About laser stuff...

HGDC · Post by **HGDC** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 3:55 am

I've heard some stuff about laser damage. Just wondered if the original commercial games damage DC's laser?

TheBouncer · Post by **TheBouncer** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 4:04 am

No, original GD-ROMs shouldn't damage the laser. Rumour has it that using CD-Rs (warezed games, emus or apps) could bugger the laser up, but I have yet to hear anyone say that this has caused their DC to go wrong.

TheDumbAss · Post by **TheDumbAss** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 7:36 am

I beleave that some commercial games and applications CAN wear out your lazer quicker then others...

Load up the webbrowser that came with your DC and LISTEN. Listen to your lazer seeking back and forth, back and forth, over and over as it loads each page. Its obvious to me that disc is MUCH harder on your dreamcast then say... MR. Driller.

Crazy Taxi (1 or 2) is a good example of a game that always seeks. (which works your lazer)

MadGun68 · Post by **MadGun68** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 7:46 am

If there are any problems, it most likely won't be with the laser itself, but the plastic sled it runs on.

Honestly, I don't think this is something to actively worry about. The laser assembly wasn't likely designed for short seeks across medium as opposed to larger ones. I've heard of similar things happening on other game machines, but sometimes find it hard to believe. There would have to be serious activity in order for it to wear down enough to cause problems.

fatheadpi · Post by **fatheadpi** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 5:05 pm

If you're really paranoid, when you birn a cd-r, start using dummy files set to lower file priority to fill up the rest of your disc space. I hear its supposed to speed some things up (like loading roms, etc). There's an article on it over in the faq section.

sixteen-bit · Post by **sixteen-bit** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 5:21 pm

In practice, any moving part in machiney is going to break down some time or another. The GDROM is no exception; the assembly which aligns the laser to read the disc will eventually wear out due to use (friction on the moving parts will cause this).

Games obviously cause the laser to move when loading data which is why a heavily-used dreamcast will theoretically have a shorter lifespan than a lesser use machine. Also, games which have continuous loading, or lots of random seeking for files (such as many cdrs) will cause the assembly to move more and (possibly) wear out a little faster.