Thank you! I bought an in-box Dreamcast in Japan and my CD-R's worked like a charm, but only on the first day. When it stopped working I thought it was a disc issue and spent hours re-burning the games at different writing speeds. Turns out the sensor just needed to be bumped up a hair. Here's hoping it doesn't burn out too quickly. New to SEGA myself, can't wait ti dive into this incredible library of games I hear so much about
I heard of this fix just a few hours ago! I did it and it worked! it got me a little frustrated at first because I didn't know I was only supposed to turn it very little at a time... but after a few turns it worked! thank you! you got yourself a new sub!
@@audiligencegaming2013 Sometimes reads, sometimes not, but every time it reaches the menu, it is never able to play the game anyway. Unfortunately, i think i died.
For anyone who are dreamcast lovers be warned with these videos. My man is awesome but know this information! If you turn too on the POT (which is code name for screw) it can fry your discs or your console all together even the laser from further repair. However, did my research to help homies out. Sadly, the web doesnt give alot of info but typically the dreamcast will start on either 1413 or 1076 in that range of ohms. Now you need the sweet spot to NOT go past 650 typically. Anything past that ive noted fried peoples dreamcast discs and lasers. Intresting thing that hasnt been really addressed on the internet and kinda want to dive into it. You also have 3 varying consoles being 0-2 and truly dont know if POT varies between them. Hope this helps
Thanks for the video. It helped with my console. Althoug,h it took around 10-12 tries as I moved it to much and then back and forth to find the right degree.
I have Japanese Dreamcast, doesn't have that red screw. Mine doesn't read only one game, the others are OK, but it backs to console menu when I am playing sometimes.
Thanks Atarix777 👍, I remember you from the good old days of the YT gaming community. You used to share your gaming collection and fighting game videos with your friend then switched to experimenting with drones. I hope you're doing well my friend. ^^
@@AzNstat Thank you! Your guide made a big difference to our last Twitch stream. Lately I'd been nagging Atarix to hook up the Dreamcast. Of course, when the time came it wouldn't read any discs, but a quick Google landed us here. You really saved our bacon! In a couple of days I'll have time to make a stream highlight of Atarix doing the repair, then I'll chuck you a link to it in this thread.
@@neckshredder1 You're welcome. That's amazing, glad to have helped the stream with my tutorial and saved the bacon too ;) Sounds good to me. Would love to see the outcome of the stream. 😀 I'll be sure to follow too.
For me, the white ribbon cable at 4:45 just slipped out of the grey clip (it seemed to be very loose already, probably it was the problem). Is there any way to put this back in? HOW?
My DC is doing the same exact thing, but I can't get a proper adjustment. There is a specific Ohm range setting that the Dreamcast laser needs to be set at right? No video I've seen shows a multimeter being used. By the way, using a needle nose pliers can really damage your POT adjustment screw. I learned that the hard way, and probably messed it up.
Sorry you probably don't care now but did my research online. I think the reason is because dreamcast consoles vary and dumb dumbs don't know how to differ between 0-2 type consoles this is the way. So far I've read however is that dreamcasts ohms are potentially at start 1143 ohms and danger zone for dreamcast Laser is like 600 ohms so probably a safe spot for enough turning is like 700 possibly 650.
What if my laser assembly doesnt move up and down but everything else works (power, spindle etc.)? the laser tries to work and still shoots a beam but it cant move, only bob up and down 3 times before giving up :/
Is there a way to tell if the potentiometer was adjusted too much? I did this adjustment thing and it seems to be working perfectly fine now, but I just want to be sure the laser isn't going to burn out next time I start it or something.
That screw is a voltage regulator. Does anyone know what range it should actually test at? This would be helpful and save time randomly turning the screw until it works, potentially burning up the disc drive if too much power is sent.
Thanks Chris, Glad it will come handy, hopefully nothing goes wrong with your DC. So far my original has lasted for awhile except the time it kept resetting itself, but that was a easy fix also.
niek pm cool. I just burned about 15 games and they all work. However, I will say that I adjusted my console while I was playing and when I went to play a different game I got a disc read error message. I was going to calibrate it today, but I decided to try to play before and they are working again. So, to add to the conversation, I would just recommend not moving the console while the disc is spinning and to keep it level.
