SEGA Dreamcast SD-Card Mod without a working GD-ROM Drive...

[retroborg]

Good day!
I have a EURO PAL Dreamcast with a non operational GD-ROM drive, which I don't want to replace. Is it possible to perform this mod:

And run the appropriate software Dreamshell / BootDreams directly from the SD Card and run commercial games as ISO / CDI images from the SD card, or is the GD-ROM needed?!

I also saw this tutorial, but it is not made clear if it is possible to run DreamShell & BootDreams directly from the SD Card without the need of an operational GD-ROM.

http://www.dallaslive.de/vdr/project...t/index-en.php

Of course I would order a new GD-ROM Laser, but the defective one I have now is the R48G_149 for the Samsung board and apparently the SPU3200 for the JVC board which is readily available in eBay, is not fully compatible with the Dreamcast, it does not play commercial games out of the box and needs additional modding and fussing to do so.

Oh and I also cut the 16 Pin Ribbon cable that connects the GD-ROM to the Board by accident, so I’ll need one of those too and from what I saw it is not included with the New GD-ROM laser.

So, what are my options?
Any info, guides or links to clarify this and to successfully complete this mod will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

[KalessinDB]

The SD card mod via serial port that you linked is way outdated and never worked very well in the first place. That being said, I have one that has it done (somewhere, buried under a few other DCs) and I can try to experiment on it some time next week probably, but my gut feeling says "No"

My suggestion is to scrounge up some cash and get one of the better GD-ROM replacement mods done, the ones that replace the GD-Rom entirely, either Deunan's SD based GDEMU or Mnemo's USB mod (not sure what he calls his)... I have Deunan's and it works well, though I wish he officially supported a menu feature. I kinda want to get Mnemo's mod, having used his USB mod for the 3DO and loved it, but y'know... too many mods, not enough money

[retroborg]

The SD card mod via serial port that you linked is way outdated and never worked very well in the first place. That being said, I have one that has it done (somewhere, buried under a few other DCs) and I can try to experiment on it some time next week probably, but my gut feeling says "No"

My suggestion is to scrounge up some cash and get one of the better GD-ROM replacement mods done, the ones that replace the GD-Rom entirely, either Deunan's SD based GDEMU or Mnemo's USB mod (not sure what he calls his)... I have Deunan's and it works well, though I wish he officially supported a menu feature. I kinda want to get Mnemo's mod, having used his USB mod for the 3DO and loved it, but y'know... too many mods, not enough money

Thanks for the info!

So, If anybody could point me to the right direction of where to obtain a new full GD-ROM Drive, I would highly appreciate it. In ebay I see only the Laser Unit My Dreamcast is a EURO PAL Model by the way and I'm in the EU.

Also the ones you mentioned:
It can be bought here for 100 Euros.
https://gdemu.wordpress.com/ordering/

Also this one which is supposed to be better.
Dreamcast USB-GDROM Controller:

http://www.retrogamenetwork.com/2014/08 ... ternative/



But I see only 8 were produced and it costs 130 Euros.
Anybody know where I could get one?

So how well do these 2 perform and which of the 2 should I get. Unless anybody could point me of where I could get a new GD-ROM Drive (The whole Unit with the laser)

[KalessinDB]

The 2nd one you linked is Mnemo's kit. He made 8 as the original batch I think, but I'm reasonably certain if you just email him and/or catch him on ICQ (I think you can find his info at his website http://3do-renovation.ru/) you can probably order another one. I emailed him when I had some questions about the 3DO kit and while his English isn't 100% perfect it's good enough that he was able to help me fix my issues very easily.

I have firsthand experience with GDEMU and it's pretty good. There's limitations, obviously -- chiefly that SD cards only get so big and the lack of an (officially supported) menu is kinda annoying but not the end of the world (to me at least).

I have no firsthand experience with Mnemo's adapter, but I do have his 3DO USB adapter and it also works like a charm.

If I had the choice right now, I'd probably buy Mnemo's because I'm a sucker for the menu honestly, but when I bought it, Deunan's was the only choice. I'm not unhappy with it by any stretch of the imagination, though.

As far as a new GD-ROM unit, I don't know what it's like on your side of the pond, but in the US you can pick up a working DC (console only) for like 30 bucks tops.

[retroborg]

The 2nd one you linked is Mnemo's kit. He made 8 as the original batch I think, but I'm reasonably certain if you just email him and/or catch him on ICQ (I think you can find his info at his website http://3do-renovation.ru/) you can probably order another one. I emailed him when I had some questions about the 3DO kit and while his English isn't 100% perfect it's good enough that he was able to help me fix my issues very easily.

I have firsthand experience with GDEMU and it's pretty good. There's limitations, obviously -- chiefly that SD cards only get so big and the lack of an (officially supported) menu is kinda annoying but not the end of the world (to me at least).

I have no firsthand experience with Mnemo's adapter, but I do have his 3DO USB adapter and it also works like a charm.

If I had the choice right now, I'd probably buy Mnemo's because I'm a sucker for the menu honestly, but when I bought it, Deunan's was the only choice. I'm not unhappy with it by any stretch of the imagination, though.

As far as a new GD-ROM unit, I don't know what it's like on your side of the pond, but in the US you can pick up a working DC (console only) for like 30 bucks tops.

Again thanks for the very useful info.

Well in this part of the world a used Dreamcast is quite rare and it can go as high as 100 Euros with one control and the cables!

But this is someone else's DC and I was asked to fix it and make it operational by any means possible, so...

When you say that GDEMU does not have an official menu...
What about these two 3rd party menus, are they any good and will they be enough to operate the GDEMU & play games easily?

http://www.mediafire.com/download/nf7vl ... 014%29.zip

https://japanese-cake.livejournal.com/5633.html

Thanks in advance!

[KalessinDB]

To be honest with you, I haven't personally tried either of the 3rd party menu systems -- I've been focused on my Arcade collecting recently.

Krikzz (maker of Everdrives) has a forum where there's some discussion of GDEMU and Mnemo's adapter -- http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=1503.0

You might have some luck there.

[retroborg]

To be honest with you, I haven't personally tried either of the 3rd party menu systems -- I've been focused on my Arcade collecting recently.

Krikzz (maker of Everdrives) has a forum where there's some discussion of GDEMU and Mnemo's adapter -- http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=1503.0

You might have some luck there.

Again thanks!


Oh By the way. It says that:

GDEMU is compatbile with VA1 model Dreamcasts from all regions

IMPORTANT: VA2 model is not compatible. Mating GDEMU with VA0 model mainboard is possible but will cause permanent damage to the device. See installation instructions.

So how can you tell which version you have without taking the whole console apart?
I would prefer not to at the moment.

[KalessinDB]

It's on the sticker on the bottom, a 1 in a... circle? square? I can't remember and I'm (still) at work.

I've literally never seen anything but a VA1.

[retroborg]

It's on the sticker on the bottom, a 1 in a... circle? square? I can't remember and I'm (still) at work.

I've literally never seen anything but a VA1.

Yeah I just checked, it's a VA1
Thanks!