How do you know if your particular Dreamcast can play CD-Rs?

dhowerter · Post by **dhowerter** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:39 am

Hi all

Simple question:

How do you know if your particular Dreamcast can play CD-Rs?

I've heard that if your DC was manufactured BEFORE November 2000 it CAN play CD-Rs and if it was made AFTER November 2000 it can NOT play CD-RS.

Is this correct? ANd if it is would a November 2000 DC itself be able to paly CD-Rs?

Thanks!

xenon · Post by **xenon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:59 am

All Dreamcasts, as far as I know can read CD-R. I bought my DC in June 2001 and it reads perfectly CD-R.

http://www.dcemulation.org/article-supported.htm

Last Update: 06-27-04
New Note: ALL PAL Dreamcasts APPEAR to be working

Non-Working Models
It has been determined all models, that were previously thought un-working, infact do work that were in this list. So this concludes that so far, all DC's work

Yours,

Pyrosurfer · Post by **Pyrosurfer** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:24 am

Wrong, some NTSC dcs from October - December 2000 have a revised bios that does not allow reading cdrs. Some from this period can read cdrs, I have a november 2000 that can.

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 10:56 am

Someone should really update that page. It isn't right, and has been known to be incorrect for years.

As far as I know...

All PAL Dreamcasts work. They never got around to using the updated BIOS on PAL systems. PAL Dreamcasts don't seem to have a manufacture date anywhere on them (at least, mine doesn't), but they all appear to work anyway.

Japanese special edition Dreamcasts do not generally work. I think that one or two of them might, but most of them don't.

Older NTSC Dreamcasts work. Anything manufactured before the updated BIOS was produced (which was somewhere around November 2000, but don't be sure) should contain the old BIOS, so they should be fine. If they don't work, there's likely a problem somewhere else.

Newer NTSC Dreamcasts might work. It depends on the BIOS revision they used, and there is no definite cutoff date. They were assembling Dreamcasts from components they already had, using the older stuff first. Once they'd run out of older hardware, they started using the newer hardware which doesn't allow you to boot from anything other than a GD-ROM.

Sweater Fish · Post by **Sweater Fish** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:41 am

Someone should update all of DCEmulation. It's all wrong, and has been known to be screwed up for years.

I mean that seriously. There's so much misinformation (not to mention the just poorly organized information) on that site, it would be better to just take it all down than to leave it the way it is.

...word is bondage...

dhowerter · Post by **dhowerter** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:09 pm

"Newer NTSC Dreamcasts might work. It depends on the BIOS revision they used, and there is no definite cutoff date. They were assembling Dreamcasts from components they already had, using the older stuff first. Once they'd run out of older hardware, they started using the newer hardware which doesn't allow you to boot from anything other than a GD-ROM."

OK so the date thing (before November 2000) is a general guide but the above statement is also true? I see.

Hmm obviously to check the date a DC was made (btw I'd be getting a USA /NTSC DC if it matters

you just look at the bottom on the sticker for : "MANUFACTURED:" then a month and a year.

Is there any overt symbol/marking on the label or any other part of the DC itself (or even on its box) that would indicate if the OLDER (plays CD-R) BIOS was used on that DC or the NEWER (non CD-R playing) BIOS was used?

One other thing, I remember someone mentioning the little number inside a circle on the DC's sticker (right to the LEFT of the NTSC/U designation. Iremember someone mentionig it as being a 1 or a 2 (maybe other numbers I dont know)

Anybody know what that number represents?

drybed · Post by **drybed** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:17 pm

if u do have a dreamcast that CANNOT play CD-R's, is there any other way to make it play CD-R's other than a mod chip???????

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:19 pm

if u do have a dreamcast that CANNOT play CD-R's, is there any other way to make it play CD-R's other than a mod chip???????

There is no way. At all. Modchips only allow you to play imports. If your Dreamcast won't boot from CDs, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

mankrip · Post by **mankrip** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:49 pm

Hmm... Is it possible to get the BIOS from a DC that reads CD-Rs and put it in a DC that can't?

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 12:38 am

I'm not sure where the BIOS is located. If it's on a separate chip (as on most consoles, although the GameCube has it integrated into something else), then it might be possible. Although you'd have to rip the BIOS out of a working Dreamcast to do it, unless you could find some compatable PROM and program that.

Darksaviour69 · Post by **Darksaviour69** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 5:29 am

http://consolevision.com/dreamcast/tuts/buying/

this is a bit more uptodate