Is my Sega Saturn dying? Or is it something else?

Post by **Hamburglar** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 7:56 am

Anyone?

Post by **ImportBoy** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:32 am

As racket said, if a game "sometimes" works then the Saturn is having trouble reading the disc. This could be caused by poor quality media, burning to fast, the Saturn's laser weakening, or a combination of the three.

I suggest you pick up a few titles from my Saturn site (www.sega-saturn.us) - all of the file names and cue sheets were edited by me. Just about every game there should work; most have been tested. If any are giving you issues, please let me know, and I will double check them.

Another suggestion I have for you is to download the Saturn Emulator SSF http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~phantasy/ssf/index.html and proper bios files http://www.sega-saturn.us/saturn-bios.rar

Attempt to run the burned games that have been giving you problems in SSF. First make sure they are working with SSF by checking the compadibility list (www.sega-saturn.org). If the game is compadible with SSF but will not run for you, then it is a bad image for sure. If it runs fine, then the problem is the Saturn reading the disc.

Post by **Hamburglar** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:57 pm

I am definitely going to give your website a try and subscribe today.

If I still get the same results, is there a laser tweak you recommend I try?

Post by **Hamburglar** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 7:22 pm

Okay, I feel like a huge, huge dumbass (not really)

I tried 2 different burners, and 2 different types of media, all yielding the same results. I, on a whim, tried TDK brand CD-R's and they work perfectly.

Since I deleted almost all my ISO's when burning them to CD-R, can I copy from the CD-R's that give me trouble on my Saturn to the TDK's? Or would that be like using the finnicky ones in the first place?

For example, I have a Saturn game on Verbatim that gave me booting trouble. If I copy that onto a TDK CD-R, is that a good idea?

Post by **Hamburglar** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:47 am

How the hell did all my games that worked last week on Verbatims no longer work any more and work flawlessly with TDK now?

Post by **ImportBoy** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:12 am

Have you checked that these games are booting under SSF? Are you burning at 8x or less? I wouldn't suggest re-ripping from cd to cd until you've verified the images aren't bad.

If they boot fine under SSF but not on your actual Saturn - then I'd say your Saturn's laser is going under.

Post by **Hamburglar** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:31 pm

ImportBoy wrote:Have you checked that these games are booting under SSF? Are you burning at 8x or less? I wouldn't suggest re-ripping from cd to cd until you've verified the images aren't bad.

If they boot fine under SSF but not on your actual Saturn - then I'd say your Saturn's laser is going under.

I didn't burn most at under 8x because sometimes a game would work or not work and be totally independent on the speed I burned it at. I just ordered some Taiyo Yudens which are supposed to be the best CD-R's money can buy, so hopefully I have good luck there. I really hope the lens isn't dying. There isn't going to be any Saturns left 20 years from now if that's the case!

Post by **marurun** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:01 pm

Try your burns in a Saturn EMU like SSF (per ImportBoy's suggestion) and if they reliably work on the computer it is likely your laser. It really sounds to me like the laser is misadjusted. The problem is that adjusting a laser is a PITA and not something I even think I would be comfortable doing.

Post by **Hamburglar** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 5:10 am

What does PITA mean?

And if the Saturn is dying or doesn't read CD-R's, it's worthless to me, so adjusting the laser isn't such a bad idea.

Post by **ImportBoy** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:33 am

What does PITA mean?

PITA = Pain in the Ass