Any idea why my DC is reading some burned games and not others? I recalibrated it after not working for Sonic adventures 2 and it worked. And then successfully burned a few other games and they didnt work??
If you re-calibrated too many times or adjusted too much you may have fried the laser. It can only be done a couple of times before the laser goes kaput.
I have a dreamcast. I have nba showtime and the disc loads up . I have marvel vs capcom 2 and the disc will not load up . There are hardly any scratches on the disc . Will this method work on the disc ?
It could be, i believe Shenmue requires the CD-R to spin much slowly because of the content on the disc, if the disc's are fine then calibrate the laser but be very careful by changing it every 1mm and testing it. Make sure to clean your laser. if all else fails then your laser would be replacing entirely.
Hi, i have a Dreamcast that can read japanese games too and it's been like 6 years since the last time i used it. I calibrated the laser just like you did in your video, it worked at first, but after a couple of minutes of play the laser started to make strange noises and then it stopped to read the game. Should i try to calibrate it again or does it mean that the laser it's broken and i should replace it for a new one?
Hi. Would you know if changed all the capacitor of my US Dreamcast all to solid capacitors make it read the games again (not even the CD can be read- music CD)? The Dreamcast is relatively new, it's not been used for a 1 week (24 hours each day) in total. It was working well the last time I used it but now it won't read, after being stored for more than 1.5 years. I already cleaned the lens with 99% alcohol but it now won't read. Suggestions are welcome. If yes, replacing all capacitors in the unit (except the modem) with solid capacitor, will fix this, is there a shop who sells a complete Dreamcast solid capacitor? If there's none, any list of all the unit's capacitors and values? I have another PAL Dreamcast, I've replaced it's GD-ROM but it keeps burning the chip in it, I wonder how this can be fixed. It first started when I left the Dreamcast for about 8 hours playing one song, from a music CD, in an infinite loop (I fell asleep). Thank you. Stay safe. God bless, Rev. 21:4
Just doesn't work no matter what I do... been going at it back and forth for about an hour and it just wont read my CDs :( Thanks for the tutorial tho! guess i'll have to replace the laser
Damn, I’m sure this was my issue but i just cant get it. Bummer, I picked up a pretty cherry unjt with the box even. seemed good to go just can’t get it :/ Now I think ive turned it to much im losing my place and rubbing of the red mark. The first turn lined up the red marks and I really thought it would go. Ughhhh i think its over. For parts on ebay :(
@@PjThePlatGod hmm tricky if it was sold as sealed. If you got it for cheaper than you would anywhere else I would keep it and try this method or change the laser or gd rom drive.
My sega dream was reading trigger heart Japanese version ..I haven't played it in years ..now I tried ti play it I get a insert gane disc what could be the problem?? It does play my other Japanese games
Thanks man, Love you, Worked first try.
Happy it had worked out for you ^^
Thanks for telling a USEFUL amount to turn the screw. Many videos and comments say a "little bit". How much is that?
Wow I almost sold my dreamcast but now it's working with the small screw trick. You sir are a hero.
Glad the video helped - long live the Dreamcast ^^ Thanks for your comment
Thank you! I bought an in-box Dreamcast in Japan and my CD-R's worked like a charm, but only on the first day. When it stopped working I thought it was a disc issue and spent hours re-burning the games at different writing speeds. Turns out the sensor just needed to be bumped up a hair. Here's hoping it doesn't burn out too quickly. New to SEGA myself, can't wait ti dive into this incredible library of games I hear so much about
Thanks!
At first I turned the screw too much, then got back and inched my way to it.
Console is back in full working form!
Just got my first dreamcast from a retro store. 2/5 games worked. Followed your vid now they all work. Thanks so much!
Glad I could help! Thanks for the comment
Thank you, I used your method and only turned the screw may be a degree, put it back together and it us working again.
I had to do a whole 360 turn on mine to get it to recognise, started at like 5° then 10° then 180....
