> Scott H wrote:
>>> BelPowerslave wrote:
>>>>> I am having a Sega CD oddity.. I mean, so odd, that it seems NO one
>>>>> can figure it out, and only one other person ever had the problem
>>>>> (google group search yielded one from '94!!)
>>>>>
>>>>> The Sega CD won't play a game.. It hangs at Checking Disc. BUT, it
>>>>> plays music CDs just fine.. I know it can read the game CDs, it spins
>>>>> up, remains spinning, and the access light goes out, stays out, blinks
>>>>> 4 times, stays out again, and repeats the 4-time blinking..
>>>>>
>>>>> I seriously can't figure this out at all.. I've taken it apart,
>>>>> cleaned everything, even resoldered EVERY darn joint on the Sega CD
>>>>> board, and STILL won't boot!!
>>>>>
>>>>> It plays CD-R music CDs just fine too, so that is a definite that the
>>>>> laser assembly is ok.. (unless im missing something?)
>>>> Maybe the laser is just slightly misaligned, just enough for it not to
>>>> be able to correctly read the data, but ok for music? That's just a
>>>> guess...
>>>>
>>>> Are the games you're trying to play relatively scratch-free and clean?
>>>>
>>>> I'll crosspost this to RGVS, there should be some people there who can
>>>> help out. :)
>>>>
>>>> Bel
>>> The games are perfectly scratch free.. They work in my PC via an
>>> emulator (even an old 1X SCSI drive reads them fine)..
>>>
>>> I have even copied the games onto fresh new CD-Rs, the same brand CD-Rs
>>> the music CDs are, and they fail also..
>>>
>>> How does one realign the laser if that is it? It has booted, only to
>>> freeze completely (no disc activity at all matter of fact, and it may
>>> even freeze with corrupted graphics)..
>>>
>> None of my Sega CD compatible units play CDR games correctly.
>> They will play music from a CDR, but the games will lock up and crash.
>> CDRs are bad for game consoles, they fried two PC-Engine DUOs for me in
>> ONE PLAY, and they won't even play on my DUO R without locking up. On
>> my X'eye, Sega CD 1 and Sega CD 2 they play intermittantly, but make
>> horrible grinding noises at times and typically take WAY longer to load
>> if they don't lock up while loading. Then, let's not even go to what
>> CDRs do to Dreamcast lasers, oh heck, they fry them dead within a year
>> of normal use. Use originals, and I bet your problem will stop, keep
>> trying CDRs and I bet your game system will really break.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Scott
>>
>>
http://www.gamepilgrimage.com>
> Well I know why the dreamcast struggles with CD-Rs, it's a GD-ROM
> drive.. When I burn CDs for my Dreamcast (homebrews), I pad the disc
> so the laser can be at the outer edge, not in the middle (where it
> struggles)...
> If Sega CD can't read CD-Rs good, then why is it everyone says you can
> easily copy a game on it, and have no problem with the backup?
>
It's the same reason they say CD-Rs work easily on a DUO, they
figured out that it's technically possible to do and have limited
experience with the quality of playing the originals. You won't, for
example, find any regulars in here saying that CDRs play just as well as
originals and don't harm the hardware. You will find plenty of forum
groups frequented by hackers and pirates who will say they are
absolutely the same (and that it's stupid to buy originals). After I
had my problems with my DUO I found plenty of evidence to suggest that
other people's drives were getting fried by CDRs too. The systems were
tested and the settings set for the exact quality of the factory pressed
disks, not for a variety of disk quality or file arrangements.
The Sega CD isn't quite as bad, as I have had certain disks play
almost like originals with only the occasional long load time. Even
these though are occasionally, if not often, erratic and often behave in
a similar way as my DUOs did right before they died. Whether or not
it's the quality of the rip, the brand of the disk, or the quality of
your burner or burn software, I don't know. I have tried Maxell, Office
Depot brand, and Memorex, along with Nero, CDR-WIN, Disk Juggler and
Alcohol $120 and have used both a Mitsumi and a K-Lite drive to burn
disks to the same results each time. Hackers and pirates don't care
about your hardware, just like they don't care about the software or the
companies that produced them (not to mention the buyers and sellers
still making them available today). So, they aren't going to be likely
to collect data about quality control.
I would also say that pushing the data to the end of the disk in a
Dreamcast game is only delaying the inevitable. Both my launch
Dreamcast and my Sega Sports Dreamcast have worked flawlessly since
'99-'00 and neither have had CDRs in them for more than a brief
sampling. Meanwhile, the only Dreamcasts that come into the local swap
shop broken or flaky are from people with a rolladex of CDRs in the same
box. Well, that's not true, when I found cigarette or pot ash on the
cooling fan vent it was as likely to be broken as the CDR players were.
These were seriously the only time we had a problem with a Dreamcast
trade-in.
My advice is to only use CDRs, if you must, in Emulation in order
to sample the game. Since you've found a way to burn DC disks in a
better way, use that method to sample them, but don't play them
extensively or you will shorten the life of the laser. Then take the
time to find a good deal on the original (since you don't care about
completeness, you'll save even more money buying loose). You will
appreciate the game more because it took time, effort, and money to
acquire, and it won't break your system. All of these games and systems
will one day be broken, let's not speed the process shall we?
