Dreamcast region mod weirdness

[flamepanther]

So, I've got an early model (1998) Asian Dreamcast. It plays NTSC-J games but comes with a dummy module instead of a 56k modem. It's my only Dreamcast, and why I have a foreign console is a long and uninteresting story. Inconveniently, most of my games are NTSC-U. So, I figured while I was making one last attempt to resurrect my busted Saturn mod chip, I would try out the old Dreamcast region flashing mod!

I followed the instructions I found here, burned the region changer disc, and started it up. The program detects that my console's region is NTSC-J, output is NTSC, etc. I selected USA for my region, NTSC for my output (not that it matters, I'm using VGA), and English for my language. I tell it to write the settings, I power off my console, and I pop in one of my NTSC-U games... and I get the home menu screen. Damn. Then I pop in one of my NTSC-J games and it still boots right up. So, I must have failed to solder the wire correctly between the power and the resistor, right? Well, maybe not. Here's where it gets weird.

See, if I boot up the region changer disc again and tell it to read my BIOS settings from the flash chip, it shows me: USA, NTSC, and English, just like I had set it. Weird, right? So, I tried setting my region to Europe, and the same thing happens. NTSC-J games still boot, nothing else does, and the region changer still reads "Europe" from the flash chip. That shouldn't happen if I made a good connection from the resistor to the power, right? Could there be something weird about Asian DCs from outside of Japan that makes this trick not work like it does for J, E, and U consoles?

[Ziggy]

There's a new(er) region free BIOS that you can use instead of having to flash between BIOS. I would try that instead, if you can.


http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/dc-dev-bios.htm

edit: I know I didn't really answer and of your questions, but I just figured I'd point this out to you.

[flamepanther]

I've looked at that BIOS mod, but I don't think I'll be trying it. I'm not too great at soldering, especially if it involves smaller joins. If I have to make more than two or three joins, it's not for me.

[SnowKitty]

I've looked at that BIOS mod, but I don't think I'll be trying it. I'm not too great at soldering, especially if it involves smaller joins. If I have to make more than two or three joins, it's not for me.

if you can get the bios chip and the instructions, i can install it for you. i'd have to see the diagram though to determine a price, probably won't cost you too much.

[flamepanther]

if you can get the bios chip and the instructions, i can install it for you. i'd have to see the diagram though to determine a price, probably won't cost you too much.

Thanks. I'll think about it, but it's probably easier for me to just get a US Dreamcast.

[nintendo_ds]

It's been awhile I see, but I have a US motherboard I could sell you with the region changer wiring on it already... I could even get you the casing if the asian one has different posts for support.