Prevent death.

Discuss modifications you have done or plan to do to your Dreamcast or any other hardware, or discuss devices you want to build. If your console does not work or is acting up, ask about fixing it in here.
User avatar
Matisfaction
I can't get no.....
Posts: 3429
https://www.artistsworkshop.eu/meble-kuchenne-na-wymiar-warszawa-gdzie-zamowic/
Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2004 8:44 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Matisfaction »

Sounds like it could be lots of things,
Pawn shop: $20 and they have loads of em, Sounds a bit dodge,
Second hand DC: you dont know where its been or what its had done to it.
Then again it could be the fan (it doesnt hurt to clean out your fan now and again).
Back ups steadily wear out your sled mechanism, Backups less than 600 mb will wear out the sled mechanism even quicker.
Sir Savant
Somewhat Dumb Knight
Posts: 3653
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Sir Savant »

How do Backups wear out the sled? Is there any way to bypass that and fix the sled?
Alexvrb
DCEmu Ultra Poster
DCEmu Ultra Poster
Posts: 1754
Joined: Wed Jul 17, 2002 11:25 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Alexvrb »

Bypass? Don't F-ing use backups*. Fix? Maybe. You can probably prop the sleds up to level them out again. There are often fixes for the most common DC problems.

*Homebrew software are not classified as backups, since they're not a "backup" of anything.
If you have twenty monkeys,
banging randomly on typewriters,
they will in twenty minutes produce the complete source code to World of Warcraft.
DarkLegion
DCEmu Junior
DCEmu Junior
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 8:56 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by DarkLegion »

They all sound like they could be fixable to me,and sounds like the "dreaded" resetting problem which will eventually end up in a black screen.What you'll need to do is wedge a piece of toothpick/matchstick in between the male pin and female contact of the power supply pin that isn't making proper contact,which is usually the 3V pin.This pin not making good contact will give the problems you describe and the reason this happens at all is simply bad design on sega's part.The other possibly is a disconnected/broken fan but this is pretty rare as far as I can tell and usually happens when someone has been messing around inside of it.
Matt
Soul Sold for DCEmu
Soul Sold for DCEmu
Posts: 4235
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2003 4:48 pm
Location: By my PC Hair:Bad
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Post by Matt »

Don't F-ing use backups
Don't talk about them here either, unless you want a locked topic
Sir Savant
Somewhat Dumb Knight
Posts: 3653
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Sir Savant »

Sorry. Just asking why it wore them out. Now I understand how. I thought the same applied to homebrew stuff cause they are also cd-rs. It doesn't matter anyways.
Alexvrb
DCEmu Ultra Poster
DCEmu Ultra Poster
Posts: 1754
Joined: Wed Jul 17, 2002 11:25 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Alexvrb »

No, its not the media. It's how it accesses the data on the CD.
If you have twenty monkeys,
banging randomly on typewriters,
they will in twenty minutes produce the complete source code to World of Warcraft.
Sir Savant
Somewhat Dumb Knight
Posts: 3653
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Sir Savant »

So homebrew and emulators wont do damage? Sweet!
Alexvrb
DCEmu Ultra Poster
DCEmu Ultra Poster
Posts: 1754
Joined: Wed Jul 17, 2002 11:25 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Alexvrb »

All I use my DC for is originals and homebrew/emus. It is a '99 DC and runs fantastic.
If you have twenty monkeys,
banging randomly on typewriters,
they will in twenty minutes produce the complete source code to World of Warcraft.
rustcoal132
DCEmu Fast Newbie
DCEmu Fast Newbie
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2004 2:05 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by rustcoal132 »

hey carl, check your controllers.
i would watch dcmoviplayer, and for some reason,whenever i moved, controller in hand, my dc would reset. i was dumb not to realize that it was my controller, but it was hard to find out the problem. i would think that the video playing had some sort of bad code that kept resetting the dc, but it was in fact, the controller.

so i split open the controller cord, and about an inch down, there was the problem. it was a wire that was ripped.(how it got ripped, i dont know. the dc would think that the controller was unplugging, and that, for some reason casues the dcmovieplayer to reset the dc.

and now, i have a question, what is the black wire in the controller cord for, my conroller doesnt have anything connected on the black wire, yet it saves and works fine.

also, when i spllit open the wire, there was like this old.old.old tiny peices of wire. it was just like peices of old wire[not insulated or anything] all through the cord, and it made a mess. anyone know what that is for?
Sir Savant
Somewhat Dumb Knight
Posts: 3653
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Sir Savant »

maybe it is the insulation? The little pieces in the wire. How old is the controller. Perhaps the wire has blown up into little pieces because of a power surge.

No idea about the black wire, cause I am still looking for a screwdriver small enough to open the controllers. What brand controller is this?
rustcoal132
DCEmu Fast Newbie
DCEmu Fast Newbie
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2004 2:05 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by rustcoal132 »

the controller is the official sega brand.
bump...read my previous message carl
User avatar
Ender
DCEmu Super Poster
DCEmu Super Poster
Posts: 1314
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 4:01 pm
Location: Canada, first igloo on your left.
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Post by Ender »

Matisfaction wrote:Back ups steadily wear out your sled mechanism, Backups less than 600 mb will wear out the sled mechanism even quicker.
I still say that that's an old wives tale. I mean, I understand the concept, but I just don't buy that (first of all) the publishers put that much effort into the placement of their game on a disc and (secondly) that the arrangement on a rip could be so horribly different. I mean, I'd expect an efficiency drop of MAYBE 5% and even then, in the life of a console it just doesn't seem like there would be any noticeable difference. I mean, it would be like 1 month tops in the span of the console's lifetime.
Sir Savant
Somewhat Dumb Knight
Posts: 3653
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:26 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Sir Savant »

Who is carl?

How long have you had it. Oh, and maybe you should start another thread, cause this isn't about the death of a system. Just the death of a controller.
Alexvrb
DCEmu Ultra Poster
DCEmu Ultra Poster
Posts: 1754
Joined: Wed Jul 17, 2002 11:25 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Alexvrb »

Ender wrote:
Matisfaction wrote:Back ups steadily wear out your sled mechanism, Backups less than 600 mb will wear out the sled mechanism even quicker.
I still say that that's an old wives tale. I mean, I understand the concept, but I just don't buy that (first of all) the publishers put that much effort into the placement of their game on a disc and (secondly) that the arrangement on a rip could be so horribly different. I mean, I'd expect an efficiency drop of MAYBE 5% and even then, in the life of a console it just doesn't seem like there would be any noticeable difference. I mean, it would be like 1 month tops in the span of the console's lifetime.
It's not an "old wives tale". Commercial games are optimized for accessing a different, more dense media. Even a really well done backup will not be as good as the real thing, and many backups out there are crap and will cause your DC harm.

Either way, you don't have to believe me. But you can believe Rand.
User avatar
Muthafukin Carl
DCEmu Crazy Poster
DCEmu Crazy Poster
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:23 am
Location: U.S.A.
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Post by Muthafukin Carl »

:D I found the solution to my problem! EBgames had DC systems in stock so I went ahead and bought 4, they were $15! All of them seem to work great too. Get em while they're still there! (use the coupon code "SAVER" = free shipping)

Oh yeah almost forgot...if you're thinking about buying more than one, don't forget that EBgames has a limit on the DC systems, 1 per person. (Im pretty sure you know how to get around that, :mrgreen: )

Thanks for the help guys! (continues playing DOA2 :D )
Currently playing:

Sega Marine fishing
Seaman
Super Mario All-Stars
Post Reply