Worked in the end, thanks
Is it still working?? Hope it didn't burn out
I heard of this fix just a few hours ago! I did it and it worked! it got me a little frustrated at first because I didn't know I was only supposed to turn it very little at a time... but after a few turns it worked! thank you! you got yourself a new sub!
Thanks glad it worked for you and appreciate the support 😊
TH-camrs: 3rd time's a charm.
Me: 30th time and still not reading.
Could be the ribbon cable. I did the same shit than looked under where you can't see the ribbon cable and it was half way threw split.
@@audiligencegaming2013 Sometimes reads, sometimes not, but every time it reaches the menu, it is never able to play the game anyway. Unfortunately, i think i died.
Thank you for this in 2020
I can’t believe this shit actually worked!! Appreciate it, man!
Glad this video helped and thx for the comment 😊👍
For anyone who are dreamcast lovers be warned with these videos. My man is awesome but know this information! If you turn too on the POT (which is code name for screw) it can fry your discs or your console all together even the laser from further repair. However, did my research to help homies out. Sadly, the web doesnt give alot of info but typically the dreamcast will start on either 1413 or 1076 in that range of ohms. Now you need the sweet spot to NOT go past 650 typically. Anything past that ive noted fried peoples dreamcast discs and lasers. Intresting thing that hasnt been really addressed on the internet and kinda want to dive into it. You also have 3 varying consoles being 0-2 and truly dont know if POT varies between them. Hope this helps
Thank you man! It totally works! i can tell you that!. Fixed a Dreamcast bought from Ebay, just right now!.
Thanks for the video. It helped with my console. Althoug,h it took around 10-12 tries as I moved it to much and then back and forth to find the right degree.
Glad it worked for you ^^
I have Japanese Dreamcast, doesn't have that red screw. Mine doesn't read only one game, the others are OK, but it backs to console menu when I am playing sometimes.
Could be the contacts of the disc drive need cleaning if the console restarts itself
@@AzNstat thanks for your help, I will try it.
Thx man, it worked out right away :D Got the good old DC running again after a lot years, sleeping under the forniture ;DDD
Thanks Atarix777 👍, I remember you from the good old days of the YT gaming community. You used to share your gaming collection and fighting game videos with your friend then switched to experimenting with drones. I hope you're doing well my friend. ^^
@@AzNstat Thank you! Your guide made a big difference to our last Twitch stream. Lately I'd been nagging Atarix to hook up the Dreamcast. Of course, when the time came it wouldn't read any discs, but a quick Google landed us here. You really saved our bacon!
In a couple of days I'll have time to make a stream highlight of Atarix doing the repair, then I'll chuck you a link to it in this thread.
@@neckshredder1 You're welcome.
That's amazing, glad to have helped the stream with my tutorial and saved the bacon too ;)
Sounds good to me. Would love to see the outcome of the stream. 😀 I'll be sure to follow too.
For me, the white ribbon cable at 4:45 just slipped out of the grey clip (it seemed to be very loose already, probably it was the problem). Is there any way to put this back in? HOW?
My DC is doing the same exact thing, but I can't get a proper adjustment. There is a specific Ohm range setting that the Dreamcast laser needs to be set at right? No video I've seen shows a multimeter being used. By the way, using a needle nose pliers can really damage your POT adjustment screw. I learned that the hard way, and probably messed it up.
Dean Andrews I was thinking the same thing. I used a tiny screwdriver, I believe, the last time I adjusted it and it worked.
Sorry you probably don't care now but did my research online. I think the reason is because dreamcast consoles vary and dumb dumbs don't know how to differ between 0-2 type consoles this is the way. So far I've read however is that dreamcasts ohms are potentially at start 1143 ohms and danger zone for dreamcast Laser is like 600 ohms so probably a safe spot for enough turning is like 700 possibly 650.
July 2024 this fixed my Dreamcast
@@try4ndrunf0rcov3r glad this video helped 😊👍
What if my laser assembly doesnt move up and down but everything else works (power, spindle etc.)? the laser tries to work and still shoots a beam but it cant move, only bob up and down 3 times before giving up :/
Sounds like the laser is kaput
I f***ing love you man... Worked!!
