How to create a selfbooting DreamSNES disc with games

Anything DreamSNES-related can be asked in this forum, such as general questions about the emulator, how to burn it, etc.
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Post by emptythought »

#6 i burnt the same package as #5 but used the CDRecord frontend from BootDreams to burn the disk. i burnt a multisession disk at 8X speed. It burnt fine and when i tryed to play it on my DC it brought me to the music playing thing and wouldnt play, it wouldnt play on the play menu either.
Use Audio\Data.
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Post by KainRacure »

Use Audio\Data.
That created coaster #7, it gets to the pike technology screen and then resets
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Post by KainRacure »

on the plus side my GF uses coasters for crafty stuff so atleast it makes her happy.....
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Image Burning Tutorial

Post by JimbobLink »

Hi All,

Please could someone help me out with a working link to the Image Burning Tutorial?

Thanks
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Post by emptythought »

Sorry, that tutorial no longer exists. What is the problem?
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Post by JimbobLink »

fackue wrote:Sorry, that tutorial no longer exists. What is the problem?
None as yet, I haven't started doing any burning. Just gathering some info together. Thanks anyway.
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Post by Oni Lynx »

Man, this is frustrating. I went through 10 CD-Rs already, and not one will burn completely. I created the .cdi image through the tutorial in the first post of this thread, and I'm trying to burn the image with Alcohol 120%. It just won't burn. The speed is set to 8x, the type of CD is set to 'Normal CD', and I'm using a CD-R, so I really don't understand the problem.
The burning process will stop at random times for reasons unknown. This only started to happen after I made a ROM list using a program named romlst (provided by this tutorial), but prior to creating the romlst, everything burned fully, except for the fact that my Dreamcast wouldn't load the disc (I don't think creating a ROM list could have caused my problem, as I doubt that would have anything to do with being unable to properly burn an image onto a disc).
Now, I am 100% positive my Dreamcast can run back-up discs and whatnot, because I have DreamSNES 0.9.6 already on a disc and it plays just fine. However, it was given to me from a friend, and now I'm trying to create my own DreamSNES 0.9.8 disc (with my own set of ROMs), but it's getting to the point where I'm about to give up all hope.

Here's a basic rundown of what I did step-by-step, maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong here:
-Downloaded the DreamSNES 0.9.8 plain files, extracted them
-Downloaded BootDreams, and properly installed it (at this point, Alcohol 120% has already been installed on my computer; I have the pro version)
-Placed the file 'IP.BIN' into the 'cd' folder
-I put all of my unzipped roms into the 'roms' folder located inside of the 'cd' folder
-I created a ROM list using romlst, and the file it created was automatically placed in the 'roms' folder
-Opened BootDreams, selected the DiscJuggler section, browsed for the 'cd' folder where it says to browse for a "Selfboot folder", clicked OK, and clicked "Process"
-The .cdi image was successfully created
-Opened up Alcohol 120%, started the "Burn Image Wizard"
-Browsed for my .cdi image, found it, clicked OK, clicked next
-Didn't touch any of the settings (disc type was preset to 'Normal CD', so I kept it at that; Write Method is set to DAO / SAO; "Write" is checked, "Simulation" is unchecked; "Enable Buffer Underrun Technology" is checked), except for the speed (I put it at 8x; heard this was the recommended speed)
-It starts to burn, but then at any random time, the process will stop, and it says there was a problem with the burning process

Any and all help would be appreciated, I'd really like to get this working once and for all.

EDIT: Added more to to my step-by-step.
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Post by Juan »

According to this tutorial, BootDreams should ask you for the main binary file (gotta choose 1DSNES.SH4).
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Post by Christuserloeser »

Thanks for your detailed post. I'll try to help.
Oni Lynx wrote:Here's a basic rundown of what I did step-by-step, maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong here:
-Downloaded the DreamSNES 0.9.8 plain files, extracted them
-Downloaded BootDreams, and properly installed it (at this point, Alcohol 120% has already been installed on my computer; I have the pro version)
-Placed the file 'IP.BIN' into the 'cd' folder
I think this is your problem here. You should have the following files and subfolders in your DreamSNES folder (in your case it's \cd\ ? but you can call it like you wish, eg. \DSNES98\):

C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Locale\ (menu translations in .txt format)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Gfx\ (DSNES GUI & intro graphics in .zvr format)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Sound\ (place your MP3 files here)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Roms\ (your games in .smc or .fig format)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\1dsnes.sh4 (usually named 1st_read.bin in other Dreamcast software, this is the file to choose when BootDreams asks you for the the main binary file, as Juan mentioned)

An IP.BIN is not necessary if you use BootDreams.
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Post by emptythought »

Make sure you don't rename 1DSNES.SH4 to 1ST_REA.BIN if you keep the IP.BIN in the DreamSNES archive since it points to 1DSNES.SH4. If you do reanme it set the main binary bit in the IP.BIN to 1ST_READ.BIN using IP.BIN Writer or deleting the IP.BIN and having BootDreams make one for you - it sets the main binary bit according to the main binary (whether selected or auto detected if it's filename is 1ST_READ.BIN).
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Post by Oni Lynx »

Christuserloeser wrote:Thanks for your detailed post. I'll try to help.
Oni Lynx wrote:Here's a basic rundown of what I did step-by-step, maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong here:
-Downloaded the DreamSNES 0.9.8 plain files, extracted them
-Downloaded BootDreams, and properly installed it (at this point, Alcohol 120% has already been installed on my computer; I have the pro version)
-Placed the file 'IP.BIN' into the 'cd' folder
I think this is your problem here. You should have the following files and subfolders in your DreamSNES folder (in your case it's \cd\ ? but you can call it like you wish, eg. \DSNES98\):

