Reusing Dreamcast modchip?

Post by **MynameisAdam** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 12:32 pm

So Im recently getting back into the Dreamcast after a good 5 year break. Unfortunately my modded Dreamcast's gdrom seems to have died. Is there any reason not to reuse the mod chip from the broken console in another DC? I can't think of any but Im not the most farmiliar with this sort of thing. Also can anyone get me started with some good online import retailers? It would seem that I need to grab Ikaruga (despite the painful price)and maybe some of the import fighters. thanks for the help.

Oh and First post

Post by **racketboy** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 12:59 pm

Welcome!
It should be ok -- I'd just make sure all the ends of the wires are nice and clean so you can make solid connections on the new machine.
eBay is you best friend at this point for imports. Ikaraga has actually got relatively cheap:
http://tinyurl.com/3wulax

Post by **Pullmyfinger** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 3:00 pm

I think it would be a lot easier and safer to use another DC's GD Rom in your modded DC

Post by **vlame** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 3:31 pm

Pullmyfinger wrote:I think it would be a lot easier and safer to use another DC's GD Rom in your modded DC

or just get game images.

Post by **Pullmyfinger** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:41 pm

vlame wrote:or just get game images.

some games are downsampled or have bigger load times and things of the sort, like JSR, a backup will have mono audio and the original has stereo

Post by **MynameisAdam** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:53 pm

That may be a good option pullmyfinger. I guess I should make sure it is the GDROM that's busted. What seems to be happening is that when I try to power it up the light comes on for a moment and then turns off, the disc never spins , fan doesn't turn on, and no beep. I assumed because the light turns on(suggesting power is working fine) that its the GDROM that isn't working. But on second thought it may be something with the power supply, that its getting power but not enough? Anyone have similar problems? Or enough technical knowledge to make an educated guess? Im a newb with most this stuff so Im not too confident in my assesment. thanks for the help.

Post by **Cerulean** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:10 pm

Have you tried the whole cleaning the pins to the power board?

Post by **SnowKitty** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:02 am

MynameisAdam wrote:That may be a good option pullmyfinger. I guess I should make sure it is the GDROM that's busted. What seems to be happening is that when I try to power it up the light comes on for a moment and then turns off, the disc never spins , fan doesn't turn on, and no beep. I assumed because the light turns on(suggesting power is working fine) that its the GDROM that isn't working. But on second thought it may be something with the power supply, that its getting power but not enough? Anyone have similar problems? Or enough technical knowledge to make an educated guess? Im a newb with most this stuff so Im not too confident in my assesment. thanks for the help.

it could be a dead GD drive, ive seen this happen before. i had a DC that would kick on for half a sec and die, it turned on fine without the GD deive in it and worked fine whrn i put the GD drive from another DC in it

Post by **Niode** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:24 am

It's definately easier to just swap the GD-rom units. They're literally plug and go. It's very easy to do and very self explanatory if you open the DC yourself, just take your time and make sure you remove EVERY screw before you start yanking it apart. It's very easy to take apart and none of the parts (apart from the PSU, understandably due to the nature of the connection to the motherboard) will resist too much to being taken apart.

Post by **MynameisAdam** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:50 pm

So I took apart my DC today to try and figure out whats causing the problem. I cleaned the pins for the power suppy to motherboard. tried powering up, still have the problem. I then removed the gdrom and tried powering it up without it, still have the same problem. Put it all back together and tried powering it up, still having the problem. What I can gather from this is that it doesn't seem to be the GDROM, but is more likely the powersupply itself. Anyone think of other areas that could be causing the trouble? I think my next step is going to be swapping the power suppy with one from another dreamcast. If that doesn't work then I guess I'll be back to taking the mod chip from this one and putting it in another. Thanks for the help.