert Cart unfreeze problem. Thanks to David Horrocks
- Refined IRQ timing of the 6502 CPU core.
- Added AC generator to support UserPort cable
- Fixed the order of Flash images, to make SS5 NTSC and TAR NTSC work.
- Fixed RES bit in $D016, should be writable. Thanks to David Horrocks
Changes to the application, 3.4c, compared to previous 3.4
Release v1.10 / v3.4 (2019-03-03)
Download
- u64_110.zip (1541Ultimate.net)
- u64_110.zip (local)
- SHA-256: f6a239cdc0c609034c997f3cf72763537acc65ed837d9359bd2cb2990b80aadc
Release notes
- Based on Ultimate-II+ firmware Version 3.4
- NTSC mode has been added. The switch can be found in the U64 Specific Settings menu
- Added rudimentary support for USB Floppy disks (not completely done yet; as removal of floppy is not yet detected)
- USB problems with low/full speed devices fixed; no more bus hang-ups in these cases. (No full HID support just yet..)
- VIC collision problem fixed.
- Improved 1541 compatibility; weak bit areas and floppy speed zones are now properly supported.
- Changed behaviour of the Disk Drive (Power) LED. No more colour mixing when using a bi-coloured LED.
- Various improvements ‘under the hood’
Release v1.0B / v3.3 (2018-11-19)
Download
- u64_10B.zip (1541ultimate.net)
- u64_10B.zip (local)
- SHA-256: e3e7b04953a1157e79131b52dbd61dda2c23d48c88d2c2b85d5362925fca7735
Install instruction
- Unzip the u64_10B.zip file;
- Copy the u64_10B.u2p to a USB thumb drive;
- Insert the USB thumb drive in the U64;
- Go to the Ultimate menu / file browser and browse to the update file;
- Press return en and choose ‘Run Update’.
After the update, choose to either reset or not reset the configuration. When you reset the configuration, all settings will be reset to default settings.
Release Notes
U64
Differences with previous official release V1.06
- SID has been improved quite a bit.
- The internal SID is now consistently referenced as
UltiSID
, to avoid confusion with other SID products.
- Various bugs, like the phase of the filters, and the routing of Voice 3 when the VOICE3OFF bit was set have been corrected.
- A number of SID filter curves have now been implemented and can now be chosen from the configuration menu.
- The resonance can be changed to two different settings.
- Combined waveforms can now be selected between 6581 and 8580.
- Internal bus charge in the SID is now emulated.
- The 6502 core has been improved. All ‘stable’ illegal instructions are now fully operational:
SLO $07 $17 $03 $13 $0F $1F $1B
RLA $27 $37 $23 $33 $2F $3F $3B
SRE $47 $57 $43 $53 $4F $5F $5B
RRA $67 $77 $63 $73 $6F $7F $7B
SAX $87 $97 $83 $8F
LAX $A7 $B7 $A3 $B3 $AF
DCP $C7 $D7 $C3 $D3 $CF $DF $DB
ISC $E7 $F7 $E3 $F3 $EF $FF $FB
ANC $0B
ANC $2B
ALR $4B
ARR $6B (including decimal mode!)
SBX $CB
SBC $EB
LAS $BB
LAX $AB is stable with constant 00.
- U64 settings are now restored when the machine resets. This resets the SID settings after using Auto Config + internal SID player.
Note:
When you reset configuration, you will need to flash the kernel, basic and character roms after the upgrade. These roms are not included in the update. These roms are distributed with vice-emu, but you can also find them on zimmermans.net.
For instance, you could use these roms: 901225-01.bin (char), 901226.bin (basic) and 901227-03.bin (kernal). Roms with the .rom extension should also work.
If you use your U64 with HDIM or RGB, please make sure to change the video output back to HDMI (from DVI) and/or to RGB (from CVBS + SVideo).
Release v1.06 / v3.3
Download
- U64_1.06.u64 (Facebook page)
- U64_1.06.u64 (local)
- SHA-265: 559c7cd3487aa05939d57d762723f8b118e5321d6002e4d9dec610e7449063ae
Gideon:
This is just a snapshot. No release notes etc… Many people were asking me to release this update, so here it is.
Changes
- NEW: Audio Mixer
- SpeedDOS Parallel Cable (needs e.g. DolpinDOS roms)
- Interface type: Ultimate Menu picture overlay (HDMI-only)
- USB keyboard support. Like earlier firmware, press scroll/lock to enter/exit the Ultimate menu.
Note:
You will need a kernel, basic and character rom after the upgrade. These roms are not included in the update. These roms are distributed with vice-emu, but you can also find them on zimmermans.net.
For instance, you could use these roms: 901225-01.bin (char), 901226.bin (basic) and 901227-03.bin (kernal). Roms with the .rom extension should also work.
Release v1.02 / 3.2a
Download
Release Notes
Fixes compared to initial release:
- Sprite Collisions
- Illegal graphics fetches
- Sprite DMA timing
- Nuvie Player
- NMI handling improved in 6502
- Illegal reads when BA=0 masked out (
PLA
issue)
- Added debounce on Restore Key
- KCS power cart fixed (sprite graphics error)
Note: HDMI output now outputs DVI by default (no audio). You can turn on HDMI in the configuration menu. In the next firmware this will be automatic by analysing the EDID data from the monitor.