My Dreamcast is dying

Sometimes Even Console Emulation Can be Deceptive

My Dreamcast is dying

Postby adidas on Thu Nov 28, 2002 4:18 pm

It seems as if the drive motor in my Dreamcast is dying. When I play a game, store bought or pirated, the damn thing wants to reset itself from time to time.

The last few times it did this, I opened the lid while the power was still on. Normally when you do this the CD will be spinning fast, then jerk to a halt. Instead, I open the case and the CD is not spinning or barely spinning.

This leads me to believe that the mechanism that spins the CD is going to go.

Is there anything I can do short of buying another DC??
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Re: My Dreamcast is dying

Postby mr rom on Thu Nov 28, 2002 4:55 pm

adidas wrote:Is there anything I can do short of buying another DC??



Nope... so buy a PS2.
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Postby adidas on Thu Nov 28, 2002 6:51 pm

:p

Some help you are.

My roommate already has a PS2 anyway. I like DC games better.

Does anyone know if there's a way to repair it? Or a link to a site that may help?
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Postby ivwshane on Thu Nov 28, 2002 7:35 pm

For the cost of repairing it you could just buy another one. I just saw them on sale somewhere for like $30.
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agreed

Postby Pdaimaoh on Thu Nov 28, 2002 10:39 pm

the most common motor malfuntions on such a device will probably run you the cost of a new currently priced dreamcast just for the part and tools and of course the time and whatnot

buy another one, and then you can keep your old one for spare parts of other more commonly dying parts like the laser lens or the board of controller hookups that supposedly burns out...

I know it sucks to have an ALMOST working console, but sometimes that happens
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Postby were on Fri Nov 29, 2002 4:00 am

wow, my segaCD console is like almost 8/10 years old and its still working fine as of july of this year.you think (was) a major hardware company would have products last a little longer than u think..
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Postby Silverhaze on Fri Nov 29, 2002 9:40 am

Hey my DC is packing up too but thats mainly because I used to transport it all over the place. The video out socket seems dodgy. I cant get a picture with my scart lead at all now where as before a bit of wiggling would get a picture.

The sound is all muffled through the AV lead too but the picture is about as good as it will get with it.

Almost impossible to find new DC parts these days and I am worried that if I get a new DC then I might get one of the batch where they removed the CDR compatibility.
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Postby ivwshane on Fri Nov 29, 2002 9:43 am

They never removed the ability to play back ups, that was just a rumor. I saw a website once that had a list of all the differnent models and whether or not they could play back ups and they all could.
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Postby Silverhaze on Fri Nov 29, 2002 10:12 am

God damn it!

HMV are completely sold out now. Well maybe they will get some more in sometime.

They were selling the units for £40 a pop brand new! Well as brand new as they can get I suppose.
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Postby adidas on Fri Nov 29, 2002 12:51 pm

Damn, I really didn't want to spend that much to repair/replace the Dreamcast.

Maybe I'll save my money and get a Gamecube instead. Lately it's looking real good.
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Postby Silverhaze on Fri Nov 29, 2002 1:33 pm

It looks alright. I still havent seen anything thats wowd me though.

Maybe if they get off their punk arses and make another mariokart game instead of sitting there rehashing the mario adventure series again I might get one.

For now I am happy with Tony Hawk 4, Ratchet & Clank and the 2 others I want to get but have to wait til xmas for. Splinter Cell and Haven. If I get them now the missus will have nothing to get for me.
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Postby were on Fri Nov 29, 2002 3:09 pm

have you tried electronic boutique..i know just down the road they have alot of dreamcast stuff there...((suprisingly)) :?
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Postby Silverhaze on Fri Nov 29, 2002 3:59 pm

EB which has now become GAME in the uk no longer stock anything DC related. Which sucks!!
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Postby were on Fri Nov 29, 2002 4:34 pm

shit..REALLY!?.i guess ur last bet is to try and see if u can order overseas (north america) that is..bu then the pricetag.. :cry:
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Postby djkix on Mon Dec 02, 2002 5:18 pm

From the uk.games.video.dreamcast FAQ

Q. My DC keeps resetting itself while I'm playing on it. Help!

A. It has recently come to light that a few people are having this
problem. The first thing to check is that you have sufficient
ventilation surrounding your DC usually a gap of around two inches on
every side is sufficient, it should also be on a flat clean surface,
preferably a shelf (i.e not on the floor). You should also check all
connecting wires to ensure there are no loose connections anywhere. If
this is O.K then check there is no dust/dirst on the disc or on the
laser. If this checks out then it would appear that you have a problem
with the internal power supply.

