(Noob-)Questions about Dreamcast SD Adapter

[HefHughner]

Hi,

after my first Dreamcast stopped reading my discs I bought a second one from Ebay but after just a half year it starts to show the same problems.
I don’t want to buy a third console and I don’t want to play the games with an emulator on my notebook (which is an old office notebook and probably not able to emulate the games at all).

Would buying a Dreamcast SD-Card Reader like this one: http://dc-sd.com/ solve my problem: Saving my games as images on the card and boot them through the Dreamcast as if it is reading the data from the disc?

If that is true: The text on the website mentions a Dreamshell sd loader disc. Does this mean the Dreamcast still has to load data from a disc?

And another question: I’m from Germany and have a pal Dreamcast but most of my games are Japanese imports which I played with the DC-X Boot Disc. Would this still work if I would use images instead of discs?

Thanks for your help!
Andreas

[CD AGES]

If that is true: The text on the website mentions a Dreamshell sd loader disc. Does this mean the Dreamcast still has to load data from a disc?

Yup! You still need a functional driver to run a dreamshell disc to use the SD card reader (unless you flashed dreamshell program onto a modded DC). Anywho, only a select amount of Dreamcast software runs smoothly as an SD ISO. The card reader is great for some emulators and homebrew games.

What don't understand is why not just invest in a third console. A preowned DC goes for about as much as an SD card reader

[HefHughner]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm sad to hear that this doesn't seem to be what i'm looking for.

The prize: a used Dreamcast would cost me between 50-70 Euros on the German Ebay. The SD Card-Reader just around 17 Euro.

Could you tell me more about your experience with used Dreamcasts: Was this just bad luck or will i have to buy a used Dreamcast every year?

[CD AGES]

No problem

Wow really!? Here in the US, it's rather common to find a Dreamcast on ebay or in a retro game store for anywhere around $20-30. I'm sorry to hear that.

Could you tell me more about your experience with used Dreamcasts: Was this just bad luck or will i have to buy a used Dreamcast every year?

Gladly. I can only speak on my own experiences. With that said I find the hardware to be more reliable than what many out there give it credit for. I play my Dreamcast almost everyday and for extended hours. I've had over 20 Dreamcast consoles with the majority being preowned purchases and I've only ever had a problem with only 2 of them. One DC I owned experienced a fried motherboard which i take full responsibility for so it was really my fault. Another unit I own experienced an eventual dead driver, but I replaced it with the driver on the dead motherboard DC unit which I kept for parts so that came in rather handy. Another issue I experienced was with a Brand new unit i purchased via ebay recently (the lens wasn't responding). Luckily I simply opened it up and repaired it without any additional parts. That's another thing, the hardware is very friendly in regards to repair and maintenance. I'm not at all savvy with electronics whatsoever, but the Dreamcast is very easy to disassemble and reassemble. To date, I currently own 18 Dreamcast units, and whatever Dreamcasts I've sold off to friends or relatives over the years are still going strong. My very first console I purchased still works to this very day and i've never had to repair it for any issues.

I hope you don't need to purchase a DC every year and it certainly shouldn't come to that extent. If you've had some bad times with previous Dreamcast purchases, perhaps your next possible investment in one should come from a nearby gamestore than honors refunds or exchange for any possible defects... or purchase from a trustworthy seller online (people here on RB sell DC's from time to time). Use GDrom media whenever possible and if you plan to play backups on your system, use high quality ISOs from reputable sources (I personally only use ReviveDC backups these days almost exclusively). Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps. Just don't give up on the Dream

[Jamisonia]

Maybe you could simply replace the drive itself. I bet they're out there, then you'd know it was brand new.