From the
uk.games.video.dreamcast FAQQ. 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.