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matherp
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Joined: 11/12/2012
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11152
Posted: 06:28pm 09 Apr 2026
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Full support for USB flash drives implemented as drive C:
HOWEVER
runs like a dead pig

It transpires that a combination of the rp2040/rp2350 USB hardware and TinyUSB limits reads and writes to one 64-byte packet every millisecond. i.e a maximum thoughput of 64Kbytes/second.
This means that although it could be used for loading and saving files etc. it is too slow for streaming any sort of audio and, as an example, a bmp file which takes 1.3 seconds to load from sdcard takes over 17 seconds to load from the USB disk.
What a waste of a day
 
Mixtel90

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Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 8746
Posted: 06:55pm 09 Apr 2026
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You can't win 'em all. It's not that the singing dog sings badly, it's just amazing that it can sing at all. :)  Crikey, at one time 64Kbytes/s would have been considered fast. :)

Well done for trying anyway!
Mick

Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini
Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs
 
homa

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Joined: 05/11/2021
Location: Germany
Posts: 558
Posted: 07:31pm 09 Apr 2026
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  matherp said  
What a waste of a day

I don’t see it that way! I think it’s great that it works. Will it still be in the firmware?
 
bfwolf
Senior Member

Joined: 03/01/2025
Location: Germany
Posts: 218
Posted: 07:44pm 09 Apr 2026
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  matherp said  Full support for USB flash drives implemented as drive C:
HOWEVER
runs like a dead pig


A dead pig is better than no pig - at least you can make sausage out of it!

  matherp said  It transpires that a combination of the rp2040/rp2350 USB hardware and TinyUSB limits reads and writes to one 64-byte packet every millisecond. i.e a maximum thoughput of 64Kbytes/second.
This means that although it could be used for loading and saving files etc. it is too slow for streaming any sort of audio and, as an example, a bmp file which takes 1.3 seconds to load from sdcard takes over 17 seconds to load from the USB disk.
What a waste of a day


That's about 30 times faster than the 1541 (without speedloader) on the C64!

No, seriously and honestly: I don't see it as a wasted effort! Too slow for streaming, but at least it works if you happen to have data on a USB stick!  

And since you've already created the basis for a "C:\" drive: How about a RAM disk "D:\" for the RP2350 with PSRAM? Configurable, for example, with "OPTION RAMDISK <size_kB>".
That would be fantastic if you could save temporary data (e.g. measurement values) in files! You could then potentially copy them to the SD card step by step.

You know I really appreciate your innovations and ideas!

Regards, bfwolf
 
javavi

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Joined: 01/10/2023
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 543
Posted: 08:22pm 09 Apr 2026
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  matherp said  
Full support for USB flash drives implemented as drive C:


This is awesome!    

Have you tried flashing another Pico in boot mode using the PicoMite?
 
Amnesie
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Joined: 30/06/2020
Location: Germany
Posts: 748
Posted: 09:17pm 09 Apr 2026
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  javavi said  
  matherp said  
Full support for USB flash drives implemented as drive C:


This is awesome!    

Have you tried flashing another Pico in boot mode using the PicoMite?


That would be interesting!
 
Plasmamac

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Joined: 31/01/2019
Location: Germany
Posts: 610
Posted: 09:30pm 09 Apr 2026
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Please dont be Frustrated Matherp you create so much fun for us!
Plasma
 
PhenixRising
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Joined: 07/11/2023
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1824
Posted: 10:36pm 09 Apr 2026
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I sure as heck welcome it.

My part programs are only ~10KB but can take hours to perfect. I'd sooner have a USB drive for backup than a SD card.  
Edited 2026-04-10 09:10 by PhenixRising
 
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