> blackevilweredragon@gmail.com wrote:

>> Scott H wrote:

>>> blackevilweredragon@gmail.com wrote:

>>>> Scott H wrote:

>>>>> blackevilweredragon@gmail.com 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?
>>>
>>> --
>>> Scott
>>>
>>> http://www.gamepilgrimage.com

>> no i don't want to kill the systems, it took me 12 years to get a Sega
>> CD... (btw, this unit was bought like this, so if this is true,
>> chances are the previous owner played CD-Rs on them)..
>> but, using a CD-R doesn't explain for the corrupted graphics on my
>> previous link.. unless the laser can crash the unit like that, it
>> almost seems like my Sega CD may have a cold solder joint..

>
> Right, that could be something else entirely. From what I've seen
> though, cold solder joints are like snipes. You might run out into the
> woods in your jammies looking for them, but you will probably be
> surprised by what you find instead. ;)
>

>> I can't get "originals" for my Dreamcast, because the games I play on
>> it are homebrews, i also run Linux on my Dreamcast, as it's a server on
>> some days...
>>

>
> Homebrew stuff tends to load once and then it's in the system memory.
> It takes a whole lot of accessing, like most actual Dreamcast game CDRs
> (and most of the WinCE games for that matter) cause, to blow the drive
> out in a short time.
>
> --
> Scott
>
> http://www.gamepilgrimage.com