Dreamcast stopped reading discs

[spiritplx]

Well, I think something died in my DC. Perhaps the whole DC is shot at this point.

Full Story: Last night I am playing, when all of a sudden, the game resets, then the DC makes a loud buzzing/stuttering sound. I shut it off at this point, just in case I could somehow prevent further damage by doing so (long shot, I know). After letting it cool off for some time (wasn't sure if it was an overheating issue), I tried playing the game again. The DC boots up to the swirl, and then sits there indefinitely. If I open the lid, the DC still recognizes that, and proceeds to the menu. However, the disc keeps spinning when the lid is open.

Today, I opened it up and cleaned it the dirt/dust. I haven't cleaned the laser at this point (I'm pretty sure that's not the problem with the sudden stopping). I tried playing games again with the same results.

So, here is what I know:
-The DC sits at the swirl when an original game disc, CD-R, or CD is inserted. The discs will occasionally spin up like the DC is trying to read it.
-I have not cleaned the laser, but I have cleaned out the insides.
-The DC has played CD-Rs and originals just fine for the past year. No problems reading games prior (with the exception of an original copy of SoA disc 2).
-The DC suddenly reset itself, and hasn't been able to read a disc of any kind since then.
-As mentioned above, the disc motor is still working (I can see and hear the disc spin).
-Not that it matters, but the cables work just fine on another DC (and so do all the games that are failing to load on this one).

I am going to go pick up some Q-tips so I can try cleaning the lens, but like I said, the suddenness of it failing to read discs makes me think the laser might be dead (or another component in the GD drive).

Anyhow, if anyone has had a similar experience, or can offer me some ideas of easy fixes, I would appreciate any feedback. Or if you just know what the problem is (might be), I would love to hear that as well. If it's not worth fixing, I will keep it around for parts (and scrap the bad parts), in case my other two DCs decide they want to die for different reasons.

Thanks in advance.

[dsheinem]

have you tried kicking its ass and telling it who's boss?

[Nullface]

12 year old game system just stopped working. I had to replace my 360 3 times within a year.

[dgamemuster]

12 year old game system just stopped working. I had to replace my 360 3 times within a year.

That's natural for the 360.

[Niode]

Search the forums before creating a new thread. This has been discussed hundreds of times before.

[spiritplx]

Actually, I did search the forums (searched "dreamcast" in the tech help section). The common answer is that the lens needed a good cleaning. I don't believe it is the lens. Other common problems were random reset problems, or problems reading CD-Rs. Neither of these seem to be the problem, because 1) it is not resetting, and 2) it was able to read all types of media until it just "blew up" in the middle of a gaming session. There were a couple of other posts that were closer, but didn't seem to be the same issue.

Just to clarify once more, my DC is not restarting, it simply sits at the swirl screen indefinitely. It does not go to the main menu unless the lid is opened. It does not go to a black screen, or just load slowly. It just sits there.

Maybe I am missing something obvious that I missed in my search. Can you at least point me in the right direction?

[Niode]

Check for busted caps. Look at the motherboard for any sign of corrosion. Reseat the laser and the power supply. If none of those are causing the issue, and you've tried all the other diagnostic tests then the DC is dead.

Good for you, they're dirt cheap to replace

[spiritplx]

I checked for bad capacitors, and while I am not trained in spotting these, I saw no corrosion/discoloration on any of the caps or near the caps. Nor did I find anything else on the board.

I reseated the laser's cable (I'm assuming that's what you meant).

If by reseating the power supply, you mean this, I did that too. I also did this, bending the pins to ensure better contact.

Still no luck at this point. However, I found a guy with a similar issue. From his comments, his laser appears to be dead, but I am not sure how to test that (other than the fact that it won't read games). I started the DC with the top off so it would be easy to hold down the lever which makes the DC think it is closed. The motor that moves the laser up and down (ceiling to floor) works as well as the motor that spins the disc (clearly, mine is acting like the video above). Something else to note, mine spins when no disc is in the DC. Both open and closed. Just thought I'd mention that since a youtube comment said that the DC will do that when reading blank media.

... and you've tried all the other diagnostic tests then the DC is dead.

I guess I haven't had enough issues with my DC to know of the common diagnostic tests. I feel I have covered the "obvious" ones, but I am unfamiliar with other common DC problems to trouble shoot for.

I realize that DCs are cheap. That's why I own 3 (well, 2 now), and plan on buying more. However, not everyone has access to an unlimited supply of DCs, so if I can resolve this issue, hopefully it will help someone else who is more desperate.

Anyhow, thanks for the tips so far.

[spiritplx]

OK, I had some time to test over this last weekend, so I think I've narrowed it down a bit more.

I swapped the GD unit into another DC, and I got the exact same behavior (the motor spins the disc, or lack of disc, when it should not be). I dropped another GD unit in the malfunctioning DC, and it worked perfectly.

So, it seems to be the GD unit. Does anyone know roughly where the motor (the one that turns the disc) is controlled? I can easily find where it is drawing power, but I am not sure where to look on the board for what controls it. Perhaps something melted and is causing a constant connection? Not sure if there is any hope for fixing it, but now that I know its the GD unit, I don't mind playing with it (I'm not going to break it more).

I guess if I get some more time, I might try just swapping out the motor (http://www.squeept.com/sega/dreamcast-d ... placement/). If that somehow fixes it, then everything works but the motor. But the motor seems to work, it just seems that it is being controlled incorrectly (my assumption with almost no knowledge in this area whatsoever).

[Niode]

Could be worn cogs in the assembly. As for taking the laser assembly apart I can't help you, I've never tried (or needed to).

The common diagnostic tests I was talking about were the ones that you will find hundreds of if you search 'Dreamcast resetting', 'Dreamcast problem' in the search. Seems that you've done most of them, and that you've narrowed it down to the laser assembly is the culprit.

Good luck fixing it. If you fix it successfully, please document it.