It appears that a common cause of this fault is dirty or loose
connections between the power supply and the DC motherboard. To fix
this:

Detach the modem from the bottom of the unit, then remove the 4 screws
and take the lid off. Now, the circuit board on the left (where the AC
supply goes into the back) is the PSU. It has 2 screws in it to hold it
to the rest of the kit - unscrew these. Now unclip the wire that snakes
around from underneath the left of the PSU board.

Now lift the PSU away from the rest of the machine. It may take a little
bit of convincing but not much. When you lift it off, you will find 4
pins which were making it tricky to lift the PSU away - these are the
pins you're looking for. Spray some WD40 onto some kitchen paper and rub
these pins for a minute or two, making sure to get in between them as
well as the outside.

The push the PSU back onto the pins, and re-attach the snake like wire.
Replace the two screws, then put the case back and rescrew the case
together with it's 4 screws, before finally reattaching the modem.

Thanks to Ant for the above instructions.

If you still have problems, you have three options:

1. Try an indepenent games shop/website who will be able to fix it

2. Call Sega, if the machine is under one year old they
will repair or replace free of charge (excluding postage costs). If,
however, your DC is over a year old then Sega will charge to repair
it.

3. Buy a replacement DC, as they can be picked up cheap second
hand.
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Postby adidas on Tue Dec 03, 2002 1:02 am

Thanks Kix!!

I dismantled the beast and followed the instructions.... I played it for quite a while with no resets afterward :D
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Postby Silverhaze on Tue Dec 03, 2002 9:42 am

Is the disc spinning properly now?

Good to see you Kix!
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Postby ivwshane on Tue Dec 03, 2002 11:01 am

Thanks kix!

Good to see you as well;)
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Postby djkix on Tue Dec 03, 2002 11:22 am

adidas wrote:I dismantled the beast and followed the instructions.... I played it for quite a while with no resets afterward :D


Pleased to hear it worked :) Before I'd read that, when mine was doing the same about a year ago I went out & bought a new one :D Still haven't fixed the old one yet but at least I know how..

Silverhaze wrote:Good to see you Kix!


You too Mr Haze ;)

ivwshane wrote:Thanks kix!

Good to see you as well;)


Bloody hell, I'm suprised everyone remembers me :D
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who could forget a name like that?

Postby Pdaimaoh on Tue Dec 03, 2002 11:38 pm

the letters and the order by which you use them are easy to remember (for your name, that is)
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Postby Silverhaze on Wed Dec 04, 2002 9:59 am

Yours arnt. Yet everybody always remembers you ;)
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cause I ride the short bus

Postby Pdaimaoh on Thu Dec 05, 2002 6:19 am

ha! even though a lot of people can't write my username out (IT IS PRINTED RIGHT THERE!!! RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

it's unusual beginning is what tends to make people remember
as "Pd" isn't a legitimate start to any english words (Pn is, which is stupid)

also, since I like to promote my own theories, I think that people inherently scan forums and then pick and choose what to read IN DETAIL
usernames are one of the easiest to follow by scanning, as it is usually some recognizable word(s) with maybe some fruity symbols or numbers with them

but since the username I have is largely unusual in terms of pronunciation, people can't scan the name and suddenly have a good idea of what it is phonetically

since a lot of our understanding of language is based on hearing it first, then learning the writing later, there is an inner voice that helps figure out the written word

the Pd is the obvious standout at the beginning, and is enforced because the inner voice cannot easily pronounce the rest of the name (which has a completely english appropriate pattern)

plus I post a lot
how can people not remember that?
or the rants on drugs?
or the rampant fanboyism and hypocricy?
or the internet porn?
or the distaste for large sized images on MESSAGE forums?
or the past ambigous race thing?
or the CPS2 will never be emulated thing?
or the guru-isms?

yeah, the huge posts also help people remember my name, because they refuse to read all the stuff, then they're stuck with my username since they had to see that first, and scroll through so much stuff before the next name...yadda yadda
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Postby ivwshane on Thu Dec 05, 2002 7:49 am

What was this topic about:P
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