Thank you! Glad it worked for you! =)
Is there a way to tell if the potentiometer was adjusted too much? I did this adjustment thing and it seems to be working perfectly fine now, but I just want to be sure the laser isn't going to burn out next time I start it or something.
You can use a multimeter to check potentiometer adjustments
I just tried this and now my discs won’t spin. I only needed help because a few games weren’t reading, now I can’t do anything. What did I do wrong?
Maybe adjusted too much or the laser was on its way out. This is used as an emergency and does not prolong the life of the laser itself.
Nice I turned the laser so mine could read more burnt games which it had trouble doing. Kind of made it worse though, that was 2 years ago though
Thanks Jacob, i believe if you use burnt games on your DC too much it can wear down the laser, it also depends on what discs you use to burn.
at 5:28 .... FOOOOK
Maybe that's what really fixed it!😅
That screw is a voltage regulator. Does anyone know what range it should actually test at? This would be helpful and save time randomly turning the screw until it works, potentially burning up the disc drive if too much power is sent.
Cool stuff.This will come in handy if my Dreamcast doesn't read discs.Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Chris, Glad it will come handy, hopefully nothing goes wrong with your DC. So far my original has lasted for awhile except the time it kept resetting itself, but that was a easy fix also.
im a ten year old kid and I'm trying to fix my parents dreamcast and it worked
for some reason my burnt games work but my copy of jet set radio doesn't
niek pm cool. I just burned about 15 games and they all work. However, I will say that I adjusted my console while I was playing and when I went to play a different game I got a disc read error message. I was going to calibrate it today, but I decided to try to play before and they are working again. So, to add to the conversation, I would just recommend not moving the console while the disc is spinning and to keep it level.
thanks so much! What is the track in the background? It's such a good track!
Any idea why my DC is reading some burned games and not others? I recalibrated it after not working for Sonic adventures 2 and it worked. And then successfully burned a few other games and they didnt work??
could be bad cdi's or try lowering the burn speed. Some roms are self boot and some need a bootloader. hope this helps
@@AzNstat Do you know where I could find a good bootloader? I have one more blank cd I dont want to turn into a coaster.
@@ConnorAE cdromance.com/dc-iso/utopia-boot-cd/ try this link. It's called Utopia Boot Disc.
@@ConnorAE you also want to check the brand of the Cdr you are using, if I recall the DC is picky with certain burnt discs.
Miracle worker! Thank you, sir.
Thanks for the kind comment, happy to have helped =)
my mom
I’ve been trying this for about an hour now, no luck, is there any tips on how to do it faster?
If you re-calibrated too many times or adjusted too much you may have fried the laser. It can only be done a couple of times before the laser goes kaput.
Worked like a charm, thanks!
Thank you Got it working again!
Glad it worked for you and thanks for the comment 👍
I have a dreamcast. I have nba showtime and the disc loads up . I have marvel vs capcom 2 and the disc will not load up . There are hardly any scratches on the disc . Will this method work on the disc ?
yes it should do
can it still be this issue if it will read one game but not another? mine doesn't read shenmue (any disc) but it does read another game.
It could be, i believe Shenmue requires the CD-R to spin much slowly because of the content on the disc, if the disc's are fine then calibrate the laser but be very careful by changing it every 1mm and testing it. Make sure to clean your laser. if all else fails then your laser would be replacing entirely.
Hi, i have a Dreamcast that can read japanese games too and it's been like 6 years since the last time i used it. I calibrated the laser just like you did in your video, it worked at first, but after a couple of minutes of play the laser started to make strange noises and then it stopped to read the game. Should i try to calibrate it again or does it mean that the laser it's broken and i should replace it for a new one?
+Cesar Gutierrez Try to re-calibrate again, you just need to find the sweet spot, the laser is very sensitive so change it very carefully.
WHATS THE MUSIC PLZ TELL ME I HEAR IT ALL THE TIME
Great video. What is the backing track? Thanks
It's been awhile since i made it - it was a royalty free track - ill double check and get back to you.
