Dead Dreamcast. .

[taitai]

Dreamcast no longer reads CDs or GDROMs, is there a tweak i can do? The motor can spin up... But no data comes out.

 

[werejag]

yeah mine died also 2 weeks ago same symthoms

 

[J69]

i dont know about the USA but in the UK you can get them on ebay for $20

 

[werejag]

yeah im planing to then use it to trouble shoot the 3 dead ones i have here

 

[Sixfire]

If the laser isn't totally dead you can try to adjust it's potentiometer. Only about 1/8 of a turn clockwise should help

 

[taitai]

That's what I figured.

I turned it and it started spinning up and sounded like it tried to read.

So I did it again and again, and eventually it booted my copy of Sonic Adventure 2.

 

[sawapalm]

Try to replace GD-ROM Laser

 

[AppleiDog]

Try to replace GD-ROM Laser

its probably easier/cheaper to buy a second hand one.

 

[WoodyXP]

Word... always have a spare DC on hand.

its probably easier/cheaper to buy a second hand one.

 

[Sixfire]

That's what I figured.

I turned it and it started spinning up and sounded like it tried to read.

So I did it again and again, and eventually it booted my copy of Sonic Adventure 2.

Great, glad to hear it

 

[norton9478]

Clean the laser with a cotton swab.....

 

[RocketLawnChair]

If the system's reading discs once in a while, you probably don't have to replace the GDROM, or buy a whole new system.

As Norton said, try cleaning the laser with a Q-Tip, and rubbing alcohol first before adjusting the pot. Use only a little alcohol, and swap the lens gently. Use the dry side of the Q-Tip to dry. You might not even need to do the following steps, but here we go:

Unplug your system, and turn it on once to get rid of any extra juice in the power supply. Remove the Dreamcast's top cover so you can access the GDROM drive. Once you have access, carefully unplug the ribbon cable from the GDROM's lens. From here, you should be able to gently lift the drive, and you'll see the potentiometer you need to adjust. If you don't have a multimeter, try adjusting 1/8 of a turn clockwise. Bump it up to 1/4 turn if necessary. Reassemble, and test. Good luck.

 

[taitai]

If the system's reading discs once in a while, you probably don't have to replace the GDROM, or buy a whole new system.

As Norton said, try cleaning the laser with a Q-Tip, and rubbing alcohol first before adjusting the pot. Use only a little alcohol, and swap the lens gently. Use the dry side of the Q-Tip to dry. You might not even need to do the following steps, but here we go:

Unplug your system, and turn it on once to get rid of any extra juice in the power supply. Remove the Dreamcast's top cover so you can access the GDROM drive. Once you have access, carefully unplug the ribbon cable from the GDROM's lens. From here, you should be able to gently lift the drive, and you'll see the potentiometer you need to adjust. If you don't have a multimeter, try adjusting 1/8 of a turn clockwise. Bump it up to 1/4 turn if necessary. Reassemble, and test. Good luck.

Cleaning the lens was an obvious move, so I omitted saying I did it.

 

[RocketLawnChair]

Cleaning the lens was an obvious move, so I omitted saying I did it.

Ah, nevermind. Didn't see you already tried adjusting the pot too. Any luck?

 

[taitai]

Ah, nevermind. Didn't see you already tried adjusting the pot too. Any luck?

Yeah, Sonic adventure 2 booted, so did my CDR of FreeBSD for Dreamcast. :lol

 

[Sixfire]

RocketLawnChair - What test is it that you were speaking of if you have a multimeter?

 

[RocketLawnChair]

RocketLawnChair - What test is it that you were speaking of if you have a multimeter?

I meant you could measure the laser's potentiometer. Believe mine's around 450 ohms, but I'd have to check.

 

[Sixfire]

Hmmm... very interesting. I didn't know you could do that. So do you just put the positive lead ON the pot itself? (I'm assuming just ground the other lead as usual)

 

[SNKNostalgia]

I had something weird happen with my DC system. It always ran perfectly until one day I played the NESTER DC and BMSX on it a lot. I tried to boot up my Shenmue 2 European version on it and wouldn't get to the title screen. So then I played other games and the NESTER DC as well, but on a better CD-R type. Now my system runs flawless. Weird shit.