My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

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kencaesi
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My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

Post by kencaesi »

I suppose its to be expected but after a little more than 14 years my Dreamcast GD-ROM brokedown. I am not exactly sure what happened but during a level grinding session in "D2" the monsters just stopped loading and I began to hear the most faintest clicks from the console.

While the console can still power up, I get no action from the GD-ROM - there is no spin from the drive and no attempt to read the disc. What can I do? Where can I have my Dreamcast sent for repairs?
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Re: My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

Post by BlueCrab »

Honestly, probably your best bet would be just to grab another console off of eBay or something. I doubt there's really any places around that'll end up repairing it for any less than a replacement console would cost. :wink:

If you really want to fix the one you have, you could always get a replacement off of eBay and just replace the GD-ROM drive in the one you have that's broken (and keep the rest of the parts for spares in case anything else breaks). Just make sure that you get the same model system that you already have (look for the number in a circle on the label on the bottom), and you should be OK.
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Re: My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

Post by kencaesi »

I was afraid about that response. While the most immediate reply has been to simply get a new dreamcast, I figure that I am locked in to fixing my own dreamcast because of PSOv2 - I have three V2 characters I risk loosing if I move on to another dreamcast.

What kind of tools or skill will I need to replace the GD-ROM? I have only take apart my dreamcast once to figure out how the internal battery was installed [its soldered on the same panel as the wired control ports are, for those who don't know) but I figure that something as sensative as the GD-ROM would take a bit more skill. How about this: how difficult is it to repair the GD-ROM? I mean like take apart and/or change parts so I could hypothetically use the same GD-ROM drive?
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Re: My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

Post by BlueCrab »

You won't lose any PSOv2 characters by switching consoles -- as long as you put the same serial number and access key into the new one, anyway. Also, assuming you're on Sylverant, as long as you registered the serial number and access key on the website, you should have the same guildcard number regardless of console, as well. :wink:

That said, it's not hard to replace the GD-ROM. Basically, you have to take the top of the case off, then there's a total of 3 screws holding the GD-ROM in that you'll have to take out. The whole drive then should just pull out of the console without any trouble. Then, you just put the new drive back in and replace the screws and case. Just be careful not to mix the screws from the case up with those from the GD-ROM drive (and especially don't mix the GD-ROM drive screws up with the ones from the controller port board, which you shouldn't have to take out anyway).

This should be the case on any revision 0 or revision 1 Dreamcast (which covers most of them). I've never taken apart a revision 2 console, so I can't really comment on those.
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Re: My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

Post by kencaesi »

Thank you so much for the assurance but could you elaborate more about how, like the warning screen of PSOv2, my character is tied to my console? I am not sure where I got this idea but I always figured that my console has some unique identifier that becomes a part of my character data.

Can you also elaborate or point me to more detailed sites about these "revision 0" or "revision 1". How can I tell which one I have?
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Re: My 2000 era Dreamcast finally brokedown - what can I do?

Post by BlueCrab »

Look at the sticker on the bottom of the console. In one of the bottom corners there should be a number in a circle, that's the revision of the console you have.

Your PSO character is tied to your serial number and access key (they both get recorded as part of the file), but not necessarily to the Dreamcast you use it on. I've swapped out Dreamcasts often enough and never lost a character file because of it (although, I did have the Japanese version of PSOv1 corrupt a few PSO files over the years).
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