Im so confused. My dreamcast doesnt look like this on the inside. There's no screw to tighten
Hi. Would you know if changed all the capacitor of my US Dreamcast all to solid capacitors make it read the games again (not even the CD can be read- music CD)? The Dreamcast is relatively new, it's not been used for a 1 week (24 hours each day) in total. It was working well the last time I used it but now it won't read, after being stored for more than 1.5 years.
I already cleaned the lens with 99% alcohol but it now won't read. Suggestions are welcome.
If yes, replacing all capacitors in the unit (except the modem) with solid capacitor, will fix this, is there a shop who sells a complete Dreamcast solid capacitor? If there's none, any list of all the unit's capacitors and values?
I have another PAL Dreamcast, I've replaced it's GD-ROM but it keeps burning the chip in it, I wonder how this can be fixed. It first started when I left the Dreamcast for about 8 hours playing one song, from a music CD, in an infinite loop (I fell asleep).
Thank you. Stay safe.
God bless, Rev. 21:4
Thank you so much mine stopped reading and I flipped out
Thank you
@@AzNstat no problem your a life saver
My dreamcast reads when it wants to
Just doesn't work no matter what I do... been going at it back and forth for about an hour and it just wont read my CDs :(
Thanks for the tutorial tho! guess i'll have to replace the laser
Damn, I’m sure this was my issue but i just cant get it. Bummer, I picked up a pretty cherry unjt with the box even. seemed good to go just can’t get it :/
Now I think ive turned it to much im losing my place and rubbing of the red mark.
The first turn lined up the red marks and I really thought it would go.
Ughhhh i think its over.
For parts on ebay :(
I do that and for now it's ok!!!! Thanks a lot
If your game boots back to the menu after the Sega logo appears, chances are you might have a faulty disc.
I have three disc that have no scratches on them. It’s definitely the lens not the disc.
Which games?
Hunter The Reckoning nba 2k, 2k1, and House of the dead.
Do they have the white cover on the side where the Dreamcast logo is? If so then it might be a faulty disc, if not then it could be the laser
Hunter The Reckoning not too sure what you’re asking or what I’m looking for?
Just got a dreamcast. We are debating if we should do this or return it on ebay. Any suggestions?
If this is happening and you have bought it as working condition I would return it. How much did you spend on it first?
@@AzNstat it was sealed.
@@PjThePlatGod hmm tricky if it was sold as sealed. If you got it for cheaper than you would anywhere else I would keep it and try this method or change the laser or gd rom drive.
If I close my lid down on my dreamcast game can't be is it because of lends
Yes usally it's the lens that needs recalibrating or changing
@@AzNstat game can't be read with lid close all way lid open and close fine maybe it is the linds
Great video😎😎But that music is soooo annoying😔😔😟😟😟😟
haha thank you xD
Mine makes all those sounds but then the disk just loads forever
Tried this. I turned it only the smallest amount and the screw snapped right off.
Thank you in 2023
Thanks so much. Great channel you guys have =)
Thanks for the help.
Happy to help
Great, worked for me.
Glad it helped
This worked!! Thanks a lot
Thank you, happy that it worked for u =)
I did this method, it worked then it stopped working again
You have to find the sweet spot also make sure disc's are clean. Hope it works again
Aw hell naw i aint opening up my console im just gonna get another dreamcast
What if mine isn’t spinning
Sounds like the motor is gone or the laser is burnt. I would get a replacement laser.
I did it exactly how you did it and now I can’t play anything on my dreamcast.
Wow that sucks bro is like a nightmare,I’m looking at these videos before I try anything i just got a used Dreamcast and it doesn’t read discs
My screw is broken 😳
Thanks bro 2024
Thanks for the comment 👍
Questions about if you did it right. Want again and pay FULL attention. Smh
the background music is really annoying.
wodeva
My sega dream was reading trigger heart Japanese version ..I haven't played it in years ..now I tried ti play it I get a insert gane disc what could be the problem?? It does play my other Japanese games