Dreamcast driving me nuts.

Or if your getting rid of it, let me know, I'm looking for a dreamcast

Sariyah Shy Mill wrote: »

Nope,the dc is notoriously sensitive to disc scratches/blemishs,suggest you try few back ups first and go from there,guide here about all calibration etc-

http://retro-hack.blogspot.com/2010/06/sega-dreamcast-laser-calibration-guide.html

A pot adjust is normally just a temporary stopgap before the diode burns out altogether...it might work for a bit, but I've always found its never a permanent solution.

Steve SI wrote: »

I've been calibrating it for 6 months so I guess a new one is in order. I can adjust the pot and it will allow some discs to load but then other do not(backups and originals). It's a real pain and I even opened up a sealed game to test a brand new disc and still the same.

I guess I'll just need to grab a new drive from another dreamcast. In fairness this one has served me well. I got it on the very first day they went on sale in ireland in 1999.

Well if you come across a dreamcast for breaking, I need a mobo for one, I've two spare GD-rom units you can have one if you get me a mobo

I've had a bit of experience with DCs, and have always been suspicious of the "calibration fix" (and the "bending the motherboard pins" for resetting DCs for that matter). I've seen symptoms similar to those described on units "fixed" by adjusting the pot on a few of my own units, and it's always been down to a failing power board, specifically the 3.3V, but the other voltages drift as well, so it's my thinking that the 3.3V drifts beyond a critical level for the functioning of the GD-ROM before the 5V or 12V.

My thinking has been backed up by transplanting boards between units, and seeing if a symptom travels with the board or not.

Could well be the GD-ROM that's on it's way out, but I'd be inclined to check the power board voltages before condemning any other board in a DC. If it is the power board that's going bad, and the GD-ROM is/was ok, I don't know what would result in applying the correct voltage to a GD-ROM unit that's been adjusted, but I reckon there's a reason why the pot has some resin/glue in the recess for the screwdriver.