The GHZ Forum

I love my Dreamcast. It has brought me great joy over the years. But, simultaneously, it has brought me great frustration, to the point where I want to smash it with a hammer, rather like a family member, I suppose. Here is my problem: certain games, and ONLY certain games, will not work with my Dreamcast. The trouble began a few years ago with Shenmue. I had reached the third disc and was enjoying the game when one day it froze while loading. Several attempts to restart the game resulted in failure. Naturally, I assumed the disc was dirty, and so cleaned it, but to no avail. Finally, I began a new game with disc 1, but the problem occurred again IN THE VERY FIRST LOADING SEQUENCE, cutting off me completely off from the game.

Fast forward through the next couple of years. Spider-Man, WF Attitude, Chu Chu Rocket, and disc 2 of Skies of Arcadia are next to fall. Oddly, they had all worked well before, but after a few months to a year, they either froze up on loading times, rebooted for no reason, or wouldn't read from the Dreamcast menu. Odder still, the Dreamcast's CD player still could read and play the warning tracks on them. The oddest thing, however, is that all of my other games work perfectly, with the exception of Record of Lodoss War, which won't load one of the levels in the Dark Castle.

As far as I can tell, the discs for these games aren't particularly dirty or scratched -- Chu Chu Rocket was bought new and clean as a whistle, but actually stopped working a few days after purchase. I've also tried cleaning the Dreamcast's lens with a lens cleaner CD and a compressed air duster, but nothing's worked.

The most frustrating thing about this whole ordeal, however, is that the games that malfunction work for a certain amount of time before they malfunction, and then I can't get them to play at all for a few days.

I have contacted Sega for help, and they tell me I need to turn my Dreamcast in for repairs ... for $50. So, my obvious question is: does anyone know what the problem might be? If not, can someone recommend a source that might have an answer?

I'm not particularly technical, so I may have overlooked something obvious. Perhaps I've mistreated the console in some way or perhaps it's just past its lifespan ... though I doubt that since the problems began occurring 2-3 years after I got the Dreamcast, brand new.

I've heard most Dreamcasts motor starts to get weak after awhile, maybe it can't spin the disc at the proper speed to read whatever it needs to read. I'm not really sure.

Not too derail your topic or anything, but I got another Dreamcast quesiton. My parents moved into a new house this summer while I was away, so they packed up all my shit. Somehow they lost my Dreamcast A/V cables in the process, along with two vital pieces of my third party maracas. :( Anyway, anyone know where I can get the A/V cables besides ebay? I pretty much just gave up on the maracas, I never really got that into Samba anyway.

I've had a similar problem, but it's all based in the powerboard. A simple clean of the prongs underneath will sort it right out. Google "Dreamcast reset problem" for more technical info.

Would it not be fairly cheap just to replace your Dreamcast? I've seen them for as little as £16 (that's about... $30?) in second hand shops. I've heard of this fault before, and I think it is just something to do with a dodgy motor, alas.

And Light Speed, Lik Sang (http://www.lik-sang.com/) will probably have the cable you need. Probably.

Thanks, but I remembered about http://www.sega-parts.com about 10 minutes after I made the post. They have them for 10 bucks. By the way, your avatar is creepy.

First, thanks, everyone, for bothering to help a poor bastard like me.

I ran that search, Classy Bloke, and found this helpful page. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, I am a poor bastard and do not know which part of the Dreamcast is the powerboard. So, if you could point it out for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also ... should I be concerned about being electrocuted? The bottom of the console, of course, has a hazard symbol, but I don't know what I shouldn't touch inside it.

If the problem is the motor ... well I guess I'll either have to buy a new Dreamcast or try to replace it. Or send it in for repair. :P It's just that this console has sentimental value and a sweet SA2 sticker planted on it.

The powerboard is the card at the right of the console in that image you've posted. Don't worry about electroshocks, as long as you unplug the thing, you'll be fine. The Dreamcast is also double insulated "for extra protection.

And for the purpose of some better instructions which may or may not be relevant at this time, i will C&C a step by step on what to do which i found on a different website.

1) Disconnect from the power outlet, remove all cables from the dreamcast and any game disc that's inside

2) Remove the modem

3) Undo the four screws in the base of the dreamcast and KEEP SAFE

4) Remove the lid. On the left hand side you will see: the Main power board, with the GD rom assembly to the right, the input port circuit board at the base, and in the bottom left hand side you will see the power on/off switch, this switch is connected to the power board with a grey cable, at the power board end of the cable there is a white conector, grip the conecter at the base and lift clear.

5) Undo the two brass screws that hold the power board down and KEEP SAFE

6) Towards the base of the power board you will see a white connector, it has six pins sticking out, gently lift the power board out of the dreamcast and off the pins.

7) Under the power board there is a clear plastic insulation sheet DO NOT REMOVE THIS, IF YOU DO PUT IT BACK.

8) Look at the pins and clean any dirt off them. DON'T USE ANY LIQUID to clean them with

9) GENTLY apply SMALL amount of pressure to pins pushing them towards the back of the dreamcast, DO NOT BEND THEM, JUST APPLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF PRESSURE

10) Re-assemble your dreamcast and the resets should be gone.

Credit goes to http://www94.pair.com/jsoper/dc_fix.html

Argh.
Well, I followed the instructions, but the pins weren't dirty and I have no idea if I fixed anything by applying a SMALL AMOUNT OF PRESSURE. In any case, Shenmue didn't work when I put it back in.

So, my already shallow patience has reached its bottom. I'm gonna see if I can get a pro to look at it. If a solution that I comprehend becomes apparent, I'll post it, for record's sake.

Thanks again. At least now my DC's not a virgin, even if our first time was a disaster.

I can tell from here you needed more confidence in what you're doing. I mean, you haven't really got anything to lose. The console's already busted, you can only improve things.

Normally the pins aren't visually dirty, but give them a polish anyway. And to apply pressure, you just need to press on them with your thumb to the point you feel a little resistance.

This whole problem is caused by a minor fault in design. The DC's powerboard can become very warm, thus causing these pins to expand slightly, then become smaller when the console is off. When this happens so often, the connections between the powerboard and the rest of the system becomes inconsistant, causing the console to restart randomly or even fail to boot at all.

Why does it consistently not work with certain games then? You would think that'd pretty much not make it work at all, right?

Amount to load. Shenmue pretty much has to load constantly. Plus the DC has two different read speeds used for different data.

Somewhat related, Animal Crossing for the GC can actually run without the disc once your town is loaded. You can even save and quit with no disc.

I did that reset-bug fix thing and it worked like a charm. Too bad I chucked my DC in the closet a couple weeks ago when I realised that Shenmue, the only game I played, is scratched to buggery and thus unreadable.

On a sour note, my Megadrive's sound output is suddenly crackly as fuck whenever the pitch gets too high. This only happens with my new TV, as my old one was fine. Is it the TV? The leads? The dusty, doddering 14-year old system itself? TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!

So, what should I use to clean the pins? Just a handkerchef or tissue or something?

As long as it doesn't breakup and leave crap on the pins, it should be fine.

Ah dude, I had this problem for ages, thanks One Classy Bloke, you're a lifesaver ^^.

I aim to worm my way into this community by means of useful technical advice and leaking insider information and psudo porn from Sega.

Classy.

Naturally.