C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Locale\ (menu translations in .txt format)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Gfx\ (DSNES GUI & intro graphics in .zvr format)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Sound\ (place your MP3 files here)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\Roms\ (your games in .smc or .fig format)
C:\BootDreams\DSNES98\1dsnes.sh4 (usually named 1st_read.bin in other Dreamcast software, this is the file to choose when BootDreams asks you for the the main binary file, as Juan mentioned)

An IP.BIN is not necessary if you use BootDreams.
1DSNES.SH4 was selectable on the BootDreams list from the get-go, so there wasn't a problem there, as I originally selected it when making the .cdi image.
I never renamed anything, I just left everything as is (folder names and all). Everything that you said should be in the folders you mentioned were in them from the start.
From what I gather, the only problem seems to be the fact that the IP.BIN isn't needed. So, should I delete the IP.BIN provided with the DreamSNES 0.9.8 plain files given to us in the first post and just let BootDreams create an IP.BIN on its own?
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Post by Christuserloeser »

Yeah, try that to see if it works and please let us know if it did.
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Post by Oni Lynx »

One question for reassurance before I do so.
In order for it to create its own IP.BIN (and perhaps to make a successful .cdi image), which of the following should have a check next to it in the "Extras" menu (under the DiscJuggler section, of course) on BootDreams?:
*ISO Settings (All are checked in this sub menu)
*Burn CDDA Tracks (not selectable, not checked)
*Add Dummy File (not checked)
*Insert IP.BIN logo (this is what I assume needs to be checked)
*IP.BIN in bootsector only (not sure, not checked)
*Check for files in BDS (not checked)
*Associate DiscJuggler images (not checked)
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Post by Christuserloeser »

None. These are all, well ...Extras ;)


The IP.BIN logo is a .MR file that goes into /MR Logos/. If enabled and chosen it will show up at the lower right corner of the SEGA splash screen.

"IP.BIN in Bootsector only" means the file won't show up in Explorer when browsing the CD.
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Post by Oni Lynx »

Ah, okay, thanks. I guess that means it will just see that there is no IP.BIN in the 'cd' folder and it will automatically create one there. I'm going to give it a shot and see if anything works. Regardless, I will post my results here.
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Post by Oni Lynx »

Sorry for the double post here, but I didn't want this to go unnoticed had I just edited it into my previous post. Anyway, here's what I came up with:
Everything went well through the .cdi image creation, however, when I name my .cdi image something other than 'cd', I have to manually put .cdi at the end of the filename. I found this rather odd (I noticed this because Alcohol 120% wouldn't recognize any .cdi files in the folder where I saved the image, so then I added .cdi to the end and it recognized it).
I tried the burning process and, again, it failed. It got to 49.9% and just stopped. Here's the error (straight from the log window):
22:00:39 (F: ) MATSHITA UJ-810(1:0) - [Write ERROR], LBA: 30678, Length: 16
22:00:39 (F: ) MATSHITA UJ-810(1:0): Recording failed!
Error message: [03/10/00] - ID CRC or ECC Error
22:00:42 Something is wrong with the recording procedure! Please check the log file and report ...

And that's exactly what happens everytime. I'm stumped.

EDIT: If you would like to see the log report, I'd be glad to post it, though it's long.
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Post by emptythought »

Try burning the CDI with the CDI burner in BootDreams.
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Post by Oni Lynx »

fackue wrote:Try burning the CDI with the CDI burner in BootDreams.
I'll give that a try, but I don't think it'll work either. I've tried it before and it does basically the same thing. It'll stop midway (or elsewhere) through the burning process for no apparent reason. But you know what, I'm going to try burning the disc on my brother's laptop, perhaps that will burn better. Maybe there's just something wrong with my computer that it won't burn discs properly.
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Post by Oni Lynx »

Sorry for the double post (again... :? ), but I just needed to fill you guys in on some info.

The burning process worked when I used BootDreams; everything burned 100%. But, apparently, my Dreamcast dislikes DreamSNES or something, because it loads it up to the menu, everything is there, but it's literally running at a snail's pace (I'm talking about the menu here).
As I am sure, the pumpkins are supposed to be smoothly flying across the screen and the character that looks up to the sky should scroll over without hesitation. This isn't the case with my DC. It sounds like it's spinning the disc constantly, as if it's reading it over and over. Every 10 seconds the pumpkins will move an inch, then they'll stop, then it'll spin the disc in short spurts, and then again (a few seconds later) the pumpkins will move a short bit.
I managed to get to the ROMs menu, and all of them are there, but it took me so long to get to it because I had to try and catch it at a time when the pumpkins were moving so I could move downward on the menu.
Anyone experiencing similar problems? I am 100% positive it isn't my DC, because it loads all other discs (and even DreamSNES 0.9.6) just fine. My DC can read CD-Rs, so I really don't understand why it refuses to run this disc at full speed.

EDIT: Here are some "specs" for what's on the disc:
-All ROMs are PAL: (E)
-I'm using a ROM list
-There are a total of 45 ROMs on the disc
-The music is the same as the one provided originally through the plain files (although the song won't load at all, probably either due to the disc loading so slowly - or maybe the disc is loading slowly because it's trying to load the song)
-I'm not using a no_roms.here file anywhere

Perhaps someone could help identify my problem and find out why the disc is loading so slow.
Last edited by Oni Lynx on Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Christuserloeser »

Sounds like you've didn't include a MP3 or perhaps you did include MP3s that DreamSNES can't play.

fackue wrote:Try burning the CDI with the CDI burner in BootDreams.
...or CDRecord in BootDreams, which would also be the better choice in generasl if you don't want to make a dozen identical copies of the same CD.
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